You came here to meet the lovely and talented Claire C. Riley, author of Odium, so I will just get out of the way and let her tell you why she is not just another pretty face.
What are some of the best and worst things about being an
author?
The
worst is that damn empty page. It freaks me out every single time. It’s so
empty and I swear it’s mocking me.
But
then it’s also the best thing too. I mean, the empty page represents so much:
the possibilities are endless when you’re faced with that big scary white abyss.
What are some of the lessons you
have learned as a writer that caught you off guard?
How vicious some people can be. It’s a
murky world out there. In the same regard, I’ve also been touched by how kind
some people can be. I always try to go out of my way to help people, but not
everyone is like that. I guess I was very naïve when I started out. People
promise you things and then never hold up their end of the bargain.
What can you share about your writing process with new
or up and coming writers?
Edit, edit, edit, take a break, and then edit
some more. Seriously, try and get an editor. It’s so important. Some readers
aren’t too fussy when it comes to grammar and punctuation, but others are very
critical on it. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just something that you should be
very aware of.
Personally, I think that ANYTHING that
pulls a reader out of your story is a bad thing. Well, if they have to take a
vomit break because you just write a particularly disgusting scene, I guess
THAT’S okay.
If you were to change genres, what would be your next
choice?
Well
I read pretty much anything. I love all genres, except sci-fi, I just can’t get
into that, but anything else is a go. My first novel Limerence is a dark
paranormal romance so I think I could take out the paranormal element and go
straight to romance/erotica. I love writing zombie books though. That’s my
favourite. The freedom that it evokes is fantastic. As long as you do your
research on the technical things, then literally ANYTHING goes, and that really
gets my imagination going.
What could traditional publishing learn
from the Indies? And how about the other way around?
I
think that traditional publishers need to look at it this way. If an Indie
writer can write, publish, market, and earn decent royalties on their books,
then I think that publishers are going to have to start offering something more
worthwhile than just their publishing house logo on a book. What relevance do
they hold other than the gratification that you were traditionally signed?
However,
a lot of Indie writers need to take a look at what traditional publishers do in
regards to cover and editing. A lot of books are rushed out without a full edit
and shoddy covers, and it’s a shame because the story is actually so damn good.
That’s where traditional publishing comes in. They take their time. They have
proofreaders and copyeditors, and it goes through many, many hands and gets
lots of eyes on it before it goes up for sale.
I
don’t think that people realise how important a cover is, and how it has to
look good in thumbnail as well as large.
The writing community can be its own worst
enemy at times. What are some of the issues you see cropping up? Solutions?
Bitching
and backstabbing can be a huge problem that I’ve personally seen happen to a
lot of writers. I think it’s hard over the internet though, things can be taken
the wrong way. Social media has opened up a world of possibilities for both readers
and writers, but it’s tricky to navigate it and not put
your foot in it. That and people like to hide behind the security of the
internet, and think they can get away with anything.
The important thing I think is that
writers should be sticking together—working together. If X has 300 readers who
enjoy zombie horror, it makes sense that Y who has 300 fans should help X and
then X can help Y. You literally swap readers. It’s a win-win for everyone. The
reader gets a new author, and the authors reach new fans. But then I could just
be getting confused with algebra here?
The social media is…
An
amazing possibility for readers and writers to connect with each other when
once they wouldn’t normally be able to. It can also be as confusing as watching
your Aunt Nelly dressed as Frank from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, drinking a
large Scotch out of a hip flask and dancing the Copacabana on a Sunday evening.
Share some information about your work with
us:
Well,
I write dark paranormal romances, zombie horror, and generally anything a bit
different. I like to write old school horror mostly, you know, when vampires
were Bram Stoker esq and zombies were slow and shambling. I like to write very
character driven stories, and take readers by surprise, so that the reader
feels something strong for each and every character, but never knows if I’m
going to kill them off. I like books that surprise me, and that’s something
that I try to do in my own writing. Catch the reader unaware. I also have a
very sarcastic and dry sense of humour so I throw a bucket load of that in at
inappropriate times too. Not that I ever intentionally tried to be funny, but
it’s just my thought process. Many of the things that my characters think come
straight out of my ‘things Claire shouldn’t say out loud’ bin. (Everybody has
one of those, right?)
I have
a couple of short stories and two full length novels out at the moment. My
first novel is Limerence. It’s a dark paranormal romance. Think vampires but
when they were scary and dangerous.
My
second novel is Odium. It’s a dystopian, post-apocalyptic zombie novel. I had
so much fun writing it, and I think or I hope that it shows. It’s old school
zombies, you know the ones, slow, shambling and brain eating. Well, generally
anything eating, but I think they like brains the most.
I’m
also just about to publish Odium Origins. A Dead Saga Novella. Part One. (That
comes out on the 27th December)
What is one question you are sick of being
asked—not in interviews, but by individuals who know you write?
Why
do you want to write about ‘dead things?’ followed by an eye-roll.
I
mean seriously, why do you like cheese? Why do you hate skinny jeans? Of course
there’s things you can say, ‘well I like the taste of cheese, and my butt looks
great in these jeans’, but we also know that the cheese clogs your arteries and
makes your breathe stink and the jeans may make your butt look good, but they
are not comfy at all. So there’s a downside to the things you like too. You
like them because that’s just who you are.
I like writing about the dark and creepy, and the ‘dead things’ because
although the scare the crap out of me, they fascinate me too. They give me a
bad taste while I’m reading or writing them because they cross the boundaries that
you’re not supposed to cross, but damn it’s fun. So yeah, people who ask me
that question, there’s your answer, don’t ask it me again, ha!
How do you deal with negative reviews?
Pitifully.
I wail, and cry, stamp my foot and… Ha, no really, I don’t mind. Of course I
want everyone to love my books, but everyone has to have an opinion, and I’m
grateful to hear all of them. Sometimes I want to explain things to the reader,
things that they have pointed out as an error and I know for a FACT isn’t, but
then it can come across as argumentative, so it’s best to thank them and walk
away graciously.
It
would be a boring world if everyone thought the same way.
How much reading do you get in, and can a
writer excel at his or her craft if they do not read?
Just
my personal opinion, but I think a writer needs to read to grow in their
expertise. They learn as they read, by picking up tips and ideas, new styles of
writing. And it keeps the mind active and the imagination gates open.
I
read a lot. Probably not as much as some, but I’ve read maybe 50 books this
year of varying genres. I think considering I’m a mother of three young
children (8,7 & 2) a wife, I work and I write, I don’t think that’s a bad
number at all.
Of
course, that’s just my opinion.
When does self-promotion cross the line and
become a nuisance?
When
it’s just post after post in every single group of ‘buy my book’ It’s just
irritating, and does anyone really read those things?
I try
to be reader when I’m promoting, and think about what I would like to see. On
my author page and blog I promote other writers, and I try to share tips, daft
pictures, free books, sales, cover reveals etc I want my readers to be happy,
and I love pimping others work out. It’s not just about saying ‘buy my book’
it’s about showing that you read and basically give a shit about the skill
that’s involved in producing a novel. Social media has made it so that readers
can connect with their authors, and they don’t want to find out that you’re an
asshole.
What projects are you currently working on?
I
just finished working on Odium Origins. A Dead Saga Novella. Part One. It’s
part of the Odium brand, and is an accompaniment to Odium. I’m now working on
the sequel to Odium, which I hope to get out around March/April and the sequel
to my first book Limerence. There will also be a second Odium Origins book
after the release of the Odium sequel.
I
also have a crime horror novel which keeps bating me to write it, and about a
million and one short stories I really want to get out at some point next year,
I just need to find anthologies to put them in.
What is one thing about you that would
surprise the readers who do not know you personally?
Ummm,
I guess that I’m really shy. Extremely. But I talk and ramble and swear like a
sailor when I’m nervous. And I’m dyslexic. Or maybe I’m just really bad at
grammar?
Is there anyone you’d like to give a
mention?
All
the wonderful people that help make this possible for me. From some of the
amazing authors that I’ve met – Eli Constant, Ken Mooney, to my awesome funny
as hell editor Amy Jackson, to the really cool readers which keep coming back
and reading more of my work. Every one of them rock my world, and I couldn’t do
any of this without each and every one of them.
What is in your “to be read” pile right
now?
Okay,
so these are some of the books that I have purchased in the last couple of
weeks and are waiting for me to read them. Though this is about a quarter of
the actual pile. I really need to stop ‘one-clicking’. Bear in mind I read a
mix of genres.
1.
After Death by Derrick Lacombe
2.
The Book of Riley by Mark Tufo
3.
After Life by Jaron Lee Knuth
4.
The Complex by J.Rudolph
5.
Dead Drunk by Richard Johnson
6.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
7.
Good Side of Sin by K.S. Haigwood
8.
I Zombie I by Jack Wallen
9.
Reign of Blood by Alexia Purdy
10.
A Shade of vampire by Bella Forrest
Claire C Riley, is a mother first,
a wife second, but a writer at heart.
Her first novel Limerence is a dark paranormal romance. Claire likes to break boundaries with her writing, incorporating an old school style of horror and romance. Sexy and dark. (Think Bram Stokers Dracula, but for the 21st century!)
Claire’s current novel is a dystopian post-apocalyptic zombie novel called- Odium, and it focuses on survival, and how it would change us.
Her first novel Limerence is a dark paranormal romance. Claire likes to break boundaries with her writing, incorporating an old school style of horror and romance. Sexy and dark. (Think Bram Stokers Dracula, but for the 21st century!)
Claire’s current novel is a dystopian post-apocalyptic zombie novel called- Odium, and it focuses on survival, and how it would change us.
She has also written several short horror stories, with more coming in
the new year. Her newest creation is Odium Origins. A Dead Saga Novella.
Part One. It releases December 27th 2013 and is an
accompaniment to Odium.
She is currently working on the sequel
to Odium with a tentative release of March 2014, the sequel to Limerence creatively
named Limerence II: Mia and a horror romance novel titled Chance
Encounters.
Claire is an avid reader of all genres, a
book collector, general procrastinator and has a great zombie apocalypse plan
in place thanks to a questionnaire she asked her readers to fill in for her.
She can be stalked at any of the following.
http://bit.ly/clairecrileyamazon
Purchasing links for Odium.
UK Amazon Link
USA Amazon Link
Thank you Todd, awesome interview!
ReplyDeleteLove the interview! This was great, Claire. :-) Congrats on the new release!
ReplyDeleteMany blessings and best wishes for both you and Todd and your families in 2014. :-)
Excellent interview!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview and keep writing about dead things!
ReplyDeleteRichard Johnson