Along our writing journeys, some of us are privileged to meet other authors that we look up to. It’s even better if we’re able to develop friendships with such people and share our work together. One such author I’ve encountered would be Russell Proctor, whom I’ve met through my work with Permuted Press.

Proctor works as an English teacher and has penned a number of well-written books, filled with his own dry humour and fascinating ideas. His work betrays the fact that he’s well-versed in classical literature. He’s even acted Shakespeare on the stage before. This, of course, immediately interested me in his writing.

I’m excited to introduce you all to Russell today, via Cyberspace. Hello, Russell! Tell us three quirky facts about yourself.

Hello Yvette! Three quirky things about me:


1.      I have climbed the highest mountain in Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro, 5895 metres. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but one of the most memorable.

2.      I used to be a lawyer, but I got better.

3.      I am a tragic Doctor Who fan. Seriously, I even have a USB hub that looks like a TARDIS and I have a Sonic Screwdriver pen. I need help.


Oh dear. You certainly do! I’ve heard that you have a cat called Humphrey – and cats seem to be an essential to authorhood. What part has Humphrey played in your writing journey, Russell?


 Humphrey only has three legs, but he still leads a full life. He shares my writing space to the extent of sitting beside my computer and carefully reading what I’ve written and he makes helpful suggestions and corrects my grammar. Actually I think he just likes the warmth of my laptop’s exhaust fan, but that’s not what he says. Cats feature in a big way in most of my books.


I had noticed that. I'm assuming at least one of your literary cats is a portrait of Humphrey. Tell us the titles of your books.


I have a several books out there at the moment. Plato’s Cave is a humorous science-fiction novel about mankind’s endless and rather pointless quest for the meaning of life. Days of Iron is a science-fiction novel about terrorism 400 years in the future. I am working on the sequel right now, called Shepherd Moon. Also out there is  The Red King, first of  The Jabberwocky Book series. The next two volumes are out this year and next year, An Unkindness of Ravens and  The Looking-Glass House.

 
They’re fantastic titles. Which one of these books is your favourite, and why?


I would have to say Plato’s Cave is my favourite. This novel resonates with me very strongly, even though I don’t actually agree with its philosophy! It’s based on Plato’s allegory of the cave from his book The Republic and deals with the nature of reality. I think Plato got it totally wrong, but I celebrate his ideas in what I hope is a light-hearted way. Everyone’s viewpoint is satirized in that book, so the readers have to be able to take a joke.

 
Yes... laughing at ourselves can be one of the hardest things of all! Tell us three things that peeve you off about today’s literature.


Present tense writing. Really, it has to stop. Could someone tell writers who write in the present tense that it just doesn’t work? (Apart from dialogue and situations like this interview, of course—I’m talking whole novels here.) Other than that, I guess the use of clichés in plotting and characters. Characters are what drives a story, not action and suspense. Thirdly, as a teacher I find the analysis of literature a chore. Literature isn’t written to be analysed. It’s written to be read and enjoyed. Forcing students to analyse some novel they are not interested in only ends in tears.

I'm so glad you brought up present tense writing! Not judging anyone here, but I personally find it very hard to take. Anyway, back on topic. The best protagonists always seem to have a goal of some sort. What would be three of your goals as a writer?

 
My goals would be to have people enjoy my stories, to write something worth keeping, and have pride in my work. I write mostly for myself anyway. As C. S. Lewis once said, he wrote the stories he wanted to read.

 
C. S. Lewis was a fabulous author! 
Every writer has unfinished projects. Describe to us one of yours, so that the rest of us can feel better.


I have a burning story inside me about a clockwork Aristotelian universe. I’ve written about 60,000 words of it so far. The trouble is, if I continued it, it would be about twenty volumes long and would be read by about three people. For what it’s worth it would be called Phosphorus and if I had another thirty or so years to spare I might be tempted to write it.


Fascinating. Although I have to admit, I prefer the short books to the long ones. I admire your prudence! Your short stories, I’ve discovered from experience, are excellent. Can you give us two tips for writing effective short stories? (I’m just being mercenary here, because I can’t write them to save myself.)

1. Every word counts in a short story. Know what you want to say and say it. Don’t waffle about. If we don’t need to know the hero has blond hair, don’t tell us.
2. Few characters, one setting, and a simple plot. Reading a short story is like reading just the climax of a novel. Just tell the climax and let the reader work out the rest of the book.

 

That's excellent advice, thanks. This is writersanctuary.net. One of the reasons I established this site was to encourage new authors. Tell us two pitfalls we should avoid as writers.

 
 The first pitfall would be thinking that your writing isn’t good enough for people to want to read it. The second pitfall is thinking that everyone wants to read it.

 
To finish, tell us two of the greatest things about the writer’s life.

 
One of the greatest things about my writing life is that I get to tell stories. Really, that’s what it comes down to. I have people inside my head that want to get themselves heard. Having them express themselves is a great feeling. Another thing would be in the way I write. I’m not a planner. I don’t meticulously work out the plot, characters, setting, etc, before I start writing. I just have an idea and discover all those things as I go. It’s like I’m reading the story for the first time as I write it.


Russell’s books The Red King, Plato’s Cave and Days of Iron are available via Amazon and Smashwords.


The Red King: www.amzn.to/1wX2OS1, www.smashwords.com/books/view/524851

Days of Iron: http://amzn.to/1DLewMi

Plato’s Cave: http://www.amazon.com/Platos-Cave-Russell-Proctor/dp/147930879X

Russell’s website: www.russellproctor.com

Happy reading!

Over in America, a new day has dawned, and with it has come the consummation of twelve years work for me. At age ten, I started writing the book Rafen. At age twenty-two, I now look upon its publication.

It's been a long road - a hard one - and perhaps one of the most rewarding journeys of my life. When I started at ten, I thought everything would be simple. I worked hard and produced a 55,000 word manuscript that year. But I was under the impression that that was all a writer did. Afterwards, publication just sort of happened, like magic.

That certainly hasn't been my experience. After rewriting the book five times from scratch, I at last got the manuscript assessed by New Zealand author Tina Shaw. This was because, even at that early stage, I had already had rejections, and I knew I couldn't tempt a literary agent unless the book was good enough. When I was eighteen, an international literary agency picked me up. After two long years of copious rejections, Permuted Press offered me a multi-book contract. The rest is history (or shortly to become so).

This week, I've effectively been on submission again, looking for other online retailers willing to stock Rafen and even trying to tempt some physical book stores. So far, Wheelers and Fishpond.co.nz have responded positively (although I'm working on getting cover art and a description up on the latter website). The response of these two retailers means a lot to me, because I don't want my New Zealand audience to effectively have to spend forty dollars to purchase the physical copy of the book from Amazon. Friends, don't do this to yourselves! Fishpond now has it seven dollars cheaper. For those of you who live in the UK, Australia, or America, all you have to do is click on the green type to see where it's available for you. Australians can also purchase the paperback from Fishpond.

In another month, my second book releases, but much depends on how well this first book does. Whether it flops spectacularly or does well, it has certainly changed my life. I pray that it will likewise make a positive impact on an audience, offering them an adventure full of emotion, full of ups and downs, reminiscent of your own most profound experiences in life.

Mikinyai - blessings,

Y. K. Willemse

Just yesterday, I was giving a little girl a singing lesson, and she sang “When You Wish upon a Star” for me. After being thoroughly impressed that she had practised and that she had natural talent on top of this, I started talking to her about what the song meant, trying to get her to think about the story she was telling while she was singing. And that was when I started thinking about the logistics of wishing upon a star.

I used to get up at six o’clock in the morning to do jump rope. I’m less crazy now. I just burn the candle at the other end these days. But one time, when I was doing jump rope at this ungodly hour, I happened to see a shooting star. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen. And yes, I made a wish, because that’s what you do.

When you blow out your candles on your cake, no matter what age you are, there’s always someone standing there saying in a half imperious tone: “Make a wish!”

Make a wish, why don’t you?

So we do. But I got to thinking that wishing wasn’t really enough. When I was talking to my little student, I asked her: “When Pinocchio made his wish, did he become a real boy right away?”

“Uh-huh!”

“And he had no troubles?”

“Yep.”

“No work or troubles at all?”

“Nope.”

Well, sweet as a six-year-old singing student is, I had to disagree with her. Disney – and the media overall – tries to sell us the idea that once we’ve wished for something, we deserve it. It should just come our way and complete our lives. I’ve known a few people who have acted this way. After completing their degree or deciding on their career path, they sit around and wait for life to bring them its good stuff (whereas the fact of life is that you have to salvage the good stuff from the sewer).

Dreams and wishing are all very well. But hard work and a staunch character to see you through your trials are much better things.

“When you wish upon a star,

Make no difference who you are…”

Only… it does.

For today's word focus, I've picked two verbs. Colourful verbs are the best. They create the most vivid, graphic images in the reader's mind. Well-picked verbs can create a cinematic experience for the reader. I love plenty of good action, so I adore verbs. Here are two of my current favourites. Feel free to share your own!

The Word "Seize"

"Seize" is probably my favourite word at the moment, and that's not simply because of that wonderful phrase "seize the day". The long "e" and powerful "z" are delightful to listen to, as they conjure up pictures of rapid movement. And there's nothing like writing scenes in which someone is "seized". The word has a sudden, dramatic feel that inspires that perfect sense of alarm. Additionally, it can be used to describe the tightening of something - for instance, muscles or tendons. Google tells me the word "seize" originated in Middle English from the Old French and medieval Latin meaning (roughly) "to claim as one's own".

The Word "Morph"

This is a much younger word than "seize", originating in the 1990s. Some people don't even think of it as a word. However, it's a perfectly effective one in its own right. Describing a stage of metamorphosis, "morph" has soft consonants and a warm vowel, suggesting the gentle but wondrous change that something might undergo. I personally find the word "morph" quite magical. I like to use it when describing the supernatural in my fantasy work. Specifically, the verb "morph" is often used to denote the way one might change something on a computer. However, I think it deserves to be used more regularly than that, because "transform" only has a limited number of synonyms. "Morph" carries its own music, and I would love to see it added to the list.

What fantastic words have you discovered lately?

Well, here is the third and final instalment in this story about a story. At least, it is the final instalment for now. One never knows what will happen in the future. I hope the books of the The Fledgling Account, the series that Rafen is part of, will sell all right. But if they don't - if they flop - that's okay too. I'm just glad I got a chance to do this - glad I got the opportunity to get this far.
 
After three months of no story writing at age seventeen, I was rather proud of myself. I was recovering my spirits, and it seemed that I'd left behind my foolishness for good. At that time, I had a checkout job at a New World supermarket. One Saturday night, my supervisor sent me down to clean checkouts fourteen and fifteen. After I'd filled the bucket and started scrubbing, something really weird happened. My mind was completely blank (which unfortunately isn't uncommon with me) and then I saw Rafen in my head. I heard someone shouting his slave number: "Two-three-seven!" And then the whole first half of the book, as it is now written, flashed through my mind in about half a minute - everything, including a slaves' revolution. I paused.
 Don't be stupid, I thought.
 But I really couldn't help being stupid this time. So I grabbed a whole lot of old receipts and signature slips and started writing on them - just rough ideas so that I could remember this epiphany, because I had never visualised the first half of this book like this. Previously, I had devoted very little time to Rafen's slave life. But suddenly it seemed appropriate, and intensely symbolic to me. Not symbolic of my checkout job, mind you. However, it has occurred to me later on that it was very ironic I had the idea of extending the slave labour section of the book while cleaning checkouts. 

 I didn't have a lot of time at this stage, because I was seventeen, preparing to finish school and enter university. Hence, my only available time was on Saturday afternoons, for about an hour before I headed off to work. Accordingly, the following week I began rewriting Rafen for the fifth time. I looked at the blank white screen. And then I said to myself: "Stuff this. I don't care what anyone thinks." And I began, writing more honestly than I've ever written in my life.

 A year later, I was finished. Without telling anyone, I paid five hundred dollars to get the book manuscript assessed. The result was a much better novel. By this time, my writing was ready for the assessment. The writer I chose to help me was Tina Shaw, a New Zealand novelist, who was impressed with my writing style but let down by the second half of the book. In response to her advice, I did my best to find that place I had when I was cleaning the checkout, and I imagined up the climax anew. This time, I allowed the Lashki Mirah, my villain, to come in and attack whoever he liked. The result was that my protagonist fought back, and it was rather thrilling for me to watch it all come together. As an author, I write for much the same reason as a reader reads: to find out what happens next. The main difference is that I get to find it out first, and my experience is a rich and spiritual one, as a result.

 After the manuscript assessment (without telling anyone again), I started submitting to literary agents. My goal was not to let anyone find out that I was writing again, but that's rather hard, as the writer disease is an obvious one, with symptoms such as perpetual muttering, frantic typing, glazed eyeballs, intense coffee drinking, and so on. However, no one found out that I was submitting to literary agents until one in Spain showed some interest. I mentioned it to my sister in passing, and she spilled the beans. While my family was still bewildered, Pontas International Literary and Film Agency (the same agency that championed Jonas Jonasson for a while, and still works with Alan Duff) offered me a contract. After my Dad and I went over the contract together, and he gave me some more much needed advice, I signed it. At age eighteen, I was their youngest ever client. Over a two year period, Pontas submitted Rafen to numerous large publishing houses all over the world. What I didn't realise was that there was (or is) an acceptable formula for YA fantasy novels these days. And my book didn't fit that marketable formula. The plot was too complex and the project itself too sprawling and large for any of the large publishing houses to take on. They wanted something that was guaranteed to work. And let's be honest: epic fantasy seldom works any more these days. Lord of the Rings was clearly a miracle.

 I was thrilled to be let off the hook with submitting my book to publishers. But I wasn't thrilled to get all the rejections, and after two years, I was seriously considering self-publishing and marketing the book myself. I had written the next four books during that time, and I had come to the realisation that I had gone too far to go back. There was no giving up now. Just when Pontas decided collaborating with me wasn't working out (even though they still really loved the project), Permuted Press made a multi-book offer. Pontas left me to pursue that option, and I did. Two years on, here I am, a paid author, with the release date of her first book imminent.

 Part of me fears that the first half of the series won't do well enough for me to get a contract for the next three books. But then part of me doesn't worry. I could always self-publish, I suppose. And even then, I know that Someone's looking out for me. The whole journey of The Fledgling Account has been one of prayer. When things went really bad, I handed it to God, because I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I remember praying about Pontas, when I wasn't sure a contract was going to come through. This amazing sense of peace came over me, and I was suddenly full of joy, because I knew everything was going to be all right. For me, the story behind Rafen has been a miracle. And even if nothing comes of all this, I'll still be standing there in wonder, because in the end, I got there at twenty-two - and not on my own strength, but on Someone else's. It's the biggest and best cheat ever.

But I will admit, I am praying that the story has really only just begun here.

 Rafen is now on preorder as an e-book. The paperback will be available from the eighteenth of August onward.