1. How long did it take you to publish, ‘My love lies bleeding?’
That one went surprisingly quickly… I wrote it in 9 months and it found a home with Bloomsbury who were already set to publish Haunting Violet. The moved up MMLB because vampire books were starting to wane and we wanted to make sure it didn’t get lost in the shuffle. What I hear most is “I’m sick of vampire books but I loved yours and I’m mad I waited so long to read it.”
2. If you could choose one thing about the whole work involved from writing your first book, to its publication, what would you say was the hardest thing to achieve?
The hardest thing was keeping the faith, so to speak. I started sending out my stories and poems when I was 15, to get used to the process. I had poetry published but my first book was not published until I was 30 years old. That’s a long time to work on hope! In fact, I had given up one morning, felt sorry for myself for a few hours and then sent my newest book out to more agents that afternoon. Apparently, ‘giving up’ means something different to me! Anyway, by the next day I’d found my awesome agent.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
I’ve enjoyed them all, though some have gone easier and faster than others, of course. My Love Lies Bleeding (Hearts at Stake) reminded me to write my own story. The vampire market was waning, as I’ve said, but I’d love the genre for so long and I had a story to tell so I did. I went in thinking it was a standalone Snow White vampire retelling…and it turned into a 6 book series with additional short stories. So you just never know!
4. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Don’t give up! Being a writer and being published are not mutually exclusive or dependent. If you love writing, write! And read. A lot.
5. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
I could wallpaper my studio with the rejections letters I received over the years. I often felt they were a good sign—it meant I was sending stuff out. And there was progress, I went from form letters to added handwritten notes about what worked and didn’t work for them. Eventually, I got the “this doesn’t work for me but send me something else.” But my favourite rejection came in over a year after the book in question had already been published.
6. We all love writing our own characters, giving them personalities, histories and lives, but if you had to choose two characters from your own books, which two would you say are your favourites?
I don’t generally have favourites beyond whoever I am writing about at the moment. But Lucy from the Drake Chronicles was the easiest to write. She just jumped onto the page and took off running. My job was to keep up!
A Big Thank You! To Alyxandra Harvey for having given me this interview. I hope it gives you all a helping hand in your own writing experiences.
That one went surprisingly quickly… I wrote it in 9 months and it found a home with Bloomsbury who were already set to publish Haunting Violet. The moved up MMLB because vampire books were starting to wane and we wanted to make sure it didn’t get lost in the shuffle. What I hear most is “I’m sick of vampire books but I loved yours and I’m mad I waited so long to read it.”
2. If you could choose one thing about the whole work involved from writing your first book, to its publication, what would you say was the hardest thing to achieve?
The hardest thing was keeping the faith, so to speak. I started sending out my stories and poems when I was 15, to get used to the process. I had poetry published but my first book was not published until I was 30 years old. That’s a long time to work on hope! In fact, I had given up one morning, felt sorry for myself for a few hours and then sent my newest book out to more agents that afternoon. Apparently, ‘giving up’ means something different to me! Anyway, by the next day I’d found my awesome agent.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
I’ve enjoyed them all, though some have gone easier and faster than others, of course. My Love Lies Bleeding (Hearts at Stake) reminded me to write my own story. The vampire market was waning, as I’ve said, but I’d love the genre for so long and I had a story to tell so I did. I went in thinking it was a standalone Snow White vampire retelling…and it turned into a 6 book series with additional short stories. So you just never know!
4. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Don’t give up! Being a writer and being published are not mutually exclusive or dependent. If you love writing, write! And read. A lot.
5. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
I could wallpaper my studio with the rejections letters I received over the years. I often felt they were a good sign—it meant I was sending stuff out. And there was progress, I went from form letters to added handwritten notes about what worked and didn’t work for them. Eventually, I got the “this doesn’t work for me but send me something else.” But my favourite rejection came in over a year after the book in question had already been published.
6. We all love writing our own characters, giving them personalities, histories and lives, but if you had to choose two characters from your own books, which two would you say are your favourites?
I don’t generally have favourites beyond whoever I am writing about at the moment. But Lucy from the Drake Chronicles was the easiest to write. She just jumped onto the page and took off running. My job was to keep up!
A Big Thank You! To Alyxandra Harvey for having given me this interview. I hope it gives you all a helping hand in your own writing experiences.