Ask the Author: Curtis Bausse
Answered Questions (12)
Curtis Bausse
I'm not very good at these ultra-short challenges, so my first thought was facetious:
Two sentences? I can tell you one in two words: Donald Trump.
Then I thought I'd give it a proper go:
It took her a while to realise what had happened. Followed by several minutes, struggling and scratching, fingers clawing the damp, dark earth, the weight of it wrapped around her, before she broke free from the makeshift grave and set out on the only quest that mattered to her now - revenge.
Two sentences? I can tell you one in two words: Donald Trump.
Then I thought I'd give it a proper go:
It took her a while to realise what had happened. Followed by several minutes, struggling and scratching, fingers clawing the damp, dark earth, the weight of it wrapped around her, before she broke free from the makeshift grave and set out on the only quest that mattered to her now - revenge.
Curtis Bausse
The great thing about writing, of course, is that I inhabit fictional worlds I create myself. But if I had to choose another - let's be ambitious here - I'd say I'd hitch through the universe as described by Douglas Adams. I'm sure he'd allow me the freedom to go my own way and make lots of discoveries. I like reading about astrophysics (for dummies) - it seems to me sometimes there's not a lot of difference between some of the theories out there and the wildest fiction imaginable!
Curtis Bausse
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson; The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe; a classic I still haven't read, George Eliot's Middlemarch; and I'll no doubt sneak in some thrillers but I haven't decided which!
Curtis Bausse
As Hemingway rightly said, 'We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.' That said, one can improve by reading others, being very self-critical, and inviting critiques from peers. Then revising, experimenting, editing. It's along process. I'm pretty happy now with my writing voice, the way the sentences flow. But I know I can improve structurally to get the right balance of pace, description, dialogue. Still working on it!
Curtis Bausse
That's an excellent question! I'm afraid the only mystery in my own life is why the light switch operates the toaster when I've finished rewiring the kitchen. But for a book plot I have my father-in-law, who was involved in a murky assassination attempt in post-liberation France. He's dead now, so the full truth will never be known, but in all the different accounts I've heard, there's material for a historical thriller.
Curtis Bausse
Many possible answers here, depending how far one stretches the notion of couple (Holmes and Watson? Wooster and Jeeves? Christopher Robin and Pooh?), but if one restricts it to the conventional idea, the Underwoods in House of Cards would be well placed (and of course their precursors, the Macbeths). That would be favourite in the sense of having a powerful dynamic - obviously not likeable. For that I might turn to Oscar and Lucinda in Peter Carey's book of the same name. Not just for the eccentricity which lies at the heart of their appeal as individuals, but for the way they're depicted as equals at a time when men and women weren't. As a couple, they're more than the sum of two parts. Superb.
Curtis Bausse
Way back at school, my English teachers encouraged me. I've been writing ever since.
Curtis Bausse
I never get it, fortunately. Sometimes I struggle with a particular passage, but then I go away and do something else and it sorts itself out.
Curtis Bausse
1. The freedom to create your own world and then get totally immersed in it.
2. The satisfaction when it all comes together and feels right.
2. The satisfaction when it all comes together and feels right.
Curtis Bausse
The same as everyone gives: keep at it! Writing, like any skill, requires practice.
Curtis Bausse
Perfume Island, sequel to One Green Bottle.
Curtis Bausse
Looking for a sequel to One Green Bottle with the same detective, it made sense to set it in Mayotte, where I moved last year. And there's enough material here for a whole series!
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more