Ask the Author: B.A. Steadman
Answered Questions (9)
B.A. Steadman
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, she thought as she lay in bed. The pin dropped.
B.A. Steadman
I'd love to visit Hobbiton! Tolkien took me away from my mundane little world into monsters, dragons and dwarfs. He turned me into a reader. I was lucky enough to visit the set of the Lord of the Rings films in New Zealand a couple of years ago, and it was wonderful, like going to a long-lost home. I had a drink in the Green Dragon, and saw the hobbit houses. I'd definitely have been a hobbit, even though I'd aspire to Galadriel. You just need to see my toes....
B.A. Steadman
M L Stedman's The Light between Oceans, Louise Penny's 5th Inspector Gamache Novel and I'm just about to start KA Richardson's Time to Play. That should keep me out of trouble!
B.A. Steadman
I have had to think about this one... in British crime writing, DS Logan MCRae and his chief torturer and boss, DI Steel. The things she does to make Logan's life unbearable are funny and awful at the same time. Every time I complain to Stuart MacBride, he makes it worse! Otherwise, I go back time and time again to JD Robb and her Eve Dallas and Roarke. Robb (Nora Roberts) writes about love beautifully, and even though their relationship can be fraught, it's true and moving.
B.A. Steadman
Hi Ian. Yes, I live in East Devon, taught here for twenty years, and my first novel is set in Exeter. So it's a pretty strong connection for an ex- Mancunian!
B.A. Steadman
Inspiration strikes at odd moments, but mostly what I do is remember a snatch of conversation or a setting which caught my eye. I then like to do a 'What if...' to extend this germ of an idea into a story or book. I take a little time out to day dream, wander about ( I live quite close to the sea, so I wander about down there) and ask, for example; what if B pushed A off the top of the cliff? Would A die? What if A got snagged on a tree which saved their life? What if B thinks A is dead and celebrates, and A turns up months later to confront B? What if A and B are Nuns? That's what I do. Sort of.
B.A. Steadman
I'm at the wonderful researching and planning stage for Dan Hellier Book 2. I use Scrivener as a planner and writing tool. Currently I have several detailed character studies and a couple of settings sorted. Now, once we have a dry day, I'm off to Exeter to research the settings, and do a bit of historical research. Love this part!
B.A. Steadman
If I'm mid-novel, I take a break and do some of the other stuff associated with writing (like this, for example!) or polish up a character study, or re-write a scene - that tends to give me ideas and I'm off. A walk is a great way to mull things over and work out why I'm stuck. If there's still no progress, I invent some ridiculous scenario and put the characters in there- that always gives me a giggle. If all that fails, I go shopping. There's nothing like a nice new top to put me in a good mood...
B.A. Steadman
I was teaching full time and often had to hoick kids from the copse at the top of the school field. I thought, what if some of those kids found a body...and they knew her.
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