Ask the Author: Bryony Marsh
Answered Questions (9)
Bryony Marsh
Obviously, this answer is going to age like fine milk; one moves from one book to another. Still... to future-proof things a little bit, I’ll detail my main project for 2023. That’s ‘Limerence’, which is sort of NOT love story. Limerence is a word that describes the disorder in which one is infatuated with someone, typically accompanied by delusions and a desire for an intense romantic relationship with that someone.
A common theme in vintage TG stories is the idea of the ‘hideaway’ – a place where a crossdresser can “be herself” but I started to think about a tale where a tranny had an obsessive stalker. The normal precautions that one might take in order to remain in the closet aren’t enough when somebody is watching your every move...
A bit less innocent and happy than ‘Gamer Girl‘, therefore – a book for which I can’t claim to have had the idea, because that was down to Chris Archer, co-author extraordinaire. (It’s free and you should get hold of a copy!)
A common theme in vintage TG stories is the idea of the ‘hideaway’ – a place where a crossdresser can “be herself” but I started to think about a tale where a tranny had an obsessive stalker. The normal precautions that one might take in order to remain in the closet aren’t enough when somebody is watching your every move...
A bit less innocent and happy than ‘Gamer Girl‘, therefore – a book for which I can’t claim to have had the idea, because that was down to Chris Archer, co-author extraordinaire. (It’s free and you should get hold of a copy!)
Bryony Marsh
I’m reading ‘Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands’ by Duncan Barrett. It’s an interesting and sometimes shameful period in our history and this is a book with chilling photographs that combine Nazi soldiers with typical British brands and shop fronts, all communicated in a very engaging style. I’m enjoying the book as-is, but also thinking about the occupation as a setting for a story of my own – if I can perform enough background research. This book has certainly got me off to a flying start.
Bryony Marsh
Hmm... what shameful secret might an author of transgender fiction hide? What kind of double life might such a person lead? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Facets of my own life and experiences (carefully altered in ways that allow me to maintain some privacy) appear in most of my stories. I don’t think there’s a lot of me in ‘Petronella’s Choice’, but certainly in more recent ones.
Bryony Marsh
In a change of plans, I think the next thing that I’ll be releasing is...
‘My Faustian Bargain’.
A story set in a world where a few people have control over a form of magic whereby a person can make a pseudo-financial transaction to borrow good things (luck, success, fame, or whatever) and live high on the hog for a number of years. Then you have to pay it all back... with interest.
This is a cautionary tale about a young man who is persuaded to borrow enhanced masculinity – or rather, it’s about his later life when it’s time to pay.
‘My Faustian Bargain’.
A story set in a world where a few people have control over a form of magic whereby a person can make a pseudo-financial transaction to borrow good things (luck, success, fame, or whatever) and live high on the hog for a number of years. Then you have to pay it all back... with interest.
This is a cautionary tale about a young man who is persuaded to borrow enhanced masculinity – or rather, it’s about his later life when it’s time to pay.
Bryony Marsh
The best thing about being a writer is that you can always kill off a couple of characters to spice things up.
In other news, my autobiography is going well...
In other news, my autobiography is going well...
Bryony Marsh
We might be talking about two different things here. Is “writer’s block” an inability to advance a particular story, or an inability to write anything?
If the former, go for a walk. Maybe go for a long drive (and don’t have the radio on). Think through the plot straitjacket you made for yourself. Perhaps set the document aside and work on something else: I find it good to have two or three stories in mind at any given time so you don’t feel like a failure just because one of them needs to marinate for a bit.
If the latter, perhaps you’re tired? Make a deliberate break from writing, get some exercise, tire yourself out and get a good night’s sleep. Maybe deal with the ‘real life’ things that are bothering you. Fiction can wait – and sometimes all becomes clear while you’re doing something physical and leaving your mind to freewheel, like painting the skirting boards.
If the former, go for a walk. Maybe go for a long drive (and don’t have the radio on). Think through the plot straitjacket you made for yourself. Perhaps set the document aside and work on something else: I find it good to have two or three stories in mind at any given time so you don’t feel like a failure just because one of them needs to marinate for a bit.
If the latter, perhaps you’re tired? Make a deliberate break from writing, get some exercise, tire yourself out and get a good night’s sleep. Maybe deal with the ‘real life’ things that are bothering you. Fiction can wait – and sometimes all becomes clear while you’re doing something physical and leaving your mind to freewheel, like painting the skirting boards.
Bryony Marsh
Write.
Write anything.
Every day.
Cultivate the habit.
Most of what you write will be dross, but you can sort it out later.
Even the best writers produce crap sometimes.
Great writers are the ones who come back to what they wrote, again and again, to agonise over tiny details – but first, they had to write.
Choosing what to throw out and what to hone, line by line, is the real skill – but first you have to have a draft. Perfection can wait.
Write.
Do it now.
Write anything.
Every day.
Cultivate the habit.
Most of what you write will be dross, but you can sort it out later.
Even the best writers produce crap sometimes.
Great writers are the ones who come back to what they wrote, again and again, to agonise over tiny details – but first, they had to write.
Choosing what to throw out and what to hone, line by line, is the real skill – but first you have to have a draft. Perfection can wait.
Write.
Do it now.
Bryony Marsh
Have you noticed how many two-sentence horror stories feature the word ‘alone’?
Clearly, they don’t know the people that I do.
Clearly, they don’t know the people that I do.
Bryony Marsh
An honourable mention to the worlds of Iain M. Banks’ ‘Culture’ series. (Who wouldn’t be tempted to try life in a post-scarcity economy where you can have anything and be anything you want?) Another to Douglas Adams’ view of the universe in ‘Hitchhiker’, despite the fact that it’s so casually deadly and I’d probably end up on the inside of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
After careful consideration, though, I’ve chosen to emigrate to the Star Kingdom of Manticore in David Weber’s ‘Honorverse’, where I’ll try to make myself useful in some capacity. (Not sure what they’d want me to do, given that I wouldn’t understand any of their modern technology, but they might find a traveller from pre-diaspora times to be interesting, at least.)
After careful consideration, though, I’ve chosen to emigrate to the Star Kingdom of Manticore in David Weber’s ‘Honorverse’, where I’ll try to make myself useful in some capacity. (Not sure what they’d want me to do, given that I wouldn’t understand any of their modern technology, but they might find a traveller from pre-diaspora times to be interesting, at least.)
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