Ask the Author: Katherine Roberts
Answered Questions (10)
Katherine Roberts
There are so many fictional worlds I'd like to visit, but I'm not sure I would like to live them! Westeros would be fun, but only if I get to ride a dragon, and I'd like go home before the White Walkers arrive. Any fantasy world with a unicorn... ditto.
Katherine Roberts
I'm reading a brilliant dystopian thriller at the moment called "The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey (which I discovered in a local charity box). It seems to be part of a series, so my autumn reading list will include the sequel(s). There is a film, too... how did I miss this???
Katherine Roberts
Jack and Rose from the film 'Titanic' - I always cry at the end! I love the scene where Rose is 'flying' as she stands up in the bows of the great ship with Jack, sailing together into the sunset and towards the fatal iceberg. It's a classic romance - a boy from the wrong side of the tracks and an upper class girl - in a uniquely romantic setting.
Katherine Roberts
Hello Selten, glad you are enjoying the book, and thank you for your interesting question.
If horses are galloping without a rider and they stumble, they can usually recover their balance. But once you put a rider on a horse's back and then ask him to gallop fast or jump obstacles, this is not natural for the horse so a stumble might cause both horse and rider to fall. You can see this happen in races when a horse stumbles on landing over a fence. If the jockey is well-balanced and keeps a good hold on the reins, he can sometimes keep the horse on its feet. If his reins are loose, either horse or rider will probably fall.
When I rode racehorses in training, we always had to keep a good hold of their reins so they could lean on the bit while galloping, which helped them avoid injury. I imagine Bucephalas would do the same, being a strong horse!
If horses are galloping without a rider and they stumble, they can usually recover their balance. But once you put a rider on a horse's back and then ask him to gallop fast or jump obstacles, this is not natural for the horse so a stumble might cause both horse and rider to fall. You can see this happen in races when a horse stumbles on landing over a fence. If the jockey is well-balanced and keeps a good hold on the reins, he can sometimes keep the horse on its feet. If his reins are loose, either horse or rider will probably fall.
When I rode racehorses in training, we always had to keep a good hold of their reins so they could lean on the bit while galloping, which helped them avoid injury. I imagine Bucephalas would do the same, being a strong horse!
Katherine Roberts
Reading a great book usually inspires me to greater efforts with my own writing. Also (strangely) does reading a book I am not enjoying very much - because then I feel inspired to write one I might have enjoyed more!
As for ideas for stories, they come from all over. I often find historical characters inspiring, even if I don't end up writing a purely historical story about them. For example, King Arthur is a great character from British history and legend, but I'd probably invent a daughter for him and write about her instead... see my Pendragon Legacy books for younger readers!
As for ideas for stories, they come from all over. I often find historical characters inspiring, even if I don't end up writing a purely historical story about them. For example, King Arthur is a great character from British history and legend, but I'd probably invent a daughter for him and write about her instead... see my Pendragon Legacy books for younger readers!
Katherine Roberts
For me, writer's block is always a sign that something is wrong. I never had it at all until about 5 years after my first book was published.
It might be a glitch in the book or story I am writing, which is the easiest thing to sort out... the story just needs more work. Sometimes it needs an editor to work on it too, but often I'll sort it out myself given enough time and patience.
It might be something wrong with publishing, such as my publisher being taken over by another publisher, my editor leaving, books being cancelled, a horrible cover, an unfair bad review, a hundred and one other niggly things that bother authors... this kind of block can be harder to get over, since these things are normally outside an author's control. These days I find it best to ignore anything I can't change, and just concentrate on those that I can - usually writing the next book!
It might be a loss of confidence, which I can usually talk myself through by reminding myself of all the books I've written so far. (Strangely, I never suffered from loss of confidence when I was starting out... it seems the curse of writing is that the more you write, the harder it gets.)
Lastly, it might be something wrong with life, such as getting divorced or someone close to me dying. When the planes hit the Two Towers in New York, I stopped writing for a few months. I suppose at certain times, creating stories just doesn't seem as important as the other things in life, and it might be necessary to stop writing for a while until the muse feels safe enough to return.
Hope that helps if you are suffering writer's block yourself. Remember, to have a block then you must already be a successful writer...
It might be a glitch in the book or story I am writing, which is the easiest thing to sort out... the story just needs more work. Sometimes it needs an editor to work on it too, but often I'll sort it out myself given enough time and patience.
It might be something wrong with publishing, such as my publisher being taken over by another publisher, my editor leaving, books being cancelled, a horrible cover, an unfair bad review, a hundred and one other niggly things that bother authors... this kind of block can be harder to get over, since these things are normally outside an author's control. These days I find it best to ignore anything I can't change, and just concentrate on those that I can - usually writing the next book!
It might be a loss of confidence, which I can usually talk myself through by reminding myself of all the books I've written so far. (Strangely, I never suffered from loss of confidence when I was starting out... it seems the curse of writing is that the more you write, the harder it gets.)
Lastly, it might be something wrong with life, such as getting divorced or someone close to me dying. When the planes hit the Two Towers in New York, I stopped writing for a few months. I suppose at certain times, creating stories just doesn't seem as important as the other things in life, and it might be necessary to stop writing for a while until the muse feels safe enough to return.
Hope that helps if you are suffering writer's block yourself. Remember, to have a block then you must already be a successful writer...
Katherine Roberts
My most recent project is a trilogy of novellas about Genghis Khan with a spiritual/werewolf theme. I got the idea from reading a 13th century prose poem 'The Secret History of the Mongols', which tells of the boy Temujin's early years starting with his first ancestors Blue Wolf and Fallow Doe and showing how he turns into the feared warrior known as 'Genghis'. Clearly some ancient magic was involved, so I took this a bit further with my shamans playing skull violins and spirits (both animal and human) roaming the steppe. I also gave Temujin's wife Borta, and his blood brother Jamukha, a chance to tell their side of the story.
Note: These books are being published under my middle initial 'Katherine A Roberts' because they contain mild adult material, but it's still me!
Note: These books are being published under my middle initial 'Katherine A Roberts' because they contain mild adult material, but it's still me!
Katherine Roberts
Hello, and thank you for your question. Most of my books have battles and animals in them, though sometimes these are fantasy creatures! So far only 'I am the Great Horse' actually uses the animal's viewpoint, but it would be interesting to write something about war from the point of view of a mythical creature, say a dragon.
Alexander sees ghosts at the end of 'I am the Great Horse' because he is on his way to becoming a ghost himself after being injured so often in his battles... but he can't see them all the time (as Bucephalas does) until he actually dies and leaves his body behind in Babylon.
Glad you enjoyed the book!
Best wishes
Katherine
www.katherineroberts.co.uk
Alexander sees ghosts at the end of 'I am the Great Horse' because he is on his way to becoming a ghost himself after being injured so often in his battles... but he can't see them all the time (as Bucephalas does) until he actually dies and leaves his body behind in Babylon.
Glad you enjoyed the book!
Best wishes
Katherine
www.katherineroberts.co.uk
Katherine Roberts
Hello Kendal-Elizabeth, and thank you for your question! I'm really glad you enjoyed the Pendragon Legacy books because they were great fun to write.
I planned this series as four books and they have all now been published, so it's unlikely that there will be any more - especially as my publisher Templar has been taken over by a larger company and are no longer publishing fiction. Sadly, this means I cannot write more books featuring the same characters for another publisher without breaking the terms of our contract, so until the original series goes out of print Rhianna and her friends will just have to ride in the enchanted mists...
However, the Pendragon books are being published in French this year (as "La Fille du Roi d'Arthur"), and meanwhile I am working on another fantasy novel which I hope you might enjoy when it comes out.
Best wishes
Katherine
www.katherineroberts.co.uk
I planned this series as four books and they have all now been published, so it's unlikely that there will be any more - especially as my publisher Templar has been taken over by a larger company and are no longer publishing fiction. Sadly, this means I cannot write more books featuring the same characters for another publisher without breaking the terms of our contract, so until the original series goes out of print Rhianna and her friends will just have to ride in the enchanted mists...
However, the Pendragon books are being published in French this year (as "La Fille du Roi d'Arthur"), and meanwhile I am working on another fantasy novel which I hope you might enjoy when it comes out.
Best wishes
Katherine
www.katherineroberts.co.uk
Katherine Roberts
Well, I'm not sure what an "aspiring writer" is... either you are a writer or you're not, and you'll know if you are! There is no exam to pass. You just start have to start writing (the easy part) and then finish the story (often more difficult, even for experienced writers).
The "aspiring" part probably means you are seeking publication for a book or story you've written. Or maybe you've already published it and are seeking more readers? Or you've been published by a major publisher and have plenty of readers, but you're seeking an award to give you recognition by the literary establishment? I suppose it all depends where you want to take your writing and how ambitious you are.
If your goal is to be published, then the first thing to remember is publication is not the top of the mountain - it's only a ledge on the way up, where you can rest for a while if you don't find the right ropes danging before you to help you climb higher immediately. There is always a lot more mountain to explore, and many ways to reach the top, and provided you always climb back up if you slip back or if someone pushes you off a ledge, then you'll always be a writer!
So my answer to this question would be: do not think of yourself as an aspiring writer... think of yourself as a writer!
The "aspiring" part probably means you are seeking publication for a book or story you've written. Or maybe you've already published it and are seeking more readers? Or you've been published by a major publisher and have plenty of readers, but you're seeking an award to give you recognition by the literary establishment? I suppose it all depends where you want to take your writing and how ambitious you are.
If your goal is to be published, then the first thing to remember is publication is not the top of the mountain - it's only a ledge on the way up, where you can rest for a while if you don't find the right ropes danging before you to help you climb higher immediately. There is always a lot more mountain to explore, and many ways to reach the top, and provided you always climb back up if you slip back or if someone pushes you off a ledge, then you'll always be a writer!
So my answer to this question would be: do not think of yourself as an aspiring writer... think of yourself as a writer!
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