Ask the Author: A.K. White
Answered Questions (11)
A.K. White
Looking forward to the new Moyes book this fall. Finishing Nine Perfect Strangers this week, which I love! Also looking forward to Corinne Aarsen's next Traveler book (final of trilogy). So many good reads, so little time!
A.K. White
I'd love to live at Bag End, but I'm too tall for a Hobbit house!
Still, I could sit out front and have a beer while I waited for a wizard to drop by.
Still, I could sit out front and have a beer while I waited for a wizard to drop by.
A.K. White
A stray kitten, walking along a quiet street just past midnight, passed under a ladder and fell through an open man-hole into a pit of writhing, eel-sized earthworms. The little mite didn't stand a chance against the great, gaping jaws of the greediest of the worms, and the kitten, helpless meow and all, was swallowed down in a single gulp.
A.K. White
I've searched my closet, under the bed, in the laundry hamper and no luck at all: not a single skeleton in sight. Nothing at all remarkable in the mystery department. I think this must be the reason I write fiction - my life is too boring to offer up suspense stories!
A.K. White
Thanks for asking this interesting question. My immediate response is Tereza and Tomas from Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. This complex couple has intrigued me for years. Their relationship is complicated, believable, and engrossing. What more do you need to make a couple memorable? As a runner up, I would pick Major Ernest Pettigrew and Jasmina Ali from Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. A much different couple from Tereza and Tomas, these two have a gentle, old-fashioned relationship based on respect and friendship. Simonson's intimate and detailed portrayal of Ernest and Jasmina truly sold the story.
A.K. White
The idea for "No Reason To Stay" came to me after watching a documentary on healing cancer through alternative medicine. From this one simple idea, an entire story sprang to life. I had some sticky plot issues about 3 months into writing the novel, but I was rescued by a dream when an unexpected character, Gabriel Harris, was added to the cast of characters I had already assembled. He not only fixed the plot issue I was having but he also turned the story in an entirely new direction. He was immediately 'real' to me and I never considered for an instant telling him he could not be in the story. Now, I can't imagine how the novel could have worked without him.
My current work, "The Reassurance of Uncertainty" is loosely fashioned around an incident in my own life where I befriended a homeless man and developed a unique and caring relationship with him. This book is for him - for Kevin on Knight and Marine Drive - who opened my heart and made me see past the stigma and into the eyes of a man.
My current work, "The Reassurance of Uncertainty" is loosely fashioned around an incident in my own life where I befriended a homeless man and developed a unique and caring relationship with him. This book is for him - for Kevin on Knight and Marine Drive - who opened my heart and made me see past the stigma and into the eyes of a man.
A.K. White
I get inspiration from every aspect of living. From things that have happened to me, things I've heard about, people I've met, ideas that I wonder about, situations that have made me feel strong emotions, and from asking questions. I also get many ideas from my dreams; I have copious vivid, recallable dreams - some of them are complete stories on their own (one such story, A Walk Down the Mountain, I submitted to the CBC Short Fiction competition - wish me luck), and others are simply fragments or seemingly random ideas. I take what I get and use what I can.
A.K. White
I am working on my second novel, "The Reassurance of Uncertainty." This story is set in Vancouver, BC and is a gritty yet tender portrayal of Sylvie Strait, a hardened business woman who, through some force of the universe, is compelled to assist a teenage boy who has found himself living as a beggar on the streets. As her relationship with Aiden Sinclair develops, Sylvie finds the wall she has built around her heart crumbing; she can finally see a future for herself that includes unconditional love.
A.K. White
Don't be hard on yourself. Stephen King suggests that a writer should be able to write over 2,000 words per day. For most of us, this is not possible. Make a schedule that allows for quality quiet time every few days, then write as much as you can in that time. Stay committed to that time slot; don't give it up for anything. For me, I wrote "No Reason To Stay" in nine months which equates to about 2,000 words per week. If you work full-time, have a family, and other commitments, you will not be able to write as prolifically as a seasoned professional. Don't worry about it. Have fun and enjoy the process even if you move ahead slowly. I also suggest keeping a note book and pen handy at all times. Jot notes as thoughts pop into your head: words, phrases, paragraphs, ideas, dialogue. Several of my favourite scenes in NRTS came from sticky notes that'd I'd jotted on the fly or just after waking in the morning. One character, Gabriel Harris, was given to me in a dream and you can bet I whipped my pen and paper from the bedside table and wrote it all down before it got lost in the hubbub of the day. Grab ideas when and where you can; it's like finding diamonds on the street.
A.K. White
Writing gives me a sense of freedom; freedom to express myself in an uncensored and deliberately thoughtful way. I also enjoy the solitary nature of developing characters; living quietly in my head they become my 'friends'. I'd find myself saying, "That's something Alexi would do," having become so attached to my protagonist that I knew her every thought, mood, and action. These 'friends' are mine alone until the publishing date when it became my significant pleasure to usher them out the door to greet the readers.
A.K. White
I rarely get blocked when writing. If it does happen, I will put the manuscript aside for a few weeks and just 'think' about the problem; for me that typically means a plot issue so I think my way through the blockage and once I have found a resolution, I resume writing. If this does not work, I will turn to another story that I'm working on and move ahead with it until I get the urge to return to the original work. If too much time is elapsing and I can feel myself becoming disconnected from the characters in my story, I will return to writing but at a different place in the story; start a new scene farther into the plot. Later, I go back and sew the two sections together.
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