Ask the Author: Carrie Anne Noble
Answered Questions (10)
Carrie Anne Noble
I'm hoping there will be an audiobook eventually, but it's not in the works yet. We can cross our fingers!
Carrie Anne Noble
I'm excited to read The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King, & The Fifth Doll by Charlie M. Holmberg--and I'd really like to reread The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake this summer.
Carrie Anne Noble
Where did the Christmas gifts go that I hid after buying and never found again? Stolen by fairies? Sucked into an alternate universe? Eaten by oversized omnivorous rodents? This story could go so many ways...
Carrie Anne Noble
Great question! I love choosing names, and I use baby naming books sometimes to find them & their meanings. Names in The Mermaid's Sister came from a variety of places. I picked "Maren" because of its meaning "of the sea." O'Neill was named after a friend's neighbor's dog. Scarff is a name I got from the side of an appliance repair van I saw while on a trip. Auntie's name "Verity" means "truth"--a reference to her inability to lie. Clara was named after Clara Schumann, a 19th century musician and composer. (There's more to that story, but to be brief, the main music I listened to while writing was Brahms' German Requiem, and Brahms was said to be in love with Clara S. for many years.) Osbert, Pilsner, and most of the other names just popped into my head as I wrote. For more fun facts about the book, you can visit my blog here: http://www.carrienoble.com/2015/02/10...
Carrie Anne Noble
I don't really believe in writer's block...but reading good writing by others, or just plain brainstorming for ideas as to where to go next in a story can be helpful if I'm feeling a little stuck. I think the best thing to do is to just force yourself to keep writing. You can change it later if you don't like it!
Carrie Anne Noble
You get to spend a lot of time with your imaginary friends!
Carrie Anne Noble
Write, write, write. Read, read, read. Find writer friends to support and encourage you. Make at least one writer friend who is more advanced in the craft than you are, and be open to their criticism and advice. Attend writers' conferences and keep learning all you can about writing.
Carrie Anne Noble
A YA fantasy about a leprechaun. That's all I'm saying about that for now!
Carrie Anne Noble
Sometimes reading someone else's excellent work inspires me to get writing. Other times, I simply make myself sit down and get to work--and once I start, ideas always come. And Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) never fails to inspire me. In fact, that's how I have completed all five of my novel-length first drafts.
Carrie Anne Noble
My sister was stricken with terminal cancer in 2012. The disease caused a painful, irreversible transformation of her body yet only made her spirit sweeter. By the time National Novel Writing Month (November) rolled around, I had the beginnings of a different kind of transformation story in mind, the transformation of a young girl into a mermaid, told by her adopted sister.
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