Ask the Author: Anna Castle
Answered Questions (9)
Anna Castle
Middle Earth, obviously. I've been wanting to go there since I was a kid. I would go visit the Ents.
Anna Castle
Summer is over, but two books I read last summer that I absolutely loved are (a) Queen of the Warrior Bees, by Jean Gill and (b) Viking: A Man Called Mountain, by Katie Aiken Riker. The second one is actually a novella -- perfect for a plane trip. I found Jean Gill's book so enchanting, I could barely put it down to get OFF the plane! I'm eagerly awaiting the next books from both of these authors.
Anna Castle
Hm.... I don't play the favorites game and I don't read much romance or bestsellers, so this is a bit of a puzzler. I like Ron & Hermione. In my own Francis Bacon books, I enjoy the frustrated romance between Tom & Trumpet. She's an earl's daughter and he's the son of a privateer, so they can never marry, but they love each other madly and are each other's very best friend.
Oh, now I remember a favorite couple: Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. I love their banter! And their steadfastness through thick and thin.
Oh, now I remember a favorite couple: Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. I love their banter! And their steadfastness through thick and thin.
Anna Castle
That'd be Death by Disputation, coming out next week. It's set in Cambridge in 1587, the year Christopher Marlowe graduated Master of Arts. I just really wanted to go to college with Kit, that was a big part. And I wanted to give the other end of the religious spectrum a work out, since radical Protestants were ultimately more trouble for the government than crypto-Catholics. Somehow that got turned into a plot for Francis Bacon and Thomas Clarady.
Anna Castle
I get inspired to write by getting up, turning on the computer, getting my coffee, and sitting at my desk. The inspiration is there in the next scene waiting to be written. It isn't always wonderful, but it is always more fun than any of my previous jobs (except for the no salary part :-). Sometimes there's a lot of fussing and banging of head, and all the words are stupid and the brain is even more stupider. But that's what editing is for!
Anna Castle
I'm in the most fun phase of all: the plot-a-thon. In my house, it's Armada year, 1588, and there's a serial killer making Catholic widows. Hee hee hee!
Anna Castle
Read a lot. Read widely, and write what you read the most. Then write three whole books before you start thinking about publication. Nobody likes that advice, but it takes time to learn the craft and figure what and how you want to write.
Anna Castle
Donald Westlake described it as sailing over the world in a hot air balloon. That's a darn good description. I love the ride! (When it's going well.) Also, I'm rarely bored, because I always have another world to fall into.
Anna Castle
Writing is my job, so I mostly just get up and do it. I'm a plotter, so I know what's next. When I'm in first draft mode, I like to noodle my upcoming scene while knitting in front of the TV or something like that. So I almost always know what I'm going to write before I sit down at the keyboard. If I ever do get stuck, it's because the plot isn't working and needs rehashing. That requires a good long walk or something else to get the blood circulating.
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