An Interview with Marilyn Peake
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https://www.facebook.com/1052982814715845/posts/2582783108402467,
https://www.facebook.com/1052982814715845/posts/2582782528402525 or
https://www.facebook.com/1052982814715845/posts/2582782811735830.
Quite a few people replied to my last email asking me about orienteering, so I thought I'd explain. It is a sport that involves navigating between set checkpoints (called controls) in the fastest possible time. Usually this involves running cross-country with brief pauses to check the map. Courses are graded on technical difficulty and on length. I usually run Green or Blue which are the hardest navigational difficulty and are between 5 and 10km as the crow flies between controls.
To find out more, have a look at the British Orienteering website or watch this video:
In my interview today, I am talking to Marilyn Peake, author of The Other and the Mutation Z series.
How much research do you do?
When writing books, I do quite a bit of research. For my Science Fiction/Zombie Fiction Mutation Z series, I researched a number of subjects. These included: Ebola, the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, diseases similar to Ebola, what the route from the United States to Mexico looks like on Google maps (for the part of the series where Ebola begins to spread in these countries), villages in China (for a part of the series that takes place in China), modern-day pirates and ships. For my Science Fiction novel, The Other, I also did a lot of research, although talking about some of those topics would give away a huge twist in the novel.
Oh yeah. Tell me about giving away spoilers!
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
I used to just see where an idea took me, but now I outline the main events in a book. I’m so glad I started doing this. I find it incredibly easier to write a book from an outline than I ever did without one. I even outline short stories now.
Me too. What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that outlining and plotting in advance doesn't rule out those moments of fluid creativity. Characters keep defying you and doing what they want, or at least mine do!
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I find it much easier to develop plots and characters. In both my Mutation Z series and The Other novel, I was able to create characters that spoke in dialect. I never thought I’d be able to create dialect for characters and was delighted when I was finally able to do that.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m currently reading The Three Body Problem, Book #1 in the Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy, by Cixin Liu.
Did you get interviewed by local press or radio for your book launch?
Years ago, I was interviewed on radio across the United States and Canada about the release of my children’s Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure series, along with my views on the problems of overscheduling children based on my background in Psychology (I have a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology) and experience as a Staff Psychologist. That was a lot of fun! That was also a wonderful time for book promotion, back when eBooks and self-published paperbacks were brand new. I also received a great review quote from Piers Anthony for the first book in my children’s series. I had a two-page interview in TBD, a print fanzine associated with Io, the University of Glasgow Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Excerpts of my writing were included on CDs produced by a STARGATE novelist and handed out at a convention to STARGATE actors and fans. I heard from several libraries interested in creating bookshelf displays for my children’s novels, one library interested in promoting them as books to read for those who enjoyed the HARRY POTTER series. Times are different now. I currently do most of my book promotion online.
That's some impressive networking! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL Bestselling Author Marilyn Peake writes Science Fiction and Fantasy. She’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK: THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries included in serialization at The Daily Beast. In addition, Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and on the literary blog, Glass Cases. AWARDS: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream Realm Awards, Finalist placement in the 2015 National Indie Excellence Book Awards, and Winner of "Best Horror" in the eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards.
https://www.facebook.com/1052982814715845/posts/2582783108402467,
https://www.facebook.com/1052982814715845/posts/2582782528402525 or
https://www.facebook.com/1052982814715845/posts/2582782811735830.
Quite a few people replied to my last email asking me about orienteering, so I thought I'd explain. It is a sport that involves navigating between set checkpoints (called controls) in the fastest possible time. Usually this involves running cross-country with brief pauses to check the map. Courses are graded on technical difficulty and on length. I usually run Green or Blue which are the hardest navigational difficulty and are between 5 and 10km as the crow flies between controls.
To find out more, have a look at the British Orienteering website or watch this video:
In my interview today, I am talking to Marilyn Peake, author of The Other and the Mutation Z series.
How much research do you do?
When writing books, I do quite a bit of research. For my Science Fiction/Zombie Fiction Mutation Z series, I researched a number of subjects. These included: Ebola, the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, diseases similar to Ebola, what the route from the United States to Mexico looks like on Google maps (for the part of the series where Ebola begins to spread in these countries), villages in China (for a part of the series that takes place in China), modern-day pirates and ships. For my Science Fiction novel, The Other, I also did a lot of research, although talking about some of those topics would give away a huge twist in the novel.
Oh yeah. Tell me about giving away spoilers!
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
I used to just see where an idea took me, but now I outline the main events in a book. I’m so glad I started doing this. I find it incredibly easier to write a book from an outline than I ever did without one. I even outline short stories now.
Me too. What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that outlining and plotting in advance doesn't rule out those moments of fluid creativity. Characters keep defying you and doing what they want, or at least mine do!
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I find it much easier to develop plots and characters. In both my Mutation Z series and The Other novel, I was able to create characters that spoke in dialect. I never thought I’d be able to create dialect for characters and was delighted when I was finally able to do that.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m currently reading The Three Body Problem, Book #1 in the Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy, by Cixin Liu.
Did you get interviewed by local press or radio for your book launch?
Years ago, I was interviewed on radio across the United States and Canada about the release of my children’s Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure series, along with my views on the problems of overscheduling children based on my background in Psychology (I have a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology) and experience as a Staff Psychologist. That was a lot of fun! That was also a wonderful time for book promotion, back when eBooks and self-published paperbacks were brand new. I also received a great review quote from Piers Anthony for the first book in my children’s series. I had a two-page interview in TBD, a print fanzine associated with Io, the University of Glasgow Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Excerpts of my writing were included on CDs produced by a STARGATE novelist and handed out at a convention to STARGATE actors and fans. I heard from several libraries interested in creating bookshelf displays for my children’s novels, one library interested in promoting them as books to read for those who enjoyed the HARRY POTTER series. Times are different now. I currently do most of my book promotion online.
That's some impressive networking! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL Bestselling Author Marilyn Peake writes Science Fiction and Fantasy. She’s one of the contributing authors in BOOK: THE SEQUEL, published by The Perseus Books Group, with one of her entries included in serialization at The Daily Beast. In addition, Marilyn has served as Editor of a number of anthologies. Her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and on the literary blog, Glass Cases. AWARDS: Silver Award, two Honorable Mentions and eight Finalist placements in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, two Winner and two Finalist placements in the EPPIE Awards, Winner of the Dream Realm Awards, Finalist placement in the 2015 National Indie Excellence Book Awards, and Winner of "Best Horror" in the eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards.
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