Please welcome author, Lisa Knight to my blog today.
Q. Tell my readers a little about yourself.
I
love writing all kinds of stories but romance is definitely my favourite.
Curling up with my laptop on a cold winter’s day is my idea of writing heaven
and if there’s coffee and chocolate close by that’s even better.
I
am always on the lookout for story and character ideas and am inspired by
everyday things like people doing their grocery shopping, having morning tea at
the local café or saying goodbye in the departure lounge at the airport. Makes
me cry just thinking about it!
I
live in Canberra with my husband and whenever I can, snatch time to write
between being a mum to our three young boys and my job as a social worker.
Q:
Can you tell our readers a little about your writing? What genres do you enjoy
writing?
I
have dabbled in a few different genres, but my favourite is contemporary
romance. I'm a sucker for people falling love.
Q:
Do you write on a schedule or when the Muse decides?
I'm
much more productive with writing in the morning than at night, so most of my
work gets done early. Although when I feel like I'm on a good thing with a
story I sneak writing in wherever I can.
Q:
Can you tell us about your writing process, for example, do you write an
outline first?
No
outlines at all. I simply start typing and see where it takes me. I know lots
of writers begin a new piece of work knowing what the title of the book will
be, but I don't come up with that until the very end. It's probably not a good
system and I actually find it really hard to choose a title. I need to work on
this!
Q:
What qualities do you instill in your heroes?
I
love a certain element of vulnerability especially in the male characters. I'm
not against men blubbering about their feelings and shedding a tear or two. For
me, a romance is more fun when there is immediate sexual energy between two
people. Of course, there also needs to be a dose of good old fashioned
jealousy/cheating/misunderstanding/scandal in the way before true love can
conquer all!
Q.
Coffee or tea?
Definitely
coffee. Yummo.
Q.
Beach or countryside?
If
only I lived by the beach! We take a few trips a year to the coast and there's
nothing better than writing in front of a gorgeous ocean view.
Q.
Do you write about the places you know or prefer to take your readers to exotic
places?
I
use general areas that are real, but make up the actual town or city in which
the story is set. If I had to be accurate with facts about a place, I'd
probably get bogged down in the research. Although, in saying that, I once went
to a presentation by Monica McInerney and she talked about going to England to
explore the area and get a feel for what she was writing about. I made a
promise to myself that one day I will do that!
Q:
Where do you get your inspiration?
People
watching is a great way to pick up ideas for different characters and if I feel
a bit stuck, there's nothing like sitting in a crowded cafe to gain a few
impressions. My writing is very colloquial so everyday things catch my
attention and often end up in my stories.
Q:
Would you change anything in your life to make writing easier.
I'd
love to take six months off work and see what writing full time would feel
like. It's so hard to even imagine, but I'm certain it would be heaven.
Q:
We have all suffered submission rejections. How do you cope? Do you have any
advice to other writers on coping with rejection?
Being
rejected really stings, but chocolate does help with the pain. My advice is to
just keep submitting and submitting because even with rejection, there is often
useful feedback to take on board. I always have to remind myself that it's the
actual writing part that I love the most, and no-one can ever take that from
me.
Q:
What do you like to read and who are your favourite authors?
I
fell in love the with the JR Ward, Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It is so
good! I also love Kristan Higgins and Liane Moriarty. Anything with a bit of
romance and drama has me hooked.
Q:
Do you write one novel at a time or do you move between works in progress?
I
have about three things going on at the one time, and when I get sick of
working on one I switch to another to stop me from getting bored.
Q:
Do you have times when the Muse is away on holiday?
Of
course. This is the time when all the house work gets done!
Q.
What motivates you to write?
Writing
gives me an escape into another world, where I can make up whatever I like and
have control over who does what. It's my time, where I can zone out from kids
and work and all that other every day stuff. I love it.
Q.
What advice would you give to unpublished authors approaching an e publisher?
Be
brave and take the risk. Just do it and see what happens. Oh and check for
spelling and grammar mistakes before you submit.
Q:
Is there anything you would like to share with us about upcoming
releases?
I'm
currently working on a new piece so hopefully 2014 will see another release
date for me.
Q:
Can you tell us a little about your current novel? What inspired you to
write this story?
'The
View From Here' was an absolute joy to write. The characters are lots of fun
and the pace of the book is quick and easy. I had no agenda or outline when I
began and each time I sat down to write I was surprised by the direction the
characters took me in.
Blurb:
Millie has decided that this will be her year for a relationship and when
she meets sexy plumber Adam things start to look up, until he dumps her after
what she thought was a fabulous date.
Unknown
to Millie, Adam is only trying to keep her out of harm's way from the rather
villainous Stan, who's out to collect on a gambling debt.
It
takes a bit of stalking and an accidental back kick to bring down the bad guy,
leaving the path wide open for Millie and Adam to really get to know
each other.
Author’s
links: https://www.facebook.com/lisaknightauthor
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