What is one lesser-known fact about your childhood?
When I was around three or four, I had an imaginary rabbit. It went with me everywhere, and I would even hold the door open to allow it to climb into my dad’s car. My mum was concerned about this and took me to the doctor. He told her it was nothing to worry about as I was an only child, living on a farm, and I was lonely. One day, I was outside playing and I lifted my imaginary rabbit and took it into the house. My mum came in from the kitchen and screamed the house down when she saw it. It was real, and it was dying from myxomatosis. My dad caught it, killed it and buried it, and as far as I was concerned, it was gone.
Where would you say your love for writing and storytelling comes from?
I grew up in rural Northern Ireland in the 60’s and 70’s. Television was still a bit new and we used our imagination rather than sitting in front of the box. I’m told that a cousin of my father’s was a great storyteller and maybe I got it from that side of the family. My husband often makes the mistake of asking me to explain something – earthquakes for example. I launch a lesson on plate tectonics and he shakes his head, completely lost, and askes me why I just can’t say, ‘I don’t know.’ That’s me. I can’t say no when I can either make something up to play with him, or tell him what I know. But there has always been a movie of some sort playing in my head. It was only recently that I began writing and I think my years of having a vivid imagination honed my writing ability.
What inspired you to start writing, particularly after being a civil servant for many years?
An idea popped into my head. It wouldn’t leave me alone and I began writing it, thinking it would make a cool short story. I believed that would be it once I’d finished my ‘short story.’ Then it began to grow. And grow. And now I have 4 books out there. The civil service was a job. It paid well and allowed me to take early retirement, but it has no bearing on my writing.
How did your background as a civil servant influence your writing style or the themes explored in your books?
It has no bearing on what I write.
Could you tell us a bit about your trilogy, starting with the first book, Rapid Eye Movement, and how it developed into The Dreaming and Dream Catcher?
Rapid Eye Movement is the story of two women—Lucy in Yorkshire and Jennifer, a British national living in Cyprus—who are each experiencing the other’s life in their dreams, over a 10-year period. There is a medical reason for this occurrence, and when I wrote The Dreaming and Dream Catcher, it became the origin story for the second and third books. The Dreaming is set in Israel where Jennifer and her husband, Ilan, relocated to as he is an Israeli citizen. He is also a Mossad officer and when he goes missing while working undercover, Mossad believe what happened to Jennifer can assist them to find him. As a result, Jennifer is hired by Mossad as a lucid dreamer/remove viewer, and this is the basis for Dream Catcher. I have just published the 4th book in the series but this one is a spin-off from Rapid Eye Movement and it’s about Lucy—the other character in that book. She complained about it being all about Jennifer and Ilan and she was feeling a bit left out, and she demanded I write her story. I do what my characters tell me to do. LOL.
What drew you to the genre or genres that you chose for your trilogy?
I love mysteries and spy dramas, and I wanted to come up with a different, and unique, way of telling someone’s story.
How do you approach the process of self-publishing? What challenges did you face, and what advice would you give to aspiring self-published authors?
I went in blind. I have learned a lot since then, and my advice to an aspiring author is learn as much as you can about the process. While you’ll probably still need to hire an editor, you should learn how to format your ebook and paperback. It’s also possible to learn how to create your own cover, and you should at least try this, because it will save money but, more importantly, it’s gives you a great sense of achievement to have written a book and, at the same time, created all the elements that go into ‘making’ your book. Marketing is the hardest part. Use social media as much as you can and, if you have the budget, take out a few Facebook ads as well as Amazon ads. It doesn’t hurt to go down the local craft fair route as well but, for this, you’ll have to spend some money on trader’s insurance (here in the UK), a table, a pop-up banner and, of course, paperback copies of your book. There is usually a stall fee, so do the calculations before you decide on this course of action. And consider the UK weather! You don’t want to be standing at an outdoor craft fair watching your books getting soaked in the rain. Maybe consider a gazebo too.
What role do your rough collies play in your writing routine? Do they provide inspiration or company while you write?
They’re more a distraction than inspiration or company! Riley is a barker and he constantly sits at the window, barking at everything that goes past. Cars, farm vehicles, cyclists, birds and even leaves. Lassie is the one who keeps me company. She is content to lie beside me when I’m writing. Sometimes I’ll take them for a walk, or into the field to throw their toys for them and I’ll be thinking about a scene and working it out in my head. The dogs allow me to do this. Isn’t that considerate of them? LOL.
Did you face any writer's block or moments of self-doubt during the writing process, and how did you overcome them?
I wouldn’t call it writer’s block but I only write when the mood takes me. I can leave a manuscript for days or weeks, sometimes longer, before I’ll pick it up and start writing again. It’s never been an issue and I don’t set a certain time to write every day. I do leave my laptop on and my MS document open and, usually when I’m doing housework or something, I get an idea for another scene or a new chapter, and I stop what I’m doing and write it down. Type it up, I mean. I think self-doubt is part and parcel of being a writer and I often get moments where I doubt my ability and my story. I tell myself that I’m doing it for me first and foremost, and not to worry what other people think of it. That’s fine when it only exists on my laptop. Once I’ve published something, I do fret about it being out there in the big, bad world, and I worry about what people will think about it. But I made my decision to publish and I know not everyone will like my books, and that’s okay.
Are there any specific themes or messages that you wanted to convey to readers through your trilogy?
I read fiction because I enjoy a good story and I just want people to get that from my books.
How do you handle character development throughout your trilogy? Did you have a clear vision of your characters from the beginning, or did they evolve as you wrote?
My characters evolved as I got to know them. I think of it in terms of meeting someone new. You don’t know a thing about them at the first meeting but, in time, over a coffee or a glass of wine, you get to know them – their dreams and plans, their likes and dislikes. They almost become friends.
As a self-published author, how do you balance the roles of writer, editor, and marketer? Which aspect do you find the most challenging or rewarding?
Obviously writing is the most rewarding but so is marketing. I make promo posters and videos for myself and for other indie authors to post on social media. I’m also teaching a small group of indie authors to make their own marketing posters and videos. It is another tool in their marketing/promotional box and it’s free. I find it rewarding because it’s a creative aspect of myself that I never knew existed. Much like writing! And it is just as time-consuming. But I’m retired, I have plenty of time. I do, however, appreciate that not everyone has the time to spend a day making a book trailer, or even a couple of hours making social media posts and, because of this, if someone asks me for a trailer or a 10-second TikTok video, I’ll do it. Free of charge.
Looking back at your writing journey, what advice would you give to your past self when you were just starting out as an author?
Learn how to do the things you paid someone to do for your 1st book and do them yourself for your next book.
What are your future plans as an author? Do you have any new writing projects in the pipeline?
As I’ve said, I just published the 4th book in my series today (July 14th) and, at the moment, I don’t have any plans to write anything else. Of course, that could change if I wake up with an idea tomorrow.
What do you think of AllAuthor and would you recommend it to your other author friends?
I love it. I love the exposure, the magic tool and the seasonal mock-ups. And I love that it is an easy site to navigate. The cover competition is another part that I enjoy, and I do sometimes lose out a bit because I end up voting for other cool covers. You guys do a great job at a very reasonable price – a godsend in these times of economic hardship. I’ve already recommended AllAuthor to many friends in the indie author community.
