Apart from my children... Angela my proof reader. I have known her for over 15 years now and we have never met.
Colin Smythe, another person I have been chatting with the past ten years at least .. again we have never met.
And Mario, an American jehovah witness who has never tried to convert me but has been good enough to care about me. Again for over 15 years. We met once... only.
My closest friends are people I have never met. This must say something about my secluded lifestyle. (Huge smile.)
I haven't been able to answer this question for quite sometime, as there are a lot of great books but not one so great that I would like to swap my way of thinking . The closest, I would say, would have to be 'The girl with the dragon tattoo'. This book challenged my morals and my belief in humanity. It all felt so terribly real. Too real for comfort. I ended up reading all three books in two weeks. And then, after having finished this masterpiece I discovered Steig Larrson had died before its release! It was heartbreaking. After all his hard work, all that love and energy, he was never to know he had written something so beautiful. I wish he had. I know I haven't really answered the question, but I've never wanted to be anyone else, or create what they have. I honestly like being me - with all my spelling mistakes and inability to get my thoughts in a row. This is me.
It's only SF on the surface. Below the surface, it's a novel that tries to tackle the problems of growing up - love - hate - political and environmental issues. It is also filled with trivia. Facts that no one needs to know, but its fun to know them all the same. Perhaps I have to many footnotes LOL.
I suppose indirectly I incorporate parts of my life into my characters. Especially when it comes to their emorionally reactions. I have lived a colourful life and have met a lot of colourful people. They are my emotionsl encyclopedia. (Smile.)
I think writer's block belongs to other people. Those with deadlines to meet and contracts to fulfill. I think a better question for non megastar authors is: have you ever experienced writers depression? Where you ask yourself, why do I try so hard - when after - no one going to read it anyway. Tips on how to shake this off, would be interesting and helpful.
Getting the sentences in the right oder. Not the syntax but what to write first. I often find myself moving lines, which then unfortunately influences the following lines.. causing me to have to move them. LOL
