I'm a great believer that we get hints as to what we are meant to be/do in life during childhood--if only we pay attention. For me, it was that magical moment when I first picked up a pencil. Since that day all I ever wanted to do was "communicate" (because, as I look back on my career, writing has been just one part of that broader umbrella).
One of my earliest memories is creating a newspaper using the John Bull printing set I'd been given for Christmas (showing my age there, lol!). I wrote my first (indeed, only) play at age 16 which was performed at my school by the Lower Fifth Drama Society in front of pupils, teachers, and parents. "Osiris" was based on the Ancient Egyptian myth I'd become obsessed with.
I wrote some pretty awful poetry as a teenager and paid to have my poems published in "An Anthology of Verse," being unfamiliar at that time with the concept of vanity publishing.
However, it wasn't until I reached my mid-thirties that I became a professional writer - and have been making a good living from it ever since. This has come in the form of paid articles (as a journalist, back in the days when freelancers actually got paid to write); my many non-fiction books; and acting as a book coach and consultant for folks who want a book to promote their business, garner press coverage, and get paid speaking gigs.
All in all, a wonderful life doing what I have always loved.
Margaret Atwood: I heard her speak at a literary event in Austin, Texas once. I admire her immensely. She also comes across as hugely witty and has a great intellect.
Michael Crichton (impossible, I know, since he died some years ago): I'd like deeper insight into his mind, his foresight (similar to that of Atwood), and creative process.
J.K. Rowling: The complexity of mapping out all the Harry Potter books (as I believe she did before writing them) just boggles my mind. I'd love to have a chance to discuss that with her.
I'm a journalist by profession so being stuck in a single genre is of no interest to me. My first non-fiction book was a "how-to" focused on a hobby that had started to gain popularity in the UK in the late 1980s, and I showed myself to be rather good at. My first few commissioned non-fiction books were in the mind/body/spirit space. Then, after embarking on my first psychology degree, I began to be interested in pop psychology and wrote a few books in that genre.
It wasn't until I became a writing consultant--working with small business owners, corporate executives and independent consultants to help them write books that would gain them new clients, more media coverage, and paid speaking gigs--that I shifted into working on business topics.
I didn't so much chose historical fiction for my debut novel as that genre chose me...but that's another story :-)
No. I can't say I have ever experienced "Writer's Block.' Indeed, I can't quite get my head around it. Here's why:
My writing process involves much more than putting words on paper or on a screen. For me, there's a huge amount of thinking involved, doing some preparatory planning (I'm more of a plotter than a pantser), usually a lot of online research. Plus, one of the most important aspects of the creative process of all: downtime (that gestation period when I do anything but think about writing). This includes a lot of reading other people's books - across a broad range of genres. Very often, when I'm stuck as to how to move forward with my own book, I'll find inspiration this way.
So, no, I'm never blocked, because even if I'm stymied as to how to open my next chapter or how to avoid the "saggy middle" of a book, there's always something else fun to do.
I do...although I can't say I receive hundreds of them, sadly. This is one of the most challenging parts of being a writer for me: How, even when you persist in asking people, few bother to write a substantive review.
So, for those folks who do take the time and trouble to leave me a review, I want to honour their efforts by at least reading what they have written. In the main they tend to be positive. But any critique, in my opinion, is invaluable for a writer.
For example, a number of reviewers felt that the opening few chapters of Lies That Blind read like narrative non-fiction. This surprised me (I obviously didn't feel the same!) but thought that maybe my journalism background had crept in unconsciously.
More importantly, the way I deal with negative reviews is to read those given to "famous" writers of best-selling books. Invariably they also receive "bad" reviews. In my opinion, what this tends to indicate is that the "fit" between book and reader was off. It's no different than any other relationship. Some people you are hugely drawn to and love immediately. Others are just "meh". I think the same applies to reviewers and books...it just wasn't the right relationship. And no author can overcome that.
