Jamie from Mithril Wisdom!, Book Blog Olympics, Brenda Novak, and ROW80

Jamie from Mithril Wisdom is here!

Hi Jamie! I've got a few questions for you...

Where do you do most of your writing? What do you need to help you write?


I don't really have a dedicated writing space, sadly. It's wherever I can sit with my laptop at the moment. I have to have a full mug of coffee though, that's a given. No coffee, no words on the page.


Which is the most embarrassing song, book, movie or TV show that you love?


Ooh, I've got plenty! Almost anything cheesy and made in the 80s hits my top list immediately. Right now though there's a kid's show in the UK called Horrible Histories that I think is amazing.


[I loved the mini history they did during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant]


Favourite literary character not your own?


Sam Vimes from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. He's so grumpy but at the same time can't help but be the good guy.


Which scenes are hardest for you to write?


The beginning, middle and end ones! More specifically though, I suck at writing romantic scenes and I try to avoid them wherever possible.


[I'll gladly trade you for my action sequences!]


What's the weirdest thing you've researched?


Ancient Egyptian vampires and blood ritual. It was the topic for both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees. There's some 30,000 words on the subject if anyone cares to wade through it all.


What's your earliest memory related to writing?


Back when my parents got their first computer, an Amstrad Word Processor, I wrote a haunted house story that was the kind of ridiculous that only a child could create. It even ended with "and then I woke up. It was all a dream."


Tea or coffee?


Always coffee, but I am partial to a good old British cup of tea.


Who was the last person that haunted you?


I tend not to get haunted; I don't think my life is that interesting. I have a friend who has no concept of time and who calls me at insane hours of the day, if that counts.


Who is your favourite author? Who inspired you to write?


My favourite author would probably be Terry Pratchett; his world, his characters and hit wit are amazing. The person who inspired me to write was Christopher Paolini, though I've yet to read his books. As a kid I remember reading an article about a 15-year old who got a book deal and international success and I thought "you can do that at that age? I'm getting me a piece of that!" I've been writing for years before that, though I considered it doodling with words rather than 'writing'.


[Would you believe I haven't read any Pratchett yet? Guess I'd better move it up the wishlist pile...]


Do you have a favourite writing-related quote?


The best piece of advice I got was from Mark Twain: "Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and your writing will be just as it should be."


[I tried that with a find/replace once - it really helped!]


Where would you most like to travel?


I think Peru would be an awesome place to travel, especially walking through the ruins of older civilizations. That kind of stuff amazes me.

Thanks for having me!

Thank you, Jamie! If anyone else has questions, ask away!

Jamie's hosting a giveaway at the moment actually, to celebrate reaching 350 followers!


Who doesn't love a smooth, empty-page-filled notebook? And a Welsh potion (!), how can you go wrong?

Speaking of free, Brenda Novak's latest novella is free on her website!


And then there's me and my ROW80 update - the writing's going well, on Fred and Lyne's story. And I had some favourable responses and help, for Rosa and Baha's story, over at Flogging the Quill.

Hope everyone else had a great writing and reading week!

Don't forget to enter the Book Blog Olympics! The next entry is for "best alternate ending for a YA book" - a lot tougher than it sounds, at least for me.

How about messing with From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler: "...and Claudia wrenched control of the Rolls Royce from the chauffeur, and embarked on a mad road trip across the States, staying at all sorts of museums along the way, until she got to the book depository and ran into a time travel who said 'Stephen King sent me here. So she went forward to the 21st Century and tweeted her adventures.'"

Comments

Unknown said…
Terrific interview, Deniz and Jamie! I love that advice you got from Mark Twain. I will have to try that. You need coffe like I need Diet Pepsi. Can't write a word without that brew. :)

Jamie, do you write every day or only the urge strikes? I have a hard time writing every day.
JennaQuentin said…
I have Brits who taught me to love Terry Prachett and good tea. Do you know Jasper Fforde - a favorite of mine!
Great interview - thanks for hosting.
S.P. Bowers said…
I love Sam Vimes too. He's one of my favorites.
Unknown said…
Thanks for having me, Deniz, and thanks for the shout out!

@Melissa - I tend to write when the mood takes me, though in my day job I write every day. That plus blogging means I have little time left for writing fiction these days.
Anonymous said…
I enjoyed this interview. I'll have to try that Mark Twain tip. :)
Love the interview! So many interesting things in the post, Deniz, thanks!
Jamie, your answer for which scenes are hardest to write made me laugh! I'm with you. Great interview.
Suze said…
Jaims, this was a really fun interview to read. Do people often get their Bachelor's and Master's degrees on the same topic? (And such a unique, esoteric one!)

Like most others, I presume, I like the Twain tip. My go-to words in the beginning were 'slightly' and 'sort of.' My husband caught the 'sort ofs' and then I saw them everywhere!
Wow, Deniz, what a great bonus for me. I stop by to cheer you on in ROW80 and I stumble into this great interview!

It's wonderful that you got some good feedback for Rosa and Baha's story. It sounds as though you are doing very well.

Finally, please give my thanks to Jamie, and thank you for hosting. It is a wonderful interview!
Vicki Tremper said…
Oh how fun to mess around with From the Mixed Up Files...! A road trip and time travel and Stephen King. Nice.
Great interview. It's always good to get to know Jamie a little better. Those Ancient Egyptian vampires must've been interesting.
Trisha said…
This was a nice, fun and light interview! And I am so going to try that 'very' trick. hehe.

Also, I think I may have read one Pratchett book...OR I have one on my shelf but have never read it. The latter is probably more likely. And I haven't read any Paolini either but he was at a convention I just went to.
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks, Melissa and Jenna!

Argh! More books for the wishlist, Sara!

Thank you, Linda and Glynis and Alex!

Thanks for coming by Suze - your "slightly" sounds like my "seemed" - it crops up everywhere!~

Aww, thanks so much Elizabeth!

Goody, I'm glad you liked it, Vicki!

Thanks, Lynda!

I've got Pratchett moving up my wishlist, Trisha. Next Amazon order, I think he'll be on it.


Thanks again, Jamie!
Deniz, I enjoyed the interview.

Jamie, nice to meet you. I can write anywhere too. I just got a desk, but so far I haven't used it.

Good luck with your book.
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Theresa!
Melissa said…
Great interview. I love the Mark Twain quote. LOL
Melissa said…
PS - Is it just me, or does your blog look different?
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Melissa! Hmm, I don't know... it's been a few months now since I finally figured out how to get columns on both sides. I love that feature!
J.L. Campbell said…
Liked that quote from Mark Twain. :)
Rek Sesh said…
Great interview, interesting answers and loved the quotes.
Golden Eagle said…
Great interview!

Romantic scenes are difficult for me, too. I feel like they either come out cheesy or awkward or otherwise unrealistic.

Off I got to replace all those verys with damns . . . LOL.
Interesting interview! I like writing with coffee too, which is why I usually write in cafes. And I agree that romantic scenes are hard to write, because whenever I try to write one, I usually end up thinking of a bad date I went on instead (and there were several bad dates, sighhhh).
Margo Berendsen said…
Egyptian vampires??? Will you use any of that material in your fiction someday?
Julie said…
Great Q and A. I've been to Peru and it sure is an awesome place to travel with a camera and a good book to read. :D

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lost generation
Anonymous said…
Great interview, Jamie and Deniz. It was fascinating.

I've never heard of that topic for a degree. I'd also like to visit Peru.
Callie Leuck said…
I'm also a total Pratchett junkie. You gotta love Sam Vimes. Have you read Snuff yet, Jamie? It's a must-read for Sam Vimes fans. (I'm also fascinated by Havelock Vetinari.)

There was something else...

Oh, right, Paolini. The books are worth reading, but I predict you will be somewhat frustrated by them. I wrote two posts about Paolini's books. The main problem is that it feels like he's taken chunks from the best of High Fantasy and mixed them up together. But you can see that he has a fertile imagination and a gift with storytelling, so I'm definitely interested to see what he does in the future.
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Joy and Rek!

It never ends, does it, Eagle?

Ooh, but bad dates might make for fun scenes, Neurotic! No?

I hope he does, Margo!

Thanks, Julie and Medeia!

Thanks for coming by, Callie. I've definitely got to read Pratchett myself...