Today I am pleased to present to you all the 75th in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the bed-lounging, palm-reading, Geraldine Evans, and our conversation went something like this:
Paul: I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any
writing rituals?
Geraldine: Not really, beyond trying to write every day.
Paul: What types of books
do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?
Geraldine: I like crime novels, historical novels and
historical non-fiction. My favorite crime authors are Reginald Hill, Cynthia
Harrod Eagles, Ruth Dudley Edwards. I like these authors because although
they’re crime novels, they also incorporate a lot of humor, which, for this
reader, adds to the enjoyment. Favorite historical novelists: Philippa Gregory,
Jean Plaidy, Sharon Penman. I like these authors, particularly, because they
are able to bring the past and its characters vividly to life for me.
Paul: If someone had the
power to step into your creative mind what would they see?
Geraldine: They would see all the ideas I have for
further writing, be it novels, short stories or non-fiction, all of which I
have written, though, so far, only my novels (20) and a variety of articles
have been published. My mind is teeming
with so many ideas that I sometimes wish I could be cloned so that I would have
time for them all.
Paul: What is a typical day
for you?
Geraldine: I tend to work very late so I’m not an early
riser. I perhaps get up around nine a.m., after eating breakfast in bed. Then,
once washed and dressed, it’s straight on my computer to check emails, book
sales and sales rankings. I have been concerned mostly lately with getting my
backlist eformatted. This is taking up a lot of time which means my WIP has
had to take a back seat, though I have written a number of short stories for my
writers’ group, which I intend to put up on kindle, etc., when time permits.
Since getting a laptop, I have come downstairs from my tiny study and work in
the living room. A chunk of my time is spent in trying to stop the room turning
into a hovel (I’m not a very tidy person). I have two two-seater settees and
one is currently buried under an avalanche of paper.
Paul: Do you have a
favorite character in each of your series, aside from the lead? If so, which
one and why?
Geraldine: In my Rafferty & Llewellyn procedural
series, I confess to a liking for my irreverent, rather naughty Catholic
priest, Father Roberto Kelly. I like him because he’s politically-incorrect,
like me! In my Casey & Catt procedural series, I like Star Casey, my lead’s
unreconstructed hippie father. I like him because he doesn’t obey anyone’s
rules, but lives his (admittedly drug-blurred) life on his own terms. That’s
one of the reasons I became a (thankfully, not drug-blurred) writer.
Paul: In all the years
you’ve been publishing your work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you
could share so others can avoid making it?
Geraldine: I suppose my biggest mistake was right at the
beginning of my writing career, when I failed to grasp the significance of the
size of the advance. Small advance = midlist status with no chance at hitting
bestsellerdom and little chance of making a living as a writer. Once branded
midlist, you tend to stay there. You’re also likely to be among the first to
be dropped from a publisher’s list when times are hard.
Paul: How do you find the time to write?
Geraldine: At the moment, because I’m eformatting my backlist, with great
difficulty. But at least now I’m now a full-time writer. Once I’ve finished
proofing Rafferty novels 8 and 9, I intend to concentrate on my WIP and finish preparing
the rest of my backlist later in the year.
Paul: What is one thing you hope I do not tell the
readers?
Geraldine: Ha! Ha! So many to choose from! Let me see. That I sometimes
lounge around in bed, reading, till 11.30 in the morning. My excuse is that I
often work into the wee small hours. And writers have got to read, right? So it
counts as work.
Paul: If you are self-published, what led to you
going your own way?
Geraldine: Reading
and learning from other authors who had already taken the Indie route. Writers
such as J A Konrath and Kristine Katherine Rusch, among others. They
explained the advantages, especially to the midlist author with a good-sized
backlist. I epublished four books in my backlist to which I had regained the
rights. And then, when I’d finished my latest WIP (Kith and Kill) and sent it
to my publishers, they demanded the erights to the rest of my backlist as a
condition of publishing. From my reading, I knew of the value of my backlist
and I refused their demand. So was thus totally thrown out of traditional
publishing and cast adrift on my own. It was an opportunity I was glad to
seize.
Paul: Do you plot your stories or do you just get
an idea and run with it?
Geraldine: I
tend to just get an idea and run with it. I’ve never been the kind of writer
who sits down and plans their novel from start to finish. To me, this would be
a fate worse than death. Utterly boring. I didn’t leave the dead-end day jobs
behind only to start boring myself voluntarily.
Paul: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find
that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?
Geraldine: I
find experience has made my writing more fully-formed. I seem able to write
with an editor’s eye. Although, once the first draft is done, I always have to
work on my descriptions, which tend to be on the short side.
Paul: Do you have to do much research for your
stories?
Geraldine: The
amount of research necessary depends on the story. Of course, for both my
procedural series, I have to keep up with advances in forensics and changes in
law and procedures. Apart from that, I’ve had to do most research for my historical
about Henry VII’s little sister, Mary Rose Tudor and for my Casey & Catt
series, the first of which involved deaths by arson of an Asian young woman and
her baby. This book demanded I read up on Asian culture and religion as well as
what happens to the body in death by fire.
Paul: What is your most
recent book? Tell us a little about it
Geraldine: My most recent book is The Egg Factory, a
contemporary/suspense set in the infertility industry. It involves the suicide
of my lead character’s younger sister, the reasons for which are tied up in her
involvement with an unscrupulous fertility expert and his amoral partner. Their
illegal activities attract the attention of organized crime, which leads the
main character, Ginnie Casey, an investigative journalist, into deadly danger
when she starts to look into the background to her sister, Karen’s, death.
Paul: What inspired you to
write this book?
Geraldine: Its sheer topicality and the fact that an
intriguing plot idea came to me, which I simply had to write. This was another
book that required extensive research, but that didn’t deter me. I’m one of
those writers who enjoy research. The trick is knowing when to stop!
Paul: Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or
short stories?
Geraldine: Funnily
enough, although I haven’t written poetry since I was at school, I attended a
talk by a local poet only the other week and he had us writing a poem. About a
door of all things! He rather liked my effort, even though he had me reading it
backwards. I also write short non-fiction and short stories, though I have yet
to achieve publication of the latter.
Paul: Do you have any pieces of work that will
never see the light of day?
Geraldine: Never
say never. I think some of my earlier pieces might yet be resurrected once I
find the time to give them a thorough edit. My earlier works were romances
aimed at the Mills and Boon market and they’re well-known for having very
strict requirements. For six long years I tended to get back much the same
comment: ‘Too much plot and not enough romance’, although they said that my
writing was good. This comment moved me to murder, where I have found my niche.
Paul: Do you enter competitions? Are there any you
could recommend?
Geraldine: I’ve
entered very few competitions, though I would recommend the short story
competitions in Writing Magazine/Writers’ News. The winner receives a short,
professional critique of their work, which is as valuable as gold dust.
Paul: How much marketing do you do for your
published works or for your ‘brand’?
Geraldine: A
lot. This is another eater of writing time, but I feel it’s part of the job.
I’m a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, East Anglian Writers,
Crimespace, LinkedIn, The Red Room, plus several other sites. I tweet, I’m on
Facebook. I send out flyers and postcards. I comment on other people’s blogs
and I have my own blog and website (http:///www.geraldineevans.com).
I did a blog tour. I try to keep all these sites updated with my doings. Since
starting e-publishing, I can now afford to go to writers’ conventions, of which
I’ve booked several this year. I’ve also booked writing holidays for writing
improvement and networking.
Paul: What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect
of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?
Geraldine: My
favorite part is getting a good idea for a novel and running with it. My least
favorite, I suppose, is having so much writing time consumed by the ancillary
activities necessary to a writer’s life. I was surprised by the time it took to
actually achieve publication. I was even more surprised when, after having all
six of my romances rejected by Mills and Boon, my very first crime novel, Dead
Before Morning, was taken from Macmillan’s slush pile and published.
Paul: What do you do when you’re not writing? Do
you have any hobbies or party tricks?
Geraldine: Party
tricks? Yes, I read palms, though I’ve let this slide lately owing to time
constraints and I’ve forgotten most of it, anyway. I also enjoy gardening from
seeds and cuttings, growing my own vegetables, painting portraits and learning
to play the keyboards. I’m also about to sign up for a ballroom/Latin dancing
class. Good thing I no longer need to have a day job!
Paul: Thanks, Geraldine, that was great. I wish you every success for the future.
About Louise Wise: Geraldine Evans has had twenty novels published–seventeen crime, one
contemporary women/suspense, one historical and one romance.
She's been been plucked from slush piles twice: once by Robert Hale,
and once by Macmillan, who took her very first mystery novel, DEAD
BEFORE MORNING, and published it, in 1993. They sold it in turn to St
Martin's Press in the US and thence on to Worldwide for softcover
publication. Not bad for a writer who had endured six long years of
rejections for her first six (romantic) novels.
She ventured into epublishing her backlist towards the end of 2010. So
far,she has epublished ten of her novels, the latest being KITH AND
KILL (#15 in Rafferty series) and THE EGG FACTORY, a Standalone
contemporary women/suspense novel set in the world of the infertility
industry.
Geraldine is a Londoner, but she and her late husband, moved to Norfolk
(UK) in 2000. She is a member of the Crime Writers' Association and
East Anglian Writers.
Geraldine's Blog:
Geraldine Evans
Geraldine on Twitter:
@gerrieevans
Geraldine on Facebook:
Geraldine Evans
Gealdine's latest book:
The Egg Factory (Amazon)
