SA: Tell us about Dogwatch in a few sentences.
KW: I’m nearing the end of ‘Dogwatch’, my second novel featuring dog-whisperer Georgie Crane, which, like its predecessor ‘Dogsbody’ is, I hope funny as well as exciting. Neither are as yet published, but I soldier on!
SA: How did you come to write this particular book?
KW: I’d always fancied writing a crime novel, humorous and nothing too gory, but with hard edges. And of course with dogs, because I know them so well.
SA: If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?
KW: It’s got to be Georgie, because she’s a strong woman who’s totally committed to what she does. And of course, I’ll always love Granny Beamish, central character in the ‘Seers’ series, who’s a complete renegade and mad as a box of frogs, but her mind-power is awesome!SA: What qualities do you need to be a successful writer?
KW: Well, if I knew the secret, I’d be living the millionaire lifestyle! But I’d say, first and foremost, a love of books. And then an original ‘voice’, one that resonates with readers, along with a willingness to think outside the box.
SA: What is your working method?
KW: Slow burn. How I wish I were prolific! But whatever I’m currently writing is always in my head, like a secret friend, and it has to be word-perfect….which is why I average a pathetic 1,000 words a week. Factor in ‘thinking time’, though, and I do put in the hours, honest!
SA: What is the single biggest mistake made by beginners to writing?
KW: Imagining that if you ‘have it in you’, it’ll come easy. It doesn’t. You have to learn your craft.
SA: How can people buy your book(s)?
KW: They can visit my web-pages: http://www.hornseadogowners.co.uk/kwolfe/ which has links to Amazon.
SA: To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?
KW: Depends what you’re writing, and in what style. But you have to have mastered them, otherwise how can you bend the rules?
SA: How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?KW: Hours and hours and ………zzzzzzzzz
SA: Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?
KW: It’s rural and contemporary, in fact they all are, although the ‘Seers’ series inhabits a parallel world in which telepaths exist alongside ‘outsiders.’
SA: To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?
KW: Well, publishers love it! But labels aren’t always accurate. So much writing is cross-genre that you often have to pigeon-hole your offerings in order to get a look-in.
SA: What are your writing habits?
KW: Think I’ve already answered that one! Lazy and erratic, but I nevertheless keep going til I’ve finished. I cannot write (let alone function) before noon, so afternoons/evenings/nights are my creative times. I sometimes write in a notebook, but I always edit and polish on-screen, because it’s more visible than a mass of crossings-out!
SA: How do you know where to begin any given story?
KW: I always know my starting-point and my last line, and then I have enormous fun creating the bits in between!
SA: What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?
KW: WHAT? Are you kidding? I’m the Queen of diversionary tactics. E-mails, phone-calls, tea-breaks….you name it. I’m up for anything, but I do get my finger out if I have a deadline. I obviously need more pressure!
SA: Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?
KW: Family?? As I haven’t (yet!) gone global, they regard my writing as an amusing eccentricity. When I need intelligent input or support, I rely upon my friends at Hornsea Writers, because they know what writing’s all about.
SA: Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?
KW: Yes. Crucial. Always follow specific requirements unless you want to look like a complete amateur and have your rejected ms returned to you embellished with chocolate daubs and coffee-mug stains.
SA: How long does it normally take you to write a novel?
KW: A year, although I once managed it in a record 9 months!
SA: Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?
KW: Bit of both. Apart from grammar, I don’t think anyone can actually teach you how to do it, but writing skills can be learnt, and honed.
SA: Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?
KW: Plotting. And then riding the inevitable twists and turns. And characterisation, for which there’s much more scope in a novel. But short stories do call for precision, economy and pacing, all of them valuable writing tools.
SA: Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?
KW: No blog as yet, but http://www.hornseadogowners.co.uk/kwolfe/ features novel excerpts, and short-story ‘tasters.’
Word of the Day is divorced from the post that precedes it and produced in response to a request from a follower to provide just such a service.
Word of the Day; yack – non-stop drivel, trivial chatter. ‘Don’t get Cyril started; he’ll yack until doomsday about nothing at all.’
4 comments:
Being a fan of Karen Wolfe's work, I really enjoyed this interview. Thanks, Stuart!
I'm also a fan. Karen's writing is the sort that makes you laugh out loud and sometimes unexpectedly. Granny Beamish is what we'd all like to be if only we had the nerve!
I can't wait for Dogswatch to come out. I love Karen's style and especially the way she gets inside the heads of the dogs in her books.
Interesting interview from an interesting lady. The Granny Beamish fantasies were funny, but the new crime series is on a separate level altogether. Go for it, Karen!
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