An Interview With Author, Karen Wolfe.

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.’ 

Review of Seer’s Moon by Karen Wolfe

Image by stuartaken via Flickr

Seer’s Moon is Karen Wolfe’s second fantasy novel centring on the unusual activities of Granny Beamish and her cronies. With its mixture of comic style and supernatural content, the book had me smiling, chuckling and laughing out loud; much to the consternation of my fellow bus travellers. The story, or at least the main thread, follows the fate of poor Kenneth who has inadvertently become a werewolf and is being chased by a sinister bounty hunter. Granny Beamish and her friends, family and associates, who have some sympathy with the vegetarian Kenneth and his harmless, if somewhat destructive, werewolf alter ego, do their best to prevent his capture and execution. The incompetent local police, an interfering busybody, and a creepy ambitious member of Granny’s Seer community all provide the necessary conflict. Meanwhile, Granny has to contend with the advances of her ex boyfriend, who jilted her, as he tries to win her back.

Seers, for those who are unsure, are members of a parallel community who use telepathy and certain types of magic. It isn’t wise for a normal human to mess with an accomplished Seer, especially one with the gifts possessed by Granny Beamish.

Karen Wolfe writes in a style of her own; colloquially and with a type of humour that touches my laughter muscles. This is a very English novel in many ways and some of the language and references may be lost on readers from outside. But there is so much that is universal in appeal that this very Englishness acts as an enhancement, giving the book a quirky character that will appeal to readers of all nationalities. And, talking of ‘quirky’ this is the way her characters come across. All are individual, even the dogs, wolf, griffons and other animals, and especially the rampaging sheep. Her people have flaws as well as positive attributes and all of them are very human, sometimes touching and always hilarious, often in ways that completely escape the characters themselves.

If you are seeking enjoyment with the option of laughing and smiling whilst examining human frailty and strength, this is definitely for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and happily recommend it.

http://www.hornseadogowners.co.uk/kwolfe/index.html 

Word of the day; narrative – concerned with telling a story, the series of facts, events and incidents that comprise a tale.  ‘The writer’s dramatic narrative of the fantasy tale was worthy of  J.R.R. Tolkien.’

Review of SEERS by Karen Wolfe

Image by stuartaken via Flickr

In Seers, Karen Wolfe has devised an entertaining narrative populated by believable but idiosyncratic characters. She has a very unusual voice, which expresses humour particularly well. All the goodies in this tale of a parallel society, where mindreading is an everyday experience, have flaws to make them real human beings, or dogs, wolves or unicorns. The baddies are monsters whose wickedness is based in some past event or personality flaw and, in spite of their awfulness, the reader understands where they are coming from. These are the sort of people you either love or hate and in both cases you hope they’ll get their just desserts. This is a well constructed story with excellent pace. Karen's imagination is clearly fruitful and I love the names she uses. The humour ranges from smiles to laugh out loud and forms a worthy counterpoint to the tension and action that directs the story. If you enjoy your heroes/heroines as characters with balls and a sense of humour and if you enjoy tales set in parallel societies that are believable, you'll enjoy this book. I certainly did.

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seers-Karen-Wolfe/dp/184923129X

Word of the day: Decadence – decay, deterioration, decline, self-indulgence. But we often use this specific quality to describe people or situations with a sexual connotation. ‘Much contemporary art displays the decadence of skill and craft in the modern practitioner.’