Good morning everyone I’m on the blog tour for Children In Chains by Lorraine Mace today and I have a great Q and A with the author to share with you.
Children In Chains is available in ebook and paperback now. The ebook is currently only 99p. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.
Before I share my Q and A with you here is a little bit about the book.
Q And A:
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a fit and active mother and grandmother who runs 5km five times a week. My working life is entirely writing related – I am a creative writing tutor, editor and columnist. I live in a small Spanish village just a few kilometres inland and speak very bad Spanish.
What do you do when you are not writing?
Spend time with my family, walk, read – all the usual stuff.
Do you have a day job as well?
My day job involves lots of writing related activities which I carry out during normal office hours. Like most writers, I have to fit in my novel writing as and when I can.
When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I started writing short stories twenty years ago and finished my first novel in 2012. That was a book for children aged 8 – 12, which is a far cry from my crime series. I still like to write for children in between times, but my first love now is writing the D.I. Sterling series.
How did you choose the genre you write in?
I have always been an avid crime reader, so it was a natural progression to write in the genre.
Where do you get your ideas?
I think I just have a naturally sick mind. I always have evil crimes and perpetrators in my head that need an outlet.
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Not as such, but when I’ve had a day dealing with the work of other writers it’s sometimes hard to switch off and get into my own characters’ heads.
Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I work to a mixture of both. I have a vague outline of how the book will go – I know who the criminal is and the crime. I know the general set up and how the solution will arrive, but when I’m writing other characters always turn up to change things. I am very flexible and would hate to have to stick to a rigid format.
Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
My first book, as mentioned above, was the children’s novel. I was lucky enough to attract the representation of one of the UK’s top children’s agents. She fell in love with Vlad the Inhaler and did all she could to find a publisher. Sadly, no one felt the same degree of love for the book that she did. After a year and half we parted company and I recently self-published Vlad rather than let him languish unloved on my hard drive – he now languishes unloved on Amazon instead.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
My crime novels are a mix of real life experiences and my extremely overactive imagination. I’ve been fortunate enough to live in several different countries and met some interesting (in the bad sense of the word) people from whom I’ve taken certain traits and created characters based on their worst aspects.
What was your hardest scene to write?
Those scenes where Pete (the evil pop star abuser) is anticipating the fun he’s going to have with children.
How did you come up with the title?
I felt that Children in Chains fitted the book’s content. The children are not actually in physical chains, but they might just as well be because they have no hope of breaking free.
What project are you working on now?
I’m in the final edits of book five in the series and about to start on book six.
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
The toughest criticism came when I was first starting out and a writing tutor told me my ideas were tired and clichéd. She was right and I have since tried to make sure that whatever I write is fresh and original.
The best compliment is being told by readers that they are eagerly waiting for the next in the series.
Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Thank you for buying and reading my books. If you would like to know about future releases and giveaways, please visit my website and join the mailing list.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you the best of luck with your book!
About The Author:
When not working on her D.I. STERLING crime novels, Lorraine Mace is engaged in many writing-related activities. She is a columnist for both Writing Magazine and Writers’ Forum and is head judge for Writers’ Forum monthly fiction competitions. A tutor for Writers Bureau, she also runs her own private critique and author mentoring service.
She is co-author, with Maureen Vincent-Northam, of THE WRITER’S ABC CHECKLIST (Accent Press). Other books include children’s novel VLAD THE INHALER – HERO IN THE MAKING, and NOTES FROM THE MARGIN, a compilation of her Writing Magazine humour column.
Website: http://www.lorrainemace.com
Blog: http://thewritersabcchecklist.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lomace
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorraine.mace.52
Over The Rainbow Blog 