I first wish to thank Author Karen A Wyle for taking time to answer the Ten +1 Questions regarding her recent release, “Water to Water“.  You will find information below on her world building, to her writing process and inspirations. I do hope you enjoy her responses as much as I did.

 

Question 1: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

–I don’t know for sure, but I know it happened by the time I was 10 years old. At that age, it was my ambition to be the youngest published novelist ever. I was quite irked to find out that a 9-year-old girl in the UK had beaten me to it.

 

Question 2: What inspired you to write Water to Water?

–It was almost November 2017, and therefore time to get ready for the 2017 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short). I had various possible ideas saved in a folder — and then I had a dream with the image that opens the book, a Vushlu meeting the sea in its final moments. The idea grabbed me by the imagination, and I went with it.

 

Question 3: During the initial writing process where did you get the idea for the book and its characters? 

–I spent the first few days before NaNo 2017, and the first few days of NaNo, brainstorming ideas for scenes and characters. My husband contributed a key plot point.

 

Question 4: Where do you get the ideas for the worlds you find yourself creating?

–I’ve been reading science fiction for decades, which has no doubt fertilized my world building faculties. A great deal of the writing, whether world building or any other aspect of it, happens on a subconscious level.

 

Question 5: Who were some of the authors that inspired you as a child growing up and their books? 

–I’m glad you asked for some, since I can’t possibly remember them all: C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia; Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess and A Secret Garden; Edward Eager’s Half Magic, Knight’s Castle, Magic by the Lake, and Magic or Not?; Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series; P. L. Travers’s Mary Poppins series; Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series; and Hilda Lewis’s The Ship That Flew.

 

Question 6: What was the feeling like when you saw the first completed version of your book?

–It’s a thrill every time. I grin ear to ear and bounce on my toes.

 

Question 7: Do you continue to write and in what genre? 

For NaNo 2018, I’m heading in quite a different direction, or rather, two of ’em. I’m about to start the rough draft of a romance novel set in the 19th century American West.

 

Question 8: Who do you imagine being the people reading your book?

–For my novels up until now, I imagine most of them being people who love to read in general and also know and love science fiction.

 

Question 9: Any good suggestions for those who want to try writing their own book?

While it isn’t the right process for everyone, NaNo can be a terrific way to get over hesitation and self-doubt and just get started. It’s also ideal for finishing a rough draft, as opposed to constantly editing and re-editing the beginning of one. The supportive online community at https://nanowrimo.org/ can help a new author make it through.

 

Question 10: When not writing how does you like to spend your time?

–Reading! I read whenever I’m not doing something that makes it impossible. I also like taking photographs, but haven’t done as much of that in recent years. I also like walking in pretty places and watching a few (not many) TV series. I don’t get to travel very much, but enjoy it when the logistics aren’t too annoying.

 

The + 1 Question

If you had any one place in the world you could travel to for a book tour, where would that place be, and why? 

  –At the moment, it would be Boston, MA, because my younger daughter lives there. More generally: London. I’d want the tour to include Hatchards, Primrose Hill Books, and Lutyens & Rubinstein.