It is my pleasure to introduce the lovely and talented Ann Troup who has taken time out of her busy schedule to chat with me about being a writer and her new release, The Lost Child. I am personally very excited about this one and count myself lucky to host her on my blog today!
VP: What is your inspiration? What helps you through writer's block?
Ann: My inspiration usually comes from
situations, people and overheard snippets of conversation, it develops from
asking the question what if? I am fascinated by human behaviour and why people
are motivated to do the things they do. I used to believe that the older I
became the more I would understand, not so. What makes us tick provides an
endless source of inspiration.
Consequently I rarely suffer from writers
block, but I am a huge procrastinator. This is probably a good thing in some
ways, without those periods my house would never get cleaned! If I do hit a
wall, I usually step away from the keyboard, do something else and let the
characters tell me what they want to do next. If I’ve pasted them into a
corner, they usually voice their objections and dictate their next move whether
I like it or not – it’s quite an experience to find that your decisions are
dictated by figments of your own imagination.
VP: Do you listen to music when you write? Have a completely silent space?
Ann: I normally listen to the radio when I’m
writing, but strictly speech radio. Music is such a mood changer for me, it can
really influence where I take things, which is not always a good thing. Silence
isn’t an option either. I live near the sea in a very busy tourist area so
there is no such thing as silence. Much as I love the grockles (as us
Devonshire people call our visitors) they are too much of a distraction and I
rely on good old Radio 4 to tune them out. I have discovered that there is no
cure for seagulls, nothing drowns them out!
VP: Who inspires you? What authors do you look up to? Why?
Ann: My number one writerly inspiration would
be John Steinbeck, but there are so many others, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison,
Hilary Mantel, Jane Gardam, Harper Lee…I could clog your blog by going on. I
admire their beautiful writing and their ability to acutely observe humanity
and illustrate it in such a way that they blur the lines of right and wrong,
good and bad. They make me think and they make me want to learn. There are some
writers who can change you on a fundamental level; it takes extraordinary skill
and mastery of the craft to achieve that.
VP: When did you first start writing? What genre do you prefer?
Ann: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t
scribbling some rubbish on some scrap of paper. I wrote my first novel when I
was fifteen, the usual dark and soul wrenching ego trip. I’m glad to say that I
don’t still have it – if I read it now I would be mortified and want to go back
and slap myself upside the head!
I
don’t really have a preferred genre, but I do binge read. I am currently
favouring Urban Fantasy, but may need to stop imagining what might live on the
fringes of my reality soon… It’s easier to state what I don’t often read which
would be high fantasy, my son adores it and though I admire all that world
building and the who begat who of it, my poor addled brain just can’t cope with
remembering characters who have names that lack vowels, let alone whole
dynasties of them. On the whole if it’s well written and a good story I’ll read
it – I’ll read the back of a shampoo bottle in preference to reading nothing!
VP: If you had to choose another genre to write, what would it be? Why?
Ann: Ooooh –this one is tricky. One of the
biggest problems I have as a writer is aligning my books with a specific genre.
They are a mixed bag of mystery, crime, life, romance, preternatural anomalous
experiences…so it’s hard to know, I can’t decide as it stands! If I were forced
to choose I’d like to write fiction for children and be part of opening up
fascinating new worlds for enquiring minds. A child quietly reading a book is a
beautiful thing to observe – I’d like to be part of that and give a little back
for all that I gained from writers when I was a child. I’d like to spread the
magic.
VP: What is your favorite book (or who is your favorite author) and why?
Ann: At last count we have over 2,000 books
in the house. I culled over 1, 000 last year, I only kept my favourites – does
that answer the question? If I really have to nail it, there is one and it’s a
favourite for a mixed bag of reasons, it’s a YA book written in the 1960’s by
Ruth. M. Arthur titled A Candle in her Room. It’s spooky, haunting, emotional
and beautifully written. I remember getting it out of the library incessantly
as a kid and rereading it again and again. I love that book, not only for
itself but because it brings back lovely memories of childhood. It’s long out
of print, but I managed to track a copy down and it’s the one book no one is
allowed to borrow, they can read it, but it doesn’t leave the house.
VP: Do you have another job and if so, what is it?
Ann: I am in the luxurious and enviable
position of being able to write full time. I used to own a small art gallery
and still work on commissions for ceramic art and book sculptures ( sorry book
peeps, I have been known to chop up a book and make art from it, but usually
only damaged unloved ones that would otherwise be pulped or trashed). I do
occasionally give some of my sculptures away on my blog and Facebook page and
my giveaways are worldwide – I’m not stingy on postage.
VP: Tell about your first book and how long it took you to write the first draft.
Ann: My first (self) published book was The
Philosophy of Disgrace – a dark and twisted thriller about three sisters and
nasty familial shenanigans. It took four years in total to write the first
draft, but that was very on and off. I love the story, and on the whole it got
a good reception but in fairness it needed the eye of a good editor and someone
far more objective than me. I took it down from sale a few years back and it
has languished in a folder ever since. It is now getting a new lease of life
with the help of an excellent editor and I may be offering it as a freebie to
blog subscribers in the near future.
VP: Now for a little bit about your books, could you list all of your titles with a one sentence synopsis of each.
Ann: My new title The Lost Child
(Carina UK 19/5/15) is the story of Mandy, who disappeared aged three and the
people who need her to stay dead, buried and forgotten for their own ends.
VP: Who is your favorite character? Why?
Ann: My favourite character has to
be Brodie Miller, she’s a feisty teen who often acts and speaks before she
thinks. In the story she acts as a catalyst for many events and finds that she
is a magnet for trouble.
VP: Who is your least favorite character? Why?
Ann: My least favourite is Fern
Miller, she embodies the worst traits of humanity, she is a narcissist
bordering on sociopath – she was fun to write, but if I met her in real life
you would see me in the distance closely followed by a cloud of dust.
VP: Which character was most difficult to write?
Ann: Hardest to write was Esther, as
she can’t speak due to a devastating stroke she has to communicate through
facial expression, mood and gestures. However, she holds the key to the truth
so it’s important that we hear from her. I think she is a great character, but
a tough one to write.
VP: What scenes are most difficult to write?
Ann: I’m a dreadful old cynic these
days and find love scenes hard to write. I love a bit of romance though and
it’s difficult to write anyone’s story without it cropping up somewhere. I do
feel it’s important that human beings can be redeemed through what they are
prepared to do for others, so love is fundamental on every level – but smoochy
romance is my writerly nemesis. But, it’s in there, I did it and it was one of
the scenes my editor was most happy with (phew).
VP: Do you see yourself in any of your characters?
Ann: In all honesty not really. Some aspects of
Elaine’s character are familiar, her anxiety and self-doubt I can identify
with, but very little of me is in any of my characters. I’d love to be badass
like Brodie, courageous like Derry and as forgiving and sanguine as Miriam, but
I am hopelessly fallible and really quite boring so I guess the less there is
of me in a book the better.
VP: Indie pub or trad pub?
Ann: Carina is a digital first
imprint of Harlequin (Harper Collins), so trad pub in ebook first with all the
might of the big gun behind me. With a bit of luck and goodly sales the book
will go to print later.
VP: What is your favorite scene? Why?
Ann: My favourite scene is the first
scene in the book when Elaine first meets Brodie. Brodie inadvertently receives
a face full of Elaine’s dead mother’s ashes via an incident involving a dead
badger and a loose-lidded urn. This very thing actually happened to me and it
was most unpleasant and undignified (I’m sure bits of my poor, long passed MIL
still inhabit my smart black coat – despite the best efforts of the dry cleaner).
VP: Give a one sentence summary of your book.
Ann: Once sentence summary? Sheesh,
it’s as bad as twitter! (why be brief when you can use 100, 000 words?) OK,
here goes… A haunting and emotional story of loss, need and identity.
VP: How about a few questions just for fun? If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Ann: Can I be really soppy here? My
father. He died when I was 18 and I just didn’t get time to learn enough from
him. He fostered my love of reading and learning and was the most generous,
honest and honourable man. He had his faults, but owned them and if I am
anything like him that’ll do for me. Other than that I’d quite like to whip
across the pond and have a beer or two with you, I think we’d have a blast.
(I’m not much of a celeb fangirl – I like real honest to goodness folk who tell
it like it is).
VP: If you could take the place of one of your characters, which one would you choose and why?
Ann: Honestly? None of them really,
they all have flaws. If I absolutely had to choose it would be Albert – he’s
away with the fairies and it sounds like quite a nice way to be sometimes.
VP: If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do?
Ann: I would tour all the capital
cities of Europe, I’ve done a few but never for long enough. I would just walk,
look, people watch, sit and drink coffee rinse and repeat. Absolute bliss!
VP: What is your favorite TV show/movie from childhood? What is it now?
Ann: Would it surprise you to hear
that as a kid I loved Dr Who and still do? These days I don’t watch much TV but
will drop everything for the Walking Dead ;)
WHERE TO BUY:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00VKH2MG2
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-child-ann-troup/1121690834?ean=9781474034968
Want to know more about Ann? Catch up with her here:
Blog:https://anntroup.
Email : anntroupauthor@aol.com
Facebook : Ann Troup
Twitter :@TroupAnn
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