Welcome back!
It’s Monday again – and around here, that’s a GOOD thing, as we do a Monday Morning Author Interview. Today we have E.G. Stone dropping in. E.G. Stone is an independent author who has been writing, quite literally, since the age of six. Since then, E.G. has improved rather a lot and has written several full-length novels, various short stories, a screenplay, snippets of poetry, and various blog entries that may or may not make sense. E.G. enjoys writing in many different genres. The favourites are science fiction, mystery (preferably of the murder variety), adventure, fantasy — basically anything where the world isn’t quite what you would expect. When not writing, she is off musing about the workings of languages, both real and created, or wandering around and experiencing new people, places and things. E.G. reads voraciously, perhaps to the point of slight-insanity. She also is enjoying making a go of this writer thing full-time. Weird, nerdy, perhaps a little crazy, she is having a grand old time writing, reading, reviewing, interviewing, and causing trouble.
And let’s get into some questions!
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was about six when I first wanted to be a writer. I had written a story about life events and became enamoured with putting pen to paper and creating entire worlds. People could know what was going on in my head with the relatively simple act of stringing words together. Of course, it didn’t much help that I was incredibly fond of Tolkien and all his language shenanigans at that point. It’s mostly Tolkien’s fault that I became a word nerd, linguist, and writer.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
My work day involves doing admin work in the mornings. This includes book reviews, author interviews, social media, whatever marketing I can manage (though, I will acknowledge it as my nemesis). Then, in the afternoon, I dive into whatever story I’m currently working on and go from there.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My interesting writing quirk is probably the particular words that I use. I am not a typical person in regards to dialect, word choice, semantics, syntax, or any of it. I tend to use phrasing that is rather not modern, as well as roundabout and possibly overly loquacious. However, this linguistic oddity is part of my style and makes my writing very distinct. I will say, though, that not all my writing is this way; those stories that require a more formal style, or discuss deeper topics follow a different formulation that is more precise, if not necessarily abrupt.
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What does your family think of your writing?
Ah, that is rather a complicated question. Half of my family seems to think it perfectly acceptable, though they haven’t actually read my work. The other half of my family continues to ask when I will get a real job and gives me the confused look you reserve for people on bicycles in top hats, or other atypical phenomena. Either way, I have every intention of continuing with my writing, so their opinions are irrelevant.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I hear from my readers on occasion. Mostly, I hear from other authors who have read my books, or who have heard of me through other means. I don’t mind. I am perfectly happy to talk about all things bookish and wordy, whether they be my own things or someone else’s, or just my thoughts on the proverbial Oxford comma debate.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Well, first I wanted to be a writer. Then, I discovered that people didn’t get paid much as a writer, unless you were J.K. Rowling, so I decided to be a linguist. Once I did that, I decided to apply my linguistic knowledge and love of all things language and story to being a writer, and here I am!
What is the first book that made you cry?
Oh, geez, I haven’t a clue. I could probably name Tolkien books or some of the favourite books I read as a child, but I really do not remember. I do know that it is more rare than otherwise and that I haven’t seen it as frequently now as perhaps I used to.
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Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I write what sort of books I want to read. If the world is interested in that, great! If not, well then I accept wholeheartedly the fact that I am probably very weird and this does not bother me in the slightest. Now, to be fair, I have found that I am not singularly weird in my tastes, and this is a very wonderful means of connecting with other people. Does that mean I specifically follow write-to-market tactics? Not really.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
Well, to be frank, most of my friends are other authors of all different sorts of genres and styles, and I think exposing myself to that wide range of ideas and language practises makes me better able to understand other people. This then translates to my characters and world. Also, I just like reading books of all sorts.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Keep writing, tiny me! The words are there for the taking and the sharing.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Probably the best money I’ve ever spent is on Scrivener. I would be so very disorganised without that software and I am incredibly grateful to the designers for making it.
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What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
Under-appreciated novel? Well, I could name several authors I’m quite fond of that I have read recently, but I don’t know if I have a favourite. Ulff Lehmann, F.T. McKinstry, Eileen Mueller, Jamie Davis, the list is really very long. I read so much and in so many different genres and styles that picking just one to be my favourite is really difficult. But, I do have a list at the end of each year of books that I really enjoyed, so that’s always something to look for.
What are you working on now?
At the moment, I am working on writing more books for my upcoming On Behalf of Death series, an urban fantasy about Cal Thorpe, who gets hired to be Death’s marketing agent. I have five complete and am working on a sixth, then more, for a summer release of the series. It’s slightly sarcastic, possibly irreverent, and huge amounts of fun to write.
What do you have coming soon?
See above. Also, I have many plans, but the above mentioned is my most definitive plan at the moment.
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Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Um, chocolate is a wonderful substance? Tea is even more magical? I’m really bad at these sorts of questions. Though, if anyone is interested in any of my writing, editing services, book reviews, author interviews, etc, all the links and contact information is at https://linktr.ee/egswriter
