Saturday 17 September 2011

Interview by the Bookaholics book club, about Bound. And a little about me.




First of all,what is the inspiration behind "Bound"?
Several events happened in my life that made me feel like I was inspired to write. One of them was my wife, she had gotten sick and tired of hearing my bellyaching over plots that I did not agree with, so… she said if I thought that I could do any better that I should write, and so I did. Making her my critic and inspiration. But as I said, that is only part of the reason.

-Who is your favourite character in the story?
For me, my favorite character to write was probably Tessa, she was feisty, peculiar, she only ever really showed one emotion and that was anger, at least until she began to sense others. I enjoyed writing for a female character who took no BS. Who was strong, and defiant, and yet loyal and timid. I am still enjoying developing her attitude, deciding on what she can, and cannot do, and I love that I can continue to do so. I feel that week feminine characters are really over done, and not honest. And so thought… why not have an almost neurotic no BS lady, who can crack the proverbial whip, and yet still keep her femininity. 

-How was the experience of writing for a YA audience?
Not too difficult, seeing as I am at least according to my wife and parents a young adult. I had the help of my niece and one of her school friends who fit into the YA bracket, they proof read my novel before it was released, (in between studying of course) and I listened to their feedback with open ears. Then looked at any parts, I thought may need to change, and did so! They are both looking forward to book two I might add! 

-Do you write to a soundtrack?
I used to listen to music that I listened to when I was at school, remembering the emotions that I felt, and how silly I looked at the time. But eventually as I got deeper into writing Bound, I began to find myself distracted with the lyrics… So from then on I began to write in solitude, as soon as my wife and children were tucked into bed going to sleep I would stay up till the wee hours writing with only the sound of my fidgeting dog and mewling cat to distract me. 

-Do you have any funny/interesting anedocts from when you were writing "Bound"?Well… the only thing that comes to mind is that once or twice my cat scared me. It turns out that at two or three o’clock in the morning, my cat mewls… but it sounds like a tropical bird… It was a bit unexpected… oh, and a few times, when my cat was performing his all too smug tight rope walking techniques he would misjudge a gap and knock a few pictures down or my cup of coffee… My dog bless her was well behaved and just as startled as I was often waking up barking to the sound of a loud bang… only making things worse…

-What is your favourite thing about being a writer and what is your least favourite?My favorite thing about being a writer is the luxury of knowing that the only thing that can limit your abilities is your imagination, you can learn whatever you need to by reading… something you love… and practicing by writing… something else you love… what I don’t like… well waking the kids up at three o’clock in the morning because the cat frightened the dog and I.

-What would you like people to say about "Bound"? 
That they wished my characters were real.

-Why would you recommend "Bound" to our Club members?Bound is a urban fantasy that I began to write after feeling inspired from dear friends of mine and loved ones, it brings me happiness writing about the characters and their journeys, they make me laugh, they make me cry, they make me tense, they make me feel empowered… they make me whole… So why not see if I can share my joy with everyone?!

-And last but not least,are you a Bookaholic?
Hmmm…. Apparently the first step in the road of recovery is to admit you have a problem… attending a BA meeting, and standing up in a room full of people, and saying: “Hi, my name is Lee, and I am a Bookaholic.” I won’t do that... I love to read, I love to write I am a Bookaholic and proud!
So to answer your question: Yes. Yes I am! Lol.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

An Interview with Satinsbookishcorner... Enjoy xD Want to know anything else? all you have to do is ask xD

This is the interview below, check out Susie and her blog to read some of her reviews, she is a gem. http://satinsbookishcorner.blogspot.com



SATIN -  
Well Lee I'd like to start off saying thank you for taking the time to chat with little old me, I feel so special being the first to interview you. Now for anyone out there who doesn't 
know who you are, could you tell us a little bit about your self..? 





LEE - Sure, well... I am a new author, I have my first book Bound coming out this Fall and hopefully it will go down a treat! I am a father of three, and happily married. I love to read, write, watch movies, and draw. I love reading books on old folklore and mythology. I wish I could say that I have a particular genre that I always watch and stick to with movies and books but honestly as much as I will complain I can delve into Jane Eyre and John tucker must die. as long as there is a part that makes me laugh then its good to see or read. word of advice though, my wife once picked a film for us to watch on a weekend and I think it was called house of echo's she thought it would be scary... it was bad. I still want those eighty minutes back and that was five years ago! Sorry, I am mumbling... onto question two!




SATIN-  Hehehehe  to funny I ramble as well. Ok back to the questions.  Now then, what was the spark behind this book. What inspired you into writing this great peace of work. 




LEE- For me it was a series of different factors all coming to a point, I like to joke and say that my wife got fed up of me bellyaching over a book or movie that I had read and didn't particularly like the ending or predicting a plot point before it came up. So she told me to "Stop moaning and put your money where your mouth is." Which is true but at the time I was thinking about writing one of my best friends was in an accident and unfortunately passed away and we had always talked about things we wanted to do and one of mine was to work from home doing something that I love. okay so as a kid at the time it would probably have been video games but it made me realize. Life can be too short, why miss out. And so I started writing about things that I love and that interest me and found myself getting more immersed in my universe. 




SATIN -  Lee i think more people should take that advise.  Ok next question, What was your favourite part of this book, and did you find any of it really hard to write.






LEE - I am sure if you ask most authors they all say all of it... or certain points that they took great pleasure in writing... but to be honest I enjoyed putting every word onto paper... then when I went back and roughly edited it so it made sense then the rest all came down to a dollop of Spackle and voilla! I really enjoyed writing some of the dialogue sequences between my characters I wanted each of them to leave an impression. I am totally talking off topic aren't I? Okay, so.. one of my favorite parts would probably be where my main protagonist has a gun pointed at his head and for some reason the voices in my head gave me an awesome idea! I can't tell you though... which sucks... I guess your going to have to read it to see what I am on about! 


SATIN- OMG Lee you didnt just leave me with that little teaser when its such a long way off for your realise date...man you suck lmao.  Ok  moving on ,  Can you tell me where this book is going. Do you have a set amount of books for this series, or are you just going to see where it ends up.




LEE-  Well its book one in my Unleashed series... I am currently writing book two along with a few shorts, I have a book where I write all potential plots and as long as I keep filling that up I am pretty happy to keep populating my "Unleashed" universe. And if people enjoy reading Bound as much as I did writing it then that is freaking awesome




SATIN- Well im really looking forward to reading it. Ok from speaking to some of my other author friends, i know some of them have a routine when they are writing. do you have a routine and can you tell us what it is




LEE- Routine? Um... Yeah... I like to dance around a fire in the moonlight completely... To be honest my routines differ. Some days it would consist of a copious amount of caffeine loud music blaring in my headphones, others I will listen to some music before writing... But a large part of the time I will wait until my wonderful children are tucked away snuggly in their beds then I will sit down with a coffee and just bask in silence... less I would if my mewling cat or insanely affectionate dog would let me before they get fussed enough so they can sleep.

SATIN-  wow your house sounds like my house lol. when writing your books, what normally comes first, The characters or the idea of the novel.



LEE- For me it was the idea of wanting to write... Then when I read what I had initially written or jotted down I would get a better idea, least I did to begin with, for me the hard part was generating the universe for my characters to populate, I wanted it to feel fresh, a concept for the genre that is not always guaranteed! 



SATIN -Yep its a tough job i dont know how you do it, now then my followers know i like to ask a random question, But for you, you lucky guy , you get two. lol..  

a, If you could take anyone out for a meal (dead or alive) who would it be and why


LEE -  This is going to sound odd... but it would probably be either Nathan Fillion or Burnie Burns, they both appear to have a wicked sense of humor and would make awesome drinking buddies... Nathan is currently starring in the series Castle, and Burnie is the founder of RoosterTeeth.

I wish I could say something juicier but being a happily married man who doesn't want his wife to make him sleep on the couch there will be no dinner with a talented lady. *whispers: Emma Stone*
B- Ok we wont let her read that bit lol, or maybe this bit either lol..I've always wanted to ask a male author this, all the girls who follow me and most of the female authors have a favorite book guy, so do you have a favorite book girl, weather its out of your book or someone elses.


LEE- Wow that's tough! I might have to say Cat Crawford from the Night huntress series written by Jeaniene Frost. I have a thing for fiery redheads. 

 SATIN-  Wow good answers, im impressed.lastly have you got any thing else you would like to add for my followers.


LEE- Well sure, thanks for reading this interview, I am really sorry that I couldn't say more about Bound, I have a few blurbs and trailers in production for it and I hope to chat to you all real soon! You can find me on facebook, my blog that I have just started and my website www.lee-taylor.co.uk 




And of course a huge thanks to Susie, you are amazing
SATIN-  Ahhh thank you Lee, and thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Ihope when your book is out you will drop by and let us know. because some of us *cough, ME, cough*  cant wait to read it.

Wednesday 15 June 2011

The use of "magic" and my promise to you.

Hey peeps... is that the accepted vernacular?  bah! Well I hope that you are well, and thanks for coming back to read yet another spazmatic rant from an idiot its greatly appreciated! ~Today I shall be addressing me whole "magical door complex" I know it sounds lame so if you don't want to read it then shoo! But for those with the stones to read through I salute you and call you friend... kind of like E.T, except my finger doesn't glow and I don't look like a giant rumpled scrotum... Well at least I hope I don't... I must confess I am often referred to as a "dick" ... hmm... maybe I am more like E.T than I initially thought... *sighs*

Any who,
When I talk about the magical door complex I am basically talking about (In my opinion): writers who fall short of a brilliant ending and leave a bad taste for you of them in your mouth... or you know mind.

Here is an example... you start to read a book... or watch a movie... you devote time and effort into reading it... (not so much watching a film ya big'ol couch potato) you stick through it, it builds up to a crescendo you can feel the hairs prickling up on the back of your neck, you may even bob up and down on the spot like a hungry sea lion waiting for a herring as the end approaches... The mood is set, the protagonist is in dire need of help... what's going to happen? OH MY GOD WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN I CANEE WAIT I TELL YEE! ... then *poof* you get drop kicked in the gonads with a weaker ending than a london beverage but you still get charged to the point of poverty for it...

This has happened to me a few times while reading, and its one of the reasons why I have written a book myself, I don't to disappoint you guys with a finale unless I am writing cliffhanger or just a to be continued kind of ending... but to just end a book where there was so much yet to be said/told that's just freaking wrong! Unless they plan on writing more for those characters. Maybe I am fussy... 

Another more popular example of this is with (I will name it as I hope to any deity listening that they re-do the ending) Breaking dawn... why would you get everyone together to have them use a magic FREAKING BUBBLE... SERIOUSLY?? A BUBBLE? it was like a school disco for an ending, all the boys one side the girls another too shy to make the first move so they stand there awkwardly eying each other... oh the terror... bloody hell.. what a load of constipated retardation that was...  here is my interpretation in an east side gangsta chav rendition:

Bella: "I haz a magic bubble"

Jane: " Shiznit she has a mageek bubble"

Aro: " Okay's Lataz!"

Edward: "ha they iz scared ofz your bubble wrap brrap brrap!"

thus endith the book.... now see at least in that version you can blame it on chavs... the book wasn't that merciful, I actually enjoyed reading them to a point as well.... but that was more torturous than rubbing chilli powder in my delicates... not to mention my unmentionables...

Any way I am off again as I have temporarily lost the wind from my sails so the s.s crazy is going to take a short interlude.... Oh my god, was that really as lame as it sounded? *sighs*