Blog hop: four questions about my writing

I’ve been invited to this blog hop by my dear friend and fellow author Stefania Mattana. She’s writing a series of detective stories featuring the ex-Scotland Yard detective Chase Williams, now living in Italy. Moreover you can learn more about her on blog, Daily Pinner, and her website.

And here are the questions and my answers.

What am I working on?

At the moment, I’m translating into English the second book of my science fiction series set on Mars, “Red Desert”. The first one, “Red Desert - Point of no return”, will be published in English on 30 June.

Moreover, I’ve just published my sixth book in Italian, a thriller novel titled “Il mentore” (The Mentor) and I’m re-writing my seventh book, which will be released by November. This one is a science fiction novel in the same timeline of “Red Desert” and, together with the latter, is part of a wider saga called Aurora. Its title is “L’isola di Gaia” (The Isle of Gaia).

Yes, I’m quite busy!

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

Well, my work is quite cross-genre. Until now I have written books (some published and a few still to be published) ranging from fantasy, science fiction, adventure, techno-thriller, crime thriller and even action thriller, all characterised by very emotional, flawed protagonists; they are anti-heroes.

Normally, genre fiction novels include very typical elements. There’s the main character, maybe with some flaws, but who becomes a hero. There’s the villain to be defeated. In the end good prevails on evil and the heroes redeems their flaws. In “Red Desert”, for instance, everything is different. There’s an anti-heroine, who isn’t a good person at all and doesn’t aim at redeeming herself, nor she will. You don’t really understand who the villain is and, after you learn it, you realise their evilness is just related to the point of view from which you look at them. Good and evil become subjective and in fact everything is upside down, pushing the reader to be a fan of a character because even the reader in their place would just think about saving their lives and the one of those they love. And who cares to save the world!

Why do I write what I do?

Writing for me is just another way of living and creating new memories, with the big difference that the experiences about which I write are practically impossible to be lived for real (fortunately, I would say) and that I have full control of them (well, except when my characters take it from me). Writing is a way of travelling beyond space and time, feeling together with my characters, breaking the barriers of real life and enriching it. It is also a way to get in touch with those, the readers, who share the same way of feeling that I do. I write to find those readers.

How does my writing process work?

It depends on the book, but usually all begins with an idea, possibly an unordinary one, coming to my mind by chance, sometimes in dreams. I keep thinking about it and about a possible ending that nobody would expect. Once I find the end, then I try to imagine the beginning of the story, typically in media res, and then I look for a way to get from one to the other, possibly by following a non-chronological path. For doing this I write plenty of notes, then an outline. Finally, I start writing from the beginning in the order in which the final book will be. I never skip a scene, even if it may seem hard to face.

During the period in which I write the first draft, I give myself some word count targets, ideally 2,000 words per session (possibly daily, except weekends). When I reach the end, I give myself some time to detach from the story before starting the editing process.

I normally publish two books per year, so the time passing from starting the first draft and the publication can take as few as five or six months, when I concentrate on a single project, like I did when writing “Red Desert” in Italian. Well, except when I participate in NaNoWriMo, which I usually do during the latest preparation stages of an upcoming publication.

So, these are my answers. Now it’s time to tag the other authors who will continue this blog hop on their blogs.

Here they are.

DEVORAH FOX

Devorah Fox is the author of The Lost King, The King’s Ransom, and The King’s Redress (coming soon) in The Bewildering Adventures of King 

Bewilliam literary fantasy series, as well as co-author of the contemporary thriller, Naked Came the Sharks. Publisher and editor of the BUMPERTOBUMPER® books for commercial motor vehicle drivers, she is developer of the Easy CDL test prep apps for the iPhone and iPad. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she now lives in The Barefoot Palace in Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf Coast where she writes the “Dee-Scoveries” blog at
http://devorahfox.com.

You can also find her on About Me and Facebook. Check out her profile on Amazon.

FRANCESCO ZAMPA

Francesco Zampa lives and works in Umbria (Italy). Cinema, comics, and book addict, he is author of crime stories and novels, featuring the Carabinieri Marshal Franco Maggio, including the novel Doppio omicidio per il Maresciallo Maggio (soon to be published in English), the short stories' collection C’è sempre un motivo, Maresciallo Maggio!, and the novel Gioco pericoloso, Maresciallo Maggio!.

Visit his blog “I Racconti del Maresciallo Maggio”:
http://ilmaresciallomaggio.blogspot.com (also in English).

You can also find Francesco on Facebook and on Goodreads. Check out his profile on Amazon.