Author of the
Sovereign Hope series,
Frankie Rose let me interview her over email a few days ago. And this is part of her blog tour (which I'm a couple days late on, forgive me!).
Interview
Q: What were some authors that influenced you?
A: I've been influenced in one way or another by a whole heap of fantastic authors. I really love Neil Gaiman and Markus Zusak. I've re-read Tolkein over and over again. I love the classics as well. Dickens inspired my love of reading in the first place.
Q: Could you clue us in are your writing process? (Ex. How do you start? Is it trial an error? Or do you have it all planned out from the very get go?)
A: I spend about a week just thinking about what sort of story I'm writing and who the characters are. I find that that gives me a good basis to go from, and I'm able to start plotting out the events of the book from there. I definitely do plot out my chapters individually. That helps to stay focused on where the story is going and how and when to build tension etc.
Q: What are some of your current favorite authors?
A: Currently, I'm addicted to George R R Martin. I was devastated when I finished his A Song of Ice and Fire series. I'm going to be an impatient mess while I wait for the next instalment! I also really like Veronica Wroth and Nalini Singh. The Guild Hunter series is something my sister put me onto, and I've really enjoyed reading that.
Q: Are there any real life people in your life that inspired you to create any of your characters?
A: Hmm, I suppose I may have stolen a few traits for Tess from some of my own sassy friends. Other than her, I don't really think I have. I made a conscious decision that I wanted to create the characters in my book to be individuals, not parodies of other people. For me, that was important because I wanted to give Farley, Daniel and the others their own stories, and I think if I'd have incorporated parts of people from my life into them, I would be forever recognising that and thinking of the book characters as my friends. That wouldn't have worked for me.
Q: Is there a genre in which you would or wouldn't like to write in? If so, why or why not?
A: I wouldn't like to write pure fantasy. I've read some great books in that genre, don't get me wrong, and it's extremely hard to write a good fantasy, so the people who do it well are truly masters of their crafts, but it's just not for me. Maybe that will change, but at the moment I'm kinda being drawn to more contemporary work.
Q: Where did the idea of Sovereign Hope come from?
A: As with my characters, I didn't want to borrow inspiration from somewhere else for the book. I took ages working through the process that I explained earlier, plotting and reflecting, and it came to me that way. It took a while to come up with the specifics of the storyline, and there were definitely some things I tried that didn't work before I felt like I'd really hit on what I'd wanted to accomplish.
Q: If your book became a movie, who would you like to see play your characters? (I know that authors have very little influence in the book-to-movie business, but I'd like to know!)
A: I've been asked this a whole bunch and I haven't come across anyone that's been immediately prefect for any of the characters. Funnily, I think Alex Pettyfer would make a good Kayden. We'd just need to get him some contacts and make him blonde again. For Farley, I've always thought Phoebe Tonkin might make for good casting. But Daniel... that one is SO hard. I really hate even suggesting anyone, because no one fits the image of him I have in my mind. I've said before that Kit Harington might make a good Daniel, but half the time I think that's just because I like Kit Harington and not because he's the perfect match! The guy who is going to be on the cover of Eternal Hope is a good fit for Daniel. Maybe I can persuade him to start acting and then he could play him, ha ha!
Q: Are you planning on writing a new series? Or would you like to write more in The Hope Series?
A: There are four books in The Hope Series, so I'm currently only half way through writing that. In addition, I'm writing a couple of freestanding books at the moment as well, which is really fun. It's great to encompass an entire story in one instalment. I love writing series and individual novels equally, I think, but it's always fun for a reader when they can follow a set of characters through a journey that spans a few books. When you love a character and empathize with them, it's incredibly hard to let them go, and that's why reading and, equally, writing a series is so wonderful.
Q: Do you ever get writers block? And what do you do when or if you do get it?
A: Not really. I have days when I just don't feel like writing anything, but that's easy to fix. If i just commit to writing a couple of lines, I usually get sucked in. Those days can end up being some of my most productive. I think suffering from writer's block would generally stem from not knowing where you're going with your work, and I always know where I'm going and what's happening in the story because of the way I plan and plot everything out.
Q: Do you have any snacks or automatic go-to foods while writing or reading?
A: I live off muesli bars when I'm writing. That, or 'Up and Go'. I don't know if that's an australian thing? Basically, when I'm writing, I will eat anything that doesn't require preparation or washing up. I'm terrible for that. I eat a lot of fruit, too, because that's easy to pick at and obviously healthy!
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