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Friday, May 20, 2011

Penelope Fletcher: The IAN Interview

Penelope Fletcher discusses Demon Girl and writing the Rae Wilder Novels.





I'm 22 years old, was born in London the UK, and live in Essex with my fiancé. I want to write something worth remembering. I have a suspicion it will take most of my life, but I'm okay with that. I write fantasy, which falls mostly into the young adult readership, but more recently has taken on a more, ah, adult edge. I listen more than I speak, and skip from one thought to the other quite fast, which is amusing if you know me personally, but is probably annoying as hell to everyone else. I love to smile, the small things in life delight me, and I have a serious addiction to cans of Coca Cola (cans, this part is important, the bottled stuff is naff).

IAN. Tell us about your latest book.

PF. My latest release is Demon Day, but, that is book two in a trilogy, which always seems weird to focus on since people have no frame of reference if they haven't read the first book. So, although Demon Day is my latest release (and a Kindle UK Top 100 Bestseller … had to get that in there somewhere), I'm going to focus on book one, Demon Girl.

It's about an eighteen year old girl called Rae, living in a dystopian world overrun by supernaturals (called demons). She discovers she is a fairy, and manages to get herself into a heap of trouble without really trying too hard. She goes through an intense journey of self-discovery, and being on the cusp of adulthood, experiences the confusion of forced change, the pain of loss, and a helluva lotta lust for a fairy and a vampire.

IAN. How long did it take to write Demon Girl?

PF. Two years, though that first draft was laughable. It took me three months to practically re-write the whole thing and another pass by a competent editor to turn it into what you can read now.

IAN. What inspired you to write the book?

VF. *Sigh* Here is where I have no solid answer, or inspirational story. I simply started one day. It wasn't until I was done I realized I had written a whole book. And then I couldn't stop. I find the more I write, the more I want to.

IAN. Talk about the writing process. Do you write at night or in the morning?

VF. I write best first thing in the morning, weekends, between six and ten am. After ten am something strange happens and everything I write is bonkers. It's 13:14 as I write this now, for example. J

Writing is my passion, it's safe to say. I'm an Indie, and proud of it, but can confidently say I begrudge every moment I have to spend on something other than writing. No wait, barring designing my book covers ... and reading ... and being with my fiancé.

IAN. Did you use an outline or do you just wing the first draft?

VF. I've started using outlines, which is usually a paragraph describing the whole story. The outlines are mostly to stop me wandering off into my own imagination, and writing a whole other story than the one I had planned. Once I've got my characters developed, I just go for it.

IAN. How is Demon Girl different from others in your genre?

VF. It's the same supernatural creatures you're used to, but told through the eyes of a girl who is confused 99.9 per cent of the time. I'm not posturing; it is different (read the reviews). The style is very offbeat, and if you don't 'get' my main character, and fall into her flow, you'll struggle to understand what on earth is going on. The timeline is also something readers either take to, or rain down criticism on like in a baptism of fire. *gah* It is set over the course of a single day in Rae's life, and a lot happens to her, it's pretty intense.

IAN. How intriguing. An entire novel set in one day. Is Demon Girl published in print, e-book or both?

VF. Both, though the eBook is more easily available. Currently, Amazon has set the Kindle Edition of the Demon Girl as free (US and UK), so have at it when the offer is good. It is .99 everywhere else.

IAN. What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

VF. An appreciation of the odd, lol. I'm not trying to change the world, or make a grand statement with a hidden message ... this time around. Demon Girl is a book for some downtime. I hope my readers feel entertained and a little breathless when the last page turns.

IAN. Where can we go to buy your books?

VF. Venus. I'm also doing a book signing on Pluto. But if you can't make it to those exotic locations, you can find Demon Girl in Kindle, iBook, Nook, Sony and Kobo eStores, and, read it via WattPad.

IAN. Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand alone?

VF. I'm working on the first draft of book three in the Rae Wilder Novels (Demon Dark), on the first draft of Smolder, part one in a new series called Dragon Souls, and the second draft of the next in my Beautiful Damned Novella's, Silver Lance. I plan to keep my readers entertained for a while yet.

IAN. Any other links or info you'd like to share?

VF. I have a genuine love of books and read a lot (more than is probably healthy). I have a new video review blog you can submit to for a video review of your book if you're looking for honest reviews that are a little different from the standard written ones.

I also interview fellow Indie Authors, and showcase stuff from Indie's (who ask nicely) on my writer's blog, Fiction Fierce.

I don't auto follow on Twitter, but if you engage me in a conversation, I will respond, and follow back (and actually interact on a regular basis *shock, horror*).

You can connect with me online at the following places (surely, there must be one you dig ;D).

Author Website: penelopefletcher.com

Writer's Blog: fictionfierce.blogspot.com

Indie Book Reviews: indiebookreview.blogspot.com (open to submissions)

Twitter/WattPad Handle: Miss_Fletcher

Facebook: facebook.com/DemonGirlBook

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/missfletcher

YouTube: youtube.com/user/TheMissFletch

Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher

Page count: Depends on format (76,000 words)

Young Adult Fantasy

Independently Published

An Excerpt:

I am not going to kill you.”

The vampire had spoken. It took me a while to realize he had, because my last words had been a statement not a question. And even if he’d interpreted it as a question, it was clearly rhetorical. I was living my last moments and the flashbacks of my life were about to commence, so the interruption was not appreciated. But since he’d spoken again I felt obliged to say something back, and I was getting used to conversations with strangers.

Why?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.

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