Questions and Answers Linda is an Australian writer, married to a serving member of the Australian Defence Force, (now retired) and mother to 4 adult children. She began writing a number of years ago. The Mist of Doom is her first novel. She's also Editor & brainchild behind The-Writers-Garret. At the moment she has two more novels, both horror genre, in the works - Dreamweavers & Homecoming. Some of her short stories can be seen at The Writer's Garret. What are you currently working on? Currently I'm working on two novels, Homecoming and Dreamweavers. Both are horror novels. Who (Fact or Fiction) would you most like to meet, and what would you ask them? Gosh, there are so many. Carl Sagan - 'Tell me about science.' Stephen King - 'Do you wish people would stop referring to you as just a horror writer?' And to any successful writer 'Was there ever a time you almost gave up? What kept you going?' Is there a book or story you wished you had written? No, because I think that if I or anyone else had written them they would not have been as they are. Is writing your full time occupation, if not what is? Yep, writing, editing and running my site is my full time occupation. I don't have time for anything else even if I wanted to. Being married to a soldier meant that for most of my life we were constantly moving, writing and being online meant I could do what I loved regardless of where we were. Now we've retired from the military it means I now live where I want and I'm happy with my little place in the world. Who is you favourite author? There are many. J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Stephen King, James Herbert, Clive Barker .... gosh, how come there are no women in there. I obviously need to revise my future reading material. If you could give one piece of advice to a would-be author, what would it be? What only one? Persist, persist, persist! Never be afraid of asking advice or getting feedback. Don't let anyone try to convince you you can't write - especially friends and family. Equally just because your family might think you're brilliant - don't assume you are. Join writer's group and research different facets of writing, publishing etc. Don't despair if you get rejected. If you've got even the smallest modicum of talent someone, somewhere, will recognise it. Above all be polite, don't tell an editor they are a moron - even if you are convinced of it. Ego is best kept for when you have had ten best sellers. Present your work in a professional manner, brush up on your grammar - proofread. When did you first decide that you wanted to be an author? I never consciously decided to be an author, I just wanted to write, to me they were two different things. Though the first time I encountered the word 'author's manuscript' stamped on a returned manuscript from a publisher in England, it did give me a buzz. Are you for or against e-books? Completely for them naturally. I think they are the next logical evolution of books. They aren't going to make traditional books extinct but I do think they will continue to have a valid place in any library or bookshelf. While many people talk of how environmentally friendly they are etc, I found the biggest benefit for me is that I can change the size of the text. As someone who finds it extremely hard to read print books now, (definitely need new glasses) this is a huge plus. Are you a music fan? If so, what? I love music. Some of my favourites would be Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs, Roachford, the Beatles. Latest purchase was Gregorian, Masters of Chant. I pop it on, hit repeat on the cd player and let it play all day as I wander in and out. Do you have a favourite place to write? Well for first drafts I love sitting at the kitchen table. For re-writes and everything else I have my office with the computer. Do you enjoy book signings/conventions? Never been to one. Went to a writer's fair once, does that count. That was a good experience though, I met someone who liked my work so much she put me in touch with her agent. I learnt a lot from him. Later when he left for foreign shores she represented my book herself. Why do you like SF/F/H? I like SF/F because they have the ability to take me to worlds that don't exist - but I as a reader get to believe they do. With horror I can be terrified with complete safety - such fun:-) Is there anything more that can be done with Wizards, Elves and Dragons? I'm sure that every time someone thinks that fantasy has been done to death, along comes a new book to disprove that. Now that Lord of the Rings - Harry Potter have been made into major movies I think there is going to be a resurgence of interest in fantasy/dark fantasy. As a reader do you prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror? I like them all. Horror would be first pick for reading, with fantasy a close second. What influences the names of people and places in your work? They just have to 'feel' right to me. Short story, single novel or novel series - which do you think is the best medium for Fantasy? It all depends on the story. In the Shannara series there are a number of books thankfully. But then again in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant I always felt it should have stopped at say, book 4. It just seem to drag out for no good reason. Do you use myths and ancient religions for inspiration? I found I used elements of mythology quite a lot in The Mist of Doom. It wasn't a conscious decision it just happened that way. I've always enjoyed mythology and it just kind of crept in there I guess. What book are you reading at the moment? At the moment I'm re-reading the four books in the second Shannara series by Terry Brooks, also halfway though Stephen King/Peter Straub's Black House. How does your approach to the editing role differ from that of writing? It's vastly different. Writing I just try to get it down, I don't worry about too much about the first draft in particular. When it comes to editing that's a different thing entirely. Editing is not just about finding spelling errors, but about where I might need to cut, what needs to be sharpened, polished. Checking grammar, flow, have I created tension? Are the characters well developed - are they believable - do they bleed? Do You Always know a Story's Ending When You Begin Writing? No, I only think I do. Who or what has been a major influence on your writing and why? The writer of any book I've ever loved. I realised that all the books I ever loved had one thing in common regardless of genre, and that was well-developed characters, I cared for them, I felt what they felt, I viewed them as real people. What's the most memorable thing said in a review of your work? "Great entertainment! THE MIST OF DOOM by L. C. Shillabeer captures the reader's interest from the very first line and doesn't let go. The action and suspense created continues throughout each and every page." I got quite a buzz from reading that. I felt I had achieved what I set out to do. Have you won any awards for your writing? I've never entered any competitions. No, I forgot, I did enter a really appalling poem once in a poetry contest - naturally I didn't win. Is there something you are particularly proud of? A character who will appear in Dreamweavers. She originally came into existence in a book I started but ended up scrapping - it just wasn't working. But I liked the character of Loretta so much I used her in Dreamweavers. I think she's the best thing I have ever written. Plug away - what do you have coming out? Well I have some short stories doing the rounds at the moment. Homecoming won't be ready for some time yet and I'm in the middle of writing a new short story, it's a haunting love story. Many Thanks, Linda! Relevant Links Linda Shillabeer Main Bibliography