Today, I'd like to welcome Kellie Steele, author of “White Ghost” to The Thursday Interview. Before we get started, a quick intro!
I started writing under a year ago (June 2015) and currently have two books out and have started my third. I myself live in Harrogate, a small town in North Yorkshire England. I have lived in the area all my life (all 21 years of it) and I quite enjoy it. Harrogate is close to countryside, in fact there is country everywhere you look. I think this has probably influenced me in writing the White Ghost series as it is all based in the outdoors. I have always had a love of nature and animals, and this shows in my first novel. Arella (the main character in the White Ghost series) is a little bit like myself. I work as an administrator full time, which helps me in writing as it's my job. The interesting thing about me, other than the albinism, is that I am partially sighted.
OK - HERE WE GO !!
No.1 Would you break the law to save a loved one? .. why?
I guess it would depend on what the law was. It’s a difficult question to answer without being given a scenario, but I probably would. As long as my loved ones were safe, it doesn’t matter what happens to me.
No.2 What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Being alive is what we all are. We all breath, we all live, but not many of us are truly alive. I think this means that you are living your life to your full potential, doing things you really want to do with your life, enjoying living, not just existing. Many of us simply work to pay for the house we live in, and therefore cannot afford to really live. It’s sad that we don’t get to live our lives how we would like to, I know I don’t.
No.3 What motivates you to write?
My active imagination motivates me. If I do not write my stories down, the characters bug and plague me until I do. They’re relentless and don’t let me sleep till I’ve written what they want me to write. I guess now that I do have a couple of books out, I enjoy hearing what other people think of them, and their comments on my writing. This motivates me to write more and finish the stories.
No.4 Why do humans want children?
This is a hard question and I have two answers. The first is the scientific answer. Humans have children to pass on their genes, knowledge and carry on their name… But that is the primal reason we have children. But I know I want to have children because I have always wanted them. I don’t really know why I want them, but I know I do.
No.5 What was the biggest challenge in creating your book "White Ghost"?
The biggest challenge for me in writing White Ghost and the Poison Arrow was not the actual making of the story its self, this was easy. It was the editing that came after writing. I hate editing, finding errors in my work, finding places where I’ve missed detail, not explained enough. This for me was the hardest part of writing.
No.6 What is the most important thing you have learned in life so far?
Not to take things for granted and think life is easy. I’ve found, since I’ve started writing, that people do not just find your book and instantly buy it just because you’re published. It takes a lot of time and effort to get people to notice your books, and that people that make a living from it have either been very lucky or have worked extremely hard for it.
No.7 How did you come up with the title "White Ghost"?
White Ghost is the main character in my book. She has pale skin and hair (an albino) and hides in the shadows of the bushes. It is in one of the early scenes that a member of another tribe spots her ‘“A white ghost!” Nashoba exclaims. Everyone looks at him puzzled and Arella’s heart drops. “What on earth are you blabbering about?” Mato asks and Nashoba takes Nootau’s hand and gets up. “Did you hit your head on a rock?” Nootau asks. “Must have hit you harder than I thought. “No really I saw a white ghost.” Nashoba insists. “What else could it have been. It had a white face, white hair and like, purple eyes.”’ And the poison arrow came after as the subtitle almost. This is because Arella finds animals poisoned by arrows and this story centres around her investigations into this.
No.8 How do you handle personal criticism?
To be honest I don’t handle it well. I hate it when people pick out flaws or say they didn’t like something. This is just me, but I really don’t like it. It upsets me to think that people don’t like my writing. I sound kind of childish, but maybe acceptance will come with experience.
No.9 Why should people read your book?
If you want a nice light read with lots of action, adventure, fantasy, magic and love, then White Ghost and the Poison Arrow might be for you. Was your dream ever to be able to talk to animals? I know mine was. Well Arella can. Her best friend, Maska, an auron cat (a creature of my own making, a little like a black panther except bigger and with purple highlights in its long fur) can communicate with each other. It is a nice fantasy story with high review ratings so far, and even better, it is part of a series.
No.10 Why is there something rather than nothing?
Tough question, but my answer is why not? The world I have created started out in my head, now it is on paper and people are reading it! This to me is amazing. If I can do it, then why not. If I can make the characters inside my head come to life then anything is possible.
Thank you Kellie :)
For taking the time to answer my questions
& the best of luck with your new book!
Check out “White Ghost” on
Arella is an outcast in her tribe, white skinned and silver haired, bright purple eyes and a strong will, while the others are dark skinned and passive. She longs to be free of the chains of society, but does not realize the dangers of this. Arella will soon come to find that the real world is not so easy to live with... When she starts finding animals in the forest poisoned by arrows, she knows she must do something, but what? Will she find who is doing it? And will she be able to stop them without losing her own life...?
.
No comments:
Post a Comment