I have been tagged by the lovely Janet Allison Brown, author of The Walker’s Daughter. Now I must bare my soul to the world…

What am I working on?

I shouldn’t be writing. What I should be doing is…

Editing other people’s books to help them (and my bank account)

Re-writing six books I’ve already written and bringing them up to a better standard

Doing a final structural edit of two of my books that are about to be published

…but what I’m actually doing is writing a book about a young woman who is snatched from her apprenticeship, thrown, against her will, into university, and asked to save the world from mathematicians, who are inadvertently in league with the devil.

How does my work differ from other works in the same genre?

I write in … let me count … um, lots of genres. Help! I don’t know how to answer this question. I have a note from my mum and everything.

My Y/A books, already published, are theme-driven and the themes are pretty unusual. Sadly, there are no girls falling in love with vampires, but there is 17-year-old Jason who has lived feral on beaches since he ran from a children’s home at 11 and thinks in a way that is pivotal in resolving a nationwide crisis (Expect Civilian Casualties), and Beatha, of the same age, whose struggle with mental illness inspires the rest of humanity; well, those people that don’t want her dead (The Evil and the Fear).

Why do I write what I write?

Themes! As well as editing fiction I edit autobiography. There’s nothing more inspiring and mind-blowing than the themes that develop during someone’s life. They are the intoxicating revelations, the passions, the motivations behind whole crusades, heroism and the paradigm-shifts that turn our perceptions upside-down. Themes are what my life is about and I want to share them.

How does my writing process work?

A bit like a prototype racing car. Terrifying, unpredictable and high-octane, or sat in the garage for days while people scratch their heads.

Tagging forward!

Nell Brown, Lucy Lawrie