I live in Cardiff. For all its modernisation, there are still remnants of old Victorian Cardiff. I love the castle in the centre of the city and the fact that you have the sea on one side and the mountains on the other side of
Can you tell us a bit about your book?
I don't want to say too much, I'd much rather your readers found it out. But to give you an idea, JUDGEMENT OF SOULS is a Gothic horror in which a naïve pure-blood Vampire is tossed into the mortal world. Rachel meets Daniel, a nightclub owner and his group of friends and after Daniel’s best friend is murdered by Max, becomes embroiled in the search for an ancient vampire book. Rachel tries to fight off her feelings for Daniel, even siding with her Vampire friend Arun to think again about Daniel’s involvement, but he’s her love and she’s going to protect him, no matter what.
When and why did you start writing?
I started writing in school. My teachers used to limit me to ten pages per essay - it killed me to have a limit. After that I wrote short stories for magazines, it gave me a little extra while at college. But I've always had stories rolling around in my head. I can write about anything and some days I just look up at the sky and say 'thank you very much.'
What inspires you?
Other writers who have been in the same place that I am now. I’m new to all of this; all their advice is valuable because you’ll never find your way in this business without them and their help.
Are you working on anything now?
I'm working on the prequel to Judgement of Souls. It spans over 300 years so its quite a task. I'm doing a lot of research and I have to get the date lines right or it'll read a bit odd.
Is there anything you don't like about being a writer?
How hard it is. It’s not just sitting down and writing. I had a hard hitting editor who returned my first draft and made it look like a bloodbath! It was a surprise. But the end result is something you can’t possible imagine, you’ve brought these people to life and you control their lives. I love it. And I think the worse is having that great idea and by the time you get to write it down, forgetting it! And marketing. I’ve never contacted so many people, websites and groups since the book became LIVE on the 27th December 2011.
What do you think of the ebook revolution?
I think it’s brilliant. There are so many talented writers out there that miss out because traditional publishers won’t accept their work. I know it costs a lot of money to produce books these days, but really? Would it hurt to be a bit more flexible? Ebooks mean no more carrying heavy loads of them on holiday, we save trees, long may it reign.
Is there anything you will NOT write about?
Zombies! Sorry to all my Zombie friends and authors out there. I hate them! Scare me silly! And perhaps anything biographical, I just don’t think I’d do that person any justice.
In what genre do you prefer to write? To read?
I love writing anything Supernatural. Vampires and demons, unknown realms where you can just let your mind wander through and go wild. I’ll read the same type of stories too.
Can you tell us about any ups and downs in your writing career so far.
The downs are always the rejections. When you get a reply from a publisher and its just 'no thanks' scribbled on the bottom of the letter you sent them it makes you think ;why bother' but you have to.
Do you have any suggestions for people who might be considering writing as a career?
Don't give up. If you have a story that is dying to be told, then work hard to tell it. But make sure you are doing your best work and you get an editor that can help you make the most of your manuscript.
Don’t give up even though you may get rejection letters. If everyone thought like that there’d be no books, no films. Keep writing, even if its dribble! Then read, re-read and edit. Try and write a little each day. One hundred words a day is seven hundred a week, twenty-eight hundred a month and one hundred words a day is so simple!
And carry a Dictaphone or a notebook and pen!
Anything else you want to add?
This is a series of 3 books. I started at the end. There isn’t anyone who will be able to tell me why I did that. When these three are finished, I’d like to write some shorter stories about Daniel and Rachel and maybe their quest to find supernatural occult items and somehow tie them in to working for The Righteous. That should be interesting!
Margarita's links:
Judgement of Souls on Kindle UK
Judgement of Souls on Kindle US