Author Interview: Nicole Murphy

Nicole Murphy has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, and has been writing them down since primary school. Having worked as a teacher and journalist, Nicole Murphy has honed her skills in writing and storytelling and now focuses full-time on her career in fiction. She has had more than a dozen short stories published, and worked in the speculative fiction industry as an editor. Nicole lives in Queanbeyan with her husband, Tim. She is the author of Secret Ones and Power Unbound with a third book, Rogue        Gadda, due later in 2011


Welcome to the brand new Shearer’s Bookshop blog and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! Can you start by telling us about your new book, Power Unbound?

Thanks for inviting me along. Always glad to support people who love books :) Power Unbound is the story of Ione Gorton and Stephen O’Malley and how they fall in love. It’s also the story of Asarlai, who’s stolen the most dangerous books ever created and who is determined to use them to reveal the secret magical race of the gadda to the world. It’s also about giant monsters, terrorism, obsession and just how fabulous eight-year-old boys can be.

Power Unbound is the second in a trilogy that began with Secret Ones and the third book, Rogue Gadda, is due in July. Did you always plan this story as a trilogy? And how difficult is it to organise a large work like this?

It was always three books, although not a trilogy per say. I’d describe it initially as a series – the books related to each other, but didn’t tell the same story. Instead, they were three romances, set within the world of the gadda. But then I decided to beef up the fantasy aspect of it (compared to the romance storylines) and developed the overarching plot of Asarlai and her plans for world domination.

Because the books existed initially as three separate books, and then I added the storyline, organising them was quite a challenge. Particularly when the characters I’d set up to have the romances didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the problems Asarlai was causing. So I planned the romances, and also planned the individual books as whole plots, and then planned the plot of the whole trilogy. A lot of extra documents helped keep track of everything.

Books like Power Unbound often have created words and names in them, how do you come to create a word?

There’s a few things I used in these books. The main one was when I wanted a particular word, I’d borrow from bits of Irish words. Take the guardian’s titles. The ‘mir’ at the end of each comes from ‘coimirceoir’, one of the Irish words for guardian. Then I took the Irish for each of their roles – ‘sabhail’ for protector, ‘muintcoir’ for teacher, ‘leigheas’ for healer, ‘ceangal’ for liaison, ‘firinne’ for truth and ‘garradoir’ for gardener. Then I combined part of the role word with the ‘mir’ and got – Sabhamir for the protector, Coiremir for the teacher, Heasimir for the healer, Ceamir for the liaison, Firimir for the truth-sayer and Garramir for the gardener.

I did the same thing for most the other words in the books except one – Asarlai, which is Irish for sorcerer. Then there were some I just made up, cause they sounded good J

Your work crosses several genre boundaries and ranges from paranormal romance to urban fantasy. Do you see yourself as a writer within a particular genre?

If I had to classify myself, I’d say I straddle fantasy and romance and I’d be happy with either of those classifications. In terms of writing these books, they are more romance than anything in terms of how I approached them and it’s the romance tropes that I’m particularly interested in playing with. Not everything I write is this strongly romance (although they all have romantic subplots in them) and it will be interesting to see what the reader reaction would be should I get any of them published.

Writers often claim that they write books that they themselves would like to read. Is this true of your work?

Oh, absolutely. When I started writing this series, it was because I recognised everything I was writing had strong romance elements in it and I told myself that I wasn’t fooling anyone and I should just get on with it and write romance. I love reading romance. I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction and still adore it, but romance for a long time offered me more as a reader and right now offers me the most as a writer as well. But that’s not to say I won’t write pure science fiction or fantasy – most of my short stories have little in the way of romance.

What’s the most challenging thing you face in your work as a writer and what’s the best perk?

The most challenging thing is to challenge myself. It can be quite easy to find a formula and a style that works and stick with it, but I believe that you have to test yourself in order to develop more skills and become a better writer. Yet at the same time, you want to keep giving the readers the things they love about your books. Can mess with your head sometimes.

The best perk? Every day, I get to wake up, sit at my computer and lose myself in telling stories. It’s great fun!

Many readers find it interesting to hear about the methods that writers use to work. Can you tell us about your writing method?

My method is evolving with every book I write. Initially I was totally what is called a panster – no planning, just sit and write. The problem with that is that you require a LOT of revisions to then pull the story together. Now, I’m becoming more a mix of a plotter and a planner. With the new work I’m doing, I’ve sat down and written a synopsis of the trilogy – three or four pages on what the whole story is about and what each book is about. I’ll also write a biography for each character, considering their personality, their motivations, their dreams and desires. Then I sit and write.

Once I’ve done the draft, I use some tools I’ve developed to plot out the book and from those I can see where it’s lagging, where I’m not giving the reader time to breathe and so on. Then I revise, at least two times. The book then goes to some readers that I trust to give me honest feedback, and from their responses there will be another revision pass. Then I give it to the publisher and hope they love it :)

Is your method for writing fiction different to the method you employed as a journalist?

They’re both very similar methods – as a journalist, you’d research the topic, interview relevant authorities or the people affected by the story and gather as much information as you could. Then you’d write – I had to have the first line clear in my mind before I could keep going, so some stories were easier to write than others. It then gets revised, then sent to the editor and it gets revised some more, then proofread and revised some more before it appears in the paper, hopefully accurate and error-free.

As a writer, you research (for example with the Dream of Asarlai trilogy, I’ve had to look up things like aromatherapy, physics, native plants of Ireland, whether olives can grow in the New England region of NSW…), you interview authorities and people in the story by creating the characters and imagining their world and then you write, edit, revise, proof and (hopefully) publish!

Which authors and genres would you classify as influences?

I grew up reading fantasy – Tolkien, Moorcock, Brooks – and that epic fantasy tradition is one that’s still strong with me. Then in my late teens and early twenties I was introduced to romance and writers like Amanda Quick, Johanna Lindsey and Julia Quinn. Nowadays I’m reading a lot of paranormal romance and urban fantasy and loving writers like Keri Arthur, Erica Hayes, Tracey O’Hara, Charlaine Harris and Patricia Briggs.

But my reading has been wide and that shows up in my writing. For example, I’ve done a couple of murder mysteries set within fantasy or science fiction worlds due to a couple of years where I was inhaling Patricia Cornwell and Johnathan Kellerman. In fact, I’d love to write a crime novel one day.

Creative writing can be inspired by other mediums such as film, music or art. Has this been true for you as a writer?

Generally, no – I don’t find myself responding creatively through my writing to something that I’ve seen or heard and loved. That said, however, I do have a giant monster in Power Unbound that is directly influenced by Godzilla – a friend of mine is a big fan and I’ve come to love daikaiju too.

What are you reading right now?

Right now – nothing. I’ve discovered that when I’m revising (as I am at the moment), I can’t read. Not a problem when drafting, but I think when I’m revising, I don’t want anything in my head but the book.

Recently, I read a Jonathan Kellerman and a James Patterson for research (I’ve got a serial killer in one of my new books) and I overdosed on Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. Can’t wait for the new book – I’ll be drafting again in March, so perfect timing :)

What’s next for you after the publication of Rogue Gadda?

Ah, that’s the million dollar question. Rogue Gadda is almost ready to go – I’m just waiting on notes from the proof readers to check the manuscript. In the meantime, I’m writing away madly with the aim of putting a new proposal before the publisher around May. So hopefully after the publication and promotion of Rogue Gadda it will be back to work on getting the next trilogy ready for publication.

Thanks so much for talking with us!

My pleasure :)

Buy Power Unbound and Secret Ones online at Shearer's Bookshop

Fabric

I’ve noticed lately that my reading seems to have come to a confluence of similar ideas, themes and subplots. I’m not sure how this came about. Perhaps it is to do with publishing and the great circle of “what’s in” and “what’s out” at any given time. I like to think that I’m a more original reader than to fall into such traps, but there it is and I don’t know how it happened. 

Last month, I  purchased a book about Louise Bourgeois' fabric works, which is amazing. The Bourgeois family were tapestry restorers in Paris and whilst Louise’s foray into this world did not quite meet the expectations of the family business, she continued to use fabric as a medium for her artworks. Her pieces are often laden with autobiographical detail and feminist themes. Beautiful and intricate, yet often naïvely finished, her designs are centred around the idea of womanhood and the sometimes perverse stigma that is attached to feminism. 

One would think that Louise Bourgeois’ fabric works, whilst not quite as overtly provocative, are an influence for the artist, Tracey Emin, who uses words and design to create her distinctive “blankets” that have made her so famous. Again, I only just read about Tracey’s recent exhibition in London (www.vogue.co.uk). She began making quilts -  or as she terms them “blankets” – using material from important items from her life. A girlhood outfit, a doll’s dress, a piece from her Mother’s clothing, another from a household item from her childhood. The finished artwork is again plainly autobiographical, and whilst her work is caught up with complex messages about sexuality, the work is again a commentary on perspectives of womanhood. 

Do men who view these works see them through the same eyes as women? Am I missing the point? I don’t think so. But then, I’m certain that women who sew look at these works with a differing eye to those who don’t. There is an intimacy in sewn objects. We wear them, we put our heads against them at night, we use them on a daily basis. Sewing can be a lonely and laboursome occupation. It can also be the work of a collective that brings succour and friendship not only to those involved but often the greater community. I think this is where the greatest irony lay with these two artists, in that the purpose of what many deem to be a domestic and useful handiwork by women, has been made redundant by becoming a higher art form. 

Siri Hustvedt, who has long written about women on the periphery, champions the domestic arts in her new book Summer Without Men (due for release in March 2011), which I also picked up recently. Not only is this a whimsical and touching portrait of a wife who has been forsaken by her husband, it is also a moving testament to all womanhood. To the trials and the tribulations that are uniquely ours, but also the joys that only we experience.  There is a character in this terrific book (I can’t get enough adjectives in this about how wonderful this book is), for whom sewing gives her a secret life. Sewn into the pockets of her garments or the inside of her underclothes - only ever in places where she can see them and be touched by them, are graphic images of a sexual cornucopia. From a joyless and childless marriage, sewing provided a means of creating intimacy in her otherwise lonely existence.

This is a theme that Linda Grant, who is an award-winning author and Vogue contributor has also often explored. In her book The Thoughtful Dresser, she discusses how incredibly important oft-unnoticed enhancements to feminine dressing are to defining ourselves. Whilst it is not a major theme of her new novel We Had it So Good, it is certainly apparent to her that clothes also define an era. The novel moves from California in the 50’s – Hollywood furs and glamour – to times more deconstructed in 70’s London, and takes us up to modern day where we wear our psyches as uniforms. In this novel, they are a construct of our hopes, lost dreams, newfound status and even ill-conceived expectations. I kid you not. The clothes that hang within the wardrobes of Linda Grant’s journeymen and women are no accident and are by no means unimportant. They help create the picture of a real life, of times that have gone and like that favourite pair of jeans, can never be fitted into again.

This has been my reading list for the past month or so and it’s definitely been a thought-provoking exercise. I did not read all these books together on purpose, and it’s possible that the thoughts on one have lingered into the other and that I have given meaning where none was intended. But I do think I have been fortunate to discover these books together. I’ve never before been one to read on a theme based on place, time or even characters. It’s always seemed a singular approach to me and I am certain I will go back to reading without rhyme or reason in the future. But in the meantime, I will contemplate my playful forays on my sewing machine with much more significance than is really required and will look for the next pattern in my reading that throws up such interesting and correlating themes.

Written by Megan

It's About Time...

...that we started a blog! That's right, all the stuff you love about Shearer's on Twitter and Facebook is about to spill over into the blogoshpere. Instead of 140 character tweets when I want a cake, I can write a whole article about cake!

We'd like this blog to become something special and we're going to work hard to bring you all the best in news, reviews, interviews, event summaries, guest bloggers, competitions and fun that we can. All brought to you with the trademark passion for books that has made Shearer's a must for Sydney book lovers for two decades.  

Forgive me if I ramble, I'm writing this on the afternoon of Saturday 5th February and it's 40 something degrees outside. The weekends at Shearer's are an interesting time. Lots of people come to the store and there's a very happy vibe to the place. The cafe staff are all working extra hard as people order yummy treats to have while they read their freshly purchased books. The bookshop staff are all working extra hard too.

On Saturday mornings we get the Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Telegraph and flip straight to the book reviews. Then we put all of the reviewed books that we have in stock on a special stand at the front of the store. Customers who then come in and ask for "the book that was reviewed in Spectrum" don't have far to go.

There is also a fair amount of coffee and cake consumed.

The weekends also mean lots of gift wrapping, especially when it comes to the kids books. There are so many birthday parties every weekend that it's hard to keep up! But we have some very talented gift wrappers (I'm not one of them) who can wrap a box set and a picture book in the same package and make it look wonderful (rather than making it look like a huge scrunchy ball of paper - that's me).

More coffee and cake gets consumed by bookshop staff on Saturdays than any other day of the week.

So there's no reason not to visit us on the weekend! Peruse the reviewed books, ask us what we're recommending, get some gifts wrapped and have something refreshing at Froth cafe. And keep checking back here online!