Meet Susan Roebuck - Author
Susan recently ventured into the dark side to write a short horror story. While she was here I grabbed her by the ankle and asked her a few questions.
Julia: Why do you write?
Sue: Oh thank you Julia for starting out with an easy-peasy question LOL. Umm…why do I breathe? Oh, OK….it’s addictive and I adore how absorbed I become when I’m inventing new characters, places, situations. It also takes me out of myself and I live and dream whatever I’m writing about. I really do dream about it which hasn’t been so pleasant lately since I’ve been writing horror.
Julia: You are throwing a dinner party and can invite four fictional characters. Who would you invite, and why?
Sue: Lovely question. Right, first off I’ll invite the main character from Dreaming Not Sleeping (by you!) so I can find out how she is and whether the incubus is still visiting. If she’s still alive, she’ll keep the whole table horrified with her tales and they won’t notice my awful cooking.
The next guest would be Sam Barrowdale, one of the main characters from my novel, “Perfect Score”. Once he’s got his thoughts, words and tongue in order, he’ll have some wonderful words of advice to dish out to the character from DNS – he’ll probably roll up his sleeves and take the incubus on himself. Be prepared for some action!
Then I’d have the main character from my new novel (still to be published) Hewhay Hall, Jude Elliot. When he can get a word in edgeways he’ll tell us what was on Slater’s menu while he was a guest at Hewhay Hall (not for the squeamish) and whether it compares favourably with my cuisine.
Finally I’d have Lorenzo from Lorenzo il Magnifico by Tristram la Roche. Why? Because he’s such a decorative addition. In any case, he’ll keep Sam too occupied to take on the incubus because Sam’s eyes will be out on stalks!
Julia: If you were stranded on a desert island which book would you like to have with you?
Sue: The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake – it’s one of the books I adore most and one I can read over and over. Stuck on a desert island I’d have to be entertained by something because coconuts don’t stretch to much. So what could be better than a brilliant profusion of characters to keep me company? If you’ve never met Steerpike, Swelter the cook, Flay, the Doctor and his sister, Fuschia – you haven’t lived..
If I could take something else, I’d take Tristram la Roche’s collection of books. So many new ones are being published, I just can’t keep up!
Julia: What do you consider to be good writing?
Sue: Gormenghast with its cast of millions. No, probably not, it does tend to go on a bit.
We all know what makes a good novel (or we think we know until we sit down and try to write it): clear plot and character arcs with conflict and obstacles strewn out along the way. Pacing should be finely balanced so the reader doesn’t rattle along to the point of exhaustion, but also doesn’t drop off. On the writing level, sentences have to be varied in length and construction to avoid an annoying rat-tat-tat machine-gun effect. Crisp, clear writing is hard to achieve as anyone knows who has edited their prose and cut out the long trail of circumlocution, the overloaded sentences and the soggy clichés for the thousandth time. I once reduced a manuscript by nearly a thousand words just by eliminating the superfluous “thats".
Julia: What inspired you to write An Act of Kindness?
Sue: I’ve always wanted to write about the Alfama District of Lisbon. Apart from its ever-present backdrop - the Atlantic Ocean - this is the birthplace of the melancholy “Fado” music, so traditionally Portuguese. I can’t say I’m a great fan because I find it too miserable but it does evoke the mood of the time of the Portuguese Discoveries (fifteenth century). The majority of the population sailed away at that time on their adventures, and left their loved-ones behind. In more than one window of the ancient, crumbling buildings lining the steep slopes of Alfama you’ll find solitary, wrinkled, arthritic ladies, staring into the distance as if watching for the sail of a Portuguese nau on the horizon. There you are, you asked for it, you got it J
Julia: An Act of Kindness is very different to your novel, Perfect Score, which is a romance set in the late 1960s. How did you approach writing in a different genre? Did you find it a challenge, or do you enjoy flexing different literary muscles?
Sue: I don’t think I’ve found my genre yet. Perfect Score has often just been classified as GLBT non-erotic romance, but it’s much more than that. It’s currently a finalist in the EPIC E-Book 2012 Awards in the Mainstream category and I think that’s just where it belongs.
I’ve always wanted to write a spot of horror, so I tried my hand with An Act of Kindness and also with my short novel, Hewhay Hall. But I think that will be as far as horror goes for me, just for the moment anyway.
Julia: What do you hope your readers will take away from your stories?
Sue: I hate unfairness and injustice and if I can fight it in any way I will. I’m pretty tolerant of most things, but those two attitudes make me so mad I cry! (Yes, I’m one of those who cry when I get mad, dammit.) The themes run through my novels: Perfect Score is rife with it (a corrupt pharmaceutical company and the treatment of children with dyslexia and stutters). Hewhay Hall also features it with the treatment of unsung heroes (champions of Society who’ve never had acclaim for their great deeds). So, at last, to answer your question, I hope I bring to light issues that some people may overlook.
Julia: What are you working on next? Are there any more tales of horror lurking in your mind?
Sue: Hewhay Hall is out on submission. It’s a dark thriller so I suppose that is a tale of horror because there are one or two characters lurking in the pages that you wouldn’t like to meet – I’m thinking of Slater and the bog-wights (don’t ask).
I’m working on my third full-length novel which will be light literary suspense. This time it’ll be set mostly in Portugal amongst the fishing community. Because this country has so much corruption (which I’m pleased to see is being fought now), I’ll be bringing that to the fore. The book, which is called at the moment When the Moon Fails, will also feature a very nasty female bull-fighter (and not nasty just because she kills bulls). Wait and see…
Julia: If you were to write a book about your own life, what would the title be?
Sue: She’s Procrastinating Again.
Thank you Julia for inviting me to your blog. It’s been a real pleasure answering your questions!
Sue: Oh thank you Julia for starting out with an easy-peasy question LOL. Umm…why do I breathe? Oh, OK….it’s addictive and I adore how absorbed I become when I’m inventing new characters, places, situations. It also takes me out of myself and I live and dream whatever I’m writing about. I really do dream about it which hasn’t been so pleasant lately since I’ve been writing horror.
Julia: You are throwing a dinner party and can invite four fictional characters. Who would you invite, and why?
Sue: Lovely question. Right, first off I’ll invite the main character from Dreaming Not Sleeping (by you!) so I can find out how she is and whether the incubus is still visiting. If she’s still alive, she’ll keep the whole table horrified with her tales and they won’t notice my awful cooking.
The next guest would be Sam Barrowdale, one of the main characters from my novel, “Perfect Score”. Once he’s got his thoughts, words and tongue in order, he’ll have some wonderful words of advice to dish out to the character from DNS – he’ll probably roll up his sleeves and take the incubus on himself. Be prepared for some action!
Then I’d have the main character from my new novel (still to be published) Hewhay Hall, Jude Elliot. When he can get a word in edgeways he’ll tell us what was on Slater’s menu while he was a guest at Hewhay Hall (not for the squeamish) and whether it compares favourably with my cuisine.
Finally I’d have Lorenzo from Lorenzo il Magnifico by Tristram la Roche. Why? Because he’s such a decorative addition. In any case, he’ll keep Sam too occupied to take on the incubus because Sam’s eyes will be out on stalks!
Julia: If you were stranded on a desert island which book would you like to have with you?
Sue: The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake – it’s one of the books I adore most and one I can read over and over. Stuck on a desert island I’d have to be entertained by something because coconuts don’t stretch to much. So what could be better than a brilliant profusion of characters to keep me company? If you’ve never met Steerpike, Swelter the cook, Flay, the Doctor and his sister, Fuschia – you haven’t lived..
If I could take something else, I’d take Tristram la Roche’s collection of books. So many new ones are being published, I just can’t keep up!
Julia: What do you consider to be good writing?
Sue: Gormenghast with its cast of millions. No, probably not, it does tend to go on a bit.
We all know what makes a good novel (or we think we know until we sit down and try to write it): clear plot and character arcs with conflict and obstacles strewn out along the way. Pacing should be finely balanced so the reader doesn’t rattle along to the point of exhaustion, but also doesn’t drop off. On the writing level, sentences have to be varied in length and construction to avoid an annoying rat-tat-tat machine-gun effect. Crisp, clear writing is hard to achieve as anyone knows who has edited their prose and cut out the long trail of circumlocution, the overloaded sentences and the soggy clichés for the thousandth time. I once reduced a manuscript by nearly a thousand words just by eliminating the superfluous “thats".
Julia: What inspired you to write An Act of Kindness?
Sue: I’ve always wanted to write about the Alfama District of Lisbon. Apart from its ever-present backdrop - the Atlantic Ocean - this is the birthplace of the melancholy “Fado” music, so traditionally Portuguese. I can’t say I’m a great fan because I find it too miserable but it does evoke the mood of the time of the Portuguese Discoveries (fifteenth century). The majority of the population sailed away at that time on their adventures, and left their loved-ones behind. In more than one window of the ancient, crumbling buildings lining the steep slopes of Alfama you’ll find solitary, wrinkled, arthritic ladies, staring into the distance as if watching for the sail of a Portuguese nau on the horizon. There you are, you asked for it, you got it J
Julia: An Act of Kindness is very different to your novel, Perfect Score, which is a romance set in the late 1960s. How did you approach writing in a different genre? Did you find it a challenge, or do you enjoy flexing different literary muscles?
Sue: I don’t think I’ve found my genre yet. Perfect Score has often just been classified as GLBT non-erotic romance, but it’s much more than that. It’s currently a finalist in the EPIC E-Book 2012 Awards in the Mainstream category and I think that’s just where it belongs.
I’ve always wanted to write a spot of horror, so I tried my hand with An Act of Kindness and also with my short novel, Hewhay Hall. But I think that will be as far as horror goes for me, just for the moment anyway.
Julia: What do you hope your readers will take away from your stories?
Sue: I hate unfairness and injustice and if I can fight it in any way I will. I’m pretty tolerant of most things, but those two attitudes make me so mad I cry! (Yes, I’m one of those who cry when I get mad, dammit.) The themes run through my novels: Perfect Score is rife with it (a corrupt pharmaceutical company and the treatment of children with dyslexia and stutters). Hewhay Hall also features it with the treatment of unsung heroes (champions of Society who’ve never had acclaim for their great deeds). So, at last, to answer your question, I hope I bring to light issues that some people may overlook.
Julia: What are you working on next? Are there any more tales of horror lurking in your mind?
Sue: Hewhay Hall is out on submission. It’s a dark thriller so I suppose that is a tale of horror because there are one or two characters lurking in the pages that you wouldn’t like to meet – I’m thinking of Slater and the bog-wights (don’t ask).
I’m working on my third full-length novel which will be light literary suspense. This time it’ll be set mostly in Portugal amongst the fishing community. Because this country has so much corruption (which I’m pleased to see is being fought now), I’ll be bringing that to the fore. The book, which is called at the moment When the Moon Fails, will also feature a very nasty female bull-fighter (and not nasty just because she kills bulls). Wait and see…
Julia: If you were to write a book about your own life, what would the title be?
Sue: She’s Procrastinating Again.
Thank you Julia for inviting me to your blog. It’s been a real pleasure answering your questions!
Susan's novel, Perfect Score, is available from Amazon US, Amazon UK and Awe Struck Publishing
Links:
Susan's blog: http://lauracea.blogspot.com(Lauracea is the Latin name for the indigenous laurel forests found on Madeira Island which are in danger from over-development)
Susan's horrror story, An Act of Kindness, will be published in an anthology for Halloween, coming soon from: www.ethicstrading.com (proceeds go to medecins sans frontiers) Info will be updated closer to the time.
