Interview with Genevieve

What fun, interviewing myself! But for any Flora enthusiasts who are wondering who the girl behind the girl is, I’ve answered a few questions below, with a focus on Flora and writing YA.

Thanks for reading!

• At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication? I think true writers are born writing, to be honest. I don’t write because I want to be an author (although, of course, I do), I write because I have to write, because ideas gnaw at me all day until I put them down on paper, and then they gambol and frolic around!
• What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first? I am not naturally disciplined enough to ignore the fun new idea that’s biting at my heels, but I will do my best to write it down in my phone Notes, or put it in an email to myself, and then move back to my existing project; the minute that I start to have millions of internet tabs open or Word documents crowding on my screen, I can’t focus. I make a concentrating effort to be strict with myself.
• Who is your favorite character to write, and why is that person your favorite? If picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite child, which character seems to be the most demanding or your attention and detail as a writer? Within Flora, my favourite character to write is Lana. Moody characters are always the most fun, because you enjoy putting them in situations where they’re forced to open up, where you watch them learn more about themselves and give in to their vulnerabilities. I think characters who try very hard to protect themselves are often the most interesting to write.
• Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic? Traditionally, I would ride by the seat of my pants. But this year, 2023, in a concentrated effort to organise my writing and really create results, I have been (dun dun dunnn) plotting in advance. I have already created the chapter outline for the second in the Flora Brock series, and I am now fleshing out this outline with small details and quirks (what people are wearing; what they’re eating), in order to bring it to life for me. I’ve always had an issue with serious plotting, because it feels clinical and too much like work, but if I’ve discovered one thing this year, it’s that it’s a helluva lot quicker to write a book when you’ve planned out the plot in advance!
• Tell us what you enjoy most about writing. Diving into another world, albeit briefly (most of the time). How wonderful to have the opportunity to do so! It is meditation in it’s most thrilling form; it is the antithesis to the daily stresses; it is the perfect way to say “out with you, manic world, I’m diving back onto my paradise island for a few hours”.
• What have you found to be most challenging about writing YA? Encapsulating all of the emotions of the age group. It is such a hard time; in Flora, I mention that there should be a term for this period, similar to the mid-life crisis. Fancy having to decide all of the important things in just a few short years – where to study, what job would be best, what personalities to explore, where to live. It’s a lot, and capturing that in a realistic and empathetic way is the challenge!
• Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your jobs/education in your writing? I work in data and analytics, specialising in data privacy (preventing hackers and putting security in place to prevent people like McLarty), and so this has definitely been useful for my writing. On my first day at University, our lecturer said “Murder Your Babies”; obediently, we all wrote it down. This lesson has also been immeasurably useful; if it’s not working, cut it out. Shortly before creating the final draft of Flora, I cut out 104 pages from the beginning. It was painful, but so necessary; all of that background information is useful for me, but not for the reader.
• Do you have any odd (writing) habits? I always listen to Nils Frahm with my noise-cancelling headphones on. I always have caffeine, whether a tea or coffee with oat milk. Apart from that, I can pretty much write anywhere; I recently wrote an award winning short story from a sunbed in Thailand; I’ve written nearly an entire book in the Notes app of my phone on various bus journeys with my coffee flask clutched in my hand. A writer who waits for the perfect conditions will be waiting forever; the same applies for someone who is waiting for the perfect time/ season/ year.
• Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self? Everyone says, just write, but that’s (obviously) easier said than done. So I would say, develop your little writing rituals, whether that’s a chocolate bar that you always eat when you start to write, or a musician that you always listen to who gets you in the mood, or a scent that you always smell as you start writing. At some point, you’ll be almost having to hypnotise yourself into writing for long periods, so it’s good to start with those little hypnotic triggers. For me, I started writing and eating Rolos at the same time, and now every time I have a Rolo I start to think of ideas!