I was fortunate enough to work with author Claire Gem recently on her novel Spirits of the Heart, and she was kind enough to offer me a chance to do an interview for her website as well. So be sure to check out my interview with Claire over on her website, and don’t forget to follow her while you’re there!
Interview for Claire Gem, multi-award-winning author of contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and supernatural suspense.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I’m a native New Yorker who grew up in a small town about 60 miles northwest of Manhattan. Mother of three, I’ve been married to the same wonderful man for 39 years. I think it’s why I chose romance as my genre—I’m living it, so I feel qualified to write about it.
I’ve always loved to write as a form of expression. Therapy, really. In the seventh grade I had an excellent English teacher who took me aside one day and said, “You have an exceptional talent for writing. Don’t waste it.” I never forgot her words, and they inspire me and give me confidence to this day.
But I’m dual-sided: by day, I work in the field of scientific research. When I come home from work, I let the creative side of my brain come out to play. I didn’t start writing seriously until about ten years ago, when the business of life and raising children allowed me the extra down time to nurture the passion.
What inspired you to write your book?
Spirits of the Heart is set on the grounds of an abandoned mental asylum that really exists in the town where I grew up. I remember as a child feeling very haunted by the majestic old buildings and wondering what went on inside them. When I was about eighteen, I dated a young man who was a nighttime security guard at the facility before it closed down in the 1990s. He became my inspiration for Miller, although he and Miller are nothing alike.
When I decided to write the book, my sister (who is a photographer and still lives in the same town) spent a day driving around the mostly abandoned campus, taking pictures for my cover and book trailer. That’s when I decided on Talcott Hall—mysteriously, two weeks after that photo session, the building caught fire and burned to the ground. A local fireman took the fire photos and gave me permission to use them.
What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
In every one of my books I try to address real life, big issues and show how my characters overcome them. Miller lives in the shadow of his alcoholic father and beats the addiction himself. Laura learns to accept her parents’ divorce and her father’s new choice of a mate. By the end of the book, both characters have not only fallen in love, but have grown as individuals.
What drew you into this particular genre?
I have always been fascinated by the paranormal, and really do believe in ghosts—spirits trapped between this world and the next. For some strange reason, I love to wander in old graveyards—it’s called taphophilia. The histories of the lives commemorated there intrigue me. So, it’s only natural I would choose to write supernatural suspense.
If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
That’s a difficult question because in developing my characters, I get to know them so well that I know what all their answers would be. It’s my way of making them real. To me, they become real people who I actually miss when I’ve finished writing the book. My process of character development involves me asking them every question I can think of—by the time I’ve written The End, I know them intimately.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
I’m active on many social media sites but have found Twitter to be my most helpful. I have 21.6K followers, and it’s easy for me to put up snippets from my books with buy links, or teasers from the book I’m working on next. I have my Twitter account linked to Facebook, so my ~1000 Facebook fans automatically see what I post on Twitter as well.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
READ. Whatever genre you want to write in, read as many books as you can. I also highly recommend listening to audiobooks. I always have three books going at the same time: one in print, one in eBook, and one on audio. I believe an aspiring author can learn something different from consuming the same book in different formats—what you see with your eyes will be different from what you hear with your ears. I have some titles I have listened to and read multiple times. I learn something different every time.
Also, write what you are passionate about. At one time an editor at a conference suggested I write something in the YA genre because it as “hot” at the time…I’m not a fan of YA, and just couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm to write something I didn’t love. If you are passionate about what you write, that passion comes through on the page. If you love it, there will be other readers who will love it too.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I just completed another supernatural suspense, CIVIL HEARTS, which is set in an abandoned antebellum home in rural Alabama. The idea for this book came to me in a dream, as many of them do. My heroine is a widow whose husband died from a dreadful form of brain cancer, and the hero suffers from epilepsy. The house my heroine buys is haunted by a Confederate soldier who’s come home from war looking for his bride.
Next is Sirens of Salt, another idea that came to me in a dream. This one is set on the Atlantic coast of Florida and revolves around some theories I have about the mysterious underwater stones off the island of Bimini. I’m in the research process right now . . .
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
Writing children’s books wasn’t something I thought I would end up doing, but I find now that now that many of my previous life experiences really have helped prepare me to do just that. I retired from a 23-year military career a few years ago where I was very busy with operational planning and targeting. I have pursued and obtained multiple degrees, the latest in emergency management and I run a nonprofit, BLOCKS that helps prepare childcare for disaster.
Did you know that children spend an average of 33-35 hours a week in some sort of childcare arrangement? That’s a lot of time away from home. So, the odds of me being lucky enough to be there if something bad happened were pretty low. That thought doesn’t help me sleep at night. So, I started to ask, what could I do to fix that and increase the odds they came home safe?
I started looking around at what resources were available and realized there weren’t many available. There were a lot of books about the science behind natural disasters, but nothing written by authors trained in emergency management or designed to help teach kids what do to in the actual disaster itself.
2) What inspired you to write your book?
One stormy night I had to try and talk with my daughter (4 at the time) about how we might have to go into the basement later that evening because a tornado watch could turn into a warning. Well, needless to say, I did a really bad job ‘preparing’ her, and instead scared her. I knew that if I could introduce the topics before something happened, it would help her feel like she was more in control and maybe make it less scary. At the time we were watching a lot Daniel Tiger episodes at home, so the idea of combining song and story sort of naturally evolved. That was how I came up the idea of publishing children’s books that teaches preschool kids (through early elementary school) what to do if disaster strikes.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
I hope that parents and caregivers see the value in teaching their children what to do rather than pretending it won’t happen. We teach our kids about crossing the street, stranger danger, etc. Our children get training on fire drills in daycare or in school, so why not teach them about other disasters? If they know what to do, they can help themselves and others.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
My daughter is now in Kindergarten and my son is almost three. We read a lot of books at home and they learn a lot from those books as well as what they see and hear. If children learn these lessons now, the lessons become part of their culture. These lessons can become part of their ‘norm’ and can help them throughout their life. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that genre, right?
5) If you could sit down with any author in your genre, who would it be, what would you ask them and why?
My early research into this field found Julia Cook. She wrote The Ant Hill Disaster, which deals with finding the strength to return somewhere after something bad has happened. I would ask her how she got her message out. Her books help children deal with emotions and target specific behaviors. Writing the book is the easy part, but finding and building the audience that cares about your message and wants to help endorse it, is the hard part.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Believe it or not, LinkedIn has been the best readership builder I have had to date. I have been building relationships with childcare providers and emergency managers for years with my nonprofit, and I have found the emergency manager community especially excited to see these books out there.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Write the books and get them out there. It’s true that the book itself has little value unless people know about it, but don’t let fear of getting the word out prevent you from getting the book out. Look for creative ways to engage people and let them know of what you offer. It’s slow, and its going to be for a while, but you have to look at it like it’s a marathon, not a sprint, or you will get discouraged. When I get discouraged, I remind myself that while we often measure success by the number of books sold, in my case at least, if just one child remembers what to do when a tornado or an earthquake happens, and they are safer because of it, then I am a success. If just one child loves your story and learns something, you too will be a success.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
There are so many issues left to cover. Many disasters are geographically limited. For example, earthquakes are more likely in certain areas, as are volcanoes, but we owe our kids a chance to be prepared no matter what. I am leaning towards hurricane preparedness and flash floods for the next couple of books, but I am going to ask my readers for their thoughts and their priorities – so that may change.
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
It sounds trivial, but I have been writing since my childhood. At school and universities, I always had assignments to write essays, both fiction and non-fiction. That’s how writing came into my life and stayed there.
2) What inspired you to write your book?
Writing is my favorite way to construct my thoughts and express myself. A book is a great way to do so in a complete reconciled manner.
I used to suffer from chronic depression and was always dead set on finding a way out. I had many thoughts, approaches, and trials to make it happen. But because thoughts were floating in my head in a chaotic manner, I could never act upon them. I understood that if I cleared my head, I could make sense of what my common sense suggested me to do. I needed a systematic approach. I needed to keep my ideas noted. I needed to remind myself when I felt down that there were still light and happiness in the world. Writing was what helped me to do so.
I also observed other people who could easily fall in a state of despondency. Simple encouragements wouldn’t give consistent results. I believed that a book – a short straight to the point writing – would be a daily assistant they needed to keep them going and change their behavioral pattern from finding pain to having joys in everyday life.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
The everyday life we are having is not boring because of routine and banality. It’s our attitude towards them that makes them unpleasant and meaningless.
But if we are aware, if we care about what we are doing and why, we can add colorful touches to that seem grey painting of everyday life. Words, music, pictures, people, and nature are irreplaceable sources of inspiration. In my book, Loving Ordinary Life, I explain how to use them to brighten up your life with very simple straightforward examples.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
It came naturally. I was trying to help myself, so it degenerated into a self-help book. Literally.
5) If you could sit down with any other author in your genre and pick their brain, what would you ask them and why?
I would ask them, if what they wrote about they implemented in their lives and if it actually worked for them. How often do they practice what they say? How much do they believe themselves? Why do they think they are experts on the chosen subject? Why do they believe their books should exist? I would ask them to be honest with themselves answering these questions to bring clarity into the significance of their works.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
I am not an active social media user, and that’s where I miss out many opportunities, I know. But to work properly with social media, I should dedicate much time to learn how to do it. I haven’t done it yet.
I believe Facebook is the place where I got some results by communicating with my network and groups dedicated to writing and publishing.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
I would say – write. Put your fingers on a keyboard and start writing. Don’t wait for epiphany and inspiration. With writing will come practice to articulate your thoughts in a cohesive manner. Mastering this essential skill, you will be in your best shape when great ideas come to your mind.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I have many ideas for books, both fiction and non-fiction. I already started writing short stories, consolidated by one problematic theme – relationship between man and woman. I also built a few universes in my head that I want to share with people, but I need clarity on where I would take a reader and what utility it would give him besides entertainment.
For non-fiction, I will go deeper into a philosophy of human existence.
Is the cover really that important? YES. In a webpage or bookstore full of books that’s the one thing that will make your book stand out!
Common features to most covers:
1-If any characters are visible their faces are partial orhidden. You want to leave the character’s face to the imagination of the reader. As you can see above some characters are from behind or their faces are cut, but some are visible. I prefer hidden faces, it’s more intriguing 😉
2-The title and image have to be legible in a thumbnail size!
3-Do your research! Go to the library or a bookstore and look at your genre.What are the common features between bestselling books? For example YA books are colorful, and typically use many font types at once. They have many layers. Thrillers instead tend to be black, white and read, with minimal covers.
4- If you are working on a series, plan ahead and tie in all covers.There is nothing more infuriating than books in a series that don’t fit well together 😉
5-Think about the cover scene. It could be a scene from the book or a play on words, but it has to convey the mood of the book and not mislead your reader. Don’t put a half naked hunk on a horror, unless it’s a horror romance 😉
Some great covers of books I did not read and I have never heard of:
Why is this great? The tree-house tells me teen/kids, holding hands tells me romance/coming of age, the title is clearly legible, the illustration is pretty.
The black and white combined with the title suggests thriller/horror, the juxtaposition with Dorothy is funny and intriguing, the graphics are simple and catchy.
Here is what I did with my books:
The Italian village gives the setting, three boys and a girl on a tree (YA, tomboy), the scene seems funny and lighthearted but the black and white suggests a deeper tone.The yellow on the spine adds color and looks wonderful with the other books in the series.
In book 2 the darker color suggests maturation, the kiss and the moon hint at romance, but you can clearly tell our MC is still a kickass tomboy 😉
In book 3 the characters are older, and the graffiti on the wall suggests we are in Italy and, if you bother to check, “ti amo” means I love you. Did I mention the red? 😉
How long does it take to design a cover? The first one took me over a year because I had no idea what I was doing. But the other volumes in the series were a breeze because I already had a template 🙂
What programs did I use to design the cover? I used Adobe photoshop, which is really expensive, but I had available for work. Other (expensive) options are Adobe Illustrator, or Indesign. If you are broke you can use the free program available at Create Space or download the free, simplified version of Photoshop. Just make sure that your cover looks professional and awesome. If it does not, you might need to hire someone to help you! I know you’re likely broke (most writers tend to be) but you either give yourself the time to learn and make a mind blowing cover yourself or you need to invest cash in someone to do it for you.
Who am I to give you advice?
I was a little girl who was told she could not become a genetic engineer (not a “girl thing” ya know), and even less become a novelist in a country that was not her own.
Well, I am a genetic engineer, a researcher, a college professor, and a successful indie novelist, and I want to show you that if you want you can; I’m here to help ^_^
My books are available worldwide on Audible, Amazon, B&N, i-Tunes, Smashwords, and bookstores (ask to order them if they’re out!). Check them out and help me spread the word ^_^
GBA
Great blog post for you fellow authors out there. I really enjoyed it and have learned a lot for my future releases. Great work @gaiabamman
First off, congratulations on Hellbound. It’s a fantastic read and am happy I got the chance to review it.
1) Tell us a bit about what your inspiration for Hellbound was.Honestly, there were two inspirations. The first of them was the quantum theory of Schrödinger’s cat.
Having read the story you might identify with it; it demonstrated the
conflict between nature and behaviour and what we observe to be true on a
macroscopic level. The experiment consisted of him placing a cat in a
steel chamber with a small amount of hydrocyanic acid. If a single atom
of the substance decayed, it would trigger a relay mechanism which would
trip a hammer and in turn break the vial and kill the cat. You
cannot know without popping the box whether the substance has decayed,
the vial broken and the cat subsequently killed. It therefore, according
to quantum law, exists in a superposition of states which means it is
both alive and dead simultaneously until you open the box and discover
which it is. Hellbound
was a tale of deciding which scenarios the antagonist, Obadiah Stark,
could be existing in. Only at the end do you discover which of those it
actually is. The
second inspiration was Kung Fu Panda! No kidding!! A tale of the most
unlikely evil overcoming the most despicable of evils. Hellbound is an R
rated version of Kung Fu Panda if you really squint!! 2) What kind of research went into the creation of this story?I
have a big thing about research. I will spend weeks gathering as much
material as I can and reading around a subject so that when I begin to
write about it, it feels, smells and sounds real. My writing coach,
Steve Alten taught me that. Make it believable or else you cheat the
reader and will lose them. So I spend an awful amount of time reading
around the death penalty, executions and the morality that goes hand in
hand with such an emotive subject. It was important to the story that I
do not give my opinion, only the facts and allow the reader to decide
for themselves.
3) Was there a particular case or person that inspired Obadiah Stark’s character arc? Obadiah
Stark is like the love child of all the most evil serial killers in
history! Tapping back into the research element, I read around Ted
Bundy, Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez, John Wayne Gacy to name a few
and took characteristics form all of them and remoulded them into
something familiar but hopefully at the same time, new. Most
importantly, he needed to be sympathetic which I know sounds bizarre but
for the story to work the reader had to potentially be able to
sympathise with him despite all his crimes. Again, I don’t know if it
works for all the readers, but that was my aim. I saw him as Wentworth
Miller in my mind for an actor to play him!! I became quite fond of
Obadiah actually!!!
4)
How much inspiration for the story’s setting did you take from your own
life? The descriptions of the various settings were so well written I felt like I was there.Thank
you! I love Ireland and wanted to set it somewhere different than
normal. Ireland has such history and is so beautiful, so it seemed
ideal. I have family from there and have visited many times so I drew on
those experiences and that knowledge and looked at a lot of maps to get
the locations correct! I tried to have the setting influence elements
of the story and lend them a sense of depth. I hope I succeeded…I
certainly enjoyed writing about the country and the various locations.
5) What author or book most inspired you to become an author?Steve
Alten, without a shadow of a doubt! I owe everything to him and
Hellbound wouldn’t exist if not for his patience, mentorship and
coaching. He took me on as a writing coach client and showed me how to
create a beat sheet, how to draft and edit chapters, how to develop
characters and how to weave a narrative. I thank him in every book and
will always do so. He is an amazing author from adventure thrillers
about giant, prehistoric sharks to political dramas concerning 9/11.
Absolute genius and genuine, humble man. I think more than anything I
wanted to make him proud as I had never really had that in my life where
someone was proud. So, yes, Steve Alten!!!
6)
Is the mystery thriller/horror genre something you are the most
passionate about, or would you consider working in various different
genres?I love
psychological thrillers, however I have so many extremely talented
author friends who write in genres I could never do; comedy, apocalyptic
fiction, love stories, fantasy. If I was to go outside my comfort zone
then I think I would write a love story (or try to!). Though I do have
gangland thriller in the works which I am writing with a friend who has
the most amazing story to tell and I have a infection outbreak thriller
all drafted and ready to go!!! I do think there are ore original tales
that can be told in the thinner genre. That’s what I am aiming for, to
create stories that are just a little different. In the words of Shane
Ward, ‘That’s My Goal’!
7) What do you enjoy developing more: your characters or your plot?I
think I would have to say both! I certainly enjoyed trying to develop a
good plat that can keep the reader guessing and taking them on an
exciting journey. that said, it is nothing without some good characters
to breath life into the scenarios and worlds you create, so to me they
are mutually exclusive. I loved developing the character of Obadiah
Stark for Hellbound. I wanted him to make readers anxious and resentful
towards him for his evil nature, but wanted him to be personable.
Personable evil was my mindset when creating Obadiah…an engaging
murderer!!
8) If you could talk to your character, Obadiah Stark, and ask him one question, what would it be and why?Ooo,
good question. Hmmm, I think I would have to ask him “What does it feel
like to feel?” the why would be because after his experience, I think
it would be interesting to know whether a remorseless person is capable
of feeling remorse. Though I might ask him “Who would win in a
fight…Batman or Superman?” Everyone wants to know that!! 9) How important has social media been to the development of your author brand and readership? Social
media has been vital in allowing me to reach new people who might like
to enter the world I have created. I have met so many fantastic authors
and bloggers who have become good friends; Louise Hunter, all the girls
at Crime Book Club, Tracy Fenton and all at The Book Club, Noelle
Holten, Shell Baker, Maxine Groves, Gordon McGhie, Sarah Hardy, Gigi
Gus, Jane Wignall, Llainy Swanson, Emma Tasker, Jane Andrukiewicz,
Donna Marie McCarthy, Ryan Mark, Rob Enright, Tim Adler, Andy Males,
Bekki Pate, Paul Ferns, Leigh Russell, Karen Long, Paddy Magrane,
Charlotte Teece…I could go on forever!!! The bottom line is that every
single person I have mentioned and all of those didn;t have the space
for have helped me become a better author and helped share Hellbound to a
wider audience. Whether a review or a mention, I wouldn’t have any of
these opportunities without them, or people like your good self…none
of us writers would. I am only tiny in a huge literary world but it is
ridiculously exciting and I owe it all to the social media sites such as
Twitter and Facebook and the people I have met there that anyone knows
about Hellbound at all. 10) What are your plans for future writing projects? I
have the gangland thriller I mentioned in progress alongside a follow
up to Hellbound and In Extremis titled Nameless; not a direct sequel but
set in the same universe (a little like Marvel. All the films are
connected but not about the same characters). Both will be out in
October time. I also have the infection outbreak thriller I mentioned
all beat out and ready to start and some ideas for a few other
novellas…enough to keep me out of trouble!!!
Thank
you for your time David. I look forward to reading more of your work
and appreciate you taking the time to do this interview. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to chat to you Anthony. It was a pleasure!
