Interview with Clare Marshall (Violet Fox Blog Tour)

Hi guys! Its October 20th and that means that it is finally my turn to post for the Violet Fox blog tour and I am super excited to give you the interview I had with the books author, Clare Marshall who is so nice.

Here's the Summary...

Run.
That’s what instinct told me.
But in order to save the secrets of my people
and to protect my brother
I have to become the enemy.

Interview with Clare Marshall, author of The Violet Fox.  

1. First up, obvious question, what made you want to be an author?

I don’t think any one thing made me want to be an author. I was always writing stories--very long stories!--in elementary school, and was encouraged to keep doing so throughout high school. Eventually I learned to curb and control my writing monster and write short stories and refine my plot-lines a little bit!

2. Did you always know that you would want to write in the young adult/paranormal genre?

When I was in elementary school, I’d write about girls who were 12 or 13. In junior high/high school (it was combined in my town), I’d write about girls who were 15 or 16. Now, at 24 years of age, I write about girls who are between 16 and 18, but I also enjoy the mid-twenties perspective as well, since that’s where I’m at in life. So I guess the answer would be yes, it’s what I’ve always written, and I’ll probably continue to write in the young adult spectrum. I’d also like to write in the 10-12 age group--I think my creative juices really bloomed during that period of my life and I’d like to revisit some of the story ideas I came up with then.

As for the genre, I consider myself mostly a fantasy author, with bits of science fiction and horror/paranormal thrown in. I’m not afraid to explore scenes that might weird other people out or make people uncomfortable. The Violet Fox doesn’t really have any of that, though, but it does creep towards the edge of deeper thought and darkness at times.

3. Are any of the characters in your books based on real people?

Not specifically. I like to take traits from specific people and Frankenstein them into one person. Other times, the characters themselves tell me what they look like, or their mannerisms are clear in how they act.

4. Being involved in Indie Writing, do you think that a good cover is the sell point to any book? 

Having an attractive cover definitely helps you get noticed. It’s the equivalent to dressing up for a job interview. If you have an unattractive or unsuccessful cover, that tells me that the author doesn’t care enough about their work to make it presentable. That’s probably a superficial judgment, but without reading the entire book to see if it’s good or not, I wouldn’t know if it’s worth my time.

The other selling point to a book would be the plot description. It’s possible to have a mediocre cover and a great description. That’s enough for some people to get excited. But the cover can get people to read the plot description, so one often leads to the other.

5. If deserted on a desert island and the only thing you’re allowed to take with you is a book, what would your pick be?

A survival guide! I think this would be the most logical choice. Providing, of course, that there is vegetation of some kind on this desert island. If it’s just sand, and maybe a tree, and I’m going to die of exposure or starvation or of a giant shark jumping out of the sea and swallowing me whole, I’d take my Kindle and fill it with all of the YA books I haven’t read yet. The battery will only last a month, but if there is no vegetation for me to work with, I’ll die in less than 2 weeks. The body can go for 2 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water. And once I start drinking the seawater, I’m going to go crazy. And I probably won’t be doing much reading after that. J

6. The bucket list. What are your three top things to do on your list?

•  Get certain books of mine published by a traditional publisher. Some of the ideas I have are better served by houses that have access to bigger markets (or specific markets, like schools) than I currently do.

•  Travel around the world in a small yacht. Comfortable, but small enough that only a two to three people would have to manage it. And I’d have to find a way to have near-constant internet access so I could chronicle my adventures. I would also bring a survival guide in case I am stranded on a desert island, as mentioned in the above potential scenario.
•   Improve the lives of a community. I don’t have any specifics or details about this really, but if I ever become so rich that I sweat money, I’d like to donate it to a worthy community project.

F       Find out who else is on the tour here