Sabina: Thank you for coming by to answer a few
questions Claire! Sit down and make yourself comfortable. :-)
Claire:
Why thank you – I’m delighted to be here
Sabina: So, Claire. For those who might not know you
– can you tell us a little about yourself?
Claire: I am an animated
teenage artiste, risk-taker, singer, actress and comedienne. I just
happen to be trapped inside the body of a very private person, a sometimes
blonde, sometimes brunette, author of romantic, fantasy novels for young
adults. I
have three gorgeous children, who are my world, a loving and supportive husband,
who I adore and big black Labrador who can talk and eats EVERYTHING... I have a
feeling he thinks he’s human and I’ve no intention of disillusioning him!
Sabina: I recently finished Dead Game, your first
book in the Trilogy. It touches a subject that many of us don’t want to think
too much about; what happens after we die? What was your inspiration for this
series?
Claire: I think it is without doubt real life events that generally
inspire writers to write. The more powerful the event, the more emotion there
is and the more experience a writer has to call upon. I’ve been writing
since I was a child, usually making up mystical stories for my own enjoyment.
Dead Game, however, ignited following the tragic death of my cousin, Charles,
who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He was
deployed in 2003 to Paderborn in Germany and was killed, aged 24, in a freak
transport accident the day after he returned from serving a six month stint for
his country in Iraq. I was heavily pregnant with my first child when we
heard news that he had been killed. As you can imagine, my family and I
were stricken with grief, we are extremely close knit and he was like a brother
to me. Like most, I found his death very hard to accept, I felt
strangely guilty for being alive. Charles not being here was just so
un-comprehensible, so I went on a mission to find him.
S: If you could choose to be a magical creature,
(fairytale creature/person), what would you be?
Not long after my
first child was born I found myself in the comfort of a spiritualist church,
practicing mediumship and I now believe that my cousin is as much the author of
Dead Game as I am. I spent seven years at the spiritualist church, researching and
developing my spiritual awareness. I have a very skeptical and questioning
mind, but the evidence given to me in the past seven years proved to me, that
we all do move on. Dead Game’s roots went very deep, as the story is loosely
based on a very real family, who lived through the heartbreak and agony of
losing someone dear.
Years on and three
children later, living close by to a Royal Air Force base, I have forged close
friendships with families whose young men and women risk - and all too often
lose - their lives serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and in addition I have lost
other young friends who are non-service related. How someone passes is
really irrelevant, it will always be excruciating to bear. It was
witnessing at first hand the heartbreak of loss that conjures a multitude of
emotions, particularly in children and young adults that spurred me on to
complete Dead Game. For some young minds it is not enough to say ‘He’s gone to
Heaven’, they need to know why, what happens next, how long will they be gone?
Dead Game is my way of answering these poignant questions in a fantastical and
simple way.
Sabina: Dead Game isn’t all about death and doom, but
tells us a beautiful (although a bit sad) love story. Do you believe in Soul
Mates yourself?
C: Yes I do – and I do believe that at
in one life or another we’ll find them.
S: Can you tell us anything about Waiting Game,
the sequel to Dead Game?
Claire: It’s out now! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Waiting-Game-PBK-Claire-Kinton/dp/1909587095/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1379098642&sr=8-3&keywords=waiting+game
Waiting Game is, like you say, my
sequel to the People’s Book Prize Finalist book ‘Dead Game. It follows a different main character, Sarah
Walker, who is living in despair after the tragic death of her cousin Archie,
finally succumbs and embarks on her long-awaited trip around the world. Landing herself in a dingy Thai soi, she runs
into a forgotten rogue from her past.
Terrified, Sarah flees and in doing so, finds herself in a ghostly world
with warped satyrs, dual-headed snakes and a wicked witch who plots to enslave
her; trying to piece together the jigsaw of her past in time is her quest, with
the true meaning of friendship at stake.
Waiting Game is a dangerous journey but it’s a fragile heart that
travels it. Compelled to move on whether
she wants to or not, Sarah’s scars run deep, but just how far will she go in an
attempt to find Archie? Read it and see!
Sabina: What are you currently working on?
Claire:
The final and best part of ‘The Game Trilogy’ End Game.
S: What has been your biggest achievement as an
Author? (Your biggest moment?)
C: I’m hoping my biggest moment is yet to come but if I had to
choose out of what’s occurred so far on my publishing journey, above the two
awards Dead Game has been shortlisted for, I would say my biggest moment was
being headhunted by my current publisher.
Having someone beside you, who is as passionate as you are about your
story; has read every word of your work a couple of times and really gets it
and on top of that is willing to fight for it and get it out there; that’s
really special. Ghostly Publishing (http://www.ghostlypublishing.co.uk/)
has done just that.
Although they are really very much a new publisher in the vast industry,
they are very focused on what they want, have a great ethos and have a clear
vision of where their authors should be and how to get them there.
The reviews and letters I’ve
received are also very endearing and great personal triumphs, particularly the
review that was posted by the Guardian newspaper. It tops everything when you know that your
hard work and fervour has touched someone enough for them to put into words themselves
what exactly they thought.
S: Have there been any “bad” moments?
There have been a fair few twists
and turns – but I do tend not to
dwell on them. I just know that was the
route I had to follow, learning every step of the way. The publishing world is not an easy one to
break into, particularly with such great competition out there and so many
amazing unread voices, fighting to be heard.
At the end of the day, the publishing business is ‘a business’, the idea
being, to sell books to make money. If
celebrity sells then that’s what book shops will stock. Sorry, I digress, no – no bad moments, just
lots of learning curves.
S: Where do you write your books? Is there
anything you absolutely NEED to have when you write?
I write at home, mostly in the
afternoons, once I’ve finished my morning teaching assistant job and in the
evenings when my three children are in bed.
It’s a very time-consuming and solitary hobby. I like to have my black Labrador, Jake at my
feet, a coffee and lots of emotion to inspire me, so sometimes I play music in
the background or have a specific movie or television program on. So long as it provokes the emotion I’m
looking for, background noise can be a great inspiration to me.
S: Do you have a nudge of wisdom (advise) for
aspiring authors out there?
C: Write because you love to write and
when you’re inspired to write and no other reason. Don’t worry about not having celebrity status
or how on earth will it sell, that is a totally different journey and has to be
put down to pot luck, shrewdness and perseverance.
QUICK QUESTIONS:
S: What kind of books do you read yourself?
C: Anything and everything, with the
exception of ‘biographies’
S: Coffee/tea?
C: Coffee in the morning, it’s a bit
of a specialty of mine – better known as Claire’s froffee coffee, two scoops of
coffee-mate a dash of milk and a scoop and a half of instant coffee. Tea comes in the afternoon. Peppermint tea if I’m feeling the need to be
healthy.
S: Read book first, or watch movie first?
C: Oh, without a doubt read the book
first, that’s where the real story is; that’s where the true soul of the plot
is and the true intention of the author.
Only once you read it and always depending on how that book made you
feel, possibly read the films reviews and make a judgment – do you want to
change how the book made you feel and run the risk of potentially changing everything
about it? Or were the reviews five star
and worth the gamble?
S: Favorite Author?
C: I don’t have one – there’s too many
out there!
S: Favorite color?
C: Blue
S: If you could choose to be a magical creature,
(fairytale creature/person), what would you be?
C: Hmmm… probably a fairy or a Star –
something with wings anyway, but not an animal.
Thank you so
much for coming by Claire, it was a pleasure talking to you!
C: You’re very welcome – thank you for
having me and please feel free to connect with me on Twitter, @Claire_Kinton or
on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ClaireEKinton?ref=hl, I love
chatting to my readers - or for more information and release dates visit my
website http://www.clairekinton.com/
Dead Game:
With guardian angels, a cursed centaur and mythical saints, Lance Corporal Archie Fletcher battles his way through Transit, discovering an underwater world of ancient secrets and brawling with wild lions, enraged charioteers and venomous plants. With the Moon’s trickery endangering his sanity and a three headed dragon that never sleeps blocking his path, Dead Game is no easy feat. The fantasy will whisk you away to a parallel world confirming the knowing deep within us all that the adventure of life must go on.
Buy Links:
Waiting Game:
The awesome new sequel to the People's Book Prize Shortlisted "Dead Game." Living in despair after the tragic death of her cousin Archie, Sarah Walker finally succumbs and embarks on her long-awaited trip around the world. Landing herself in a dingy Thai soi, she runs into a forgotten rogue from her past. Terrified, Sarah flees and in doing so, finds herself in a ghostly world with warped satyrs, dual-headed snakes, and a wicked witch who plots to enslave her; trying to piece together the jigsaw of her past in time; the true meaning of friendship is at stake. Waiting Game is a dangerous journey but it is a fragile heart that travels it. Compelled to move on whether she wants to or not, Sarah's scars run deep, but just how far will she go in an attempt to find Archie?
Buy Links:
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