Author Update: Roz Morris

I love doing author updates. It makes me feel the vitality of the writing community. This time we're catching up with author Roz Morris. I interviewed Roz back in January. Now her new book is out, so let's find out what it's about.

Welcome back, Roz! Tell us about your new release.

It's called My Memories of a Future Life. It's contemporary fiction with a
twist - reincarnation from the other end of the telescope; a sort of Time
Traveller's Wife for the Derren Brown era. It's already been called groundbreaking by one reviewer - the link is here.

Here's what the novel's all about.


If you were somebody's past, what echoes would you leave in their soul? Could they be the answers you need now?


The main character, Carol, is a concert pianist. She's a gifted musician who needs nothing more than her piano and certainly doesn't believe she's lived before. But forced by injury to stop playing, she fears her life may be over. Enter her soulmate Andreq: healer, liar, fraud and loyal friend. Is he her future incarnation or a psychological figment? And can his story help her discover how to live now?


A novel in the vein of The Time Traveller's Wife, Vertigo and The Gargoyle, My Memories of a Future Life is much more than a twist on the traditional reincarnation tale. It is a multi-layered story of souls on conjoined journeys - in real time and across the centuries. It's a provocative study of the shadows we don't know are driving our lives, from our own pasts and from the people with us right now. Like Peter Shaffer's plays The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Equus, it asks questions about what we believe, what we create and how we scare and heal each other.


Above all, it's the story of how one lost soul searches for where she now
belongs.

Tell us the good and the bad: What was the hardest thing about writing this book and what was the easiest?

The easiest? The research! I thoroughly enjoyed immersing in some fascinating, rich subjects. For instance, the world of classical music, where The language of music on a score is so dictatorial, with instructions for how long you play a note, in fractions of a second, which requires immense dexterity and control. Professional players are like Olympic athletes.


And playing is almost like a form of spiritual possession. There are instructions for expression - for instance, amoroso, which means 'play it lovingly'. That's awesome - they tell you how you feel while playing the music.


I got a strong sense of music as almost being like channelling the spirit of the composer. Of course, it's not always like that, but I wondered what it would be like for a character who felt it was.


A lot of this fed into what music means to my main character Carol - and what she loses when she can't play. Literally, it's her way of feeling alive.


Also I had to research hypnosis and past-life regression. This is a rich subject indeed. The person undergoing it is put into in a highly suggestible state and asked to describe where they are and what they're doing. They come up with incredible stories - sometimes very traumatic. I was interested in what really happens under the surface - who was pulling strings, what it means, but a lot of it defies logic. No matter how you look at what's going on these people are going through profound and changing experiences.


I also became aware of how many unscrupulous people there are in that part of society. While many of them want to help others, there are also a lot of cheats and charlatans. Inevitably they make interesting characters...


The hardest thing was writing the end. I had to decide at what point we could cut and leave the characters to get on with their lives. I wrote several different endings and always had a clenched feeling in my stomach that I'd been hard on a character, or had left something important unsaid. When I finally got the right one, I knew - but it took a lot of soul searching.

You knew this was coming -Quick Writing Test! Use these words in a sentence: masquerade, Tupperware, and liquid nitrogen.

As the hypnotist spoke the Tupperware party disappeared; in its place appeared white clouds like liquid nitrogen, and a mysterious masquerade. 

(Did you design those words specially for me, Dorothy?! I forgot to put that scene in the book!)

Spooky! LOL. Where can our readers find your book?

The Kindle store - US http://www.amazon.com/Season-Memories-Future-Life-ebook/dp/B005IZJTTA/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1
and UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Season-Memories-Future-Life-ebook/dp/B005IZJTTA/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1
A print edition will follow but there's no URL for that yet.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I'm releasing the novel first of all as 4 novellas on the Kindle, of roughly 25k words each, one a week, 0.99c each. This is, of course, an experiment, but it seemed to work pretty well for Mr Dickens. And with the Kindle offering new ways of reading, it's about time someone did it again. My agency Sheil Land are watching keenly to see if this is a model they should use for their own ebook releases. Very exciting times!


Thank you, Dorothy, for having me back - and for all you do with this website. I've discovered some terrific authors on these pages and I'm thrilled to be here too.

I'm so glad. Thank you for telling us about your new book. I'll be keeping my eye out for it.

Interview with Roz Morris

Guess what! I've got our very first interview for the new year wrapped up in a neat little package for you all. And what an awesome writer I get to present to you! Please welcome author Roz Morris.

Hi Roz! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I've ghostwritten eight bestselling novels which I can't name because they're a trade secret. I freelance edit, mentoring other writers to help them shape up their novels to a state where they can be presented to the market, and I'm coming out from under the ghostly sheet with novels of my own. I'm represented by Jane Conway-Gordon in London. The rest of the time I work as a freelance magazine editor - and occasionally as a movie extra!

Wow, I'm amazed by you already. How long have you been writing?

I've been writing for about 20 years in a serious way, but there's never been a time when I haven't dabbled with stories. I also went through a period of dabbling with music. So I guess I'm manically creative.

Sounds like it. Many people, including myself, aren't exactly sure what goes into ghost writing. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

In essence, it's writing a book pretending to be somebody else. Mostly you write for celebrities, or people who have hit the headlines in some way. Perhaps they've already published their memoirs (possibly also ghosted) and have branched out into novels – but need help with the craft of fiction writing. And they're not always non-writers. Sometimes the megabrand established novelists use ghosts, outsourcing some of their early draft work to keep up with demand. And if a mega-selling author dies, a publisher might hire a ghostwriter to keep their brand alive beyond the grave.


Ghosting is done by writers across the entire spectrum of success, including those with strong-selling titles who are established under their own name. Often they do it between novels of their own – on what in Hollywood is known as the ‘one for them, one for me’ principle. If you can do it, it's a good way to make a living and a refreshing change from working on your own, because the ghosting process is a collaboration with your 'author', and usually their editor as well. It's also a great way to recharge creatively - the novels I've ghosted have stretched me into subjects and genres I may not have ventured into otherwise, and my own work has broadened because of it.

Most writers who ghost do it after some success under their own name. I got lucky with the novels I ghosted and now I'm breaking out as me!

How exciting. Can you tell us move about the books under your name?

I have a novel out on submission, called MY MEMORIES OF A FUTURE LIFE. The MC is a pianist who is struck down by a mysterious injury that stops her playing, and steals away her creative and emotional life. It's an injury to her soul as well as to her body, and the story follows her as she gets drawn into a strange and nightmarish experience in search of a cure. The genre is modern fiction, quite literary but with a thumping plot. I don't do wispy books that languish around aimlessly and eventually come to terms with everything. It opens with a scene of yoga rage.

I've also written a non-fiction book, NAIL YOUR NOVEL - Why Writers Abandon Books and How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish with Confidence http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/nail-your-novel/5301103 . I wrote it because I realised most of the writers who come to me for editing help struggle to deal with the huge job of writing and revising a novel. Because of this, they also can't assess their novel's structure - which is essential to whether it works or not - and they don't dare to make major changes because it all looks too complicated. I disembowel my drafts quite blithely because I've developed ways to take control of my manuscripts, and so I thought the most helpful thing I could do for people was to write a book about how I do that.

That's awesome. What are you working on now?

My second novel as me. It's called LIFE FORM 3. It's too soon to talk about it yet, though I'm in love with it and very excited.

Ooh, intriguing title. So, what’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Finding the one best path through the story. Which is why I disembowel a lot.

Any tips you’ve learned about writing you’d like to share?

Listen to your writer's instinct. If something isn't working, don't ignore that voice. Think how you could do that character or plot thread differently, no matter how inconvenient. There is always a solution, although finding it may take several days. Also, experiment. If a scene or a way of introducing an idea doesn't work, that has still told you something.

Let’s get to know you on a deeper level. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

At the moment I have two places for writing. One is my study, which is my internet computer. There I have my desk I salvaged from an old dining room table and painted a pale grey lilac I mixed myself. I love pretty containers. Batteries and USB drives are in a Michael Kors sunglasses case, which pleases me whenever I pick it up because it feels heavy and strong. My pens are in a box from a bottle of Laurent Perrier rose champagne that Dave and I shared one Christmas. To my left is a wooden box with slots for letters - a present from a friend who died one Christmas Eve in a road accident. I'm surrounded by shelves of books and other nonsensical necessities, including a shoe from my horse. Next door is Dave's study, and the sound of his one-finger typing is an essential creative backdrop.


I love my study, but sometimes I need to uproot myself from the lure of Twitter, blogs and Facebook. I have an Asus eee PC, about the size of a piece of folded A4 paper, which I originally bought as a writing machine to slip into my handbag. When I need to be alone with my WIP, I take it to the dining room, where there are no distractions, and submerge.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The ability to breathe under water. Like being able to fly, but less far to fall if it goes wrong.

LOL, makes sense.

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: serendipity, coagulate, and tic-tac-toe.

Her control over the pen was so random that the figures on the tic-tac-toe grid coagulated in dark blobs and she filled a line only by serendipity - but then that was quite promising for a marmoset. (Yikes, that was hard, Dorothy!)

But you did brilliantly! Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you.
Let's hear your shout outs.

Ooh, how long am I allowed? Cassidy Webb, KM Weiland, Victoria Mixon, Elizabeth S Craig, Darcia Helle's Bestseller Bound, the Unruly Guides, Laura Schultz, Italia Trent, Nancy Denofio, Meg Collins, Daisy Hickman, Sena Quaren, Kim Koning, John Poindexter and Kevin McGill for being generous spirits who always give great vibes. And thank you, Dorothy, for hosting me here.

You're very welcome. :) And finally, where can people find you online?

I have a blog www.nailyournovel.com, I'm on Twitter @dirtywhitecandy , on Facebook as me. I also have a Facebook page for my blog, and if any of you have a book out you are welcome to post a pic of it on my blog's FB page with one proviso - either you or one of your friends must be reading it, and if possible, in an interesting place! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dirtywhitecandy-Roz-Morriss-writing-blog-at-Nail-Your-Novel/106238509406918

Roz, thank you so much for talking with us today. I've really learned a lot, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.