Book info:
Author: James Hartley
Series: Shakespeare's Moon #1
Genre: YA science fiction/fantasy
Published: February 22nd, 2017
Synopsis:
The
Invisible Hand is about a boy, Sam, who has just
started life at a boarding school and finds himself able to travel back in time
to medieval Scotland. There he meets a girl, Leana, who can travel to the
future, and the two of them become wrapped up in events in Macbeth, the Shakespeare play, and in the daily life of the school.
The book is the first part of a series called Shakespeare´s Moon. Each book is
set in the same boarding school but focuses on a different Shakespeare play.
Purchase from Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invisible-Hand-Shakespeares-Moon-Act-ebook/dp/B01N4R541U
Purchase from Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Hand-Shakespeares-Moon-Act-ebook/dp/B01N4R541U/
Author Interview:
1. What does your writing process look like? Do you
know the whole story when you start? Or do you just start writing and go
with it (seat of the pants writing)? If you plan it out, how do you do
that? Outline, notecards, post-it-notes, etc.?
It´s a bit of a
mix, to be honest. I only really start when I have a clear idea of how the book
starts but although I plan and think I know how the book´s going to end, I´m
flexible. If I come up with a better idea for the end as I write, I change it.
Sometimes things you think are going to work very well don´t and I like to
adapt. For me, if I am too rigid and plan everything out before I even start
writing I get bored – that´s when I start to count words and it turns into a
job. I like telling myself the story the first time I write and one of the key
parts of enjoying a story is not quite knowing what will happen next – I try to
keep that in mind when I write.
I don´t use post-its or any set
method but, like every writer, I think, I write and find notes everywhere in
the house (most indecipherable). I also walk around supermarkets and streets
mouthing, “Ah! He says that and she goes there…” like a madman.
2. How do you come up with your ideas for your
stories?
Who knows. Magazines, news, things
people say, dreams, other books, films, music. Everywhere.
3. How long have you been writing? What tips do
you have for aspiring writers?
Since I was about
five or six, I think. I would say, keep going, especially if you get decent
feedback from teachers, family or strangers who read things you write. Read a
lot, don´t be jealous of other writers, enjoy writing, take rejection on the
chin and listen to criticism. If you´re thinking of making a career of it, have
a Plan B just to keep you ticking over.
4. What time period would you like to visit if time
travel was possible like in your story? If you had to be dropped into the
events of any of Shakespeare's plays, which would you choose?
For me, prehistory.
Around the time the Neanderthals were dying out – or being wiped out – by homo
sapiens. When humans lived in caves and culture was developing. I think it would
have been an amazing time, a fascinating thing to see – especially life in the
caves, the early human religions and societies.
As for Shakespeare´s plays, probably Macbeth, as in The Invisible Hand. I love all the gothic stuff: the dark moors and
castles and witches and prophecies. I put wreckers in The Invisible Hand, too, people who used to lure boats into land in
storms and then run down to the beach to steal from the wrecks. So, yep, Macbeth, if there was one play.
5. What
are your favourite:
Books/authors/genres - Most of my favourite authors are
dead. Living writers I like are Donna Tartt and Michel Faber. I love
non-fiction, history, rock music, art and science. In fiction, I´ll read
anything and everything – I don´t read one particular genre and I can´t read
the same type of book again and again.
Movies/TV Shows – I don’t want TV, really, only
sport. I have two young kids and they monopolise it. I love movies, pretty much
anything.
Music – again, anything, but mostly rock n roll, pop,
blues, metal, things like that. I like a bit of classical, grime, flamenco, hip-hop
too. I´m from Liverpool so the Beatles are pretty much in my blood. I really
think no-one´s bettered them yet.
Food/Writing snack – No food when writing. Maybe tea or
water. Just write, do the writing, then eat!
Author Bio –
His mother was a hairdresser with her own business and his father worked in a local refinery which pours filth into the sky over the Mersey to this day. They married young and James was their first child. He has two younger brothers and a still-expanding family in the area. As an Everton fan he suffered years of Liverpool success throughout the seventies and was thrilled when his father took a job in Singapore and the family moved lock, stock and two smoking barrels to Asia.
He spent five fine years growing up in the city state before returning to the rain, storms, comprehensive schools and desolate beauty of the Scottish east coast. Later years took he and his family to baking hot Muscat, in Oman, and a Syria that has since been bombed off the surface of the planet.
James studied journalism in London and later travelled through Ireland, France, Germany and India generally having a good time, before finally settling in Madrid, Spain, where he now lives with his wife and two children.
Social Media Links –
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jameshartleybks
Website:
www.jameshartleybooks.com
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