Article Written by Linda M. Crate:
INTERVIEW WITH LINDA M. CRATE:
Today, Linda M. Crate, the author of Dragons & Magic, joins LitPick for a special interview.
What inspired you to write Dragons & Magic?
I knew that I would be writing more than merely Blood & Magic early on. This piece was an ensemble piece of which I had always planned seven parts. I was inspired to write Dragons & Magic by a character that I've had in my head since I was thirteen years old. I tweaked her a bit from my roleplaying days and sent her in her own narrative, which connected into my world of Atriel.
Do you write full-time or part-time?
Part-time. I would like to write full-time, but unfortunately it does not pay me well enough at this time for this to be feasible.
What is your (daily?) writing routine?
It changes day to day, but I generally sit down at my computer, turn up some music, and get to writing. I am inspired by a lot of different things: experiences, conversations, random ideas that jump into my head, anime, people I know, people I once knew, etc.
Other days I cannot listen to any music at all and just have to focus on the words that are pouring out of me. I try to edit as I go, but sometimes that's not an option. Sometimes the words are more insistent on flowing than on proper grammar, spelling, and syntax.
I spend as much as my day as I can writing (when not working or spending time with family and loved ones).
If you could spend time with your favorite book character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
From Harry Potter, I would love to speak to Luna Scamander (Nee Lovegood). I've always been quite like her, and I would love to know what creative things she likes to do to see if we connect on a deeper level. She seems like a very interesting person and a wonderful friend.
From my own Magic series, I would love to spend more time speaking with Lucille. I would love to tell her that she's beautiful just the way she is and she need not be so self-conscious sometimes. I would encourage her to keep being her true, authentic self because nowadays people like that seem a rarity, and that's really rather sad.
Do you prefer novels or poetry?
To write? I do both, and I don't really have a preference for either. I equally enjoy writing novels as much as I do poetry, and I think both are essential to my being. I live to write, and write to live, and the matter of the form doesn't much matter as much as I get the words out of me. Both are unique, fun, and challenging in their own ways.
To read? I prefer novels. I love exploring the imaginative realms of others, and it's a way of getting to know the author a bit without ever meeting them because you get to see the wonderful and unique creations of their mind. I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to poetry, though. Names mean nothing to me. It's all about the content to me, and with so many poets and different forms of poetry out there, I think I prefer imaginative fantasy poems and confessional poems. Whatever I'm reading, however, has to have content and a voice that grabs at me. Otherwise, I tend to neglect my appreciation for it.
How do you go about creating the fantasy worlds in your novels?
They come to me in pieces. I get the overall shape of continents usually and the main country, and then the landscape of said country unravels before me and there come names of countries, personalities of countries, cultures of countries, and the like.
It is like a small snowball that keeps tumbling and gaining momentum as I create characters and further plots. I find it to be a fun and interesting process. It's actually easy for me to create the worlds, sometimes I have to work harder on fitting all the characters properly in their places.
LitPick would like to thank Linda M. Crate once again for her participation and for letting us know more about her writing process. Check out her novel, Dragons & Magic!
Website, blog, social media links:
picture:
