Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Candra Baguley. Her debut novel, The Grey Ones, is available now! Read the interview below.
Q: How long have you been writing? Why did you start?
A: I’ve been writing since I was a little kid. I loved telling stories and had such an active imagination that writing came natural for me.
Q: What inspires your writing? Do you have a muse?
A: I get inspired by movies, books, myths and legends, the news, etc. For instance, Red Dawn and Walking Dead were two big inspirations for The Grey Ones. I don’t have a muse, but I do look up to other authors.
Q: Tell me about your book The Grey Ones. What was the original idea behind it?
A: The Grey Ones is about a family searching for others to help them fight back against the monstrous aliens that have killed most of mankind. The original idea was going to be focused on a short story, which is now known as the first and second chapter.
Q: How did you decide what your aliens (Grey Ones) would look like? Did you base them off of something?
A: The Grey Ones were actually designed in accordance with the idea of them living inside their planet. I wanted them to be a scary twist to a classic alien.
Q: The Grey Ones is a trilogy. Do you know what is going to happen next, or are you figuring it out as you go along?
A: I planned the trilogy before I sat down and began the first book. I know the major details, but the rest I figure out along the way.
Q: How much preparation goes into your writing? Is there a lot of ‘grunt work’?
A: There’s a lot of prep before I begin writing. For The Grey Ones I was studying some Latin, researching aliens and myths, researching other books to make sure mine isn’t the same, and I was constantly thinking and writing little notes down about it.
Q: What advice do you wish you received when you began writing?
A: Hm.. Probably how to balance reading, writing, and family – along with everything else. I’m a mom so it can be difficult to juggle the daily tasks.
Q: If you could be one of your characters, who would you be and why?
A: Isabelle. She’s strong, brave, a great mom, and she’s a feminist. I consider myself those things too, but Isabelle actually gets out there and proves herself in a way I wish I could.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge in your writing career so far? What have you done to overcome it?
A: My biggest writing challenge is and was my own insecurities of sharing my work. I believe I have overcome that for the most part by self-publishing and being an Indy author. It forced me to believe in my work and myself.
Q: What is something you want the world to know?
A: At least 10% of The Grey Ones royalties will be donated to the pediatric cancer research at Primary Children’s Hospital. This cause is very important to me and my family and that is why I chose it. You don’t know courage until you see the families and warriors fighting cancer every day.
Find Candra Online:
Pingback: Book Giveaway! | Keystroke