Corner Cafe Talks - Zakarrie Clarke

Here are my questions:

1. You are now writing primarily MM Romance. Do you ever think you're going to write another genre as well? Like, F/M or Sci-Fi or Fantasy or Urban Fantasy...

2. How long does it take you to write and edit a book. Weeks, months?

3. What made you want to become a writer?

***

Damn 3 questions is hard...I could ask many more.
Thanks for answering our questions MIMI!

Hi Mimi! 

! - Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

2- Do your characters complain when you write something they don't like?

3 - What do you do for fun when you're not writing?

Ooh exciting! Sooooooooo

1. Do you ever base your characters on real people? 

2. Has your mum read all your books? And if so did she enjoy them....

3. When editing a finished....bar the editing....book, do you ever find that your editing has completely changed a scene?

I hope you are inordinately proud of yourself for having 6 books published in under a year! I know I am proud of you 

i congratulate you on the success of your writing career. This is book 2? 

I myself have many many ideas for stories unfortunately, i can set up a story, but there is no follow through, hell, i can't even decide what my characters look like................LOL.......

ANYWAY. i'll stick to compiling and transcribing genealogy records and leave the fiction writing to you
and all the other pros out there

question: just reading the first chapter, IDK if it was me, or ok, just my interpretation 

but it was just, the character started out SO ANGRY, frustrated..............

and when the social worker came to the door, the TONE changed, 

it was like me having a really really bad day back in the early 70's and opening my front door and having both david and shaun cassidy standing their with their smiles.....

sorry, just wondering, I know the character is blind, but feels like a love at first site kinda thing

*Gabriella* wrote:

Here are my questions:

1. You are now writing primarily MM Romance. Do you ever think you're going to write another genre as well? Like, F/M or Sci-Fi or Fantasy or Urban Fantasy...

2. How long does it take you to write and edit a book. Weeks, months?

3. What made you want to become a writer?

***

Damn 3 questions is hard...I could ask many more.
Thanks for answering our questions MIMI!

Hiya Gabriella 

1.  I have written a fair few genres within m/m romance...but never ventured into m/f fiction.
There's a fantasy story, which is a shapeshifter novel set in Cornwall... Duke & Dandy was historical, and I set one in a circus in the 70's and one in a psychiatric hospital. But I've never written a m/f story. I like writing GLBT books...that feels the best fit. I love writing about people on the fringes of mainstream society, and a fair few of my characters are not neurotypical, so that seems to be where I'm comfiest. I would like to write a book with a gender fluid or trans character, or even f/f...but I can't see myself venturing into straight stories.

2. I write a chapter in a day, so however many chapters there are, that's how long it took to write. I tend to have a couple of stories on the go though, and switch between them, so although DD took 34 days to write...those days were spread out.  Editing takes MONTHS   About a month if I do it myself....all the stages of publishing take about 3 months, but most of that is waiting, for the next batch of edits/proofs etc to arrive.

3. Enid Blyton.  I've wanted to be a writer since I discovered the famous five books when I was seven.


Thank you for this lovely thread, and for your questions. Please feel free to ask whate'er you wish.

DebraC wrote:

Hi Mimi! 

! - Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

2- Do your characters complain when you write something they don't like?

3 - What do you do for fun when you're not writing?

Hiya Debs 

Thank you for your questions 

1. I know not...they just pop into my head fully formed.  At first I wrote a story within every genre I enjoyed. Once I've chosen that, I know the 2 characters whose story I want to tell.  Most of my them tend to be triggered by movies or books I've read.

Written in Blood, my first attempt at writing a novel, was based upon an unholy mixture of Dexter and 'Paris When it Sizzles' with Audrey Hepburn. Hence; my MC writes a hugely popular serial killer series and hires a PA.  

2. I've never done that!  They hold the reins. I watch the story unfold in my head...and just type out what they do/say.

3. I love movies...so I watch those and read.

doeyedream wrote:

*Gabriella* wrote:

Here are my questions:

1. You are now writing primarily MM Romance. Do you ever think you're going to write another genre as well? Like, F/M or Sci-Fi or Fantasy or Urban Fantasy...

2. How long does it take you to write and edit a book. Weeks, months?

3. What made you want to become a writer?

***

Damn 3 questions is hard...I could ask many more.
Thanks for answering our questions MIMI!

Hiya Gabriella 

1.  I have written a fair few genres within m/m romance...but never ventured into m/f fiction.
There's a fantasy story, which is a shapeshifter novel set in Cornwall... Duke & Dandy was historical, and I set one in a circus in the 70's and one in a psychiatric hospital. But I've never written a m/f story. I like writing GLBT books...that feels the best fit. I love writing about people on the fringes of mainstream society, and a fair few of my characters are not neurotypical, so that seems to be where I'm comfiest. I would like to write a book with a gender fluid or trans character, or even f/f...but I can't see myself venturing into straight stories.

2. I write a chapter in a day, so however many chapters there are, that's how long it took to write. I tend to have a couple of stories on the go though, and switch between them, so although DD took 34 days to write...those days were spread out.  Editing takes MONTHS   About a month if I do it myself....all the stages of publishing take about 3 months, but most of that is waiting, for the next batch of edits/proofs etc to arrive.

3. Enid Blyton.  I've wanted to be a writer since I discovered the famous five books when I was seven.


Thank you for this lovely thread, and for your questions. Please feel free to ask whate'er you wish.

You're so welcome!


1. Oh well, the F/M genre wasn't such a great pick as an example. I mean, Sci-Fi and Fantasy can have love relationships, but don't need to and don't always have one, mostly it's friendships or family relationships in them. I thought if you ever think of venturing into another genre that doesn't have a romance plot. (Action, or Thriller - just like Sci-Fi or Fantasy - I hope this explains it better... )
(I know it's a strange question for the month of love and to ask that of a romance writer, but that was what I meant.)


2. A chapter per day? Each day?  Do you have some free time? How do you not mix up the story's and characters if you write different stories at the same time?

3. Congrats on making your dream come true!  

ChrissieB wrote:

Ooh exciting! Sooooooooo

1. Do you ever base your characters on real people? 

2. Has your mum read all your books? And if so did she enjoy them....

3. When editing a finished....bar the editing....book, do you ever find that your editing has completely changed a scene?

I hope you are inordinately proud of yourself for having 6 books published in under a year! I know I am proud of you 

Hellooooooo   

1.    They might, just might, be based upon a couple of scoundrels I'm rather partial to.

2.    She has been very supportive since Hangover was published.  She loved Darkness Dawns - bar the edited out sex scenes - I just type BLOW JOB (etc) instead. I may have replaced one particular scene with the words: You REALLY don't want to know.  
She loved the Duke and Dandy stories, but said of Festive: 'It did make me chuckle, but it was a lot of silly nonsense.'  

3. No...that's never happened!  I change the words within a scene, but only its tone ever shifts a tad.

Aww..thank you...and for all your support along the way
No!  I'm sort of...satisfied, I guess...but I doubt that I've ever been proud of myself. That would feel weird...and more than a mite uncomfy.

nyvagenealogykristina wrote:

i congratulate you on the success of your writing career. This is book 2? 

I myself have many many ideas for stories unfortunately, i can set up a story, but there is no follow through, hell, i can't even decide what my characters look like................LOL.......

ANYWAY. i'll stick to compiling and transcribing genealogy records and leave the fiction writing to you
and all the other pros out there

question: just reading the first chapter, IDK if it was me, or ok, just my interpretation 

but it was just, the character started out SO ANGRY, frustrated..............

and when the social worker came to the door, the TONE changed, 

it was like me having a really really bad day back in the early 70's and opening my front door and having both david and shaun cassidy standing their with their smiles.....

sorry, just wondering, I know the character is blind, but feels like a love at first site kinda thing

Hiya Nyva 

Thank you!  This is book 6. 

ANYWAY. i'll stick to compiling and transcribing genealogy records and leave the fiction writing to you
and all the other pros out there


  I don't blame you one bit...tis far more rewarding to spend your time doing something youre so passionate about methinks.  





You read it right...Leo has been unable to bear any of the strangers who've turned up on his doorstep...but Ben is so...disarming, and entirely other, he's the first person who has managed to... blunder through Leo's barricades since he went blind.


He sums it up best himself:


Befuddled? How...strange. Two ****s, a s*** and a blind faux pass, all before Ben had taken his coat off. In truth, he wasn't far off, Leo did feel decidedly...bewildered. Both by Ben himself, and a glimmer of something Leo hadn't felt for so long, he could neither name nor fathom it. Curiosity? Interest? Whatever it was, it felt as rusty as an old bike left out in the rain.



His interest is piqued for the first time in two years of self-imposed solitude.  He's fascinated by Ben. I imagine that felt almost as exhilarating as love at first sight.

*Gabriella* wrote:

You're so welcome!


1. Oh well, the F/M genre wasn't such a great pick as an example. I mean, Sci-Fi and Fantasy can have love relationships, but don't need to and don't always have one, mostly it's friendships or family relationships in them. I thought if you ever think of venturing into another genre that doesn't have a romance plot. (Action, or Thriller - just like Sci-Fi or Fantasy - I hope this explains it better... )
(I know it's a strange question for the month of love and to ask that of a romance writer, but that was what I meant.)


2. A chapter per day? Each day?  Do you have some free time? How do you not mix up the story's and characters if you write different stories at the same time?

3. Congrats on making your dream come true!  

1. LOL...it never crossed my mind about it being the month of love.  :cho:  No...I don't think I will ever write a story without a romance in it.  The romance itself might be secondary to the situation I place an MC in...but I suspect that they will always fall in love along the way.

I do very much enjoy forensic/serial killer books...such as Jeffery Deaver and Jeff Lindsay.  But I dont' think I could do the genre justice. That's one of the reasons I borrowed a serial killer for my 'writer' in Written in Blood. I was able to dabble in the genre without being presumptuous 'nuff to think I could do a good job of pulling off such a story.

2.   Yes...I can't stop til I've finished the chapter. I know where it starts and finishes, so I 'watch' them act it out in my head.   I've never confused the stories or characters; I could tell you exactly where I left all six WIP's...but I do get their names in a muddle if I've been focusing on one story for a wee while.
Um, I don't get out much?  I only sleep for about four hours, so there's a very lot o'time to fill.

3.  Aww...how kind of you, thank you 

I would love to know where the idea of Leo came from? Did you ever imagine him with another disability, or did he come to you as he was? That character just fascinates me so!

doeyedream wrote:

ChrissieB wrote:

Ooh exciting! Sooooooooo

1. Do you ever base your characters on real people? 

2. Has your mum read all your books? And if so did she enjoy them....

3. When editing a finished....bar the editing....book, do you ever find that your editing has completely changed a scene?

I hope you are inordinately proud of yourself for having 6 books published in under a year! I know I am proud of you 

Hellooooooo   

1.    They might, just might, be based upon a couple of scoundrels I'm rather partial to.

2.    She has been very supportive since Hangover was published.  She loved Darkness Dawns - bar the edited out sex scenes - I just type BLOW JOB (etc) instead. I may have replaced one particular scene with the words: You REALLY don't want to know.  
She loved the Duke and Dandy stories, but said of Festive: 'It did make me chuckle, but it was a lot of silly nonsense.'  

3. No...that's never happened!  I change the words within a scene, but only its tone ever shifts a tad.

Aww..thank you...and for all your support along the way
No!  I'm sort of...satisfied, I guess...but I doubt that I've ever been proud of myself. That would feel weird...and more than a mite uncomfy.

Hellooooooo! 


1. Hehe ooh I might have known that.......


2. It's lovely that she reads them but I think there are two words I never said to my mum, blow and job  


3. I did wonder when you've said you're editing again....and again....and again.....the prologue 


Well you should be proud of yourself but no worries, I am proud enough for both of us, tremendously proud, and I know you! Bonus! 

freakykitten666 wrote:

I would love to know where the idea of Leo came from? Did you ever imagine him with another disability, or did he come to you as he was? That character just fascinates me so!

Aw...thank you! 

Blindess has always been a disability I really wanted to explore when I started writing. So much so, it was the second story I wrote (after the serial killer author story).  
I've also long wondered how much sight plays a role in relationships we form.  I suspect that many more people might be inclined to follow their instincts if that boundary was stripped away. 

Sooo....If my character found himself swept up by a person who fascinated him, whose company he preferred over and above anyone else's, whose touch shivered across his skin...would he be less resistant to the idea of allowing his bi-curiosity to flourish...?

ChrissieB wrote:

Hellooooooo! 


1. Hehe ooh I might have known that.......


2. It's lovely that she reads them but I think there are two words I never said to my mum, blow and job  


3. I did wonder when you've said you're editing again....and again....and again.....the prologue 


Well you should be proud of yourself but no worries, I am proud enough for both of us, tremendously proud, and I know you! Bonus! 

Hellooooooo 

1.    Oddly 'nuff 

2.  :laugh: My mum was a teen in the sixties...so perhaps that counts for much. She's sure said a helluva lot more than that to me   I may even have mentioned the hellfire tongue.  Not toooo graphically, but butt...




3.    That's mainly rephrasing sentences so they sound more smooth - less clunky - in my head. Or eradicating repetative words. I'm scarce aloud to use the same verb, noun or adjective on the same page. The technicalities of writing are mind-boggling. And...so are epilogues.


Awww....thank you, my angel. :hrts:  I've gone all daft now.  

You do indeedy...I'm sorrrrry.

doeyedream wrote:

1. LOL...it never crossed my mind about it being the month of love.  :cho:  No...I don't think I will ever write a story without a romance in it.  The romance itself might be secondary to the situation I place an MC in...but I suspect that they will always fall in love along the way.

I do very much enjoy forensic/serial killer books...such as Jeffery Deaver and Jeff Lindsay.  But I dont' think I could do the genre justice. That's one of the reasons I borrowed a serial killer for my 'writer' in Written in Blood. I was able to dabble in the genre without being presumptuous 'nuff to think I could do a good job of pulling off such a story.

2.   Yes...I can't stop til I've finished the chapter. I know where it starts and finishes, so I 'watch' them act it out in my head.   I've never confused the stories or characters; I could tell you exactly where I left all six WIP's...but I do get their names in a muddle if I've been focusing on one story for a wee while.
Um, I don't get out much?  I only sleep for about four hours, so there's a very lot o'time to fill.

3.  Aww...how kind of you, thank you 

Thanks for the Snoopy!

1. Yes, it's the month of love. So I admit it was a mean question to ask, if you would write a story without love in it.
Forensic/ serial killer ...I read and loved some of those...If you ever consider to write one of those stories...I'm a willing test subject...*gimme*...lol, when I could sing..."Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight Take me through the darkness To the break of the day ..." so don't forget to make the good guy a male hero.


2. Six WIP's?! That leaves just one question are you a plotter or a pantster?
I would mix up more than just names. (And you should get more sleep! )


3. If asked by your publisher/ editor...What would you never put into your stories?


4. Besides Enid Blyton. Which authors influenced your work?

*Gabriella* wrote:

Thanks for the Snoopy!

1. Yes, it's the month of love. So I admit it was a mean question to ask, if you would write a story without love in it.
Forensic/ serial killer ...I read and loved some of those...If you ever consider to write one of those stories...I'm a willing test subject...*gimme*...lol, when I could sing..."Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight Take me through the darkness To the break of the day ..." so don't forget to make the good guy a male hero.


2. Six WIP's?! That leaves just one question are you a plotter or a pantster?
I would mix up more than just names. (And you should get more sleep! )


3. If asked by your publisher/ editor...What would you never put into your stories?


4. Besides Enid Blyton. Which authors influenced your work?

You're welcome 

1. Aww...it wasn't mean! I adore reading serial killer stories...and the solving thereof.
My favourite series stars Lincoln Rhyme  - who is paraplegic - his attitude to his condition is somewhat akin to Leo's about his blindness. Although he's far more scathing about other people's frailties regarding his condition, whereas Leo blames himself.  Leo is full o'self loathing before he goes blind though. Lincoln knows his own worth...and faults too.  

If you ever consider to write one of those stories...I'm a willing test subject...*gimme*...lol, when I could sing..."Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight Take me through the darkness To the break of the day ..." so don't forget to make the good guy a male hero.  


I really would love to!  But I don't have the forensic know how I'd need, nor the type of brain that could plot out an intricate, linear story arc.  My own thinking process is visual and relies on thought/word association. So...one sentence follows the next. Soooo...
2. Very much in a panster fashion.


I doubt if I could plot a story...I'd start chafing at the bit. I'm very rubbish at trying to follow rules - even my own - or maps, they make me feel miffy. I'd want to write something else/take a detour, for the hell of it methinks. 


3. A threesome. 


4.  Oscar Wilde, A.A. Milne, Anthony Trollope, both Jeff's, Emily Bronte, Eddie Izzard.

Hello Mimi and congrats!!!  

1. How does it feel to finish a novel? I can assume satisfaction over a job finished but is there any worry that follows this process?

2. Do you write your stories in first or third person? Can you explain why and why not the other way around?

3. Can you share your writing habits with us, specifically your daily routine?
****

doeyedream wrote:

ChrissieB wrote:

Hellooooooo! 


1. Hehe ooh I might have known that.......


2. It's lovely that she reads them but I think there are two words I never said to my mum, blow and job  


3. I did wonder when you've said you're editing again....and again....and again.....the prologue 


Well you should be proud of yourself but no worries, I am proud enough for both of us, tremendously proud, and I know you! Bonus! 

Hellooooooo 

1.    Oddly 'nuff 

2.  :laugh: My mum was a teen in the sixties...so perhaps that counts for much. She's sure said a helluva lot more than that to me   I may even have mentioned the hellfire tongue.  Not toooo graphically, but butt...




3.    That's mainly rephrasing sentences so they sound more smooth - less clunky - in my head. Or eradicating repetative words. I'm scarce aloud to use the same verb, noun or adjective on the same page. The technicalities of writing are mind-boggling. And...so are epilogues.


Awww....thank you, my angel. :hrts:  I've gone all daft now.  

You do indeedy...I'm sorrrrry.

1. Hehe I knew they felt familiar.......


2. OMG   


3. Ooh I've heard these epilogues can go on forever......or maybe I read it somewhere 

doeyedream wrote:

DebraC wrote:

Hi Mimi! 

! - Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

2- Do your characters complain when you write something they don't like?

3 - What do you do for fun when you're not writing?

Hiya Debs 

Thank you for your questions 

1. I know not...they just pop into my head fully formed.  At first I wrote a story within every genre I enjoyed. Once I've chosen that, I know the 2 characters whose story I want to tell.  Most of my them tend to be triggered by movies or books I've read.

Written in Blood, my first attempt at writing a novel, was based upon an unholy mixture of Dexter and 'Paris When it Sizzles' with Audrey Hepburn. Hence; my MC writes a hugely popular serial killer series and hires a PA.  

2. I've never done that!  They hold the reins. I watch the story unfold in my head...and just type out what they do/say.

3. I love movies...so I watch those and read.

Mimi, thanks for your answers!  

if the characters hold the reins, what if you don't like the direction the story's going??

sonia189 wrote:

Hello Mimi and congrats!!!  

1. How does it feel to finish a novel? I can assume satisfaction over a job finished but is there any worry that follows this process?

2. Do you write your stories in first or third person? Can you explain why and why not the other way around?

3. Can you share your writing habits with us, specifically your daily routine?
****

Hello Sonia...and thank you! 

1. I'm relieved I pulled it off...somehow. I oft find that about 3/4 of the way through, I've included all the splendorous things that occurred to me along the way. And now have to work out how to bring it to a satisfying end for the reader.  Without making them miffy, or being disappointed, or, or....
 

2.  Third...in a sort of over the shoulder sense, with access to their thoughts.  I'm not sure why, it seems the best of both worlds...and ability to comment on their actions with a wry twerk of eyebrow, but still intimate. Whereas 1st person is such a biased POV.  I would like to try it though, I was thinking that only last week.

3.  I haven't been in writing mode for the last year...it has been a whirl of editing upon editing. For three years I simply wrote every free minute I had, and wound up with about a dozen novels in various stages of completion.  My son and I keep very strange hours so I slot my writing amidst his routine rather than follow my own. I get up (at 3pm) and do all his morning routines and my correspondence, have brunch...write/edit for a couple of hours, cook his dinner - 10pm - and am then fairly free to do as I wish writing wise until 5am.

Thank you for your questions 

ChrissieB wrote:

1. Hehe I knew they felt familiar.......


2. OMG   


3. Ooh I've heard these epilogues can go on forever......or maybe I read it somewhere 

Hellooooooo!  

1. Odd that...tralala...

2.  zonk. 

3.   You must have!  True too, dat. 

DebraC wrote:

Mimi, thanks for your answers!  

if the characters hold the reins, what if you don't like the direction the story's going??

Hiya 

You're welcome, thank you for them 

That's never actually happened...although I do oft think 'oh gawd...now what have I gone and written...' 
I suspect that's because I write one of the characters straight from my own head...so I might p'raps be guilty of a bit of backseat driving.  

Mimi, thanks for replying.
Best of luck to keep up with your writing "groove"

doeyedream wrote:

ChrissieB wrote:

1. Hehe I knew they felt familiar.......


2. OMG   


3. Ooh I've heard these epilogues can go on forever......or maybe I read it somewhere 

Hellooooooo!  

1. Odd that...tralala...

2.  zonk. 

3.   You must have!  True too, dat. 

doeyedream wrote:

DebraC wrote:

Mimi, thanks for your answers!  

if the characters hold the reins, what if you don't like the direction the story's going??

Hiya 

You're welcome, thank you for them 

That's never actually happened...although I do oft think 'oh gawd...now what have I gone and written...' 
I suspect that's because I write one of the characters straight from my own head...so I might p'raps be guilty of a bit of backseat driving.  

heehee  Thanks Mimi! 

DebraC wrote:

doeyedream wrote:

DebraC wrote:

Mimi, thanks for your answers!  

if the characters hold the reins, what if you don't like the direction the story's going??

Hiya 

You're welcome, thank you for them 

That's never actually happened...although I do oft think 'oh gawd...now what have I gone and written...' 
I suspect that's because I write one of the characters straight from my own head...so I might p'raps be guilty of a bit of backseat driving.  

heehee  Thanks Mimi! 

You're welcome...thank you! 

sonia189 wrote:

Mimi, thanks for replying.
Best of luck to keep up with your writing "groove"

You're welcome... aww. thank you!