Where
are you from?
My mother and father.
Isn't that kind of a personal question? Actually I am from The Land Down Under
which explains my height and generally dizzy constitution – all the blood to
the head , you see.
Why
do you write?
Because the voices in
my head are real nags about getting their stories out there.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
Frustration. Apparently
when I was very, very young I asked my mother what came next when I'd finished
reading a book. She told me the book was over so there was nothing more. I
proceeded to tell her the further adventures of the characters. Later, she told
me, she would see me walking around in the back yard, waving my hands in the
air, and telling stories. Nothing has changed, apparently.
What
genre do you typically write?
Romance – in the
sub-genres of Paranormal, Regency and Space Opera.
Do
you feel like you have a specific writing style?
I aim to be funny. It takes
more words to tell a joke but I think it worth it to make people laugh, take
another look and say, hmmm, actually the writer has a point. My heroes are George Carlin and Bob Newhart.
How
long does it usually take you to write a book?
My very first beginning
to end novel took six years. The next book took one year. The last book I wrote
took nine weeks. I aim for four books a year.
Reading, however, is
three books per day.
What
do you do to conquer writer’s block?
What is this creature,
writer's block? I have not seen his spot, nor his tread upon the ground.
Actually, I have a policy of not stopping writing. If I have trouble with a
scene I skip over to another scene that I can see in the distance. Later I
realize that the reason I was having trouble writing something was that it
either did not belong or was lying cross-ways to the development of the story
and I needed to come at it knowing what came next. Easy, right???
What
can you tell us about your favorite character from your book?
The expository charter
in Crimes of the Brothers is Kate – personal maid and friend to the heroine. It
helps to know your primary expository character well. In the old western's they
are the jokers and help to make the hero look good. In this book Kate is
sensible, practical and a budding heroine in her own right. I know this because
I am already being nagged by readers for more about Kate.
What
actor or actress would you like to see play your character in the movie
adaptation
Sorry. What is a movie?
Who
is your favorite author and what is it about them that inspires you?
Dr Seuss. (Theodor
Seuss Geisel ) I love his use of
words, rhythm and language. (and art) he had fun with his stories with his
rhymes, with his characters. I didn't read his work until I graduated from
college then I read all of it. My ambition is to one day own an autographed
copy of “I had trouble going to Solla Sellew” which really describes my wish
for life -To overcome what holds me back.
What book are you reading now?
Finished. Read another
while I thought about this answer. Finished.
The Miss Fisher series. By Terry Greenwood. A series set in flapper ear
Melbourne Australia. I am enjoying visiting my country's past.
What are your current projects?
That would depend on
whether you ask my publisher or me. My publisher is waiting for the third book
of my “Changing Magic” series. The third book in my “Ridiculous” series and the
next in the “World Wide Witches Research Association and Pinochle club” series.
What she does not realize – evil laughter – is that I am plotting out another
regency book AND have gone back to a Space Opera I wrote some time ago that
combines the best part of Machiavelli’s The Prince and the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire. You may assume from the above that my mind jumps about.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest
book?
I would have traveled
to Winder mere for a holiday before writing it instead of after.
Can you share a little of your work with us?
Catherine Walman discovered of the many horrible things one could experience in this world, traveling in a crowded coach behind tired horses on a rainy day was if not the worst, then it was at least the second. If the Vicar preached that hell was a rainy day where one was unable to escape one’s family there’d be considerably less sin Catherine was convinced. The four day journey home from Lake Windermere was one of unending agony. From the moment they had entered the carriage her mother had complained of mal de mer and a headache that persisted no matter what change they had made within the carriage. With the windows and blinds open she complained that the air was hot, or wet, or odorous. With them closed, the interior of the coach was putrid. Her father spent most of the time warning the other occupants not to jostle any of the five boxes containing bird’s eggs he’d gathered during his holiday. Since they were placed on the floor where a reasonable person would expect to put their feet, this was a source of considerable discomfort for everyone. And finally, her brother, who’d somehow found a group willing to include him, had joined in a card game the night before their departure from the Lake District and almost had won a horse. Or so he kept insisting. Days later he would not stop complaining about his loss.
“Fine form, beautiful paces, and did I tell you that they told me his owner charged a hundred guineas for him to stand at stud.”
“Strange, I thought you said ten guineas yesterday,” murmured Catherine, not even turning her face away from the carriage wall.
James glared at her and raised his voice. “And I almost won him. One card. One turn of the card and he would’ve been mine. You’d have more room in here if I were able to ride my own horse.”
“It’s raining,” said Catherine. “You wouldn’t be riding in this weather.”
“That is not the point. The point is that if you’d given me the money I asked for. Money I’m entitled to. Money you deceived me about, money you denied having. If you’d’ve given it to me then I’d have increased it and I’d have a valuable horse to show for it.”
Catherine turned away from the scrap of fresh air that filtered in through a crack in the window frame and faced her brother.
“Again, I tell you, sir, my information regarding your game was that you had lost every single game that night. That the horse was placed in the pot against all of our horses, since you’d already lost every penny you’d stolen from me. That you hadn’t even taken the time to go down to the stable and examine this paragon amongst all horses. I was told all this when you dragged me out of my bed when you were drunk and raving at two in the morning. And the winning of this wonderful horse rested not on the of one card as you say but on the play of an entirely new hand. Based on your history of losing I am well within my responsibilities to act to prevent you from losing horses that do not in fact belong to you but were borrowed from the home farm. When, and not if, you lost them we would have been left to walk home.”
“The horses belong to us. To me. We own the damned home farm.”
“And they need the horses or they will have trouble working the farm. You will not get your quarterly allowance if goods are not taken to market, if the fields are not plowed, you selfish child.”
“Damn it to hell,” cried James. “You should have given me the money.”
“Please, children,” said their mother lifting her hartshorn to her nose again. “Do not shout.”
“Damn it, Mother, it’s not fair,” protested James. “How can I appear a proper gentleman without my own cattle? If Catherine had but given me the money when I asked for it, I’d have a horse, one that I could use to increase my own income, but no, she …”
Catherine turned back to the window and closed her eyes. Soon they would be home. Once there she’d lock herself in her room and not come out for a week.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
In the dedication of
another of my books I acknowledge the assistance of my English teacher, the
late Mrs. Fuller, for her help in getting
a kid with learning disabilities out of special ed. Fact is, I have
trouble with the word putting in order, concentration, spelling and grammar
thing. Fortunately for me I now have a devoted and wonderfully helpful team of
beta readers who clean up the mess before the book goes to publisher. ::wave:::
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Writer's write. Writers
also read, play, have family and run about. Occasionally I will get asked why I
am not writing when I am painting or playing cards or watching TV or reading.
The answer, my children, is thus – I am always writing. Right now I am “taking
in” what will soon be flowing out into another story.
Or,
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Great English Writer –
Douglas Adams said it best. In the fifth
book of his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy he had his characters go
on a quest to visit God's last message to his creation. After many adventures
they came to a high plain and in the distance were the words - “I
apologize for the inconvenience!”
Author Bio:
D.L. Carter was decanted from her incubation pod in the outback of Australia many decades ago. This terrifying event was closely followed by shrieks of "there, there it goes. Hit it with a brick!"
These valiant attempts to correct the existence of D.L. were, unfortunately, unsuccessful and she now resides in New Jersey, US., in a box with her toys, two human beings and three cats.
Connect with D.L. Carter Today!
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