Tuesday 22 November 2011

Author Interview: Helen Scott Taylor



Helen Scott Taylor has written A Clockwork Fairytale.



1. What is your name and where do you call home?
My name is Helen Scott Taylor and I live near Plymouth in Devon in the English West Country.

2. What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or less words, what would you say?
A Clockwork Fairytale.
A rags to riches fairytale about a lost princess and a maverick young spymaster who foil an evil magician.

3. Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
This is the first in a YA fantasy trilogy. The second book will be out next year.

4. What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing?
I started writing in 2003 after having a dream that I should. (Weird but true!). My first book, an adult romance called The Magic Knot, was published in 2009 after winning a competition. So far all the books I’ve written have been in the romance genre.

5. Do you gift books to readers for book reviews?
Yes. I’m happy to gift books to book bloggers who want to review them. Just drop me an email from my website contact form.

6. How did you come up with the title for your book?
This book has had a number of different titles. It started off as The Starlight Stone, then became The Silver Serpent, but I ended up going with A Clockwork Fairytale.
Is there anything you would change about your book? And why?

7. Do you have a book trailer? And what are your thoughts on book trailers?
I don’t have a book trailer for this book. It is fun to have a trailer, but in my experience it doesn’t increase sales and costs a lot. I have only had one book trailer, for my second book, The Phoenix Charm. I loved to see the story come to life in the trailer, but it was too expensive for me to justify having another one made. And I’m not skilled enough to make one myself. (Although my son is studying film and media...Hmmm. Maybe I should ask him to make one for me.)

8. Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hardcovers or audiobooks?
Until a few months ago, I would have chosen paperbacks. But I am now in love with my Kindle, and I mostly read electronic books. I do enjoy listening to audiobooks in the car on long journeys as well. I’ve never been a fan of hardcovers. They are big and heavy and a nuisance to carry around in my bag.

9. Are you a self-published / Indie author?
My adult books have been traditionally published, but A Clockwork Fairytale, my first YA book, is Indie published. Since I published this book, I have also self published a couple of stories that were originally traditionally published. I love the freedom of indie publishing, the freedom to write what I want and choose my own title and cover. It is a lot of hard work, though.

10. Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it?
I rarely re-read books, but I have read Susan Johnson’s book Golden Paradise a few times over the years. And I read many of the classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Emma and Wuthering Heights more than once.

11. What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format?
I’m reading Summer Loving by Allie Spencer right now. This is a paperback, unusual for me recently, but when I bought the book it was more expensive in Kindle format, so I went for the paperback.

12. Do you have any advice for other writers? And what’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing?
The best advice I’ve ever been given is the old cliché, ‘Never give up.’ That really is true of writing. It is such hard work to learn to write a story of publishable quality. Whether you intend to self publish or go the traditional route, it is important to write a lot, read craft books, take writing courses, have your work critiqued by experienced writers and just keep slogging away until you master the craft. And then remember there are still people out there who will not like what you write. You can’t please everyone so you need to have a thick skin to ignore the critics.

13. Where can your readers follow you?








Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview and allowing us a glimpse into your writing world!

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