Questions for Amanda Hemingway/Jan Siegal/Jemma Harvey

[Mark Robson]

I will be interviewing Amanda Hemingway for Chronicles in the near future and, as with some previous interviews, wondered if anyone here has questions they would specifically like me to ask her. Amanda has been writing for some time now under different names. Aside from writing fantasy under the name Jan Siegal and, more recently under her real name, she also writes chick lit under the name Jemma Harvey and writes for the travel section of The Independent newspaper.

I have found Amanda to be a fascinating character with a very colourful past. She has a wealth of experience as a published writer in several genres and is currently published by Harper Collins both here in the UK and also in the US.

Fire away with the questions!

 

[littlemissattitude]

Yes. I'd like to know whether she finds any particular problems in writing in more than one genre. Also, does she find that when she is working on a particular project in a particular genre, that other genres try to leak through.

Also, my usual question: What is her writing process like, and does it differ when she is working in different genres. And, sort of related, when she is working in a particular genre, how does that influence the reading she does during that period. Does she avoid reading in the genre in which she is working at a particular time? Or does she read in only that genre and avoid reading in other genres? Or does it make any difference at all?

Which genre does she find it easiest to write, and which one does she find the most difficult, if there is a difference for her?

That's all for now; I might think of more later.

 

[rune]

I suppose one question would be to ask why she's written under different names.

 

[Patrick Mahon]

I'd be interested to know both how Amanda ended up writing in several different genres, and how this was received by her publishers when she first tried to sell them a book in the "second" genre she came to - or indeed, whether she told them at all, or simply sent the manuscript off with the new pen-name, and didn't mention her previous publications?

 

[Mark Robson]

My understanding is that these are not the only genres she's written in. I do believe that she's written thrillers as well. I shall certainly try to pry out a bit of her publishing history as part of the interview. I'm also intrigued as to how she manages to convince publishers of her ability to write in so many genres.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm also intrigued as to how she manages to convince publishers of her ability to write in so many genres.

Maybe just by doing it. Editors (as we both have reason to know) exert pressure to write this or write that while future projects are still under discussion, but if a book is sitting right there on the desk and they want to buy it, they probably figure that a bird in hand is worth two in-genre books that are still out there in the unwritten-novels-bush.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

I, too, would like to hear how her publishers react to her writing in several genres, and if they asked her to have a different name for each genre. I got the impression from elsewhere that publishers prefer that writers not write in several genres (at least, not under one name).

 

[Mark Robson]

I managed to read 'The Traitor's Sword' last night in a single sitting (wife and daughter both away!). I had to laugh at one or two of the lines. This one in particular made me chuckle. One schoolboy to a boy from another school:

'Thank God we're at a nice safe boring comprehensive,' George said. 'We just have drugs and sex and ordinary bullying - and I never get any of the drugs or sex.'

Amanda throws lots of these little one-liners into her work. It makes you keep turning the pages, wondering where the next little gem is going to spring from. I'll be conducting the interview very soon now. Any more questions anyone?

 

[Patrick Mahon]

I've thought of one more question I'd be really interested to hear the answer to: how much time does Amanda spend on writing on an average day, and does she set herself goals for time spent writing, words written per day, or anything similar? Or is she naturally prolific, so that none of this is necessary?
(For that matter, I'd also be interested in your answers to these questions, Mark!)

 

[Mark Robson]

Thanks, Patrick. I happen to know that Amanda has a different working pattern to me, but I'll leave her to describe that. For my part, I try to write a maximum of 2000 words per day when I'm in writing mode (as I am at the moment). I don't do more because I tend to burn myself out of ideas if I write too quickly. I find that a steady approach works better.

That said, I don't always manage 2000 words in a day. Sometimes the writing just will not flow. However, I always have a double target: time and words. This way I never fail to meet one of the targets. I either write for 6 hours during the day, or 2000 words, whichever comes first. This way, the worst I will have achieved is to think about the story for 6 hours.

Amanda is in the final stages of drafting her latest novel 'The Iron Crown' at the moment, but should be available for interview within the next week or two. Does anyone have any final questions?

 

[Patrick Mahon]

Mark,

Thanks for reminding me that you're planning to interview Amanda Hemingway for Chronicles. Having just finished The Greenstone Grail, there's a rather obvious question I'd love you to ask Amanda: what was it about the legend of the Holy Grail that drew her to the idea of writing a fantasy trilogy loosely based around it? Was it simply a useful jumping off point, or are there deeper reasons why the grail legend appealed to her?

Cheers,
Patrick.