This week we have had the opportunity to meet author Claire Fayers and her series Accidental Pirates! We thought we would do a little interview with Claire. One of my favorite things when I was growing up was when our librarian at school would arrange for a guest author. It is always fun to see where authors get their inspiration from and to get to know the person behind the book!
*When did you realize you loved to write stories?
When I was very young. I loved writing stories in school. Here’s one of my early efforts. You can see I was a literary genius even at that age!
I didn’t start writing seriously until I’d finished university. I started off writing romance stories for magazines and somehow fell into writing for children later on.
*Did you have a teacher or someone special that inspired you to write?
I had several. When I was eleven, I had a teacher, Mr Bennett, who shared my love of reading and used to recommend books to me. And then, later on when I was in college doing A Levels (it’s the exam we do in the UK at 18 before going to university) I had two English teachers who encouraged my writing, and encouraged me to study English at university. I am very grateful to all of them.
*Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?
They generally appear randomly in my head when I’m thinking of other things! Though my next book, which will be out in the UK next year and the US in 2019, came about because my agent wanted a middle-grade version of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – Victorian England with magic. And I thought ‘I can do that’ and then spent a year coming up with a story.
*Where do you write your books?
I have a home office which looks out onto our small back yard and is really lovely. I do most of my editing there. I also have regular writing sessions with friends in local coffee shops, which is where I get most of the first drafts written. Working with friends gives me extra motivation, and there’s no internet, nothing to distract from the task of writing.
*Are there any locations in the world that inspired your books?
My first two books are pure fantasy but some of the islands draw inspiration from real life. I used to work in a library, for example, and I have a library island with sword-wielding librarians. I’m starting to use Welsh locations more and more in my books. There’s something very magical about the mountains, castles and valleys, and Wales is rich in folklore.
TRETOWER COURT, SOUTH WALES
*What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Set yourself small, manageable goals and never give up.
*What lessons would a child reading your book learn? (for example: it's important to tell the truth, be nice to your friends, etc)
You can find friends in the unlikeliest of places. Explore the world. Don’t be afraid of trying something new. Be yourself, and be kind. And, most important of all, listen to one another’s stories. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone deserves to be heard.
*For fun - What is your favorite kind of dinosaur?
All the flying ones!
Thank you very much Pamela, and everyone who’s visited the blog this week. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a signed copy of Journey to Dragon Island, and do drop by my website sometime to say hello.
In this sequel to The Voyage to Magical North, Brine, Peter, Cassie and crew return for another swashbuckling adventure on the high seas.
Reaching the edge of the world can’t stop the crew of the Onion! It’s westward ho in search of dragons, no matter the obstacles. And there are obstacles. Flesh-eating vines, violent locals, and mischievous magi—not to mention Marfak West’s ghost—meet the pirates when they land on the Western Island, where a volcano threatens to end them all. Together, Brine and Peter might just be able to save the crew, the island, and themselves. Or they might all go up in flames. It really could go either way.
Claire Fayers writes comic fantasy featuring swashbuckling pirates, evil magicians, heroic librarians and man-eating pengiuns.
She grew up in South Wales, studied English in Canterbury, and is now back in Wales where she spends a lot of her free time tramping around castles in the rain, looking for dragons.
She has worked as a church caretaker, a shoe shop assistant, in accountancy, in health and safety, in IT, and in a library. Only one of these prepared her in any way for life as a full-time author.
Her first book came about quite accidentally after she won a writing competition. She was more surprised than anyone. She now works from her home in Cardiff and shares her workspace with a pair of demanding cats and an ever-expanding set of model dinosaurs.
Goodreads author page:
Website
Twitter:
@clairefayers
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/clairefayersauthor/
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