Interview Questions
Please tell us and our readers a
little bit about yourself.
I’m
a UK
based author who writes mainly in the science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal
genres, although I may break that rule from time to time. Apart from writing,
my greatest passions also include fabric and stitching; I create bags, corsets
and clothing in the vintage, retro and alternative style.
Describe your book series in a
sentence to convince us to buy it.
Be
prepared for a journey, an expedition that draws together fringe science,
psychic powers, alternate dimensions, time travel, past lives, folklore,
consciousness, conspiracy and ancient wisdom, in a soap opera for the
soul.
What was your inspiration behind
‘Seven Point Eight’?
It
amalgamates all the things that interest me and that I’ve read about, including
psychic powers, the universe, ancient wisdom and technology, quantum physics,
mysticism, conspiracy, the universe. I wanted to create a highly ambitious
series that encompasses life, the universe and everything, in an epic story
revolving around five principal characters.
The concept revolves around visiting
other worlds via the power of the mind, so you don’t need your physical body.
Through consciousness alone, it’s possible to explore not only the universe,
but your own spiritual heritage. The series involves a group of extraordinary
people, and their quest for the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.
How many Chronicles will
there be?
There are five in all. The
First Chronicle came out about eighteen months ago, The Second Chronicle has
just been released, and The Third Chronicle is scheduled for next year, no
specific release day yet.
Each book will feature a main
character on the cover, with the story involving them in a significant way. The
first book depicted Tahra, as she is the key to beginning this whole journey in
many ways, while the second one depicts Max, because I think his story arc is
central to the action in the story, and links the character in a very dark and
sinister way.
The Third Chronicle will
feature Ava and in this book, her purpose and secrets will be revealed, as will
her enemies and allies. I have something really wonderful planned for her,
although it’ll change her life in ways she may regret. The Fourth Chronicle focuses
on Paul to a large degree, because there’s a chunk of his life he hasn’t told
us about, and it will be pretty explosive for the people concerned. Finally, The
Fifth Chronicle concludes with the focus on Sam, his demons and dilemmas, plus,
it wraps up all the story threads and mysteries running throughout the series.
I
have some great story arcs lined up for all the characters, they’d better hold
onto their hats!
What’s next after this?
In
2013, you can expect to see Seven Point Eight: The Third Chronicle, plus a soft
sci-fi/ fantasy tale for Young Adults entitled ‘Hox’. You may also see an
anthology of short stories, a novella for children, and a venture into
screenwriting.
Why science fiction?
I
like geeky science, but I also love the grand and epic scope that sci-fi offers.
Speculative fiction really stretches the imagination and whole creative
process, plus you can integrate all kinds of technology, while examining the
moral aspects of it. There are many movies and TV series in this genre that
remain favourites too, such as Star Wars, Contact, Star Trek, Star Gate, and
Fringe.
From your writing, I’d say
you're a believer of aliens/ other life-forms out in the vast expanse of space?
Is that true?
Yes, it’s far too big a
universe for us to be alone, that’s such a waste of space! I believe there’s a
whole host of physical and non-physical life forms out there that we’re
ignorant of. The universe is teeming with life at different levels.
The cover of the book is really
awesome. Did you have any inputs on it?
I
had a strong idea of what I wanted to achieve, although the difficulty lay in
communicating that, so I highlighted some images that inspired me. Colour is an
important element, as each book cover will reflect a different energy. The
Second Chronicle uses red to convey action, passion, determination, but also
anger and ambition. It’s also the colour of the base chakra.
If your book got turned into a
movie, who would you select as your actors?
Seven
Point Eight is written in the style of a TV series, with a complex and epic
plot full of numerous story threads. If I had rich pickings, I’d cast Michael
Fassbender as Dr Paul Eldridge, Henry Cavill as Max Richardson (with a bit of
age added), Dianna Agron as Ava, and Nicholas Hoult as Sam. The cover girl for
The First Chronicle is New Mexico
actress, Monique Candelaria, and I’d love her to take the role.
Have you based any of your
characters on someone you know, or real events in your own life?
No,
the characters and story are products of my imagination, and the research I
carried out for the underpinning science in the book. There may be elements of
my own personality entangled in the characters somewhere, and influences from
people I’ve met or known in my life. However, I never set out to encapsulate
any one person in each character.
Who do you admire most in
your life?
I admire people who follow
their own path, regardless of what society thinks. It takes a lot of courage to
do what you know to be right, rather than just following the crowd. Strong and
successful women also inspire me, and people who stand up to the shortfalls of
the system. Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and The Occupy Movement stand
against the immoral and greedy nature of our governments and banks. I believe
in liberty, creativity, and spirituality.
Who has been your greatest
inspiration from other writers, if any?
I think there have been many influences throughout
my childhood, and as I moved through adulthood.
Initially, I always loved The Narnia Chronicles and had a geeky passion
for Star Wars, covering both the fantasy and science fiction genres. Through my teenage years, I was an avid
reader of Stephen King books, although some of works could be
considered as ‘drawn out’, as the market is in favour of tighter plot and pacing.
He can be
a bit hit and miss.
More recently, I would say Star Trek, Lost and such
programmes encapsulate the storylines and human interest themes that I like.
One of my favourite films is ‘Contact’ with Jodie Foster, and in my first book,
there are a few tiny little tributes to it. Screenplay writing is a major interest of mine, and at the moment, I’m
studying the pilot scripts for Lost, Fringe and V. ‘Seven Point Eight’ would
make a fantastic TV series.
When did
you know you would be a writer?
I was always known for writing stories when I was
at school. The teachers would read them out to the class and at age 12, I
expanded an English class assignment to a novella about my class being stranded
on a desert island after the cruise ship sank. It was rather Lost-esque, with
giant rabbits and aliens, but the class mostly enjoyed all the interactions
between the characters, as they were the stars!
Since then, I’ve written a few more novel length
books, but I wanted my stories to have maturity so I waited until I was much
older before I put one out. I think it’s best to write with the wisdom of
experience, of relationships and of people. It creates stronger characters and
enriched interactions between them. So in conclusion, I think writing has
always been in my blood.
Marie, was the research for
the novel huge or hard?
Once
I’ve highlighted the needs of the plot, I tend to take notes from the books and
web pages I’ve read, indicating how it fits in with my story. Smaller details and
any location research are often researched as I progress through the book,
reflecting where I need more detail. It can be quite difficult to capture the
feeling of a country or city if you’ve never been there, but I find there’s
plenty of information online, such as tourism sites and YouTube.
What are the best aspects of
writing?
In
many ways, I’d say the second draft is the most pleasurable, in that you’re not
faced with a totally blank page. At this stage, you can really lay down the
more emotional aspects of the story, such as the character’s thoughts and
feeling in each situation. It’s where you really cut the diamond. I enjoy
writing both action sequences and relationship interactions, one because you
get to create dangerous and exciting situations where you can kill characters
in highly imaginative ways, and the other because you can really touch the soul
of the reader, creating joy or heartbreak.
What is
the hardest part of writing for you?
Like many writers, I find sections of a book where
it doesn’t flow so easily and when you’re staring at a blank page, it can be
frustrating. The final read through can make you want to gouge your eyes out,
so it’s handy to have something else to work on for a bit.
Where and when do you prefer to do
your writing?
Most
of The Second Chronicle, I wrote at home although in the spring and summer, I
get cabin fever. There’s a great little tea and coffee shop in Nottingham, where I can plug in my laptop and enjoy a
cultured and chic atmosphere. When I need to get out of the house, I take everything
with me.
It is often said that if you can
write a short story, you can write anything. How true do you think this is?
A
short story is a brief concept, the pacing, plot and character development
differs greatly from a novel, in that the it’s very concise. Character
development is often quite superficial because there’s no time to present much
of a back story. A novel builds the plot and character through a longer series
of scenes, and it’s much harder to correctly pace and present each element of
the story. There’s so much more to keep a handle of. A screenplay is different
yet again, as it has a specific formula, plus, it’s much tighter. It relies on
a lot of show as opposed to tell, everything must be styled very visually,
using action and dialogue. A stage play or radio script is another matter,
something I don’t write.
Any
advice to aspiring writers?
Don’t rush; craft your story with care, patience
and above all, passion. Pass it to a variety of people to read in beta form,
and ideally one or two people you don’t know very well, so you can get a more
unbiased opinion. Take on feedback and appraise your work with honesty. Then
after it’s published, be prepared to work extremely hard promoting it. See it as a journey and enjoy the ride.
Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or
hardcover?
I’ve
always been a staunch advocate of paperback books as you can curl up on the
sofa or in bed with them, but e-readers such as the Kindle make an excellent
case for the digital age. E-books are often a lot cheaper, so you can afford to
buy more reading material. I prefer my Kindle for fiction, but still use
paperbacks for research or reference.
What are your thoughts on book
trailers?
I’m
not sold on them, as many just look homemade using PowerPoint. I think you can
end up marketing the trailer instead of the book.
Do you write under a pen name?
Not
at the moment, although I intend to write more general fiction for women under
a pen name, to keep my genres separate.
Do you ever write in your PJ’s?
Of
course! Writing feels so cosy in a pair of fleecy PJs!
What are your pet peeves?
Poor
spelling and terrible grammar. I hate it when people keep writing ‘gawjuss’
instead of ‘gorgeous’, and ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’.
Stupid
people becoming famous for no reason seriously bugs me too. We should celebrate
each other for contributing something of value, not for being dumb.
Cats or dogs?
I
like the independence of cats but also the loyalty of dogs.
White wine or red?
White,
or rose. Red wine is too rough :-/
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
in the morning and late afternoon, tea in between or at night.
Vanilla or chocolate ice cream?
Chocolate
:-p However, I prefer the really extravagant Ben & Jerry flavours.
What do you normally eat for
breakfast?
Porridge,
with a mug of coffee.
Laptop or desktop for writing?
Laptop.
It keeps you warm in the winter!
If you were deserted on an island,
who are 3 famous people you would want with you?
I
wouldn’t want to be deserted with anyone famous, their vanity, superficiality
and ego would annoy me so much I’d punch them, and they wouldn’t be able to do
anything useful anyway. Give me a soldier, musician, and comedian any day. The
first to build shelter and hunt, the second for the soul, and the third for
laughter.
Where can your readers stalk you?
Subscribe
to Marie Harbon on Facebook
Like
The Seven Point Eight Chronicles on Facebook
Follow
me on Twitter @marieharbon
Join
me on Goodreads
I’ll
be posting articles about UFOs, the supernatural, and ancient wisdom on my
blog, some of which relate to the theory behind Seven Point Eight.
