About the author

Tell us your story? What made you start writing?

I’m not sure. I just got it into my head when I was 18 that I wanted to write stories and I’ve been doing it ever since. The very first stories I wrote were terrible and it took me a long time to write anything that could be considered good, let alone great. Now, almost 20 years later, I’m finally writing the stories I wanted to write when I was 18. It’s been a long road to get to this point and I’ll be the first to admit I have no natural talent as a writer. Any skills I now have are the product of hard work and a great deal of tenacity.

Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?

Daydreaming. I’m not sure if that’s what you’re after, but I’m a chronic daydreamer. I have daydreams that are part of a saga that has lasted years, with the people in the daydreams ageing as the daydream progresses. It’s not that my life is bad, it’s actually pretty great, but I do need my daydreams to survive.

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?

I’d love to see how the universe was created, so about 13.7 billion years ago. Though I’m not sure exactly how I would exist in a universe during its early state. I suspect I’d need to be a ghost of some kind that could observe but not interfere. Though if I observe I’ll be taking the energy from photons and I suspect there will be quantum complications involved too. I image this will be difficult.

What’s your favorite family tradition?

Bucks fizz and the croissants you roll and bake yourself on Christmas morning. I fire the cork from the bucks fizz into the garden and try to land it on the shed, my kids love that.

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

Telescope (nice clear skies), a knife, a water desalination kit

If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?

A living wage. That’s a really tough question as there’s so much I’d want to do, but a living wage seems like a great way to increase fairness. I’d also want a wealth cap too. No one needs to be a billionaire.

If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

May become sassy without provocation.

About The Archivist

Tell us a little about the book. How did you come up with the idea for the Archivist?

The original idea came to me in 2010. My granddad was in hospital dying and the family was gathered around his bed – much like the end of Chapter One. He was trying to speak to us, but the words weren’t coming out. The nurse who was looking after him leant over, her ear nearly touching his lips, but even she couldn’t understand what he wanted to say. I found the whole thing terribly unfair. I felt like my granddad had something he wanted to say, but just couldn’t get the words out. What he needed was someone to get the words that were in his brain and speak them for him. That is where the idea for archivists came from, people who can take possession of someone’s essence and project the face of the dead over their own and give everyone a fitting goodbye. The idea grew from that, and so did what an archivist is, but ultimately the concept comes from the unfairness of death and the propensity for people to hold back what the really want to say until it is too late and the moment passes forever.

The story holds many darker themes, death obviously being the biggest of them all. What made you pick those topics?

We don’t talk about death nearly enough. I feel like we’re brought up believing it’s a taboo subject. I think we need to go the opposite way and talk about death more. People should learn to be comfortable about death, both other people’s and their own. It’s inescapable and final, so we need to prepare for it. I want my book to get people thinking about death.

What challenges did you face when writing the book?

Writing this book was a slog. Other stories I’ve written have been quick and uncomplicated, but there was so much I needed to consider for this story that it took a long time to get it right. I’m also deeply proud of the concept I created and wanted to do right by it. I could have been in danger of creating a fascinating idea but then executing it really poorly, which is why I spent so long refining The Archivist. It was originally a short story in 2012, an 80,000 work manuscript in 2015 then I completely re-wrote it in 2019 into the 102,000 word story that I published. Many, many hours of my life have gone into this book.

Is there any particular charter you connected with the most? Why?

I feel like I should say the Archivist, but I think I connect with Sun-young more. She does what she feels is the right thing to do regardless of who she pisses off. I love her conviction and she certainly doesn’t do things by halves. Am I as cool as Sun-young? No. But I want to be.

About writing

What are your writing habits? Do you keep a schedule or is it chaotic, when inspiration hits kind of thing?

I’m very methodical when it comes to planning. I’ll have an idea, then I’ll spend two or three months just adding to that. That’s my favourite part of writing, where I just let the ideas bleed onto the page. After that I create a timeline which is further broken down into bullet point events that occur in each chapter. I then write a chapter plan with a page or two for each chapter. That’s usually a 30,000 word plan and from that I write the story.

I try to write four or five times a week between 20:00 and 21:00 during which I write 500 to 1000 words. I have a busy life with work, family and other commitments, so the time I spend writing needs to be focused otherwise I won’t produce anything.

What is one of the most interesting things you have researched while writing a book?

One of the characters stops their heart with the intention of having it restarted by someone else using epinephrine. Researching that was interesting as it meant reading medical papers on people’s hearts being restarted. I’m a scientist by career, so I’m used to scientific research. Plus, I’m lucky that my other half is a heart failure specialist! I also have a father-in-law who’s a retired GP, so he was able to answer other medical questions I had.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part of publishing?

My favourite part is hearing that people I don’t know have read my book and have loved it. That really means something to me. This is especially true for The Archivist, which, so far, has been really well received. I feel very lucky, but I also know this wasn’t all down to luck. I worked hard on this story.

My least favourite part is knowing that not many people will read this story; maybe 1000 people, at most. Because I self-publish, which was a conscious choice for this story as I didn’t approach any agents or traditional publishers, the degree to which I can market The Archivist is limited. Without a big publishing house behind me or tens of thousands in marketing budget, very few people will know this book exists. That’s frustrating because there are probably thousands, if not millions, of people who would enjoy this book if they read it. But I shouldn’t complain as there are so many authors in the same position as me. I write to share my stories, it’s just a shame I can’t share them very far.

What are you currently working on?

A middle grade science fiction novel about a girl who lives at the base of a space elevator and sells marbles that can stop time. I’ve completed the second draft and will work on the third later this year. It’s a story for my daughter, Violet.

Surprise question:

You are lost in a foreign city. It is getting late. Your only options are to ask directions from a man hidden under a long black coat and sunglasses or a drunk woman is suggestive clothing. What do you do?

I’d want to make sure the drunk woman is safe before worrying about where I need to be. Once I’d done that, I’d ask the man in sunglasses. Though I’d probably question why he’s wearing sunglasses late at night when it’s presumably dark. Is he blind? If so, I’m not sure how useful his directions would be. I’d probably just walk around the city in a methodical fashion until I found where I needed to be, that’s always worked in the past.

Connect with the author

About the author

Tell us your story ? What made you start writing ?

I read a lot as a child. I would go to the library and borrow as many books as possible and read them all during the week. Writing came naturally from my avid reading. I started inventing small stories and then I moved to more ambitious ideas. They were definitely too ambitious! I would start writing a novel with no planning, already seeing myself with a 500 pages book. Usually my enthusiasm for the story would fizzle out and I would move on to my next idea after only writing a dozen pages. Then as a teen I decided I really wanted to actually finish a story. So I started writing short stories. I wrote three before moving on to a novel. This time I outlined the book and found a contest to apply to. This deadline helped me actually finish the first draft of the novel. But the editing process seemed too daunting so I kept the novel as a Word document. Same for my second novel that I wrote during NaNo Wrimo. I managed to do the 50k words and was super proud of myself but I dreaded the editing process so much and I felt like finding a publisher would be an impossible task.

And then, Corona hit and I found myself talking with one of my best friends, Jenni about writing our very own book. I would have never been able to go through with it if I wasn’t writing Through Fire & Ruin with her. I had some moments of self-doubt but she was always there to remind me of our goal. 

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island ?

My phone, a portable battery and a book.

What’s your go-to guilty pleasure ?

Definitely cheese. One of my comfort food is a nice grilled cheese. I used to eat them a lot when I was studying in the UK. I had a little panini press in my studio flat and I really should buy another one now that I’m back in France!

Would you rather cook or order in ?

Depends on the day. If I get a specific craving (like sushi or Mexican food) I would probably order in. But I enjoy cooking a lot too, especially if I’m having friends or family over.

About Through Fire and Ruin

There are so many incredible characters that I absolutely loved reading about. Which of the characters pulled at your heartstrings the most while writing ? 

Amira is definitely the one that pulled at my heartstring the most. I have been the one writing her POV and a lot of her scenes were very emotional to write. I feel very bad for all I’ve been putting her through but she’s a surprisingly resilient character. 

What is your favorite scene from the book ? Something that you are most proud of writing ?

I’m really proud of Amira’s confrontation with Karwyn during Rhay’s afterparty. It’s a very heartbreaking scene and it was quite difficult to write but I think I managed to convey Amira’s profound despair and her feeling of hopelessness. 

If you were to visit Liraen, what would you do ? Where would you go ?

I’d probably go to Caligo to have a fun night out with Ray. And then I’d visit Amira’s kingdom, Allamyst. Since it’s under the patronage of the god of beauty, I think the sightseeing would definitely be worth it. I’d make sure to avoid Amira’s brother though. 

About writing:

Did you need to do research while writing Through Fire & Ruin ? What is the most interesting thing you learnt while writing the book?

Since English is not my first language, a lot of my research has been on specific vocabulary relating to castle architecture or royalty. We’ve also been doing a lot of research on self-publishing since it was brand new for Jenni and I. I feel very lucky that so many resources are available now and that self-publishing is getting more and more accessible. 

What are your writing habits? Do you write every day, keep a schedule or have a more erratic habits?

Since I’m co-writing the novel with Jenni, we had to keep a tight schedule so that none of us gets stuck waiting for the other to finish her chapter. I used to write during the day but I have recently started a new job so I’m now writing in the evening or during the weekend.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers ?

Writing can be a very lonely journey so my advice would be to seek out other writers that you can go to for advice and questions (and to celebrate each other’s work!). I’ve found a great writers group led by the amazing Melissa Hawkes. Everyone is so supportive and super helpful. 

What are you currently working on? WHEN IS THE SEQUEL COMING??

Jenni and I are indeed working on the sequel and I’m so happy to go back to Liraen. We’re very close to finishing the first draft but we haven’t settled on a date for the release yet. 

Surprise question :

Everyone always think they’d be royalty or a knight if they were born in Medieval times, but let’s be honest, you probably wouldn’t be. So what kind of peasant do you think you’d be if you were born in medieval time ?

Since I enjoy cooking and baking quite a lot, I think I would have been a cook for a rich family or maybe I would have worked in a bakery. Hopefully I would have gotten to invent a few new recipes!

Connect with the author