Meet The Writer pt 6-10

coralmccallum

Sep 1

A new month beckons so time to share the next instalment of my Meet The Writer series. As I mentioned last month, this was first shared as a 15-day challenge on my author Facebook page back in July. The final instalment will be shared next month.

#meetthewriter Day 6/15 - MUSIC....

this question made me smile. Those who know me personally already know the answer. It's no secret that I love my rock music. My books (so far) all centre around music so listening to music aids the creative process. Alexa is my musical writing buddy! (And my work buddy for during the day job) I'd be here all day trying to name everyone who's on my playlist! Ok- there's a fair bit of Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Halestorm, Rival Sons, Dirty Honey, Cardinal Black, Kris Barras.....I could go on and on and on...Read my music blog https://the525toglasgow.wordpress.com/ and you'll get the gist of it. If I'm writing outdoors, I do however prefer the sounds of nature around me.

#meetthewriter Day 7/15....LIFE....

I love "meandering" - going for a leisurely walk especially after a day logged on at work as it clears the "workday" from the rest of the day. I love to walk along the beach and feel sand under my feet. It grounds me. I also enjoy wandering through woodland. Most mornings I start the day with some yoga and a short yoga meditation combined with some Reiki.

I love reading. My kindle is never far away, and I have a house full of books of all genres.

I'm also a keen amateur photographer. You don't want to know how many photos are on my phone!

As I mentioned before I love music and I also collect vinyl. I really do need to find a better way to store it....

I love going to gigs as time allows and I review those on my music blog The525to Glasgow.

Something you might not know is that I also run a real-life rock star's fan page on FB and a sister account on Instagram. That FB page has a following of over 60k.....if only my author page could catch up LOL

Suffice to say...life's busy.

#meetthewriter Day 8/15.WORDS....

what do I write.... well, my novels (so far) have all been contemporary romance along a rock music theme. Admittedly Riley is a bit different to the others. I try to write "real" believable characters into my book babies.

I blog and if you've explored that then you already know it's an eclectic mix of all sorts. I do tend to have fun with different genres on there especially my Silently Watching serialised vampire fiction that has been running for 9 years now.

I also write poetry. In fact, I was published as a poet before I wrote any of my book babies.

I write music blogs too for my The525toGlasgow blog that chronicle the gigs I attend.

I journal extensively. It's a great coping mechanism. I also write a diary every night before bed.

I kind of feel I should add that I write my Tesco list every week too! LOL

#MeetTheAuthor Day 9/15... TOOLS....

I've mentioned before I write all my first drafts longhand so the weapons of creation of choice are usually pens with brightly coloured ink. Black and blue are too boring! Invariably the ink is purple but, I'll let you into a wee secret, I always write the first drafts of the Silently Watching stories in green ink.

I've written my way through more pens than I care to think of. I'm a sucker for pens so I've dozens but for Book Baby 8 I'm using Zebra Fountain Pens in purple ink. Yup- real old school with a nib pen.

I've stayed loyal to Pukka notepads for my writing. I started Stronger Within in one and have stuck with them. I buy them in 5's - all the same colour. I love a good Back To School stationery sale! For my blogs I tend to use slightly fancier notebooks. Normal blog posts get written at the front and gig reviews at the back.

My Continue the Story journal is the exception in a way. I always write in pencil in it.

#MeetTheWriter Day 10/15. TALISMAN...

Today's question kind of stopped me in my tracks. I am a creature of habit. I am one of those annoying people you could just about set your watch to. I like my things to be about me and to be in their place (even if it could be argued as being cluttered) but the honest answer to this question is ...no. Unless you count a glass of water, juice, mug of coffee or glass of wine. Once I get into my "writing head" I'm in those pages and the world about me has been shut out so the surroundings don't really matter much.