KERI ARTHUR

Beverly A. Rearick: What genre do you write?

Keri Arthur: Mainly paranormal romance and urban fantasy--though I have been known to dabble in intrigue.

Beverly A. Rearick: What genres would you like to write?

Keri Arthur: I'd love to write something like Lord of the Rings or Celia Dart Thornton's The Ill Made Mute. A long, epic, fantasy adventure.

Beverly A. Rearick: Where do you get your ideas?

Keri Arthur: Generally, in bed! It's not as saucy as it sounds, though I have this really weird habit of waking up in the middle of the night (two or three in the morning) with either a really vivid scene in my mind--or something as simple as a first sentence. I usually write it down and go back to sleep, then look at it in the morning to see if its workable. Five out of six times it is.

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you pattern your characters after any real people?

Keri Arthur: Sort of--I generally study the way actors move and talk in various movies to give my heroes a certain look, but I don't use their characters. That comes entirely from my imagination. I've only ever used the personalities of someone I know in one book (as yet unpublished) and even then, it was a mix of two different people. You risk offending too many people if you start using the personalties of the people you know or love.

Beverly A. Rearick: What authors do you admire?

Keri Arthur: P N Elrod, Mercedes Lackey, Stephen King, James Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, J D Robb, Dick Francis, Alistair Maclean, Laurell K Hamilton....and many, many more.

Beverly A. Rearick: What authors do you read?

Keri Arthur: All of the above, plus Tom Dietz, Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Raymond Fiest, Peter O'Donnel and too many others to name here.

Beverly A. Rearick: What genres do you read?

Keri Arthur: Mystery, fantasy, urban fantasy, scifi, romance (though not as much as I should!). I don't read a lot of vampire romances these days, other than Laurell K Hamilton's and P N Elrod (both of which I don't class as romances, anyway), because I don't want to risk influencing my own style.

Beverly A. Rearick: What other genres do you see yourself writing?

Keri Arthur: I've dabbled with intrigue, and would love to write a mystery series in a style similar to Dick Francis. I love the way he just draws you in from the very first line, and just keeps you turning the page. And yet, in many instances, nothing much happens. It the characters that hook you, more than what is going on. Brilliant stuff.

Beverly A. Rearick: What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

Keri Arthur: Much the same as I'm doing today--working and writing.

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you see yourself ever not writing?

Keri Arthur: Never. We had this discussion recently on the Delrey Online Writers Workshop list--would you continue to write if you knew you'd never get published? The answer for me was yes--heck, I'd be depressed, but I'd still write! I have written every day of my adult life and will continue to do so, no matter what happens.

Beverly A. Rearick: What books do you have planned in the near future?

Keri Arthur: I'm just about finished the second book in the Damask Circle series. After that, it's the third book in both the Dancing and Circle series.

Beverly A. Rearick: How did you get started writing?

Keri Arthur: I'd just read one of Elaine Mitchell's brumby books (not the silver brumby series, one of the others) and I hated the ending. So I did what seemed the most natural thing to do--I rewrote it ;)

I haven't stopped writing since--though I have to admit, it's only in the last ten years that I've seriously thought about getting published.

Beverly A. Rearick: What age were you when you started to write?

Keri Arthur: I was barely twelve when I decided I could write better than Elaine Mitchell!

Beverly A. Rearick: When is your next book due?

Keri Arthur: Circle of Fire is due out late August. Hearts in Darkness, the sequel to Dancing With The Devil, is due out in December.

Beverly A. Rearick: Was there any author or authors that helped you get your start in writing, or helped you break into the field?

Keri Arthur: I am where I am today thanks to the help of two critique groups. The first is the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild--a great bunch of women who are finally beginning to get the publishing recognition they deserve. They suffered through my earliest works and helped bring my writing up to scratch. The other group I owe thanks to is the Sock Monkeys--they've polished my rough prose until it gleams. Thanks guys!

Beverly A. Rearick: What do you feel makes your books unique or stand out from others in your genre?

Keri Arthur: I think it's the blend of action, romance and just a dash of horror that makes my books stand out from others. I love writing strong heroines--women who will fight with their man--and sometimes knock him out and fight in his place! :)

Beverly A. Rearick: What made you choose the genres you write?

Keri Arthur: The fact that I couldn't find any of these books on the shelves here in Australia. And the only books I could find all had heroines who fainted at the first sniff of trouble--that annoyed me no end, I'm telling you. So, I sat down and wrote what I couldn't find. Little did I know what a long journey it would be.

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you have a special subgenre?

Keri Arthur: I love vampire and shapeshifter romance. There's nothing nicer than a dark and dangerous hero, in my opinion :)

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you have a favorite place you like to write?

Keri Arthur: The only place I write is in my study--and it looks like a bomb site. The desk is littered with paper, CD's and candles (which I can't light because of all the paper) The walls are covered with plot points of a yet unfinished series, as well as pictures of my heroes and heroines. Two bookcases take up the remainder of the space, and these are lined with wizards and dragons.

Beverly A. Rearick: In what order do you write? For example starting beginning to end, combining parts, in random order or in development cycle?

Keri Arthur: I've always written from the beginning to the end. I admire people who can write in random order, but it's not something I can do, as I don't plot. I'm an 'organic' writer--I just let things flow along naturally, and correct all the errors once the whole thing is finished.

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you feel that the e-books offer authors a bit more freedom of expression in their books?

Keri Arthur: Definitely. Major print publishers don't seem willing to take a risk at the moment. You either fit in with what they see as 'marketable' or you don't get published. E-publishers are more flexible.

Beverly A. Rearick: What do you feel is, or isn't being done to promote authors?

Keri Arthur: A tough question. Small press, like ImaJinn, just haven't got the budget to do a lot of promotion. And from what I've seen, the major publishers tend to promote their big name authors (knowing, of course, they'll get a reasonable return). I'd like to see new authors get more support, but I can't really see this happening. Thank heaven there's websites like SimeGen, where new authors get equal time right beside the big name authors.

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you feel that the marketing departments have their finger on the pulse of readers?

Keri Arthur: Are we talking about the people who say paranormal romance isn't popular in today's market place? ;)

Beverly A. Rearick: How do you feel about the review rating systems?

Keri Arthur: I tend to read the reviews more than take notice of the star rating. (though as an author, I love it when one of my books gets five stars) Reading a review gives you a better idea of the story, and whether you'd like it. Stars only tell you that the review liked (or disliked) it.

Beverly A. Rearick: Through what venues do you feel most of your books are being sold?

Keri Arthur: Through Amazon and ImaJinn, mainly, though my books can be ordered in through most bookstores.

Beverly A. Rearick: What do you feel is the best part of the publishing industry?

Keri Arthur: The wonderful support you get from other authors (published and unpublished). There are some truly amazing and generous people out there.

Beverly A. Rearick: What do you feel needs to be changed about the industry?

Keri Arthur: I've got a wish list a mile long...how much time have you got? :) If I had to choose one, then its this--I just wish publishers would stop taking so much notice of the marketing minds and start taking a little more notice of their readers, and what we want. How can they survey two hundred people and decide on that what readers world-wide want? It's ludicrous.

Beverly A. Rearick: Do you think small press and e-books will be the wave of the future?

Keri Arthur: I hope so. At the very least, I hope they continue to offer a strong and viable option for writers and readers who want something a little different. I think we have the e-publishers and small press like ImaJinn to thank for the recent spate of paranormal romances coming from the major publishers. Maybe they're finally seeing the light (though I'm not holding my breath in the hope that things will change too quickly)

Beverly A. Rearick: What of your published books is your favorite? Why?

Keri Arthur: I think I'd have to nominate Dancing with the Devil. Not only because its my first published book, but its the first one I truly believed in. It's the one I couldn't let go, even when people kept telling me it would never get published.

Beverly A. Rearick: What do you feel is the worst piece of advice anyone ever gave you about writing?

Keri Arthur: You must outline a book. I tried it once--and never wrote the book. For me, all the adventure had gone.

Beverly A. Rearick: What is the best?

Keri Arthur: Believe in yourself.