Q&A with Denise
Q. Tell us a bit about your background. Why did you start writing?
A. I started writing because I was born with a wild, unstoppable imagination; dreams and stories would form in my mind and I needed a way to express them coherently. I can still vividly recall dreams I had when I was just three years old. I first considered sharing these stories publicly after winning a short story contest at seven years old – it gave me the confidence to continue and the realisation that I had something wonderful to share with the world.
Although I initially intended to pursue a career in 3D Model Animation I continued to write stories and scripts throughout my time at university. However, my writing ambitions were put on hold as marriage and starting a family intervened.
I am now balancing writing full-time with family life, and will continue to do so for as long as I can draw breath.
Q. What was your inspiration for writing Eternal?
A. Curiously, my inspiration for writing Eternal came from playing a storytelling game with my young son. It was during a game of Rory’s Story Cubes that the idea for Eternal was born. Rory’s Story Cubes is a game that involves throwing nine dice – each side portraying a unique image; after the dice land, a combination of nine different pictures is displayed, and a story must be created from that. I can’t remember all of the combinations that fateful throw resulted in, but I do recall a ghost, a keyhole, a water droplet and a sheep.
The characters of Vala, Elvar and Amalia formed almost instantaneously, with Jelly and Max closely following. The characters took on a life of their own and the story just flowed; I did not actually have a fixed story outline from the outset – I just wrote a scene and the next followed, though I did have the key points of the story in my head throughout.
The character of Vala is based very much on myself – we share many attributes and insecurities, though I have not yet got the hang of soul-mirroring or miraculous healing prowess. Elvar is ostensibly my ideal man – I am unashamedly in love with him.
Q. Who are your favourite writers/books?
A. I have many favourite writers and books. There are childhood favourites such as Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘Outside Over There’ to the classic poetry of Tennyson (‘The Lady of Shalott’ is my all-time favourite), Byron, Shelley, Clare and Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (I have always been a romantic) and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (a story about the fae – what is there not to love). I also enjoy Ray Bradbury and Joanne Harris. In the YA Fantasy genre, I love Libba Bray’s ‘Gemma Doyle’ trilogy – the descriptions and atmosphere are fantastic; Francis Hardinge's richly imagined world's and brilliant storytelling, Alex Bell's penchant for 'edge of your seat and leave the lights on at night!' YA horror stories, also Lesley Livingston’s ‘Wondrous Strange’ trilogy, Aprilynne Pike’s ‘Wings’ series, Katie. M. John’s ‘Knight’ trilogy, Alyson Noel’s ‘Immortals’, and I was a big fan of Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ series long before it gained the cult following it has today. There are many other authors whose work I enjoy immensely, though I think it is wise to draw to a close here. However, I will admit to being a big Harry Potter fan too.
Q. Once Eternal is completed, what are your next projects?
A. Eternal is the first part of a trilogy and I am currently working on the final installment, ‘Foretold’, which cocontinu to follow the evolving and relationships between Vala and Elvar and their families and friends and introduces new characters and exciting plot twists, all culminating in the climactic conclusion. However, this is not really the end. After the Eternal trilogy is completed I intend to follow up on one of the other characters, as they too have a story that needs to be told …
A. I started writing because I was born with a wild, unstoppable imagination; dreams and stories would form in my mind and I needed a way to express them coherently. I can still vividly recall dreams I had when I was just three years old. I first considered sharing these stories publicly after winning a short story contest at seven years old – it gave me the confidence to continue and the realisation that I had something wonderful to share with the world.
Although I initially intended to pursue a career in 3D Model Animation I continued to write stories and scripts throughout my time at university. However, my writing ambitions were put on hold as marriage and starting a family intervened.
I am now balancing writing full-time with family life, and will continue to do so for as long as I can draw breath.
Q. What was your inspiration for writing Eternal?
A. Curiously, my inspiration for writing Eternal came from playing a storytelling game with my young son. It was during a game of Rory’s Story Cubes that the idea for Eternal was born. Rory’s Story Cubes is a game that involves throwing nine dice – each side portraying a unique image; after the dice land, a combination of nine different pictures is displayed, and a story must be created from that. I can’t remember all of the combinations that fateful throw resulted in, but I do recall a ghost, a keyhole, a water droplet and a sheep.
The characters of Vala, Elvar and Amalia formed almost instantaneously, with Jelly and Max closely following. The characters took on a life of their own and the story just flowed; I did not actually have a fixed story outline from the outset – I just wrote a scene and the next followed, though I did have the key points of the story in my head throughout.
The character of Vala is based very much on myself – we share many attributes and insecurities, though I have not yet got the hang of soul-mirroring or miraculous healing prowess. Elvar is ostensibly my ideal man – I am unashamedly in love with him.
Q. Who are your favourite writers/books?
A. I have many favourite writers and books. There are childhood favourites such as Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘Outside Over There’ to the classic poetry of Tennyson (‘The Lady of Shalott’ is my all-time favourite), Byron, Shelley, Clare and Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (I have always been a romantic) and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (a story about the fae – what is there not to love). I also enjoy Ray Bradbury and Joanne Harris. In the YA Fantasy genre, I love Libba Bray’s ‘Gemma Doyle’ trilogy – the descriptions and atmosphere are fantastic; Francis Hardinge's richly imagined world's and brilliant storytelling, Alex Bell's penchant for 'edge of your seat and leave the lights on at night!' YA horror stories, also Lesley Livingston’s ‘Wondrous Strange’ trilogy, Aprilynne Pike’s ‘Wings’ series, Katie. M. John’s ‘Knight’ trilogy, Alyson Noel’s ‘Immortals’, and I was a big fan of Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ series long before it gained the cult following it has today. There are many other authors whose work I enjoy immensely, though I think it is wise to draw to a close here. However, I will admit to being a big Harry Potter fan too.
Q. Once Eternal is completed, what are your next projects?
A. Eternal is the first part of a trilogy and I am currently working on the final installment, ‘Foretold’, which cocontinu to follow the evolving and relationships between Vala and Elvar and their families and friends and introduces new characters and exciting plot twists, all culminating in the climactic conclusion. However, this is not really the end. After the Eternal trilogy is completed I intend to follow up on one of the other characters, as they too have a story that needs to be told …