Cat has also visited Un:Bound before to interview her creation Ellie and I am delighted to have her back.
HR: Your protagonist Ellie Conway has a very active fantasy life and inner dialogue. Is this a charactersitic you share with Ellie and is it easy to connect with her inner voice?
CC: Yes she does, and yes it is. Well, sort of. Ellie likes different TV shows to me, different things trigger her fantasies. (And I very rarely get usable information from songs, not saying it doesn't happen just that it doesn't happen often!) If it were entirely up to me she'd be flipping in and out of NCIS all day every day - but she gets stuck in things like MASH and Dukes of Hazzard. (the ER moments she has are kinda fun though, I mean who hasn't fantasied about the gorgeous Luka Kovac??) Her inner voice is fun, and not so different to mine at times - if people had any clue the things I think... probably the less said about that the better. And it's really good that I can mostly grasp the difference between thinking stuff and saying it. mostly.
So stealing from the interview that never was, Ellie and her chat room partner Mac are both affected by mental illness in the family, which becomes largely the focus of the second book. It's an unusual back story, what drew you to that for the books, which are primarily FBI thrillers/mystery's?
Oh fabulous question. Not only are they both affected by mental illness in the family - it primarily affects their mothers. This lovely back story extends beyond killerbyte and back to how and what drew Mac and Ellie together in a chat room. They shared a familiar childhood and survived. Two things brought this back story to light. Mac's mother and Ellie's mother. The dice rolled and there they were in all their technicolor glory. The more I learned about their parents the more I wanted to incorporate that in the books and demonstrate life after mental illness. Having a mentally ill parent doesn't doom a child to a miserable life as an under achiever. It can be a source of great strength. Or in Ellie's case - terror as she tries not to become her mother. Mental illness affects not just the person with the condition but the entire family, and the affects fascinate me, they always have. How much can people rise above?
So that sounds as though Ellie and Mac and their families were pretty clear in your mind going into Killerbyte. If that's the case how did Ellie come into being in the first place and how is your relationship with her?
I know Ellie quite well - she is quite open about her life. I don't know that they were terribly clear as I went into killerbyte - but killerbyte originally had two opening chapters that are aren't there now. (It also started life as third person, imagine that?) Those two chapters tell more about Ellie's relationship with her mother and also how Ellie and Mac met in person for the first time. You will get to read them, Ellie tells someone the story of her last breakfast with her mother and how that led to meeting Mac in the 3rd book. As for how Ellie came to be - within the confines of Windows Messenger a few years ago now and a long hilarious conversation took place between Otherwisecat and Galileo. Parts of that conversation (that went on for weeks, might I add) turned up in killerbyte. The whole head on top of the battery conversation, actually happened. What we were doing was developing characters in a chat setting. I don't remember how Ellie's name came about, but Mac - tha
t came from his MacGyver tendencies - mmmm MacGyver. Anyway, moving right along -the characters evolved within a chat. Which is why in the books, you see the screen names Otherwisecat and Galileo. Two very real people are behind those nics, and they are familiar to people from the chat rooms we frequented. I have a great relationship with Ellie. :-)In Terrorbyte Ellie and Mac have set up the Butterfly Foundation to help the kids of mentally ill parents contact each other and seek support. Is this based on a real organisation or is it something you think should exist? More generally do you think that the internet is a useful resource for these sorts of kids?
I'd like to think there is a place like the Butterfly Foundation for kids, I don't know if there is. I do know of someone who is setting up the reverse but it's not net-based - a place for parents of children with mental issues to get help, education, support- not just illness but the parents of kids with mental challenges like Autism, Aspergers etc too. Which is interesting, and I found out about it recently -there is a need! There should be a place for kids on the net - somewhere like the Butterfly Foundation in my books -where kids can talk, share, get help. The internet is a marvelous place for kids and adults alike. The joy is, kids often will talk more in a chat situation - not so much on the phone or face to face. It's easier to open up from a keyboard. Some organisation here are utilizing the chat aspects now, in reaching out to kids. They're also using text. I think these days with so much technology available it's a little easier to reach the kids who need help, and it's easier for kids to ask for help, or talk - sometimes all it takes is to know you're not alone. The less stigma attached to mental health issues and the easier it is to reach help - have got to be good things. Like everything, there is a dark side, and people do fall prey to the predators using the internet as their hunting ground. Which I think comes across quite clearly in terrorbyte. I still believe the internet is a valuable tool for good and everyone can benefit from the positive aspects - just don't be stupid about it.
Moving onto your writing specifically, tell us about your writing routine and your writing space?
I've tried all manner of places to make my own for writing purposes - even converting three quarters of the laundry to my office. (Then I gave up smoking and got sick of being cold... and well, lonely out there by myself.) Currently I sit facing the wall in a large corner of the living room. My view is the remote for the air con and a door knob. Really it is. We blocked off a door for me to have this corner and the door knob is right there to the left of my screen. I should do something about the view! On my desk is a tiny gnome, assorted pads, a hollowed out rock, needle for a basketball pump, nail file - because there is no excuse for badly turned out finger nails, every CD Bon Jovi have released, two seasons of NCIS on DVD, a Stewart crystal vase holding pens, a coffee cup, and a box of Cherry Queen chocolates. Just the essentials. (oh yeah and a printer, computer, speakers, cell phone, iPod thingy whatsit that holds music and videos that I need for inspiration - Jon Bon Jovi can be inspirational, okay!) My routine is flexible, yes, that best describes it. I have children. I am horrible when I get interrupted while working. HORRIBLE. I've been likened to a fish wife. The message is clear, don't freaking interrupt me! If I'm trying to get something finished I will work before the kids get up and after they're in bed - or while they're duct tapped quietly in a cupboard. I do work around them as much as humanly possible because I don't think it's fair to get cranky with them, but - part of growing up is learning that there are limits and I am not their property to order around at will. It's a fine line and quite the juggling act at times. I can/do write quickly. I often put to much pressure on myself to finish things in an unreasonable amount of time. I do revel in writing THE END. But not long enough. I tend to follow THE END with a beginning in quick succession. (I think I just want to know what happens next...)
I want to know what happens next too. So what are Ellie's plans for the future? Are more books committed to already?
Ellie has some very definite future plans -she's not saying the revenge word, but she's damn close! There is quite an adventure coming up, and if Hawk thinks she's the sort of person to walk way, he's wrong and she'd like to show him how wrong. There are three books more written, so far. The next one has a few moments that made me laugh out loud while writing, Ellie's getting back on track and as smart mouthed and assed as ever she was. I was hoping to have the 3rd, Exacabyte, on my publishers desk by the end of the year but didn't quite make it. I'm giving myself to the end of Jan to deliver it. Then it'll be crossing of fingers and hoping they love it! I'm in the lucky position of having my publishers tell me they would like to read all the Conway books. (Insert cool series name here) So that makes things a little easier and not quite so nerve wracking. I can promise you'll be one of the first to know when I hear back about book 3!
I'll get my pompoms ready for a book three cheer then. :) On a personal note you mentioned working around your kids but how important is reading in your household?
I grew up reading - oh how I love to disappear into a book. (I went through a phase of reading historical novels as a teenager/young adult creature and I think I read everything Catherine Cookson wrote. I loved Catherine Gaskin, Victoria Holt, and Winston Graham. Anyone remember the Poldark series... the books were way better than the TV series.) I believe that if a child can read well, they then open up a whole world of possibilities - and they can entertain themselves!!! The kids all read, and enjoy reading. (Maybe not the Boy Wonder so much, but he came home from seeing The Lovely Bones and announced he wants to read the book as he feels the characters would be better developed the book, and they lacked something in the movie. - YAY.) The other's read, no they... devour books at an alarming rate. Squealer won four books (the first four in the sisters of eight series by Lauren Baratz-
Logsted) right before Christmas and then was given over twelve saddleclub books a few days ago. I'm hoping they'll keep her busy until Feb! Breezy is just a little young to read yet. She loves being read to and hearing stories. (often insists I tell her bedtime stories, that I have to make up on the spot - she'll say, "There is a unicorn and a rainbow horse tell me a story about them!" No pressure of anything!) Reading is good. People should read more! And one day I will finish the historical novel I started with a good friend over in Georgia.Ok finally, and just for fun, what is your chosen super power?
My super power is... crikey that's harder than I thought. I asked Squealer what my superpower is and she said "to bake amazing thing". So maybe my super power is fudge? I was kinda hoping it was something cool like x-ray vision or to be able to teleport myself anywhere I fancied. Breezy reckons my super power is to be invisible and fly at the same time. I think my real super power might be - having eyes in the back of my head so I know what this lot are up to while I'm working! (If they find out I use the web cam, all is lost!!)
Webspying on your kids? That's low. I think brownies are an excellent super power. :) Thanks for joining us on un:bound, it's been so lovely having you visit.
Thank you for having me -you know I love Un:bound!
We love having you over to play too, :)
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