Hello my fellow book worms and page turners, and welcome back to another post for Steampunk week! in this post I will be interviewing the lovely Liesel Schwarz Author of the book series, The Chronicles of Light and Shadow.
The Chronicles of Light and Shadow, is a book series that follows the adventurous exploits of one Elle Chance, Airship pilot and adventurer extraordinary. the Series comprises of three novels and of course Oozes all those particular one expects from a steam punk series.
But lets see what she has to say about it all shall we? onward!.. to the Interview!!
Please introduce yourself to our readers, and tell us a little about your early writing experiences?
Hi, I’m Liesel Schwarz. I write books. *waves awkwardly* Thank you for inviting me to your blog.
About my early writing experiences…
Like most authors, I started making up stories around the time that I could hold a crayon. My first short story was published in my school yearbook and it was an angst-filled thing based on Sting lyrics… as you do. Then my parents made me get a real job so I became a lawyer, but I kept writing and in 2009 I started an MA in Creative Writing at Brunel University London. My debut novel was in fact, my MA thesis. I was lucky in that I landed an agent and got an awesome book deal on the back of that thesis and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Could you tell us what was your first experience with Steampunk and what made you want to write it?
I didn’t really choose steampunk, it sort of chose me. I read quite a few of Michael Moorcock’s books when I was younger, without knowing that it was actually steampunk I was reading. I’ve also always found the 19th and early 20th Centuries a fascinating period in history. At the time, I was hunting around for good steampunk that I wanted to read and so when I had the original idea for A CONSPIRACY OF ALCHEMISTS, steampunk seemed a natural fit.
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When I write, I always seem to flounder when it comes to naming my characters, how do you decide on characters names, is it from people you know or do you just fit them to their personality?
It depends on many things really. Sometimes a character comes to me name and all. Sometimes, I have to think about it a bit. I like to give characters names with meaning and so it’s sometimes helpful to do a little research into names and their meaning.
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If you had to sum up your book series “The Chronicles of Light and Shadow” in 140 characters or less (the length of a tweet) what would you say?
A steampunk adventure series set in the Belle Epoch filled with airships, action and romance.
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Have you ever sent a novel off to print, and then later thought.. I wish I had/hadn’t have included that bit? and if so what was it?
I think this is a question for writers who are more indie-orientated. With a traditionally published book, you have the input of your agent, editors and publishers during the production process and so there is a lot of collaboration that goes on in the background. I think that in my case, I can honestly say that I’ve been very happy with the final versions of all my books.
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Obviously you have done a lot of research on not only locations but mechanical devices/ inventions as well, how did you go about researching these elements so meticulously? as I can imagine some of the information, particularly with inventions wouldn’t be easy to come across.
One day, I will publish a book called “Google Searches I have Done”… It will be most illuminating. All writers do research, but I think there is more research to be done if you are writing about a specific period in time. I spent quite a lot of time in the British Library looking at Victorian patents. There are things in there that you could not make up!
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What would you say is your most interesting Quirk/ Obsession and did any of you transfer into your characters?
I think the words “profoundly eccentric” have been used to describe me on more than one occasion, so I think I have a rather complex collection of quirks and obsessions and it would be impossible to separate just one from the tangle! I think every character has a fragment of the author in them. It’s that fragment that gives the character life. Some characters have more of the author in them than others, but to disclose which do and which don’t would spoil the illusion, I think.
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Could you give us, a little taste of what to expect from what you are currently working on/towards?
That would be telling! I am planning two more books in the Chronicles of Shadow and Light. I also have a few standalone projects in the pipeline, but I can’t say too much about that at the moment. You’ll just have to watch that space.
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And Finally, what genres do you like to read and what are you reading at the moment?
I read widely and voraciously, but I like science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction the most. At the moment I am into dystopian fiction.
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If you wish to find out more about Liesel, you can follow her on Twitter, and have a look at both the her Official Website, all of which are listed below.
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Website : lieselschwarz
Twitter: @Liesel_S
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Until next time, read more books..
Between|the|Blurb 