Author interview with Eva St John
Author of The Quantum Curators series
Welcome to Eva St John - author of The Quantum Curators and The Norwich Map Runners series
What inspired you to embark on a writing career, and how did your journey as an author begin?
I own a bookshop and found that customers kept asking for suggestions for a local walk. After a while of scribbling directions on scraps of paper, I decided to pull everything together to write a walking guide. From there, I decided to try writing fiction as well. I've always loved telling stories, so I thought I would give it a go.
Can you describe your writing process? Do you follow a structured outline, or is your approach more organic?
I try to follow a plot. I certainly know how a story ends - mostly. But sometimes it's a single scene that grabs my attention, and then I build a story around it.
Which authors or books have significantly influenced your writing style and thematic choices?
I don't know that any writer has influenced my writing style, that's such a tough question, but if I could throw a sentence together the way PG Wodehouse can, I would be delighted. His prose is so light and delivers whopping great punches that have me laughing out loud.
Thematically, I was first captured by Asimov. I loved his ideas and puzzles, and then I discovered Le Guin; her ability to question the human condition was eye-opening. Those were my first great loves and I have always been a voracious reader of speculative fiction in all its genres.
How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life, and what strategies do you employ to maintain this equilibrium?
I have to be disciplined and remind myself that this is a job. I do not have the luxury of waiting for the muse to strike. I have bills to pay so I need to open the keyboard and write. Certainly, some days are better than others but imagine a bus driver saying his muse had deserted him.
Since becoming a full-time writer, I have bizarrely found it harder to be disciplined. In the past I had no option but to squeeze my writing into the small gaps in the day. Now as the empty hours stretch in front of me, I find all sorts of excuses.
I am a dreadful procrastinator.
What challenges have you encountered in your writing career, and how have you overcome them?
Trying to stay focused, I'm afraid to say I haven't found a way to do that yet.
Could you share insights into your current or upcoming projects that you’re particularly excited about?
I am completely in love with my new series The Norwich Map Runners. It's an urban fantasy where the maps of Norwich blend the current-day timelines with the past, and it’s the perfect place for a murderer to hide out. I think it has the same blend of fun and action found in the Quantum Curators but this time there are no parallel universes.
How do you handle periods of writer’s block or creative stagnation?
Whenever I struggle with a brick wall I turn away from it and try to find a new approach. I swap genres and try other things. I find reading and travelling also shake out new ideas.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors navigating the path to publication?
Avoid anyone who offers you a contact but asks you to contribute financially. There are two solid and proven routes: you get a contract with a reputable publisher, and they take on the costs but also take a share of any earnings, or you self-publish, you pay for everything upfront, but then you get to keep all the profits. Neither approach is guaranteed but surround yourself with allies and make use of all the support groups out there.
Just because one route seems to work for one author this doesn't mean it's right for you. Arm yourself with as much information as you can, knowledge is power.
How important are book reviews to you?
They are more for readers than for me. What I like are the direct interactions with readers so if you've ever been tempted to get in touch with an author, do. We love it!
Author bio:
Like the best of us, Eva St. John is a construct. A moving feast of many parts, most of those parts involve gin, science fiction and falling over her dogs.
Favourite authors: Iain M Banks. Ann Leckie. Genevieve Cogman. Terry Pratchett. Nick Harkaway.*
Favourite shows: Doctor Who. Indiana Jones. National Treasure. Star Trek. Black Mirror. Firefly.*
Favourite food: Everything. Not a fan of offal or ice cream.
Favourite drink: Milk. Followed by a willingness to drink anything. Except Ouzo. Or tea.
Accessible via Facebook and www.thequantumcurators.com
* This list is forever changing and only represents the current top of her head.
In a city where history bites back, murder is just the beginning.
Detective Eliza “Bish” Barnaby thought she’d left her home behind—along with its plague outbreaks, random time-shifts, and tendency to accidentally host people from the 1600s during breakfast.
But when a dangerous practitioner escapes custody in London, Bish is forced back to Norwich, a city where ancient maps hide deadly shortcuts, angry nuns have scores to settle, and Puritans throw acid at those they don’t approve of.
Armed with only a gun she can’t fire, a spaniel who thinks he’s a wolf, and a partner who dresses like a rejected Bridgerton extra, Bish must stop a killer before wild magic unravels the city’s fragile balance.
But keeping her own forbidden talents hidden is just as dangerous as catching the murderer. And in a place where past and present bleed together, the only way to solve this mystery might be to embrace the very magic she fears.
Grab the brand new adventure from Eva St. John, author of the bestselling Quantum Curators series
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