Author interview with Linzi Day
A self-confessed HUGE St Mary's fan
What inspired you to embark on a writing career, and how did your journey as an author begin?
Do you remember how at the beginning of the pandemic, few of us could work and we weren’t sure if we would live to see 2021? Well, my biggest regret was that I’d never got around to writing any of the books about a woman called Niki who’d lived in my head for about twenty years. (Since I was forty-ish, in fact, just as Niki McKnight is in the Gretna Green Gateway books.) I was an assistant registrar and civil celebrant in Gretna Green, i.e. I married people. Thanks to the UK wide lockdown, I couldn’t do that anymore. I took early retirement and decided if I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything except walk my dog on those ‘authorised exercise periods’ we had, perhaps this would be the time to write Niki’s story. I didn’t seriously intend to publish them. But writing them was private therapy at a difficult point in history. Producing some hilarious, happy books was a better plan than sinking into the gloom and misery. But then I got an offer from a publisher. It changed things. While considering it, I realised I’m too much of a control freak to allow someone else the final say over my work. As a reader, I’d felt that many new books were a bit too same-old, same old, and I didn’t want to be pushed into that mould. So, I found a fantastic editor and an awesome cover designer and, tentatively, self-published the first book. There are now quite a few more in that series, and I'm having a lot of fun.
Can you describe your writing process? Do you follow a structured outline, or is your approach more organic?
I had a solid outline of the ten books which form the first major arc of the series before I began. But the individual books which feature the seven ‘realms’ Niki McKnight is responsible for showcase important and often amusing parts of Celtic history. Those are a more organic discovery process. So you could say I knew where it started. I always knew where it would finish. But the journey through parts of Celtic history that many people are unaware of is more twisted and tangled than straightforward. My readers say I’m a very sneaky author.
Which authors or books have significantly influenced your writing style and thematic choices?
Thematic choices are easy. I like books that begin in chaos and out of a difficult situation comes order, humour, growth for the characters and an escape for the reader. If you can throw in justice, teach me something I didn’t know and add in great food too, then I’m going to love those books. And, no surprise—I write what I love. So Terry Pratchett, Anne McCaffrey and JD Robb would be on the list of authors that influenced thematic choices. But so too would authors like Diana Wynne Jones, Diana Gabaldon, Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie. But when it comes to my writing style, it’s a stupidly difficult question because by the time I began writing fiction, I’d been a reader for almost sixty years. Probably the only truthful answer I can give you is that everyone I ever read influenced my writing style to some extent. Whether they did it for good or ill is something my readers will have to decide for themselves. Given how popular my hilarious retirement project turned out to be, it seems there are some readers who do like it!
How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life, and what strategies do you employ to maintain this equilibrium?
I have a partner of twenty years that I love very much, an adorable demanding dog and a garden. My hobby is food from around the world and reading while I eat it. In theory, there should be equilibrium. In practice, not-so-much. I take breaks between the books to retain just enough sanity to continue writing my crazy, fun series and find more strange food, some of which ends up in the books.
What challenges have you encountered in your writing career, and how have you overcome them?
I discovered Amazon has a page limit on paperback books. That was a hell of a challenge. Otherwise, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to find supportive, intelligent readers and I’m having a ball.
Could you share insights into your current or upcoming projects that you're particularly excited about?
My current major goal is to finish the first part of my series, which will include ten books. (And various novellas and reader bonuses) Then I’m taking some time out to create a pretty hardback version of the series. I may just be doing that for myself. But a friend inspired me when we talked about my retirement project and how popular the books were becoming. We decided a box set of the series would look far better on my mantelpiece than an ugly presentation retirement clock.
How do you handle periods of writer's block or creative stagnation?
I haven't had one yet. But then these books had twenty years to percolate around the back of my brain while I was doing other things.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors navigating the path to publication?
I’ve published more than a million words in my fiction over the last two and a half years. I was a journalist for some years earlier in my career, so I write quickly. But I still feel like a novice as an author. There’s so much to learn I’m not sure I’m experienced enough to advise others yet, with one exception. Use beta readers. The one piece of advice that a kind, much more experienced and successful author gave me was to make sure I got lots of eyes other than my own on my manuscript at various stages of the writing process. That’s been incredibly valuable. We truly have no idea how what we’ve written can be read very differently by a reader from another country or with a different life experience.
How important are book reviews to you?
Absolutely essential. I count myself as a brand new author because my first book was published just over two years ago. Without the thousands of kind readers who have left reviews for my books and given future readers a clue about whether they would like my series too, I don’t think the world would ever have seen more than one book from me. As it is, book seven comes out this year.
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Linzi's books are frankly ADICTIVE! I've read them all. And then read them again. Four times. I have the ebooks. I have the paperbacks. I want the hardbound editions when available. I loaned the first book to the director of the local public library. She ordered them for the general collection.
I love the newish genre of Paranormal Womens fiction, where the MFC is a bit older and finally finds their gumption. I use audible for most of my ‘reading’, so put off this series for a while as it’s only in book format. However I found myself with some quiet time to sit with a book… OMG… I love them so much. Have now reread three times and recommend on every book group I can.