Ink Blog Tour

“For the first time I wonder: does it matter what it says on your skin, when what’s at stake is your soul?”

-Alice Broadway, Ink. 

Hey guys! Today is my day in the Ink blog tour and I’m thrilled to share this interview with the lovely Alice Broadway with you all!

I had so much fun asking her these questions and seeing her answers, I hope you all enjoy them, too!

 

 

 

1. Could you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

Thank you so much for having me – I am thrilled to be on your gorgeous blog! Ink is my first book and before I was a full-time writer, I was the full-time carer for my three children. Our eldest son has various disabilities, which adds an additional bit of spice to our family and means I’ve not really slept for the last ten years. I studied Theology and biblical studies at University and always secretly wanted to be a writer.

      2. When did you decide to start writing Ink and why?

The idea had been percolating for nearly a year, but it was actually only when I was diagnosed with depression that I began writing it. I wanted to try to do something to distract me and so I did nanowrimo in 2013 and wrote about 12,000 words which I sort of forgot about until a year later.

     4. Ink shows us a society with fascinating origin stories and mythology—did your      degree in theology influence your worldbuilding?

I am fascinated in the way people’s beliefs are taught and how an entire worldview is constructed around one’s own belief-system. I think it was probably inevitable that my thoughts about faith and sacred texts merged with my obsession with fairy tales and fables.

 5. On a less academic note, (I have to ask) have you got any tattoos?

I feel like such a fraud: I don’t have any! I am so drawn to them and admire so many exceptional artists. I guess, never say never, but for now I am too indecisive!

 6. What is your favourite thing about writing?

When writing is going well, it feels like magic. Words zip out of your fingers like sorcery and you’re not sure who came up with them: you or some weird muse-ish part of your brain. I love how as a writer I can both escape and hide behind my words and at the same time writing gives me a voice.

 7. Can you tell us a little about your writing process?

Tea and weeping.

On good days I write for an hour or until I’ve hit 1000 words, then rest and noodle about and then maybe do a little more. But I am the world’s most excellent procrastinator and the internet sings its siren song really nicely. It takes a long time to search for the perfect gif response to a tweet.

 8. Do you have any specific music you like to listen to while writing?

I WISH I could listen to music, but I just get too into it. I tend to use Coffitivity when I’m writing.

9. What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

Ooh: believing it was worth persevering. It is very hard to believe in yourself at the best of times as a writer, but trying to write not knowing if anyone will like what you’ve done is tough. Also, editing is way hard (I have the greatest and dreamiest editor in Genevieve Herr and wouldn’t have survived without her!) and I am forever jealous of anyone who can write believable romance.

10. Which writers inspire you?

Right now, the ones who inspire me are Keris Stainton, Hayley Webster, Rachael Lucas and Anne Booth. I love the way they write with their souls and each of them makes the world a little fairer, kinder and more brave.

 11. How do you switch off and unwind when you’re not writing?

I love watching Parks & Recreation with my husband, plus my kids are excellent at making me stop work: mostly because they want to borrow my laptop.

 12. As I have a lot of aspiring authors reading this blog, is there any advice or      words of wisdom you’d like to give them?

Practical stuff: read loads, write loads, finish something, send it to someone.

Emotional stuff: be kind to yourself, remember you love words because they bring you joy – fight anything that threatens to take that joy away.

 

Thank you so much to Alice for agreeing to this interview- I loved Ink and it’s a real pleasure to have you on my blog. Thank you also to Olivia at Scholastic for setting all this up!

 

Check out these links for more on Alice and Ink:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads

Here are the other stops on the blog tour if you want to take a look!

Thank you all for reading!