Rosalind Smith-Nazilli Author of The Whore Slayer kindly asked to do an interview with me a few days ago, which was posted.
I now reciprocate her kind gesture. Sit back, pour a wine, and I hope you enjoy, getting to know another fellow blogger on a more personal level.
You are known as The Fiction Vixen, why did you choose that Title in particular?
I wanted a title that was short and sharpish because let’s face it, my real name is a bit of a mouthful and for various reasons I did not want to drop either my family name or my married name. I also wanted something that (sort of) rhymed with fiction.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you were born, where you live now?
Well I was born in the UK, in a place called Marlborough but I live now in a seaside village in Turkey. I simply got the urge one day to be somewhere else so I packed a bag and left.
What do you do when you are not writing?
Not a lot. I am always writing but I do like to garden and walk the dog. I am not big on socializing but have to make the effort from time to time for the sake of the sanity of my husband.
Do you have a day job as well?
No I don’t, although I did do some copy writing via online sites for a while. I have no visa to work in Turkey but I am to become a citizen of this Country at the end of the year so I will then have the necessary credentials, but I hope to avoid working outside my home. 🙂
When did you first start writing?
I have always written for as long as I can remember. When I was about twelve my teacher said he thought I had a bit of Edgar Allen Poe in me but I still can’t see that to this day.
How did you choose the genre you write in?
I write flash fiction and short stories mainly because I don’t have the concentration span or even the patience for anything longer. Only recently have I started to dabble in erotica.
Where do you get your ideas?
I am most definitely a panster. I usually start with a sentence I have come into my head or something I hear somewhere. Picture prompts are a favourite of mine as well but if something doesn’t come immediately then I move on. I don’t want to have to labour over words. They are either there or they are not.
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Yes I do, I think every writer does, but never at the start of something. It’s usually half way in when I can’t decide which way to take a story.
Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I did try once to start with an outline but it’s not for me. I have to write what comes as it comes, and I write for me firstly and foremost. Occasionally someone may say that they don’t understand or get what a story was about or where it was going but as long as I know myself, I am satisfied.
Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
I have always loved Sidney Sheldon but to be honest there are so many spectacular works of fiction out there that it is hard to choose. I love mystery thrillers and anything with forensic science.
Is there anything in your stories based on real life experiences or is it purely all imagination?
No it’s all imagination. My life has nothing in it that would interest anyone.
What project/a are you working on now?
I have THE WHORE SLAYER almost ready to be published but I am still not one hundred percent happy with it so have gone back to do a little more editing. There is also a collection of flash fiction that needs to be formatted and edited. Several WIP’s are sitting on the back burner as well.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Just keep writing. Find your voice, try different genre and do not give up.
What’s the nicest thing someone has said about your writing?
I like it when someone says “Oh, I wasn’t expecting that.” From time to time I am told that my flash fiction has the potential to be developed into something longer and the reader has hated that it ended where it did.
What’s the worst thing?
Someone once said that I wrote like a nine year old and that my grammar was appalling (I already knew that, the grammar bit) but you can’t please all of the people all of the time can you?
How do you find the blogging-world in general and any tips you would care to share?
I think some bloggers have a tendency to go mad and flood the world with posts to their blogs. In my opinion two or three quality pieces in a week is enough. There are many also who do not appreciate that people are not going to support you if you don’t support them back. It’s important to visit blogs that you wouldn’t normally choose to, say hello, leave a comment or a compliment. The only way forward with blogging is interaction.
Dark or white chocolate?
Chocolate? Did someone mention chocolate? Any and all although the quality of it out here is not that great and I do miss some of my old favourites.
Dogs or cats?
We were always a cat family until recently when our little bundle of joy, puppy I hasten to add, arrived.
There is a huge problem with stray/street animals in this Country and we have taken in many a kitten only to have them die from something inherited due to inter family breeding. The same has happened with a couple of puppies which is why we went the breeder route with Ayda.
Ayda
It was something that I was very much against because there are so many needy animals on the streets but for me at least, the emotion evoked when a pet dies is just too much and I am really not that strong a person.
Thanks so much for this Jenny. It really is appreciated more than you know.
No, I thank you Rosalind, for allowing my readers to get to know you. You may now go and finish your gardening or play with Adya 🙂
Ramblings From A Mum 