Interview with Chris Hill, Author of Song of the Sea God... "You should never trust a writer who doesn’t read!"

Hey there, y'all!

With us today at the BB Writer's Retreat we have Chris Hill, author of Song of the Sea God (Skylight Press).

Lia Mack: Chris, please start us off by telling a little about yourself.

Chris Hill: I live in Gloucestershire in the UK but I grew up on a small island called Walney, off the coast of Cumbria and this became the setting for Song of the Sea God. I’m married with two sons and I spent a lot of years as a journalist working on newspapers in the UK - I started as a reporter and finished as an editor. Now I work in PR for a children’s charity called WellChild who provide nurses for sick children so they can be cared for in the family home rather than hospital.

I’ve always written fiction, I started with short stories and improved over time, winning a few awards including a big one in the UK called the Bridport Prize. Later I progressed to writing novels and Song of the Sea God is my first to find a publisher - Skylight Press, who brought it out late last year. 　

Lia Mack: Ultimate question...Why do you write?

Chris Hill: I don’t honestly know why! I started very young and I think it grew out of the fact that I have always loved reading fiction. I loved it so much that I wanted to write some, it seemed like magic to me, this conjuring of stories out of the ether. The passion to do it is what keeps you going and you get better over time, it’s the 10,000 hour rule - put in enough practice and eventually you get good.

Lia Mack: Can you describe a bit how your venture into writing looked like? How did you come to be a writer as your career?

Chris Hill: I’ve done it for as long as I remember - since junior school. I started writing scraps in old school note books and gradually developed over time until I was writing proper stories. Some of these won competitions which was obviously encouraging. Later I started writing novels, three so far.

Lia Mack: Can you tell us a little about your book?

Chris Hill: Song of the Sea God is novel about a man who comes to a small island and tries to persuade the people there that he is a god. It’s a book about religion and what it means to people which is of course a pretty serious subject - and the story is quite dark and alarming in some ways, but there is plenty of humour in there too. I’ve been delighted by the way the book has been received so far and it has had lots of positive and thoughtful reviews from people on Amazon and Goodreads.

I wrote the book because I think there’s a general interest in the idea of faith and spiritual fulfilment at the moment. At the same time belief in god and formal religion has receded to the extent that it’s nowhere near as common as it used to be. I think people have been left with a spiritual hole in their lives - a god-shaped hole, I suppose that’s what the book is about!

Lia Mack: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this particular story?

Chris Hill: There were quite a few. It involved a good deal of research for one thing. I had to learn about all kinds of ancient religions and beliefs and the ritual which went with them. But I also needed to research psychological magicians’ tricks such as cold reading, and I needed to know more about how cults worked and the dynamics of the relationship between a leader and his followers.

Then there was the business of creating a believable world even though some of the things which happen within it border on the fantastic. I wanted to create a world with one foot in reality and one outside of it.

One of the most important things in any book is getting the voice right I believe - the sound of the book, it affects everything, so that is always a challenge. I wanted the writing in the book to really zing off the page - make people laugh, make people think.

Lia Mack: What are you working on now?

Chris Hill: I have another book ready to go - a much lighter, funnier novel, almost a rom-com, about a young man’s inept attempts to find a girlfriend and I’m looking for a publisher for that. I am also working on a short story collection which I’m hoping my current publisher might take a look at. I started out thinking I had that already written because of all the stories I have written over the years. But once you start gathering stories together and looking at them in a group you begin to think - I would be better if I added more of this, or took out that one? and so I am writing new work for that collection now.

Lia Mack: What does your typical writing day look like?

Chris Hill: I work at my day job and then write round the day - in the evenings, at weekends. I find that a perfectly acceptable way to write and I think if I did have the chance to do it full time I would just spend five hours looking out of the window and making pots of coffee and just one or two doing actual work. How hard I work depends on where I am in the process. At the start of writing something there is a lot of head scratching and scribbling in note books on the bus. But towards the business end there is a lot of sitting at the computer tap tapping away for many hours. I am a massive believer in rewriting - that’s when you make it good, so I also spend a lot of time scribbling on my manuscripts so you can barely see the type for corrections.

Lia Mack: Do you read while you write? What are you reading now?

Chris Hill: I do read a lot all the time - I think you should never trust a writer who doesn’t read! Sometimes however, when I’m in the midst of writing a novel I go off reading fiction and switch to non-fiction books, history, popular science, biography, philosophy - all kinds of stuff. It sometimes helps not to read fiction when you are writing as you can cloud your style with what you are reading. Most of the time I’m reading a novel though - at the moment it is a monster - Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace, all 1,200 pages of it. I’m about a third of a way through so far and I’m finding it wonderful in parts.

Lia Mack: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself if you could speak to the aspiring writer you once were?

Chris Hill: I think I would encourage myself to get serious sooner, but I would also say take heart - it will be a long road but keep on keeping on and you will get published in the end!

Lia Mack: Thank you so much for being my guest today. Where can you be found online?

Chris Hill, Author of
Song of the Sea Gods

Chris Hill: If people want to read Song of the Sea God, it can be ordered at all bookshops - plus found at many places online including Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and of course it’s available on Amazon and you can read the first few pages to get a feel for it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Sea-God-Chris-Hill/dp/1908011556/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349468028&sr=1-1

I have a blog here which I update every week: http://songoftheseagod.wordpress.com/

I spend a lot more time than I should on twitter @ChilledCH

And I’m on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/chris.hill.3726

Thanks for having me as a guest at your writers retreat Lia, it’s been a pleasure.

Some of My Favorite Blogs for Writers

In the years I've been writing with a purpose - aka, writing ever day to perfect my craft, whether it be novel writing, editing, blogging, outlining, et cetera - I've found some really great blogs on the subject that have helped me in one way or another.

Today, I'd like to share some of my favorite blogs for writers.

Here are my top 2...

Query Shark "How To Write Query Letters ... or, really, how to revise query letters so they actually work"

I've followed this blog and read every.single.post from it's inception and have learned quite a bit on who to write a query letter. You'd think it's easy to just write 2 or 3 paragraphs describing your plot and character after managing to write 100,000 words. But, as I've found, being long winded is a novelists' gift. Being short, sweet and to the point? Quite different if you don't know just how to craft it. But this blog isn't about only the how to's. It also has the don't do's which I think is sometimes more helpful. And it's humorous to boot, so check it out and see if you can fine tune your query letter with it's help.


Miss Snark's First Victim "A blog for aspiring authors"

Again, I've followed this blog for years. It hosts all sorts of critique sessions online in the form of contests. "Secret Agent" contests are just that. If you are one of the 50 entries submitted, not only will you receive comments on your entry (about 250 words) from fellow aspiring writers, but you'll also be in the midst of a real life literary agent who, although a secret, might very well request more material from you. If they are looking something like what you've written. Never know ;) There's also the "Bakers Dozen" contest once or twice a year when there's 13 agents lurking around the submissions. There are quite a few success stories from this blog. Check it out!

Angela Shelton, You Are My Super Hero...

The other day advocate and author Angela Shelton asked me for a testimonial, a statement of how she's helped me or shown me how to use my "sword of trauma" for good. Below is what I sent her as she has been a true inspiration for me since the first time I saw her way back at the beginning of my healing journey...could it have been 2007? 2008? I can't remember, but the date doesn't matter. What she's done to help me and countless others is what matters.

Yes, Angela. You can have a testimonial from me.

If it weren't for Angela Shelton and her "sword of trauma" crusade, I would have never learned how to use my sword of trauma for good. I would have never written my fictional novel WAITING FOR PAINT TO DRY. Not only was it a cathartic move for me, to put into words my struggle to move from a rape survivor to life-loving thriver, but it became so much more.

In writing WAITING FOR PAINT TO DRY, I found a similar line of thought that moves through "Searching for Angela Shelton", in that all our stories are similar. All our stories have the same struggles. The same challenges. And, too, can have the same victories. With this in mind, I created a fictional character - Matty Bell - that anyone who has lived through the violence of sexual abuse can relate to. Yes, I had my own story I could write about, but I didn't want to write a memoir. That would only help me.

No, instead I wrote a story that would be beneficial to all survivors. The story of Matty Bell. Through her healing journey, readers are not only entertained - she's a quirky artist - but through her, they'll learn tools of healing that they too can utilize in their own quest to heal from their traumas. In WAITING FOR PAINT TO DRY, Matty Bell's healing journey is a story of perseverance, love and life. Anyone stuck in their own self-made monochromatic life will love this read. Through her determination, they'll be taken on a ride that is not only fun, funny and colorful, but will also help them start their own healing.

In truth, I wrote WAITING FOR PAINT TO DRY for sexual assault survivors everywhere to know that they are not alone, they too can heal, and they should never give up their life to find the peace they seek. Only in healing from our traumas can we thrive. And win.

And who taught me that? Angela Shelton.

Just talking about my book gets me excited. I just hope to find a publisher soon. I want to get my book in the hands of survivors everywhere! And it's not for money. I'd give my book away for free if it meant I'll never again turn on the news to learn that another girl out there, another woman, has taken her life because of the guilt and shame others have placed on her because they didn't believe her. Because they told her it was her fault she was raped. Because for the 100th time, she hears someone say "all girls cry rape."

It's for them that I wrote this book. Those hands are worth more to me than any money could bring.

Thank you, Angela Shelton. Thank you for teaching me how to use my sword of trauma.

You are my super hero.

Lia Mack

www.LiaMack.com

My Writing New Year's Resolution...

For 2014, I vow to stop blogging, facebooking, twittering, goodreadsing, pintresting, and whatnoting on a daily basis.

Why?

So I can write the novels I want to write. And see them published.

Social media is a major time such, even platform-building focuses social media endeavors. And, quite honestly, I don't see the merit in taking time away from actual writing to build a platform for writing that isn't published yet.

I've done it - this blog and facebook and twitter and even pintrest in the name of platform building - and I've done it well. Only, after all the dust settles, you have to decide what you really want to do with your writing - write a blog, twit, facebook, pin and gain followers?

Or write a novel?

For me, I want to write my next novel. And to do so, I can't sit at my computer and write unless its for that exact purpose.

I'm even going as far as cancelling my internet. Save money AND keep distractions to a minimum.

How's that for preservence and determination!

;)

So, adieu for now, my dear friends. I'm diving in with both arms open wide.

How else can one catch their dreams?

7 Perfect Gifts for Writers... Guest Post by Dana Renee Style

Dana Renee Style in the house!

Well, in the B&B... ;)

Dana's here to spread some holiday cheer with her top 7 gift ideas, perfect for every writer.

7 Perfect Gifts for Writers
Guest Post by Dana Renee Style

If you're searching for the perfect gift for your favorite writer, here are seven ideas they're sure to love. You can shop these items through Polyvore by clicking on the photo.

1. Inspiration for writing comes from everywhere, especially those around us…so give them an advance warning with this t-shirt.

2. Not the t-shirt type…how about the same sentiment on a tote bag to hold all those library books they checked out for research?

3. Give a little encouragement with this Ray Bradbury quote necklace.

4. We've all been there…we know what we mean but can't find the right word. Enter this Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus. It doesn't just give related words, it also gives advice on how to pick the best one.

5. Give the typical pen gift some extra glam with this Swarovski crystal filled barrel.

6. Bring up computer crashes in front of a writer and I can almost guarantee that they will shudder in fear from memories of hours of lost work. Help them get in the habit of backing up with a nice flash drive like this bamboo one from SanDisk.

7. Everyone can use another journal, writer or not, especially one with a beautiful, artistic cover like this Moleskine journal.

What gifts are you excited to give this year?

Collage created via Polyvore.com