Monday, July 7, 2014

Interview: L. J. Harris


Ms. Harris has recently published a story as part of the Bollocks! anthology from Wayward Ink Publishing, entitled Just Like Pulling Teeth. My apologies for not getting this out sooner - thought I had already posted! ~CW


Thank you, Lisa, for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me.
 

How does it feel to be back in the publishing game? Does it feel good?

Being published again is great. There’s nothing like it when release day arrives!
I’ve never really stopped writing since Heart of Glass was released two years ago. I’ve worked on a few stories since, but haven’t found the time to finish them. I hope to have one or two more novellas out before the end of the year.

Your last two published works were great reads. Has your writing style changed since then? Can you tell us about your process?

Aww, thank you very much! I think as time has progressed I’ve polished my style a great deal, but in essence, it hasn’t changed all that much. I’m still quite verbose, and drive anyone who is writing with me nuts with my tweaking. It gets to the point of me having to apologise to them often, and I envy anyone who can just churn out words without stopping, as I tend to go back over my work after writing a few hundred words until I get it just so. I find it very difficult to move the story along if there’s anything I’m unhappy with, and yes, I’ve gone over this interview quite a few times, just in case you were wondering! lol.

What was your main source of inspiration while you wrote Just Like Pulling Teeth?

When I was in my 20’s, I had my wisdom teeth removed by a very good looking dentist (picture this - tanned, perfect white teeth and a day’s worth of stubble - you get the picture), and under the influence of laughing gas, let’s just say I became a rather ‘chatty Cathy’. I didn’t outright flirt with the poor man, but I embarrassed him nonetheless by failing to keep my mouth shut. I would take off the mask and go on and on about absolute nonsense, talking about everything and anything, and he kept smiling and would place the mask back on my face.  I didn’t make TOO much a fool of myself - well, not that I can recollect anyway. It’s probably a good thing I don’t have a fantastic memory.

Let’s play for a moment. If you ever decided to expand JLPT into a full-length novel and it was made into a movie, which actors/actresses would you choose for the lead roles?

Oh, what a great question! (And how did you guess that was my ultimate dream?)  Let me just marinate in that fantasy for a bit...

Okay, I’m done lol. In answer to your question, I would choose to cast British actors for all roles. It’s not so much that I’m against Americans playing Brit characters, as some pull off the accent quite well, but for authenticity, I’d prefer to cast actors from the UK.

I would say that Nicholas Hoult (of Warm Bodies fame) would be my choice for the role of the gangly, pasty faced Aiden Cooper.

Nicholas-Hoult.jpg

The part of Sebastian Gibbs was a tough one to decide on, but I eventually decided on Douglas Booth. Not only is he British, he has a Spanish/Dutch mother, so it fits quite well (and he’d probably find the Portuguese easy to master). Plus, there’s the fact he’s absolutely gorgeous, and he’s also starred in Noah with one of my favorite actors, Russell Crowe.

douglas booth.jpg

Rachel Cooper would be played by Phil Collins’ daughter, Lily. I could so picture her adorned with piercings and tattoos, while at the same time, speaking in a very refined English accent.

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I couldn’t find anyone suitable to play the gruff but adorable tattooist, Alex (Alex Pettyfer is a not rough enough even though I love him). I picture a younger version of Gerard Butler for the role *swoons as I picture Gerard in a purple bandana and muscle shirt*.

I’ve always loved the way you weave a yarn, the romance, etc. What kind of books do you love to curl up with when you have time to read?

I love to read a wide variety of stories, but the one thing they all have in common is they are about how two people fall in love. I don’t mind stories where the a couple are already together, but my first love is reading how they get there. That’s not to say I only read fluffy boy meets girl love stories - I like to get down and dirty with the best of them (as you well know *winks*). I enjoy reading the wildly erotic, kinky stories in both m/m and het, as well as stories with a smattering of supernatural. As long as there’s an interesting storyline, along with some hot romance thrown in (but not to the point of there being no story), I’m all over it.

Do your family and friends support your writing?

For the most part, yes they do. My family know how passionate I am about putting my work out there, and support me in that goal. My mother blushes when she reads anything of mine that involves swearing or smut, so I try not to subject her to anything that’s too over the top, but my stepmother pretty much reads anything I write without batting an eye (she especially loves my m/m stories *gives the stepmother the thumbs up*). Though my husband and children haven’t read any of my published works (m/m romance, in fact reading ANYTHING at all isn’t exactly their cup of tea) they still encourage me every step of the way. My husband has vowed he will read my novel when it’s published *watches pigs as they fly by* lol. We’ll see if that happens.

What advice would you give to a new writer just starting out?

Never stop writing. Write about anything you can, but write prolifically. Share your work with family, friends, or even share them online. Write short stories, poems, hell even jot down a sentence on a napkin. It all counts. When I began to write my novel, Heart of Darkness, 5 years ago, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. That didn’t stop me from diving into the story headfirst, while writing fan fiction to help learn as much as I could. Yes the novel is in dire need of some heavy editing, but those who have read what I’ve written have encouraged me to finish, so I’ll be working on that when the next 2 stories I’m working on are done. Though I’m much happier with my work now than I was back then, I am still learning, and know I won’t ever stop. So all I can suggest to anyone who needs to write, is to keep honing your craft for as long as you feel compelled to share your inner voice.

What other talents do you have that we don't already know about?

I can carry a tune and also play piano, and when on holiday at Hayman Island as a child, I actually won a talent contest. After my father finally wore me down and convinced me to sing (and the song was Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Let me be There’) I sang, collected my prize of a bottle of champagne for the adults as well as a coral and shell jewellery box for me, then went back to my room and promptly threw up. I am so painfully shy, that unfortunately I get severe stage fright - so not many people have seen me perform. But I sure do belt out a mean tune when driving in the car by myself.


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