BLB Tour Author Interview with Naomi Clark of Night and Chaos

1. When did you begin writing?

I’ve always written. When I was a little girl, I used to buy stickers with pictures of ponies on

and write stories about them. I say “stories,” they were only about two paragraphs long, but I

feel that’s not a bad start! I didn’t get serious about novel writing until I was about thirteen or

fourteen though.

2. Who is you mentor? Who do you look up to?

In terms of a mentor, there’s no single person I can name in that respect, but I’ve been lucky

to have some great critique partners who are always very honest and wise. I also benefitted

from very tough and clever tutors at university, where I did a creative writing degree, and

they really helped me hone my skills!

3. What is your reading pleasure?

I love urban fantasy and anything with a touch of the paranormal or supernatural about it.

I’ve been reading a lot of YA books recently as well, and I love the wide range of subjects

and issues they tackle. At the moment I’m revisiting HP Lovecraft’s short stories – that’s a

definite reading pleasure for me!

4. If you have any favorite authors, who are they and why ?

I’m a massive fan of Stacia Kane for her unique world-building and gritty, no-holds-barred

stories. I also love Caitlin Kittredge and Laura Bickle for the same reasons. I recently

discovered Michael Marshall Smith, who writes thrillers and sci-fi, and I love his books –

they’re just really unusual and challenging.

5. What part of the writing process do you love? What part do you hate?

I love writing first drafts, when I’m exploring a new world and new characters. I don’t plan or

plot in advance, so the first draft is always a surprise to me! If I hate any part of writing, it’s

editing – trying to catch all the typos and mistakes you’ve made is really hard when you’re

already so familiar with what you’ve written. I tend to see what I think I’ve written, rather than

what I actually have written ... which is why you need good critique partners!

6. If you could write outside your genre what would that be?

I love noir films, so I’d love to write a noir novel. Something with mobs and private eyes and

femme fatals.

7. How did you come up with your premise for your books?

It either goes two ways: it all comes to me at once, which is great. I get a plot, a title,

characters, everything, all in one rush, and then it’s just a matter of doing any research I

think I’ll need.

Or I get a plot but no characters, or characters but no plots, and then have to poke around

in my imagination and see if I can work with what I’ve got. Sometimes you have to abandon

ideas because you just can’t flesh them out, or save them for the future. I’ve got a ton of

ideas for the future that I know I’m just not good enough to write yet.

8. What is scene is easier to write? Harder?

I like writing dialogue best – it always comes naturally. Description is always fun, but I dread

writing fight scenes. I always struggle to keep it straight in my head where people are and

what they’re doing, so my fight scenes are always rather jumbled in the first draft.

9. If you could write with anyone who would that be and why?

That’s really hard... I would have loved to write with Lovecraft when he was developing his

Cthulhu stories. His works have been a big influence on me, and I know he liked to share

his world with other writers. That could have been fun. With regards to living writers, well, if

Kane, Kittredge or Bickle dropped me a line, I’d be hard pressed to refuse...

10. What would you like to say to your readers?

Just that I hope they enjoy my books! I love writing them, so it’s always great to hear if

people loved reading them

Thank you Naomi for your time, Now where you can find her on the web!

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About Naomi:

Naomi Clark lives in Cambridge and is a mild-mannered office worker by day, but a slightly crazed writer by night. She has a perfectly healthy obsession with giant sea creatures and a preference for vodka-based cocktails. When she's not writing, Naomi is probably either reading or watching 80s cartoon shows, and sometimes she manages to do all three at once.

Blurb:

Ryan McCarthy fled Applied Paranormal Theory and Tactics, her father, and her lover six years ago, desperate to build life away from the weird science and supernatural experiments of her childhood. But everything she hoped to escape comes back with a vengeance when she’s kidnapped and tortured by a possessed APTT employee out for revenge on the man responsible for his possession: Ryan’s father.

Now, reunited with the lover she abandoned, Ryan is forced back into a world of danger and darkness she no longer understands, pursued by enemies with powers she can’t fathom. But Ryan’s not entirely powerless herself. She’ll have to use every trick she knows – as well as the mystic gift she hates – to stay ahead of those enemies. And that will be easier said than done.

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