The Hand that Holds the Pen

When we first started this project we knew that we wanted to dedicate at least some small corner to the Novel, so we asked aspiring scribbler Chesnaye Long (aka Quaddy) if she'd mind taking part in our blog as a contributing think-tank. Little did she know that we secretly harboured a fervent desire to victimise her latest novel: Eve of the Gods. The twenty-four year old Floridian, who claims the mental age of nine and the humour of the snarkiest version of Elizabeth Bennett you can think of, was interviewed earlier this week. This is what she had to say for herself:

The Scribbler: Off-camera (or before the pen hit paper) you talked about yourself as having been at [novels] for years. How long is that exactly?

Quaddy: A really long time - I've had an online portfolio for ten years now.

TS: That would put you in your early teens! Why do you write? What inspires you?

Q: Well history, mythology... I'm a massive fan of the BBC series, Dr Who. That's played a key part. But I write because I love stories. I love telling them and reading them. If I didn't have such horrid stage fright, I'd act them out more too. 

TS: History and Dr Who, that's an interesting mix. What about authors and books?

Q: Oh goodness...Neil Gaiman is up there. Christopher Moore’s Lamb, however, is possibly the one book I’ve enjoyed most in the whole world. Jane Austen always delights. But to name them is not to discredit the hundreds of other novelists whose works inspire me daily. If I had to pick books. Hmm... Chris Moore’s Lamb, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Gaiman’s American Gods... have influenced even my religious beliefs, or perhaps mirrors them. Either way, it speaks to me. 

TS: Pick one: out of those three, who would you most like to meet?

Q: I would love to meet Gaiman, but I’m afraid his genius might overshadow mine to such a degree that it would snap whatever thread of self worth I feel. I am definitely a self-loathing author.

TS: I think that's a trait a lot of us have in common. Is self-loathing something you struggle with as an aspiring author?

Q: Yes. Hating what I write, combined with not going back to edit. I need to finish before I edit. With Eve of the Gods, I am, on one level, very pleased with the characterization, but on another, I am not. Lucifer is, I suppose, alright because he is a refutation of his reputation, but Conrad needs more. There is a sense of foreboding missing. And chapter one is rubbish. So, I think the hardest part of writing a novel is myself. I am, as I have described, a self-loathing author.

TS: So where would you want to be in 10 years?

Q: Literally? Out of South Florida. In the figurative sense of one’s life plan? Published. I would like to be published. It would be a validation. Society values the tangible too much, and I feel sidelined, unsuccessful, maligned, for my lack of outward success. Right now I work at a coffee shop... not unlike an actor...

TS: (laughing) Out of South Florida?

Q: Yep, Florida aka the Depths of Hell. I suppose one of the higher levels, as it's all sorts of hot here.

TS: Feel free to visit Scotland sometime, maybe we can swap some sun for some snow. So tell us about your novel.

Q: That's hard. It took me hours to come up with a way of explaining this when I first tried to summarise it... So... the gods' realm is dying, the strength of belief fading and stealing from them their homes and, in some instances, their very existences. But there comes a threat that would finish the gods forever, a death knell that would leave nothing in its wake. For gods do not have bodies and they do not have souls; they exist as an idea given form, and belief is necessary to shape that form. As any entity does when faced with nonexistence, the gods turn to an ally. Evelyn Sinclair can save them because she believes, and belief is all that matters when shaping the world. But Lyn is more than what she appears, and when memories get involved, belief becomes all the more dangerous a force to reckon with. And worse, what does one do when one's other ally is an entity whose name is a byword for evil?

 TS: Sounds complicated. What inspired this? 

Q: That's easier! (laughing)Neil Gaiman and Jane Austen. 

TS: Probably should have guessed that... 

Q: Yep. My first decision was that I wanted to write a story that could be a marrying of both writers’ worlds. Not literally, of course, but conceptually. The story, full of “OMG, WTF have I done?” moments and a Mr. Darcy to end all. Sort of—a Darcy without the fear and arrogance, I think... as well as my heroine that perhaps isn’t what society wants her to be, is all Austen. But the world...that, I hope, is Gaiman. It is a reimagining of the cosmos, of Gods and gods, Angels, Demons, the power of belief and of history...this is my homage to Gaiman. Perhaps without his genius, but with a creative twist of its own, I hope. I just hope that neither author would be horrified by my homage to them.

TS: I'm of the opinion that imitation is one of the greatest forms of flattery. Did you enjoy writing it?

Q: I am still writing it. I have 50k words, what was required for NaNo, but then I put it aside because my brain was just...done. And then I got distracted. I am always distracted. But Lyn and Lucian deserve more, as does Hermes...

TS: NaNo? Lyn? Lucian? Hermes?

Q: I wrote it for NaNoWriMo - a novel writing competition held every November. You write 50K in thirty days. It was coming down to crunch time (November 1st) and I hadn’t a bloody clue what to do with myself. So I thought about it one night and the idea of Adam and Eve came to me. And the concept of history as belief. How much of history is what we believe it to be? Does history change because we act upon what we believe to be history? And, of course, the ability of humanity’s belief to shape the cosmos. Do Gods come about because we believe in them, or do we believe in them because they exist? All of these concepts came together into the story that is Eve of the Gods.

 

TS: I can certainly see how Gaiman has influenced you there. 

Q: It's certainly something I think he'd think of. But I’m a philosopher at heart, and a lot of my stories reflect my personal philosophies. Or are a chance for me to actually use the History degree I worked so hard for. Even if it isn’t apparent, everything is a reflection of my personal beliefs.

TS: Can we see that in any of the characters? Do you have a favourite?

Q: My goodness. I suppose ... Lyn. She is my main character, my own creation. A reflection of me. But [my favourite] is Hermes. I have a great fondness for Hermes as a god, and have a great relationship with him as one of my Patrons, and writing for him has been great fun.

TS: What do you think is the biggest challenge a head of of you now?

Q: Finishing the actual story. Editing. Editing is my bane as a writer. Always has been. I hope to get over that eventually. 

TS: We certainly hope you will, and with a little luck and some pushing from us at The Daily Scribble we hope to help you do that. 

Q: (raises a sceptical eyebrow) Thanks?

For more on Eve of the Gods you can visit Quaddy's online portfolio or go directly to her work HERE.

For more on NaNoWriMo, visit HERE.

For more on the mutually appreciated Neil Gaiman, visit HERE.

Je serai poète et toi poésie, 
SCRIBBLER