I Screamed into the Void and MJ Mars Screamed Back

Have you ever felt the need to go out and scream into the void? It’s an interesting thing, screaming into the void, because something might just scream back. There I was, minding my own business, screaming “BOLLOCKS!” into the nothing, when I heard a voice screaming back “STOP YOUR SHOUTING, YA BLOODY TOSSPOT!” As I was getting ready to roll up my sleeves and throw some hands, the lovely MJ Mars appeared and suggested having a chat. I, of course, agreed despite being shouted at myself and I’m fairly certain I heard ‘numpty’ in there somewhere, too?

Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?

A: My mum has always been very supportive. She always encouraged me to read from a very young age and taught me to be inquisitive about the world around me, which I think has been extremely helpful in my writing career. She would love me to write anything but horror, though! As she says, she’s a fan of MJ Mars, but not necessarily the gruesome books!

Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?

A: Being an author means the absolute world to me. It sounds dramatic, but it’s all I ever wanted to do. i’ve bounced from job to job throughout my life, just working to pay the bills. But my passion has always been writing and it’s been an incredible year now that it’s finally happened!

Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes?

A: My writing process is extremely haphazard. Sometimes I’m a plotter, sometimes I’m a despicable pantser. Occasionally, I’ll brew a pot of tea and sit at the kitchen table for hours on a Sunday, while other times I’ll start late in the night and drink wine (usually when a deadline is looming and I’m in ‘cliché neurotic writer’ mode!). I tend to write fast and frantic and then burn out. I wish there was a more measured approach for me, but I haven’t found it yet.

Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?

A: I would love to write something non-fiction. Perhaps investigate an unsolved true crime or explore a mysterious event that is unexplained. I’m passionate about my home town of Lancaster, UK, which has some great local history. i’d like to get my journalism hat on and do some proper investigating at some point.

As for something I’d never write, I don’t think I’d be good at writing a romance. I will stick to horror for now – sorry, Mum!

Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?

A: I do get a great deal of anxiety and struggle hugely with imposter syndrome and so I found launching the book was quite a difficult time. It’s frustrating because it makes you feel crazy. After all, I’d dreamed of it happening for decades, I wish I loved every second! But don’t get me wrong, there is not a thing I would change about it.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?

A: I think a strength is that I like to be positive and enjoy building others up, so I love joining in with the writing community authors and having fun with the readers. I’ve never been a competitive person, so I love it when everyone is happy and enjoying themselves. I’m always here if anyone needs advice or a bit of a boost. It’s a bonkers world sometimes, and we all need to stick together.

Weaknesses are overthinking and worrying, which I think plays into the imposter syndrome issue which so many creatives suffer from! I’m getting better at just talking things out if I am worried about something, which was a huge problem for me in the past. I’m learning every day, and it’s definitely helping me to be more confident in all areas of my life.

Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?

A: Art is so subjective. At first, bad reviews gave me panic attacks, but then I saw how differently people read things and how much even the bad reviews disagreed with each other! Some would say it’s too slow paced, others too fast. Some would say there’s too much characterization while others would say there’s none at all.

It’s very helpful to remind myself of the media that I’m not a huge fan of, that are enjoyed by different people around the world. We forget that not enjoying something doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just not to your taste. Some people have quite an aggressive way of asserting likes and dislikes, which is fine. You just have to let your work find the readers who click with what you’re doing.

I said in another interview recently that if you wanted to sell a Bunsen burner, you’d have more luck in the science lab than the art room. I’m using that again because everything needs to find its audience. Even if your first few readers don’t like it, the next ten may love it, and it took me awhile to come to terms with that.

Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something that others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?

A: I would say that women’s voices are more important now than ever. There have been strange shifts in the world lately that have made it seem that progress is suddenly going backwards in a disturbing way. We need to make sure that the steps that were taken for equality in the last 20 years aren’t bullied out, particularly in traditionally male-dominated areas. Write your heart, even if your heart wants to write about blood-sucking anuses or wacky Mpreg dino porn. Who needs normal? Push boundaries. Shake things up. The world needs it, and so do the readers!