How did you work on the book? Like, the ideas were already in your mind or you just writing and went with the flow. Did you write every day? Tell me something about your journey with it.
I started writing NIGHT AND CHAOS in 2008. I had a very clear idea of what it would be – a short story of around fifteen thousand words, an urban fantasy with a heavy romantic and erotic element. I'd never really written anything with more emphasis on the sexual content than the mystery/action content, but I was pretty sure I could do it. How hard could it be, right?
Wrong! As soon as I started working on NIGHT AND CHAOS, I realized two things: it was going to be a lot longer than fifteen thousand words, and it really wasn't going to work with a primary focus on the romance. My heroine, Ryan, wasn't interested in romance or sex. She was interested in staying alive – which is perfectly reasonable, given that at the start of the novella, she's been kidnapped and tortured. Under those circumstances, who has time for love? Knowing that the novella wasn't going in the direction I wanted it to, I ended up abandoning it for a while. For a long while. Almost two years, in fact. I didn't pick NIGHT AND CHAOS up again until autumn 2010.
When I did decide to finish it, I'd drastically revised my original vision for the story. I wanted a more action-driven narrative, and I wanted the romance to be a subplot. I'd also decided to make the novella the first part of a trilogy, and to allow that romance to unfold slowly, at a more natural pace throughout three books, rather than trying to cram it all into one short story. Once I'd decided that, I was able to work a lot faster and more smoothly.
When I'm really into a story, I aim for one thousand words a day, but a reoccurring arm injury means I can't always hit that. The time I didn't spent actually writing, I spent researching the Hindi mythology that forms the spine of NIGHT AND CHAOS. I found a lot more fascinating things than I could have fit into one novella, which cemeted my decision to make this a series. I'm confident I made the right decision to change the direction of this story, and I'm hopeful it won't take me two years to write the next two installments!
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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.
Author Bio
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. Find out more at http://naomijay.blogspot.com/
Great guestpost! Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Naomi! :)
ReplyDeletethat was a very nice and interesting post and the book sounds great!
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