AUTHOR BIO
As a child, Neve
Talbot developed the habit of lulling herself to sleep by dreaming up
continuations of her favorite books too soon ended. She never left off the
habit, and eventually gained confidence in worlds of her own creation. She
first cracked open a spiral binder in high school, and has spent the past
decade dutifully penning her prerequisite one million words of bad writing
before getting to the good stuff.
Now author, editor,
story coach, and journalist, Neve currently lives with her husband under the
pseudonym of Penny Freeman, in a quasi-reality filled with fantasy, sci-fi,
historical fiction, Regency romance, the classics, and history books, suspended
between the piney woods and sprawling metropolis of southeast Texas. She plans
on exploring the world when she grows up.
“West End” is Neve’s
third outing with The X, the others being “Crossroads” in Shades and Shadows, and “Tropic of Cancer”
in Mechanized
Masterpieces, of which “West End” is a sequel.
Q/A for featured author
Neve Talbot's Favorite Things
1. Please share how
you came up with the concept for your story?
Little Women was
probably my first 'adult' reading experience. I must have been in the 4th
grade. It's held a warm place in my heart ever since. It seemed a natural
choice to expand into Steampunk. Since my protagonists tend to be male,
Laurie's story got the nod. Finally, since this book is the sequel to
Mechanized Masterpieces, I decided to tie this story into "Tropic of
Cancer,", my expansion of Jane Eyre.
2. Please name some of
your other published works?
I have three short
stories in Xchyler anthologies: "West End" in MM2, "Tropic of
Cancer" in MMSA, and "Crossroads" in Shades and Shadows: A
Paranormal Anthology.
3. What is your
preferred writing genre?
Historical fiction
4. And preferred
reading genre?
I am a literary
omnivore, but my favorites are biography, history, and historical fiction. I
also have a fond spot for the classics. Fantasy and Steampunk have really
strong historical components, with the world-building, etc., which is why I
think I enjoy it. I'm a sucker for a good map. Maps are graphic history.
5. What are your top 3
favorite books?
That's like asking
who's your favorite child. The book that has had the most impact on me in
recent years is Shadow of the Last Men by J.M. Salyards, recently the
CYGNUS winner for science fiction.
6. Do you have any
particular writing habits?
I seem to do my best
writing late at night, I think because my imagination has more room to maneuver
in my brain. Traffic is much lighter. I also tend to write a lot, then delete
at least half, then compress that into as succinct a text as possible.
7. Do you have a
playlist that you created while writing your story?
No. I usually need the
quiet so I don't get distracted. When I do listen to music, I listen to The
Writer's Trance, Orson Scott Card's writing music on Pandora. Lots of emotive
music without the distraction of lyrics.
8. Panster or plotter?
I used to be a
pantser, which is how I made up my first million words of really bad writing.
Now, I'm more a plotter, which makes a more finely crafted story. I believe in
allowing a character to reveal themselves as the story evolves, which in its
turn helps the plot itself to evolve. As they say, even the best battle plans
mean nothing once the shooting starts. The same goes for writing. An author
needs to be flexible enough to reevaluate and restructure their outline as they
go, but having a general direction to travel and a goal to reach really helps.
Also, plotters really are pantsers at heart. They just do it in a lot fewer
words.
9. Advice for writers?
Follow your passion.
Let your characters live you, and they will become real to your readers. Never
stop learning. Every author deserves a good editor. If you find yourself
telling others, "You just don't get it," you need to ask yourself
what you can do to change it. The responsibility of communication is yours, not
the reader's.
10. What's up next for
you?
Gosh. Here's a partial
list: my historical fiction I've sworn to finish this year; develop Tropic of
Cancer story into a full-length Steampunk novel; a long-nurtured sci-fantasy
that I've finally muddled out. I'm ready to start outlining that as well.
Neve Talbot's Favorite Things
Quote:
"You can never
get enough of what you don’t need, because what you don’t need won’t satisfy
you.” —Dallin H. Oaks
TV show:
Don't have one. Inordinately fond of
the BBC, though, from murder mysteries to costume dramas to Dr. Who.
Comic book characters:
Don't have one. I don't like comic
books, as a general rule, because they objectify women and glorify violence,
often both at once.
Movie-book:
Are we meant to choose
a book made into a movie? or one or the other? Favorite book made into a movie,
if your'e going by the number of versions I've watched, is Pride and Prejudice,
hands down. That said, there are a lot of great more contemporary
books-to-film, like The Help, The Color Purple, etc. Harry Potter hasn't done a
terrible job either.
Candy bar:
Ferrero Rocher.
Place visited:
Never traveled much,
unfortunately. I would LOVE to spend at least a year in the UK, just living,
and another in Europe. I have a huge list of places I'd like to go.
Restaurant:
Any place with tablecloths
and cloth napkins.
Island:
Bali
has always intrigued me, although I've never been there.
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00SZ1ORE6
FACEBOOK BOOK TOUR LINK:
About Xchyler Publishing
And their books:
Tour Schedule:
February 22:
Book 1:
A Princess of Jasoom by J. Aurel Guay
February 23:
Book 2:
Winged Hope by Megan Oliphant
February 23:
Book 3:
The Van Tassel Legacy by Jay Barnson
February 24:
Book 4:
Invested Charm M. Irish Gardner
February 25:
Book 5:
Payoff for Air Pirate Pete by D.
Lee Jortner
February 26:
Book 6:
Rise of the House of Usher by J.R.
Potter
February 26:
Book 7:
The Silver Scams by M. K. Wiseman
February 27:
Book 8:
Nautilus Redux by Scott E. Tarbet
February 27:
Book 9:
Mr. Thornton by Scott William
Taylor
February 28:
Book 10:
West End by Neve Talbot
