Talking with Author Christine London

Why I Write Contemporary?

So often those of us who have been called to spend hours in front of that blank glowing screen are asked why. When we could be enjoying a film, a barbeque, our friends or just washing our socks, we toil over plot and setting. Define it as a calling, an addiction, a penchant or insanity; those who write popular fiction have something deep inside them the normal human being does not—characters. Yes…with an ‘s’. Maybe we grew up with a greater than average curiosity about what makes people tick, or in the case of we romance writers, a softer heart that believes nothing is more powerful than love. Whatever it is we few intrepid souls park ourselves in front of a computer and/or carry a composition book and pen wherever we go because not to do so would impoverish our world…and yours.

The ineffable “they” say that most people want to write a book someday. It is the few that actually make it to those two little words ‘the end’ and fewer who manage to navigate the soul-blistering world of publishing. The waiting, the rejection, the learning curve are not for sissies.

Most writers will tell you that there are certain types of stories that attract them. In my case, I write to uplift, inspire, educate and entertain-- a tall order I take it with all seriousness. Like most art forms, literature falls under the influence of trends. Just as television seems to be inundated with crime investigation programs, popular fiction is flooded with revenge thrillers, vampires and fantasy.

Maybe it is our global recession that steers people to escape. Maybe we are drawn to the unknown, the unfeasible or downright unbelievable. Whatever the case, there has been and always will be the deep seeded need for people to experience the world through others eyes.

I write Contemporary.

I write contemporary because that’s what has always attracted me. Before I started to write fiction I was a big self-help and psychology reader. My major in college focused on the human condition. Even when I used to watch a daytime soap, I chose All My Children because it fit the lunch hour timeslot and it did NOT have ghosts, vampires or anything out of the contemporary reality (if you can call a soap 'reality’...lol)

People are endlessly fascinating to me, as is setting. I love to travel and use my experiences to research new locations and character(s). Modern day dilemmas and locales are more accessible and relatable. Not that basic human interest has changed over the generations. A good read is a good read no matter what century it is set because of this unchangeable human nature. Yet, I find modern life very exciting and think we are all fortunate to be alive in this amazing time of change and burgeoning knowledge.  How do we deal with this avalanche of knowledge and choice in our present day? Fascinating stuff.

Sub Genre?? The book I just contracted with MuseItHot Publishing is a romantic suspense. (Shadows Steal The Light- Feb 2011) It is not easy to keep track of all the details that make a suspense, a really fast paced and fun read. It was a challenge in the writing---yet at the end of the day it turned out amazing. My Coast Guard rescue at sea, gone wrong book, Against The Current (Phaze Books at Phaze.com) also was exciting to construct with its realistic challenges and the suspense inherent in how these brave men and women handle emergency situations.

Exotic setting?? Most of my works take place, at least partially, in the UK. It has been a home away from home ever since I fell in love with it during a year of University spent abroad in London. Scotland feels strangely familiar as though I have lived there before or belong there. So I write about these people and their beautiful corner of the world. I have their idioms and speech patterns ingrained in my internal ear putting me in a unique position---I can write Brits so Americans can understand them. I imbed explanations of odd idiom or cultural stuff within the fabric of the story so Americans are not left scratching their heads. Yet when I do book signing I often have readers surprised to find that I am not British....a real compliment.

My most recent e-book release through Awe Struck Publishing is set on a beautiful Island off the coast of Naples, Italy. I have holidayed there twice and simply love it. It is a real joy to be able to bring wonderful settings to readers that they may never have a chance to visit. Or maybe they will do because of the sense of character my settings take on. :) Leap Of Faith is a great vicarious vacation.

Guess you can extrapolate that I don't plan any ghosts or vampires in my work anytime soon though I have learned to never say never. As a former Kindergarten teacher, most people would not have expected me to turn spicy romance author, so who knows?? It is the truth in the telling that sets a story above others. A hundred years from now we in the contemporary vein will be sought out as accurate reflections of a time in history when change was the only thing certain and men and women met the challenge with amazing resiliency and courage. That is the stuff of world building to know that eyes unborn will read and marvel. The readers of today will always appreciate something they can sink their teeth into as familiar, yet inspiring because the characters handled their situation in creative ways that uplift, educate, entertain. Hmmm…think I just may have hit on something here.

Warm Regards,

Christine London

www.christinelondon.com

"London Blog" at Blogspot: http://christinelondon.blogspot.com/
My Space (and Blog there): http://www.myspace.com/christine_london
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=697467403&ref=profile   and  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-London/71009389201

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/ChristineLondon

Phaze Books:  http://phaze.com/

Awe Struck Publishing:  http://www.awe-struck.net/index.html

MuseItHot:  http://museithot.blogspot.com/