#17 with a Bullet: 20 Years Later Author Emma Newman

Emma Newman

When I was a kid, my mom was a reporter at the local daily paper in the small Central Texas town where I grew up. Back then, they were still using hot lead to set the type of the newspaper. So, given the fact that the vast majority of printing today is digital from PDF files, more technological change has taken place in the design/printing field in the last 15 years than in previous hundred . . . and significantly more than in the 400 years before that.

At the same time, though, to point out the obvious, the Internet has changed the nature/scope of communication to the same degree. When Dystopia Press first got on Twitter, we got to know Emma Newman as she was our 17th follower. And, as well, she was one of the first people to submit  a manuscript to us. Given that she’s based out of the UK (and we’re in Texas), it’s kudos all around to the Internet as her YA post-apocalyptic novel 20 Years Later will be the first title released by Dystopia Press.

Recently, Emma shared some thoughts her thoughts on books, writing, and the writing life.

How/when did your interest in writing develop?

It’s always been there, my grandmother has told me that I was writing stories at age 4. Now that I’m having a book published, it’s one of her favourite memories!

I wrote constantly throughout my childhood, in particular during my math classes . . .  it was as natural as speaking. At certain points, it was a lot easier than speaking, I can tell you.

What books/authors were most influential on you?

As a child, Enid Blyton, then Nicholas Fisk. His book Trillions was the first ever sci-fi novel I discovered and it opened a whole new world for me. Thank you Camborne public library!

In my teens H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury were my favourites, along with Isaac Asimov. I recall an English teacher despairing of my avid reading being “wasted” on books that weren’t the classics. I told him that The Time Machine was a classic and wasn’t just about time-travel and he laughed. I am grateful to him for pointing me in the direction of some gems, and to a later English teacher who let me write about the works of H.G. Wells for my extended exam essay.

Then I discovered John Wyndham and Alfred Bester, in particular Day of the Triffids and The Demolished Man respectively. I read very widely now, across all genres (actually, I don’t read romance novels) but keep coming back to speculative fiction. I read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time (terribly late) last year and it blew me away. Ray Bradbury is my all time writing hero.

What led you to write 20 Years Later?

The impetus to tell a story set in post-apocalyptic London was very different to writing it down—it took years to get from one to the other, with a strange route between the two. But the trigger for actually writing the book happened on holiday in France.

I woke up one morning and a man was speaking in my head. I know that sounds bizarre, but I listened (having realised it was in my imagination) and heard him telling me the beginning of 20 Years Later. I ran downstairs in my dressing gown, fired up the computer and about half an hour later I had written the prologue. The book has changed a great deal since its first draft, but the prologue has changed very little indeed.

What was the process of writing 20 Years Later?

After carrying the story inside me for years, I finally had a way to tell it and the first draft poured out in 26 days. It was only the first draft, and I made a thousand mistakes, from ending the book a few chapters too soon to writing it from the wrong point of view, but it was a start. There was a long process of revision afterwards, as I learnt more and more about how to write a book. It was a joyful time though, a delicious madness. A terrifying amount of tea was consumed throughout.

So what’s a typical day in your life as a writer?

Imagine a long room containing lots of wobbly sticks and plates spinning on them. As I dart from stick to stick, keeping the plates steady, little ghosts of characters fly around me, trying to pull me away to listen to their stories and write them down.

In all seriousness, it’s a pretty crazy life. I write a lot—commercial copywriting (yawn) to pay the bills, lots of short stories and there’s always a novel on the go. I’m also an audiobook narrator, so if I have a project in the works, I spend several hours a day recording and editing on top of that. I work anywhere between 11-12 hours a day, sometimes more if a story won’t let me go, and you know what? I love it. Life is great.

What are your upcoming projects?

Once I have finished polishing books 2 and 3 of the 20 Years Later series, my next novels will be set in a world I accidentally created in serialised fiction on my blog last year. It’s quirky urban fantasy and very British, so I’m told. I’m really excited about it. Alongside that, I’ll be building up a collection of short stories to do a second volume of the From Dark Places anthology and there are many audiobook projects in the pipeline. There’s a third trilogy that’s starting to bubble away on my back stove too, but I have to get these other tales out into the world first.

One thing is for certain: I won’t be bored.

Emma Newman’s 20 Years Later will be available as an ebook in May 2011 with the hardback edition following in July 2011. Read/download a PDF of the first five chapters here or preview it on Issuu. Stay up with all the latest 20 Years Later news by becoming a fan on Facebook and/or reading Emma’s blog Post-Apocalyptic Publishing.

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