Lorraine Mace: Getting to know ... JW Hicks @TriskeleBooks

What genre would you say your novels fall into, or do they defy classification?

I call it speculative fiction rather than sci-fi or fantasy, though it has leanings towards both.

What made you choose that genre?

Growing up I progressed from reading fairy tales to fantasy fiction. Immersed in highly imaginative literature as I was, what else could I write?

How long does it take you to write a book?

A first draft – months. To the final version – a year or more. To the final FINAL version? That’s debatable.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I rise early and write in the quiet hours when the house sleeps.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?

I don’t know, they just come, hover and haunt until I’m forced to start writing.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I’m a late starter. Though I made up stories as a child and wrote stories while I was teaching I didn’t start writing my first novel until I took early retirement.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I garden, read and listen to my collection of CDs.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

That I can lose myself in alien landscapes and actually become the characters I create. Writing such imaginative fiction allows me to live more than one life – I’ve mastered the art of travelling to alternate universes!

How many books have you written?

Seven

Which is your favourite and why?

I have two favourites, Rats because it is a much loved first, and Nataverra my work in progress.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

First I wanted to be a nurse like my mother, but couldn’t stand the si

ght of blood, then after helping out in a nearby primary school, I decided to train as a teacher.

What are you working on now?

Nataverra, a colony planet where illegal colonists must ally with the sentient indigenes to fight off an invasion.

Bio
JW Hicks, born and bred in South Wales, writes speculative fiction. Weaned on Grimm and Mary Norton she graduated to Heinlein, Dick and Cherryh. Her dystopian novel, Rats, published with the Triskele Books collective was published October 2014.