Online Friends and Writers – Dionne Lister

Hey readers and friends, today I'd like to introduce Dionne Lister to you, writer, editor, and fellow Aussie. I met Dionne on twitter and my xman-psychic senses started to tingle, this woman's freakin' awesome! This is what you'll find on her bio: Hi, I'm a writer from Sydney. I love writing and reading and entertaining people with my stories. I write web copy, articles, suspenseful short stories and my blog posts try to be funny. I've also released an action packed fantasy/adventure novel. As my tag on twitter says, “I love sharing my stories but I wish they wouldn’t keep me awake at night.”

Mmmm … I believe we can add time traveller, shapeshifter, talented artist, community builder, generous supporter of writers and friends, and dragon wrangler. Enough from me. ;)

Please tell us why you love writing, and sell your book/yourself to us.

I’ve always loved reading and writing. I love it as an escape. When I write I am totally living within the world I have created in my mind, to the point that, when I read it back I wonder where it actually came from. My perception of time changes and writing for 2 hours can feel like 30 minutes.

The writing process is actually the easiest in producing a book. The editing is hard work and the promotion even harder. I think without writing, even though I dabble in art, I would lose a very big piece of myself, one that would leave me feeling very empty.

My first book, Shadows of the Realm, is fantasy but deals with issues such as coming of age and building confidence in yourself, as well as the familiar good v’s evil. There are dragons, and animals are some of the main characters. There’s also a bit of horror thrown in for good measure (only a chapter or so)—I think that was my Stephen King influence coming out. It’s fast paced with lots of stuff going on to keep people reading. It’s been edited to death (in a good way) and the cover is so awesome—I am in awe of Robert Baird, the Sydney artist who did it for me.

If you could travel back in time and talk to yourself, what age would you be and what would you say?

I would go back to when I was 8 or 9. I had a really hard time at school and only 2 friends. I would tell myself that the kids who teased me had no idea what they were talking about and that I was just as good as everyone else. I would say, “Just wait till you grow up, you’ll find people who get you and appreciate you for who you are and the rest aren’t worth thinking about.”

If you had the opportunity to talk to high school students, what would you talk about and why?

Hmm, that’s hard because they don’t listen much to advice, so I don’t know if any of what I’d say would sink in—I remember being a teenager lol. I think I’d say, I know some of you think it’s boring to study but having no money and staying in a crap job because you’re desperate isn’t fun either, and it lasts a lot longer than school ever will.

Can you share a defining moment in your life?

The day I saw the online course for the creative writing degree I’m doing. Within 6 months of starting it, I had changed jobs and have never looked back. It has been a real turning point in my life.

What's on your bucket list that would surprise your family and friends?

I don’t have a bucket list, how boring is that? I have goals but they’re things that wouldn’t surprise anyone—like becoming a best-selling author with people actually asking me to sign a book for them (preferably one I’d written lol).

And, because we love them, do you have a ghost/supernatural story to share? Sort of. When I was 4 months pregnant with my second child, my first was only 12 months old. My 58 year old auntie had been very sick. It had happened suddenly. Anyway, my parents came over to tell me she had died that morning and I was devastated. After they left, my 12 month old son went to his room and came back with a small plush Snoopy toy. This Snoopy had originally been given to my grandfather by my deceased aunt, and when my grandparents died she gave it to me for my kids. My son had never shown an interest in this toy before. I have always wondered if it was my aunt saying goodbye.

Do you believe dragons are real?

Hmm, in my mind they are ;).

Simon says: I asked because I see dragons the same way that I see angels, and I was hoping for some company in the padded room :).

Where's Dionne?

I’m a Sydneysider who has a lot going on right now. I have two children, 4 and 5 years old, I work 3 days a week doing copy (writing) jobs, I do uni, play Oztag, touch football and do life drawing once a week. I think I’m going insane because I’ve taken too much on (or maybe I was already crazy), but I like to be busy. Promoting the book is also taking a lot of my time and I’ve convinced four book stores in Sydney to have a look, I’m even thinking of getting posters done so I’m very excited.

I’m hoping to start my second book in the Circle of Talia series after the next Session of uni finishes, in about October, as I’ve already had some inspiring feedback from the first book, Shadows of the Realm. It’s hard to be motivated when you’re not sure if you’re on the right track, but the awesome readers who have given it a go, have had wonderful things to say, so I’m keen to get on with the next one. Oh, and I also edit other people’s work for a living, I’ve recently finished Tonya Cannariato’s Dust to Blood (Red Slaves) so if you’re an indie author, check out my website for info. www.dionnelisterwriter.wordpress.com

I’d just like to thank you, Simon (a fellow Awesome Aussie), for inviting me to your space, I’ve really enjoyed my visit, and thanks to everyone who has taken the time to get to know me a little here.

Dionne, thanks for being a great guest. Readers and friends, please visit Dionne's website, follow her on twitter , friend her on Facebook, and say hi :). The dragon will bring you luck ;). You can also listen to Dionne on her Tweep Nation podcast, it's loosely based on twitter, a little crazy, a lot of fun, and for adults. I listened to an interview today and it's a great platform to connect with authors. Outstanding! 

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Interview with Brenna Yovanoff

I read The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff last week and I’m still thinking about it; it was that bloody good! It’s about ugly things, love, friendship, courage, and secrets. The Replacement debuted at #10 on the New York Times children’s list, and is one of the best books I’ve read this year.

The Replacement
Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world.
Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with an oddly intriguing girl named Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Brenna is one of the Merry Sisters of Fate, and I’ve enjoyed her short fiction for a while now. Her energy is incredible, and her writing has always affected me: I become the story, I’m empathic to the emotion, I love and loath her characters and, ‘I’d like to write like Brenna.’ She’s become an online mentor, and I squealed like a wild pig in a crocodile’s mouth when she let me interview her.

1) What was it about The Replacement that made you think, this is the one, this is the one I want to see published?

I wish I had a better answer to this, but I'm honestly not sure. I just had a feeling that this was The One and I needed to send it out into the world. I knew that agents and editors had been talking about wanting more YA fantasy told from a male point of view, and I felt like maybe I had what they were looking for.

2) I've noticed love is a recurring theme in YA, what's being in love like for you?

I think that love is a recurring YA theme precisely because when we experience it in adolescence, it's very new and very raw. There's a lot of uncertainty and confusion surrounding it and it can be very difficult to navigate. For me, being in love now is very different. There's a much greater sense of trust and security—it doesn't come with such an element of risk, partly because I know myself much better.

3) This, from your website, surprised me - "I'm bad at dancing, making decisions, and inspiring confidence as an authority figure. I suspect this is because I am short, and also terrible at sounding as though I have any idea what I'm talking about." And yet your writing is powerful, eloquent, and seductive. What do you think prevents these traits from manifesting in your personality and life?

Thanks for the wonderful compliment, Simon! I do think that one of the great things about writing is being able to tap into characteristics one might not exhibit in one's daily life. I'm a chronic second-guesser, and I think this is because whenever I look at something, even if it's pretty straightforward, I see a lot of possibilities. This trait is better for—say—writing, than it is for deciding on which route to take in a crowded city.

4) If you had the opportunity to talk to young Brenna, what age would you be, and what would you say?

I would probably talk to Brenna at fourteen and tell her to stop worrying so much about how to socialize because no one else has any idea what's going on either, and those heavy bangs are really not a good idea, and please, please try harder at Algebra, because in two years you'll find out that you are actually really good at Basic Physics, but you won't be able to move on to the advanced class because of your woeful knowledge of algebra.

5) Your presence online is comforting, I already consider you a mentor, and I believe you'll become a role model for readers, writers, and young people. Are you ready for this, and is this 'fame' something you've dreamed about it?

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Simon! Personally, I don't know if mentoring is something people are ever really ready for. I think people find themselves in that position, either voluntarily or by chance, and then they get to see if they're cut out for it—so if mentoring turns out to be a part of all this, I'll have to see how it plays out! As far as fame goes, I'll be honest, I've never really dreamed about it. When I was little, I really hated being the center of attention, and even now, if I'm given a choice, I prefer to be an observer rather than a participant. So I don't think much about being famous, just about writing stories that people want to read.

6) Do you think the fantasy worlds that writers create only exist in their imaginations or are they created from something real? Are the fangs, fur, and fey real?

While I'm definitely not a literalist about fantasy creatures, I do think there's something to the idea that we as a species are driven to create them as expressions of our own cultural fears or desires. We invent creatures who transform from human beings into animal counterparts, or who live forever and never age or get sick. I think these things speak clearly to ideas about death and self-control. They might not be real, but they seem to be very effective metaphors for a lot of things that are.

7) Zombies are roaming the streets and your critique partners have been infected. Do you:
a) Blast them?
b) Keep them as pets and train them to be vegans?
c) Let them bite you so you can still be friends?
d) Another option?

Well, you're talking about Tess and Maggie here, so I would absolutely need to find a cure! Even if I could keep them as pets, I'm pretty sure they'd be no good to me as either writers or critique partners, and if it's the zombie apocalypse, I expect to be holed up for quite a while and I'm definitely going to need them to keep writing new stories for me to read!

Thanks for having me, Simon!

Isn’t she cool!

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