Today we welcome C.M. Simpson to Promote Me Please to answer five questions about Dreams of the
Serpent .
Q.I. Serpents
appear in the mythologies of numerous cultures. What does the one in Dreams of the Serpent symbolise?
A.1. An alien race.
Q.2. Tell us
about the protagonist of Dreams of the
Serpent.
A.2. The protagonist has been sent to broker a peace with an alien race,
but doesn’t want to stay there. She has dreams, and must face a difficult
choice to fulfil her company obligations or do what she most wants. She is
strong-willed and determined, and not some damsel waiting for rescue.
Q.3. Do you
deliberately use themes in your writing, or do you find they insert themselves?
A.3. I never deliberately choose a theme, but I always find them, either
as I write, or when I’m editing. It’s funny how the subconscious works.
Q.4. What do
you enjoy most about writing? Plot, character, theme or style?
A.4. Story. I like the story, so I guess I like the plot, but plot alone
isn’t story, you need characters to make to it live. Theme and style are just
elements that carry the story and portray character, but plot and character are
the story itself, and those are my favourite parts.
Q.5. Did you
write Dreams of the Serpent in
response to a particular idea or incident? If so, what was it?
A.5 If I recall correctly, I used an Excel spreadsheet listing parts of
titles to randomly roll the first and second half of a title, and I wrote from
there. Reading back over it, I see it again has a theme of workplace loyalty,
dreams and choices, and that may have been because I was coming to a crossroads
in life, where I had finished one part of the journey (my degree), and had to
choose the next trail to follow. Whatever the influence was, I didn’t
consciously choose to put it in the story.
The direct url to this interview is https://tinyurl.com/serpdream
