Genre Chick Interview: C. L. Holland

May’s Month of Writers continues!

Today I would like to introduce you to up-and-coming SF author C.L. Holland.

She doesn’t have an author photo. Or she’s wanted by Interpol. I haven’t quite figured out which yet. Oh, and she’s British…so her answers really *are* spelled correctly.

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Mac or PC?
CLH: PC (it’s the system that Techdad knows).

Coffee or Tea?
CLH: Coffee, there are so many different kinds and flavours I like. But unless it’s before ten in the morning it absolutely has to be decaff.

Travel the World or Travel Outer Space?
CLH: The world. There are so many things I’d love to see – the rock-cut architecture of Petra, the Maldives, the Alhambra, the Venice carnival, not to mention all the history scattered here in the UK.

Fantasy or Science Fiction?
CLH: I mostly read and write fantasy, although I do love space opera. When it comes to movies I’d pick science fiction every time. Fantasy movies rarely seem to come off well.

Music or Silence (while you write)?
CLH: Music, which can vary from Loreena McKennitt and Blackmore’s Night to Depeche Mode and (modern) Gary Numan. It all depends on my mood.

What weird food do you like?
CLH: Strawberries with black pepper. It doesn’t sound like it should work, but it does.

What is one of your most irrational fears?
CLH: That one day the world will wake up and say “Sorry, it’s all been a horrible mistake. You shouldn’t have sold any stories at all!”

Will you be watching the Royal Wedding? Why or why not?
CLH: I didn’t watch it, as we don’t watch TV at home, although I did listen on the radio.

How many novels/short stories/screenplays/poems/etc have you published?
CLH: 3 poems and 21 stories of varying lengths, with a handful of reprints. A lot of my stories are at Every Fiction, which is a great venue for flash fiction as there’s something new every day.

How much do you write every day?
CLH: Not nearly enough. I can get several pages done during my lunchbreak, but there are always distractions – other people, that new book I just bought…. I’m really bad at self-discipline.

How much do you WISH you could write every day?
CLH: On a working day I’d settle for 400-500 words. In an ideal world, at least 1000 words.

What are you working on now?
CLH: I’ve got a couple of fantasy short stories on the go at the moment, and a novel that will be in progress as soon as I find out what it’s about.

If you could write like one author, who would it be?
CLH: Sarah Monette. I wish I could write such distinctive character voices as she does, and the depth of her worldbuilding is astonishing.

If you could be one superhero, or have one superpower, who/what would it be?
CLH: While I’d love to be able to teleport, I suspect that would be really bad for my waistline. So I’m going to be boring and pick the ability to duplicate myself, so that I have time to get everything done.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?
CLH: Won Writers of the Future, which was completely unexpected. It was an amazing experience and I made some great new friends.

What’s the coolest thing you’re about to do?
CLH: I’m going to a writers’ summer school later this year. That’s cool in a writer-nerd kind of way, right?

Name three things on your List of Things to Do Before You Die.
CLH: Learn Old English
Learn to make mashed potato that doesn’t end up like wallpaper paste.
Publish a novel

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C.L. Holland is a British fantasy writer, when she’s not working in an office. Her works have appeared in publications such as 10Flash Quarterly, Bards and Sages Quarterly, and Writers of the Future Volume 25. She blogs at xanthalanari.livejournal.com.