Welcome Lyrical Press author, Daisy Banks!

Welcome to my site, Daisy! Daisy is a writer totally in love with what she does and also a fellow Brit so I am really happy to be able to offer her a couple of days open chat with my readers. Shall we start the interview??

1) Who is your favorite author and why?

I have to say Anne Rice. There are many other authors I love and enjoy in the fantasy, mythological, romantic, erotic and mystery genres but Anne Rice is great, a mistress of the craft. Her explorations of sexuality are very interesting and all her stories weave a magic spell for the reader. I’m looking forward to reading her latest book. I’ll hopefully be able to get it soon.

2) When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Hmm. An interesting question, Rachel

I’ve told stories since before I could write. My family has an old reel to reel tape machine, a museum piece really, and has tapes of my first stories. I was about four when they were recorded. Later I told stories to my friends and class mates and also wrote them in school, later still I told stories to the children I taught after I qualified as a teacher. When my own children were born I made up stories for them too. And then for some years the stories were shackled by the usual day to day life I lived.

Things changed after a rather harrowing experience working in a new building which made people ill, myself included. Trying to deal with the symptoms of an unpleasant illness which seemed to have no understandable cause, along with all the sorrow and sadness of being forced to leave a job I enjoyed meant this was a very difficult time in my life, but I also had the luxury of time, lots of it and I began to learn to write. My learning journey continues.

3) Describe your writing space?

The physical space is small, it’s the mind space which is important and in my mind there are no boundaries. My only real wish is for a more comfortable seat, LOL. I travel between worlds, between earthly eras and flip from one character’s mind to another to try to tell their story.

Presently I write on an aging laptop, it’s so well used the letters have worn off some of the keys, I’m sure other people who write will recognize this problem. I prepare scenes in my mind as I do the daily activities. I often get flashes of scenes come to mind when I am driving, now that can be really distracting. Worse still is if the characters make me laugh. I do know I have worried other people in the store as I stand laughing by the onion counter and there seems to be no reason for it.

4) What are you reading now?

I read before I sleep most nights and right now I’m rereading an old favorite. I had a copy of this long ago, but it was lost in one of my home moves and now I have rediscovered it. The Sunne in Splendour. By Sharron Pennman. I love the story; it’s rather like being reunited with an old friend. The next book I want to get is the Ghost Inside, by Jj Keller.

5) How many books have your written? Which is your favorite?

Writing is a learning experience and one which is full of joy, fun and sometimes needs sheer determination. It can also be difficult, painful and sad. In one sense I think it’s quite fun readers can actually track my development from the beginning when I simply had fun with words through to my latest where I had some fun but also worked hard to give readers the best possible story I could.

I enjoy the stories where I can let my imagination fly. My favorite is the one which will come out with Lyrical in July this year, Timeless. The story grew and developed and changed as I developed as a writer, and with the support of a great editor I discovered I had a really good story. I love the lead characters and found them explosive together. They have a very special kind of passion. I am hoping readers will enjoy them too.

6) What comes first, plot or characters?

Images in my mind often start a story. I see a scene, from there I find the characters and from there the interactions between them. Why is the guy in chains? Why is he so close to the fire? Why is the woman sweating with him as she questions him? The answers build the story.

I’ve heard if you don’t plot your characters out they are boring but I’m not sure I believe that. All writers work in their own way, each finds the route which leads them to tell the story they want to, I don’ think there is a set method which will work for everyone.

7) Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

I think everyone gets a little of that from time to time. If I am forced to deal with everyday things I find hard, things like illness, financial problems, worry over loved ones, these are the things which tend to rob me of stories and leave me rather wrung out. But that’s pretty much the same for most people I imagine.

My main love at this time in my life, is writing, it breathes life in to me, but sometimes other things come along and reduce my energy as a person and I have to give my concentration to those things. I’ve been rather unwell in the last year and I’m at home full time, rather difficult in one sense but liberating in another.

There have been times when I get to a point in a story and it takes me a while to work out where the next step will be, but usually the characters race me through. I think if that doesn’t happen I know I’ve got something wrong for them, they aren’t happy or enjoying wallowing in their sorrow, as sometimes they should. So then I go back and rip, slash and rewrite until they are happy. I like happy endings mostly, people have a tough enough time in many ways as they live their lives, and I think if they’ve been kind enough to devote some time to reading one of my stories I should give them a bit of a cheerful boost if I can, or if not at least whisk them away to another world where the day to day grim can’t touch them.

8) What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

To have the time to write as much as I like, all day every day, is wonderful. I’ve been working this way for a little while and so far the charm hasn’t faded. I’ve two full novels almost ready for submission and two short stories too and have been able to begin improving my ‘on-line’ presence.

I also like some practical research and so involve myself in that on some days. This usually involves visits to museums, historical sites, places of magical repute, or all three if I’m really lucky.

One of the things I still try to enjoy is gardening but I must admit to being a sunshine kind of gardener at present, and very limited in what I can physically do. I try to find plants which will thrive with low maintenance. I love traveling but at present it’s unlikely I’ll be traveling far for the next year or so. I like Brighton. I love Brighton Pavilion. If you ever get the opportunity to visit I’d really recommend it.

The city of York is my favorite city in England. I adore it, I have been back several times and always it welcomes me like a dear friend. Partly my delight in it is due to its amorphous architecture where Roman, Medieval, Tudor, and Renaissance architecture play together and tease each other to show the finest they can.

I love the river there as it smoothes, green and mysterious as the orient, though the center of the city of York. Here lay the gateway to England for the Norsemen and seeing the artifacts discovered in the wonderful trading centre they made of the city are really enjoyable.

These are places I might get to see again this year if I am lucky. If I am very lucky I will be able to travel back to the northern isles or perhaps New York in the USA next year. Even luckier still I will return to New Orleans, which I loved with a passion. Or be able to make a journey to meet the dear friends I’ve made in the USA since I began to learn to write.

9) Tell us about your latest book?

My latest book is called is called Fiona’s Wish, it came out as part of the Irish Collection with Lyrical Press in March this year. The book has a lovely cover art, I used it as my screen saver for a while when I first got it. I think it’s scrumptious.

The story is my take on a very old legend, that of the Selkie, the sea folk who live part of their lives as seals and can, if they so wish, transform to human form for a set period of time. Selkie tales are all about appeasing sorrow, that’s a Selkie’s purpose and Ronan, my Selkie hero, does his very best to make, Fiona, the sad heroine of the story happy.

10) What’s next for you?

My next story, Timeless, to be published with Lyrical Press will be out in July this year. This is my second full length title to be published and I am very excited about the story, the first part of a trilogy.

I really like the heroine Sian, she’s a producer for music DVD’s and quite an interesting lady. Magnus, the hero of this story makes me sigh; he’s rather like an Edwardian gentleman, who’s decided to spend his life alone, due to his Were wolf affliction.

Sian changes all his preconceptions about himself and the world he lives in. The psychic connection they share is very strong and very passionate, a thing neither of them can fully control.

You see I think at heart I am a story teller, someone who loves to offer tales of romance, bravery, chivalry and daring, stories of magic, myth and mystery, and the interactions between lovers.

I don’t know if I have any of the blood of the Pagan word spinners of old, I can only offer the best I am able to at the time, stories I hope will make readers smile, laugh, weep or sigh. If that makes me a writer, then I am one, if it doesn’t, I remain a novice enjoying a learning experience I hope won’t to end.

Thanks for the chance to talk with you Rachel, best wishes to you and all the readers from Daisy Banks.

Bio:

Daisy Banks was born and raised in the Black Country, the one-time heart of engineering and manufacturing power driving the industrial revolution . She is proud to share the heritage of such a diverse group of people, who wore clogs which sparked on the blue cobbled streets, bent the metal to their will, and found their own answers to the challenges life throws at us all.

Daisy is married, with two sons, and enjoys travel. Her two favorite cities are York in England and New Orleans in the USA.

Daisy began writing to explore both the fantasy and historical genres. She has written short stories, novellas and two full length novels. She is passionate about history, which she taught for some years.

Author of: Fiona’s Wish A Matter of Some Scandal available from Lyrical Press

Forth coming Novel: Timeless available from Lyrical Press in July 2012

Author of: Witch’s Mark available from New Concepts Publishing

Website http://daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com

Fiona’s Wish

by

Daisy Banks

Only the ultimate sacrifice will save her timeless love.

Left shattered by her lover, Fiona Murray believes not one good man lives on this planet. She leaves civilization to work on a lonely isle off Ireland's coast.

When lonely Selkie Ronan hears Fiona's passionate call, he can't help but answer her. She is all he desires, and for her, he will leave all he's ever known--the deep blue sea. But Fate and the sea are fickle mistresses, and want him back. Will he find the strength to surrender all he is to be with Fiona?

And can Fiona, knowing her destiny without him, let him live the life he deserves?

Buy the book here.

Due out July 2012 with Lyrical Press

"Timeless”

by Daisy Banks

Their love will be eternal, the legend says...if they survive.

Lonely and forced into a life of secrecy, four hundred-year-old Magnus finds Sian--the sexy music film producer who's working in his house--tough to ignore.
As she resists his alter ego when he invades her dreams to seduce her, her innate powers astound him and his need only grows. In dreams or reality, he’s determined to make her his. She is meant for him alone.
Independent, hard-working Sian has hopes and plans for the future that include the stately house at Darnwell. Not its aloof owner. She's there to acquire the home for a video shoot, nothing more. By day, each layer she explores in Magnus's grand old home with him leads her deeper into love. But by night, he seduces her in her dreams, gives her ecstasy like she's never known. Then she learns his secret: Come the full moon, she is the only one who can control his wolf curse. First though, she has to survive it.

WARNING: Highly sensual with intense sexual encounters.

Thanks for being here, Daisy. Such a wonderful interview and also so nice to host a fellow UK writer! Daisy is waiting for your questions and comments... :)