P.L. Stuart
P.L. Stuart is a Canadian high fantasy author, of Ghanaian and Barbadian descent. He lives in picturesque Chatham, Ontario, with his beautiful wife Debbie, who is his business partner in authropreneurship. A Drowned Kingdom is the first novel in The Drowned Kingdom Saga. P.L. holds a Degree in English, with a specialization in Medieval Literature and a Minor in History from York University in Toronto, Canada.
Twitter: @plstuartwrites
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
Being a writer is my footloose and fancy-free mode. It's my happy place. It's my favourite part of the entire process of being an author. I can write what I want, how I want it, as much or as little as I desire. I don't need to concern myself with details such as dangling participles, spelling or punctuation, or adhering to word counts. I don't need to worry about which category to place my book in on Amazon, how much it should cost, or cover design. I just write, and have fun. Being a writer, for me, is the creative side, the uninhibited side, of being an author. Nothing can happen unless you write, and you can't become an author unless you're a writer first. But you can be a writer, and never publish your work.
I have come to look at authorship as the business part of writing. Authorship is the finished product. It's all about everything you do to make sure you have published a book. I still find it curious, to a certain degree, that so much more is involved in becoming an author than simply being a writer. Editing, marketing, pricing, social media presence, blog tours, award contests, reviews, and a dozen other things one needs to worry about when one has a book out in the wild, and have aspirations for your work to sell.
Honestly, I feel I have to compartmentalize to shift gears between writing and authorship. I very much am maniacal and binge-write for months, where I do not focus much on those other aspects of authorship. You can't just abandon those things completely - they are too important. You have to write and do the rest at least somewhat simultaneously. But I do my best to focus mostly on writing, because the book needs to get completed. Then, once the final draft is off to editing, I switch gears to concentrate on the other elements of authorship.
If you could create a museum exhibition, what would be the theme?
Don't think it's a big surprise considering the title and story-line of my debut novel, A Drowned Kingdom, that I'd create a museum exhibition with an Atlantis theme. [Visit his blog for more on Atlantis]
I find the legend of Atlantis completely fascinating, as do others. Did Atlantis exist? What was it like? How did it sink? What was its location? Are there ruins to be found? Those are just some of the compelling questions surrounding the myth of Atlantis. I think visitors to the museum would be enthralled by exploring the possibilities surrounding Atlantis.
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
I love to listen to soundtracks, while I write. The soundtracks I listen to are from movie and television shows, that are predominantly in the fantasy / sci-fi, or historical fiction genres, that are my favourite types of things to watch on screen. I typically listen to a specific type of music or soundtrack that best matches my mood when I'm writing, or matches the particular scene I am writing. For example, to put me in the mood to write a stirring battle scene, I may listen to the soundtrack of Gladiator.
If the scene is more about political intrigue, I may listen to the Game of Thrones soundtrack. I find this can really be motivating, and put me in the right frame of mind to address writing a challenging passage or chapter. It really gets me stoked!
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
l do my absolute best not to DNF (Did Not Finish) books. I agree that not all books are for all readers, and liking a book is totally a matter of subjectivity. Long before I became a published author, I marveled at the accomplishment of successfully completing a book. That accomplishment, I believe, is worthy of praise itself, regardless of if the book is my taste. Therefore, I do my utmost to give every book as much of a chance as possible, by reading it to the final word. It has been the rare book I have so disliked that I have not finished it. I have read books that I had not particularly cared for initially. More than half-way through, I wanted to give up. Then miraculously, I began to really enjoy them. So I think that every book deserves a chance, and the reader could be pleasantly surprised if they stick it out until the finish line.
Favorite non-reading activity?
For sure, my favourite non-reading activity is spending quality time with my lovely wife, Debbie. Debbie is also my business partner in the authropreneurial adventure we have embarked on. She is incredibly talented and savvy with the marketing side, and keeps us organized. More often than not these days, when we are off work (regular jobs) together, much of our time is spent on our authorpreneurial work. That said, as long as I'm in the same house as her, I'm happy. Yet, ideally, she and I are on vacation, especially in our second home of Barbados, lounging on the beach. But any dedicated time with her, regardless of venue, is fantastic.
