Featured Author: A.R. Williams

Welcome Today's Featured Author 

A.R. Williams!!!

The Camellia Resistance

by A.R. Williams

The Camellias is a trilogy set in the New Republic of America. It all
starts with Willow Carlyle, a committed employee of the Ministry of
Health. When she gives into temptation in the fall of 2044, she is
completely unprepared for the consequences. Unemployed and isolated,
Willow struggles to make sense of her sudden downfall. An encounter with
a member of the Camellias, a resistance group living outside the bounds
of Ministry-approved regulation, immerses her in a world she didn't know
existed. As Willow learns more about her personal history, she uncovers
a secret that rocks the Ministry of Health to its core.
 

About A.R. Williams:

From her first short story, written at the age of nine, Ms. Williams has
been fascinated by the power of the written word. She holds a MA in
Creative Writing from the University of Lancaster and lives in
Washington D.C. with her dog, Lily.
website - http://entropy.wordpress.com


 Interview With A.R. Williams::

1. Can you tell us a little about your books?

One reviewer called the first book, The Camellia Resistance, a combination of X Men, The Hunger Games, and 50 Shades of Grey... In other words, adult dystopia with a touch of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. 

 

2. When did you know you wanted to write a book?

Probably from adolescence, though I don't remember a time when I didn't write. I've always been an avid reader, and somewhere in adolescence that turned into a challenge for me: could I do it too? Could I create a world as complete as Peter S. Beagle? Could I sketch a character as deftly as Jane Austen? Could I use language with the economy of Arundhati Roy?

I'm not sure I've answered that question to my own satisfaction just yet...

3. What inspires you to write?

At the core, I'm not sure where the drive to write comes from. It is kind of a crazy endeavor to take on, all things considered.

On a more mundane level, I'm inspired by music and TED talks and playing the "take the idea to its full and logical conclusion" game, which is what my Dad made me do as a kid when I would come up with some crazy scheme for eating ice cream for every meal. So these ideas get bandied about in the press or in politics, and I get caught on "what if..." What if we took that political notion to its full and logical conclusion? What would that look like?

4. Do you ever experience writer's block?

Yes. Writer's block blows. There are two possible solutions for me: one, don't push it. Just gather inspiration by reading anything you can get your hands on, discovering new music, and obsessing about TED. The other is to settle myself in the middle of what I'm working on and start small. Minor tweaks can grow into major additions. Just depends on where I am in the writing process and how much time I've got before the tyranny of the deadline sets in.

5. Do you work with an outline, or just write?

I have a vague outline, but I tend to write anchor scenes –the scenes that I can visualize with great sensory detail – and then fill in the gaps between them. 

 

6. Do you have a favorite spot to write?

I recently bought a house and I've got a little bedroom set aside for writing. There is a comfortable chair and ottoman, my desk with dual screens (an invaluable set up for editing) and a bookshelf with my books on writing crowding the shelves. It isn't fixed up yet: I only just got the insane asylum wall paper pulled down and I haven't washed the walls or repainted just yet. But knowing that it is mine is straight up delicious.

7. What do you do when you are not writing?

Think about writing. I'm pretty obsessed. In my day job, I'm an editor, so I'm usually thinking about words and making the biggest impact possible with the language.

In practical terms, there is also walking my dog Lily. She's a 14 year old Shiba Inu, and she claims a fair bit of attention for herself. I used to sew a lot more for stress-relief, but there hasn't been the time lately. 

 

8. What is your all-time favorite book?

Do I have to pick just one? It's a toss-up between Beauty, by Robin McKinley and The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. 

 

9. What writing projects are you currently working on?

I'm headed towards a November publication date the second book in the Camellia trilogy, The Camellia Reckoning. A couple more pages of edits and then it is on to proof copies in order to find every stray comma and typing error. I'm sure there will be plenty of those to go around...