Wednesday 1 May 2013

Simone Garbutt



Shah Fazli
Simone Garbutt, Welcome to our live Spotlight event, can you please introduce yourself at the start of this event, and tell us a little about the books you have written, before we ask you more questions? 










Simone Garbutt I'm Simone Garbutt, but I write under Simone Young. I've been writing for 22 years or so, I tend to write horror and thriller which is coloured by my education and interests. Most books are in the process though one was published for Halloween last year by Vamptasy Publising



Shah Fazli Please tell us a little about the one that was published for the Halloween?



Simone Garbutt It was called Red Eyes, it was a tale about a young student who was going through a lot when one night she gets a visit from her real father, a demon, and discovers that her murderous mind is from her father. after her mothers death she kills her father by tricking him. there's a little twist at the end



Shah Fazli Thank you Simone, why did you write this book, where did you get the idea from, is it the only book you have published so far?



Simone Garbutt It started as a short story and was meant to be part of an anthology however the publisher decided to publish it as a single piece. It is the only one so far, though I am working hard to get more finshed and ready for publication.



Simone Garbutt How the idea came about, well, I never have nightmares per say however when I do have dreams that others may view as nightmares I use them as a means to generate ideas.



Shah Fazli What are the challenges for you to start and finish a book, in terms of the story and your own personal or health problems, do you want to talk about it?



Simone Garbutt I'm fine about talking about it, I suffer from chronic paid due to EDS type 3 which means there are some day where even with the meds its hard work. Those day I don't write but usually I use my writing as a distraction.



Simone Garbutt I also have Chronic Insomnia, which I'm sure is due to my over active brain so I can be found writing at 3am while the hubbies at work.



Simone Garbutt Dyslexia is the biggest problem when it comes to writing as it means I have to do more proof reads and such before a book is anywhere near ready for a publisher



Shah Fazli Thank you Simone, what is important for you in a book, when you are writing or even reading, the story, style of writing, characters, settings, what, what do you concentrate on the most when writing?



Adrian Jones I would love to know which writers have influenced you the most and why ?



Simone Garbutt When writing I like to ensure continuity, I try my best not to jump to different POV's. which is one of my pet hates when reading. I like to grab people as soon as possible and pull them in to the world. I like to build the character slowly so that as a reader you're always left guessing. I love the old sound over sight that the old horror movies used to have an like to bring that forward.



Simone Garbutt Stephen Kind, Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Riches, Bram Stocker and Edger Alan Poe



Simone Garbutt Because they are accurate and scare the hell out of you Kind is King.



Shah Fazli Can you post a few lines from your book here so we can get a feeling of your writing please?



Simone Garbutt might do two, though the first ones a work in progress



Simone Garbutt just finding the right one



Adrian Jones Just one more question: Which is your fave Hollywood monster and why ?



Simone Garbutt Who else other than Dracula, I'm a huge vampire fan. I love demons to but Vamps are the best



Simone Garbutt This is from Second Life Series, Book One, Vengeance,
I grew restless and wanted to find the unusual Mr Rathbone and make him regret the day he left me for dead.
I was alone, I was confused and, most importantly, I was seriously angry. I knew he would run as soon as the sun set if nor before but I had to check to make sure he wasn’t hiding in his home somewhere.
I had to hunt first, to silence the painful burning at the back of my throat. I didn’t want to enter the town while consumed by the thirst that seemed to grip my entire body. It was ever present and incredibly, almost unbearably, painful.
Once the sun was hidden I exited my little cave and was daunted by the long walk to the cliff top field.
I stood in the mouth of the cave and I looked up considering jumping or climbing when without realising it I was climbing the cliff with my fingers sticking to the cliff face much like a spider sticking to a wall or ceiling and I could easily pull myself over the edge without much thought.
I was at the cliff top in less than a minute and saw a small herd of cows.
I quickly, instantly ran to one and grasped it tight, almost squeezing the life out of it. I found the part where the pulse was near the surface and bit hard, my teeth making the tell-tale twin holes in the beast’s neck. I drank the hot copper liquid until I could have no more and held the beast, waiting while my bite healed and the hair covered the new flesh.
With a full stomach I headed towards town, remembering to keep my pace slow as not to reveal my true nature.
Once in town I headed to a full tavern. All the seats were taken and a lot of people were standing up, all drinking their fill of ale and eating hearty food, no doubt, from the farmers nearby. I felt every one’s eyes on me, I almost checked to see if there was any evidence of my feeding on my clothes though I knew there wasn’t, I would smell it if there was.
I headed to the barkeep and ignored the eyes of the men and women around me. He saw me at the bar and came straight to me with a smile on his face, his eyes heading straight to my ample cleavage enhanced by the tight bodice of my dress ignoring a shout from a local that he wanted more ale.
He scanned my face, my angular jaw, my small nose and my almost pixie like look. I leant into the grimy wooden bar pushing my ample breasts up further in the constricting clothing. His lust stare ignited my thirst and I could smell the sweet salty ambrosia that ran through his veins. My mouth was instantly filled with saliva; I had to fight to hide my fangs and the urge to sink them in to his clean, warm pulsing neck. I licked my lips thinking of the salty velvety liquid under his skin, within my reach.



Simone Garbutt Just searching red eyes for a good section



Simone Garbutt This is from Red Eyes



Simone Garbutt I glanced down at my mother and finally saw the shame she had to live with. I, her daughter, was the result of a rape. It answered so many questions I’d had while I was growing up. I also realised at that point. My father, the red eyed visitor that stood in front of me knew more about my life and my horrific my deprived yearnings and activities than my own mother ever knew. He also seemed to be able to read me like a book. Was my depravity something I had inherited from my obviously demonic father?
I looked around the room and sensed that we were not alone. There was something that I couldn’t see. His eyes were trained, almost fixed on me. The cold metal table lay between us. He was watching me, waiting for me to do something. He watched every single move, my every gesture. Nothing but thoughts were hidden.
I suddenly became aware of an all too familiar scent. It was the sweet seductive scent of fear. The smell of the flight or fight response kicking in and adrenaline filling the veins, and an odour of sweat and body reactions.
That’s when I noticed the small woman knelt at his side. A young woman, around my age with curves that made me ache with jealousy and longing.
I had always wished my slender form betrayed my sex more. Often I was mistaken for a scruffy boy rather than a pretty girl.
I also ached to touch areas I knew would make the young hostage squirm in pleasure and others would cause such pain that she had never felt before and would beg for death. I could smell her fear over the salty stench of her unwashed sweaty body and odd yet seductive scent.
She wouldn’t look my way as I stalked towards her. something was drawing me unwillingly to her. , Her hair was dyed blond with her dark roots showing through. Her pedicured nails in need a filing. Her obvious fake tan was wearing off and betraying her naturally pale skin tone. Her makeup and perfume were long gone.
I crouched down at her side and ran my bony thumb along her cheek bone. Smelling the fear come off her in waves.
It only drew me in more.
Her dark brown eyes were concentrating on the blood covered floor. I could feel his eyes on me. I knew then that this was a gift from him, to see my true nature that I had hidden for so long. So very very long.



Simone Garbutt Adrian Jones honey you can ask me as many questions as you want



Shah Fazli What is your favourite genre of writing?



Sylvie Moonchild Hirst Do you ever read or write a character that you like so much you wish they could be a real friend?



Simone Garbutt Horror and crime, usually the bloodier and sick the better



Simone Garbutt The Main character in White Witch Saga, Twisted Coven, the first full length novel I wrote is a character I would love as a friend, other than that character I read Prob Temperance Brennen from Kathy Riches' book series and the Bones Series



Shah Fazli What are your readers saying about your writing, what do they like or even don't like about your writing, and what do you think about your readers good or bad comments?



Simone Garbutt Usually when I get feed back its usually good, the negative is the spelling and such but I have found a copy editor who is used to dealing with dyslexic and none English speakers who will help me. The positive is that I seem to be able to grab them early on in the book and keep them guessing. I usually take notice of what people say and as most of those who read my work know I am dyslexic they sometimes give me some wiggle room where errors are concerned but hopefully with this new copy editor it should eliminate those comments



Jamie Pearsall Having read some of your work I love what I've seen so far, do you have any writing 'rituals' you stick to - certain background music or such - that helps your writing?



Simone Garbutt oddly enough I generally always have a film on in the background. Usually something like Gothika, Uninvited, Unborn, Possession as it gives me noise without pulling my attention away from what I'm doing and I always have chocolate and Cola nearby.



Simone Garbutt And thank you



Margaret Pearsall Be very careful, this is Facebook remember, do not get sucked into people trying to gain access into your personal life



Simone Garbutt I will hun, don't worry, most of the questions are writing related and it's a one off. I usually keep a lot to myself that doesn't get said here or on my blog. Did the interview as I was involved in one for a friend and she is very careful. Anything to invasive and I wouldn't have answered it.



Margaret Pearsall That's ok then hunny x



Margaret Pearsall You should keep most things to yourself, a serious editor would not discuss things on Facebook xx



Simone Garbutt I generally do and my own page is not visible to everyone. A friend did an interview with him and she's super secretive. Most of what's on here is on my blog. It was an interview to put my writing out there a bit more and that's about it. I am super secretive about a lot of things and only a select few(4 people) know everything about me, the excerpts on here are samples ones been published and one is likely to change Shah is the owner of the spotlight page and is interviewing a lot of authors and asks writing related questions. My editor I deal with via email. The same with any publishers. If Carmilla hadn't have done it I wouldn't have as she is very careful who she does interviews with. Anything too personal wouldn't have been answers and most of the above is on my Blog or Facebook author page and is general.
 http://www.facebook.com/events/130578020461263/134914520027613/?comment_id=134914963360902&ref=notif&notif_t=event_mall_comment

No comments:

Post a Comment