Author Q&A with Jac Buchanan

Although I have novels waiting to be published (mystery trilogy, epic fantasy series, and a three-series sci-fi that knit together), I’m first writing short stories to experiment with style, learn a few more things about the publishing sector, and hopefully build a little bit of a name for myself along the way.

Accidental Prostitute was my first short story, tackling my concerns about the Knight in Shining Armour trope. All too often, we are depicting a hero making sexual advances when the damsel is at their most vulnerable. In the real world, our damsels commonly feel a sense of debt, particularly as our friends and family weigh in, complicating relationships with heroes and quite often reinforcing a cycle of abuse. It’s a very complex issue, with many sides to tell.

I based this contemporary (literary) short story on a real-life event, with some of my own experiences thrown in. The victim enters a new relationship, during which the victim recovers memories of the rescue, walking the reader through these realisations via the narrator’s stream of consciousness. It’s very clear within the story where the title, Accidental Prostitute, originated from. Specifically, it’s the feeling of debt; of owing those people that keep you safe, and how dangerous this truly is.

Most importantly, by making the three main characters genderless (aka choose your own gender) it recognises that knights and damsels can be of any gender. This makes it a rather experimental piece of literature, however I’m very proud to say it has inspired someone to do the same. I’m sure I wasn’t the first, and I’m glad I won’t be the last.

It was heartbreaking to research and write, but the greatest difficulty was keeping characters genderless, albeit retaining real-world experiences. This included dropping the ‘they’ pronoun, avoiding arbitrary prompts such as names (no characters in this story have a name) and nature of employment for these three characters (known as “you”, “I” and “Someone”). Yes, this is written in 2nd person point of view, however with an in-book narrator – inspired by Sarah Baume – that puts a different spin on this point of view.

All-in-all, a lot of meaning layered into a 4,000 word short story.

You & I (yes, grammatically incorrect on purpose) is another short story, this time a foray into the edge of a thriller/mystery/erotica combo, though not quite satisfying any of those in full. I like no-genre land. It’s very interesting to write in, albeit hell to market! This also has a light tone that was a great break from Accidental Prostitute.

Sarah is a middle aged women who has left her stalker behind, and is now searching for her g-spot with the aid of a toyboy and a vibrator. Running alongside this is the hunt for the serial killer murdering in her vicinity. The erotica side is intended to be more empowering and human than erotic, and a desire to make middle-aged women sexy. We are, you know. You may not see us in movies all that often (at least not, with our grey hairs and wrinkles – which we proudly earned), but we are amazing, and sexy, and sexual, and still experiencing our ‘firsts’, and and discovering our identities.

There’s a few other manuscripts going on across fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, humour, romance and others, but You & I will be the next out. Hopefully ARCs by the end of October, and release in November. Fingers crossed!

It depends on the story and the writer’s style, but so long as the length suits it I’m happy.

Romance or Fantasy

Either, but I grew up on fantasy.

Bright book covers or Muted book covers

Depends on the book. It’s important that it reflects the story, not some pre-set preference, or you’ll snag the wrong market and get poor sales conversions/ratings.

Ebooks, Paperbacks or Audiobooks

Ebooks due to my limited budget (as a reader). All as a writer, though my shorts aren’t long enough for a paper/hardback.

Writing in the Morning or Evening

Whenever I can

Character Driven or Plot Driven

Either/both. So long as it suits the story and the writer’s style.

 

Finally, what’s the best piece of advice someone has given you about writing, marketing, or just generally about life?