{"id":930,"date":"2021-11-10T14:55:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T14:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/?p=930"},"modified":"2021-10-19T11:03:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T10:03:06","slug":"author-qa-with-jac-buchanan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/?p=930","title":{"rendered":"Author Q&A with Jac Buchanan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author Q&A with Jac Buchanan<\/h2>\n
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<\/div>\n
\n
I grew up in an Australian feminist household with a menagerie of pets (including a duck named Spike who was renamed Spikette after laying an egg, and a cat that was named Minus when he was sterilised – I’ll let you ponder on that) and cut my teeth on books like Sally Morgan’s My Place<\/i>\u00a0and Edgar Allan Poe. I have a business background and feel like a fish out of water in publishing, though of course: loving it!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

1. Tells us about your writing\/ published book(s)<\/b><\/h3>\n
Accidental Prostitute<\/i>\u00a0<\/a>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.<\/div>\n
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,\u00a0Accidental Prostitute<\/i>,\u00a0originated from. Specifically, it’s the feeling of debt; of owing those people that keep you safe, and how dangerous this truly is.<\/div>\n
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.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0of 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.<\/div>\n
All-in-all, a lot of meaning layered into a 4,000 word short story.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

2. Tell me about your current work<\/b><\/h3>\n
You & I <\/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<\/i>.<\/div>\n
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’,\u00a0and and discovering our identities.<\/div>\n
There’s a few other\u00a0manuscripts going on across fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, humour, romance and others, but You & I\u00a0<\/i>will be the next out. Hopefully ARCs by the end of October, and release in November. Fingers crossed!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

This or That…<\/h3>\n

Short books or Long books<\/h3>\n
It depends on the story and the writer’s style, but so long as the length suits it I’m happy.<\/div>\n
\n

Romance or Fantasy<\/h3>\n

Either, but I grew up on fantasy.<\/p>\n

Bright book covers or Muted book covers<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Ebooks, Paperbacks or Audiobooks<\/h3>\n

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

Writing in the Morning or Evening<\/h3>\n

Whenever I can<\/p>\n

Character Driven or Plot Driven<\/h3>\n

Either\/both. So long as it suits the story and the writer’s style.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, what\u2019s the best piece of advice someone has given you about writing, marketing, or just generally about life?<\/h3>\n
Writing short stories has been highly rewarding, as I could then afford editing and mentoring services (not everyone charges hefty minimums). The amount I’m learning from that is AMAZING and a lot can be applied to larger work. As I begin publishing some of this, I learn the ropes and new marketing tactics along the way that will serve me well for my larger work. For example: audiobook\u00a0recording and publishing – it’s a whole new ball game.<\/div>\n
For those of us without start-up capital, and without experience, I think this can be a great way to go.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Where can you find Jac?<\/strong><\/div>\n
Twitter<\/a><\/div>\n
Goodreads<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author Q&A with Jac Buchanan I grew up in an Australian feminist household with a menagerie of pets (including a duck named Spike who was renamed Spikette after laying an egg, and a cat that was named Minus when he was sterilised – I’ll let you ponder on that) and cut my teeth on books like Sally Morgan’s My Place\u00a0and Edgar Allan Poe. I have a business background and feel like a fish out of water in publishing, though of course: loving it! 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. 1. Tells us about your writing\/ published book(s) Accidental Prostitute\u00a0was 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,\u00a0Accidental Prostitute,\u00a0originated 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\u00a0of 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. 2. Tell me about your current work 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’,\u00a0and and discovering our identities. There’s a few other\u00a0manuscripts going on across fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, humour, romance and others, but You & I\u00a0will be the next out. Hopefully ARCs by the end of October, and release in November. Fingers crossed! This or That… Short books or Long books 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\u2019s the best piece of advice someone has given you about writing, marketing, or just generally about life? Writing short stories has been highly rewarding, as I could then afford editing and mentoring services (not everyone charges hefty minimums). The amount I’m learning from that is AMAZING and a lot can be applied to larger work. As I begin publishing some of this, I learn the ropes and new marketing tactics along the way that will serve me well for my larger work. For example: audiobook\u00a0recording and publishing – it’s a whole new ball game. For those of us without start-up capital, and without experience, I think this can be a great way to go. Where can you find Jac? Twitter Goodreads<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Author Q&A with @JacBuchanan_JB","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[14],"tags":[34,15,38,9,13,33,11],"class_list":["post-930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-interviews","tag-author","tag-author-interview","tag-author-qa","tag-book","tag-indie-author","tag-interview","tag-self-published"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Black-and-White-Beauty-Quote-Pinterest-Graphic.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions\/932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elizabethhollandauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}