Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

 My name is Alice Renaud.  I grew up without the Internet and I’m old enough to remember when the Berlin Wall fell.

Fiona: Where are you from?

 I’m from Brittany, a beautiful region in Western France.

Fiona: A little about your self (ie,  your education, family life, etc.)

I was born and brought up in Brittany, Western France, my father was French and my mother British (from Wales). I moved to London, UK, in 1997, where I now live with my husband and son. I work full time as a compliance specialist in a pharmaceutical company.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news

 My first book, A Merman’s Choice, was published in January by Black Velvet Seductions. The second book in the series, Music for a Merman, is now with my publisher so I hope it will come out by the end of the year. I am currently working on a short story to be published in a supernatural anthology, to come out in time for Halloween. It’s about witches and I’m really excited about it.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

When I read “The Lord of the Rings”, aged 12, I thought “I want to write stories like that.” I started to write my first story (a sprawling, way too ambitious fantasy saga) at 14.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think I considered myself a writer from the time I started writing – even though I was only writing for myself at first.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

Years ago, when I was still living with my parents in Brittany, I saw a group of men come out of the sea. They’d been swimming, and they were wearing full-body wetsuits, with palms on their feet. It made me imagine shape-shifting mermen who could switch between an aquatic shape (with legs but webbed hands and feet) and the human form.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

I started with a completely different title, then as I was writing the story I saw that it’s all about the choice that the hero Yann has to make – between his love for the human Alex, and his duty to his family and Clan, who want him to marry one of his kind.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

 I like poetic descriptions, images and metaphors. It suits the genre I write, which is fantasy/paranormal romance, but I’ve had to rein myself in a bit – I’ve learnt that long, flowery descriptions slow the story down, and not all images work.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Alex suffers from anxiety and a phobia of water following a near-drowning experience. I used to suffer from acute anxiety and panic attacks, so that’s something of me I put in the book.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

I travel mostly in my head. A lot of my inspiration comes from places which are familiar to me – Brittany where I grew up, Wales that I visit every year, London where I live.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Jessica Greeley at Black Velvet Seductions, a very talented artist.

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

  I thought the novel was mostly about gaining confidence and overcoming your fears. Readers seem to focus more on the conflict between personal desires and family obligations – that’s great, as they’re finding things in the story I didn’t know were there.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I like the work of the other Black Velvet Seductions authors, for example Callie Carmen. I like the way she sweeps you up in the story so you feel, laugh and cry with the characters. She gives good baddie too. I also like Jan Selbourne’s historical novels, Dee S Knight’s steamy books, Patricia Elliott and Suzanne Smith’s original romances… I could go on!

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

 My tutor and editor, Laurie Sanders. I wouldn’t have got published without her.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

Yes, although it’s also an expensive hobby.

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

No, but I would give more thought as to which point of view I should write from. I wrote an entire chapter in the POV of the heroine before realizing that the poor hero hadn’t had a look in for 7,000 words!

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

 That characters have minds of their own – I start off thinking they’re going to do something and they end up doing something else I hadn’t thought about.

 Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

A young, gorgeous, talented, completely unknown Welsh actor.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Write what you want to write, what inspires you, what you would enjoy reading. Make the book as good as you can, take writing classes, find critique partners or pay an editor. If it’s good, someone will publish it and readers will buy it.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

 I hope you enjoy visiting the inside of my head. Come on in, the water’s lovely!

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. It’s a great historical novel about the building of a cathedral in the Middle Ages. I love historical novels and read also non fiction history books.

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

No but I remember looking at a picture book and feeling frustrated because I could understand the images, but I couldn’t read the words. It was about a yellow duckling. My mother says I could read at four years old, so I must have been very young.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

At the moment we’re watching a comedy called Timewasters, about a jazz band who travel back in time. It’s silly but very funny and the story I’m working on has got time travelling, so it’s… timely. What makes me cry is the state of politics at the moment in the UK and elsewhere in the world. It’s enough to make me switch off the news and go back to looking at pictures of cats on the Internet.

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

 I would have loved to meet Nelson Mandela. He was such an inspiring person.

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Writing!

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?

My husband and I love fantasy, sci-fi, and historical series and films. We’ve just finished watching “The Last Kingdom” that we adored. Big men on horses with big swords. Sigh.

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors,  music?

 Pancakes, chips, blue and green, classical music is my favourite but I also like upbeat pop music and country & western.

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

Go mad.

Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?

With my family, best friends, and priest, and making sure all my papers and will are in order. Also, planning my funeral.Although I do that anyway. I’ve got it all worked out, including the hymns and what my husband should do with my ashes.

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

She tried to make the world a slightly better place.

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

You can stalk me on the following sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthor

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-renaud-author-4219b6166/

MeWe: https://mewe.com/profile/5b3fcdea7e3b840f5c10b0b0

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B?ref=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000

 

Book buy links: https://amzn.to/2QglyeI
https://books2read.com/u/31xw7a