About Isabella Ides:
I am a poet and playwright, recently turned novelist with the publication of my debut epic, White Monkey Chronicles: The Complete Trilogy.
I love what happens in my creative process when I exchange a theater audience for a reader, how new worlds open up.
The reader is my Alice. I lead her to the rabbit hole. Trip her. Then I run like an evasive rabbit in unexpected directions. The tricky part is how to keep the reader coming toward me as I’m moving quickly away. I wait until the reader is out of breath. Then I stop suddenly. And throw a tea party.
What inspires you to write?
I was sitting in the audience watching the premier of my play, The Early Education of Conrad Eppler, wishing I could expand the world for the players. Some passing muse whispered in my ear: "Write a novel." Five years later, I held the book in my hands.
What inspires me? The way words create a labyrinth, the hunt for the Minotaur, the hidden door in the wall of leaves, stepping through an unexpected portal, and seeing the world as if for the first time.
Tell us about your writing process.
I run scenes like a movie in my mind as I am falling asleep. Then in the morning I write. When my husband gets home from work, he reads the pages out loud. I listen for what I call bumps. Then I mark the places for revision.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Some of the best conversations I've ever overheard are between my characters. They are great company. But I especially love crawling around in their minds, sorting through their thoughts. So many startling revelations. So many secrets.
What advice would you give other writers?
It's your creation. Own it. If you have any doubts about a passage, you might as well fix it, or else every time you reread that passage you'll get the same squirmy feeling. At least, that has been my experience. Sometimes sleeping on it works magic. I love the way my subconscious solves problems. It's as if there are hidden drawers in the mind that only open when we're asleep.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I went to several conferences looking for an agent. As it turns out, the agents at writers' conferences aren't looking for literary novels. The young scions of literature are picked up at the famous workshops: Yaddo, Breadloaf, Iowa, and in the A-list MFA programs. Like the white rabbit, I arrived too late to the hatter's tea party.
Luckily, when I started writing my novel, I promised myself that if I could not land a traditional publisher, I would publish the work, see it through to completion. Early in the process, I designed a cover as an added assurance.
Little did I realize, the book-in-hand was just the beginning of another journey. Marketing.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
For the outliers and wily adapters, the future is brilliant. The net is rife with opportunity. It's daunting; it's vast; it's an open horizon.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Speculative, literary fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Isabella Ides Home Page Link
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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