Pump Up Chats with Erin Bassett – Author of Online Series ‘Clock Work’

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Erin Erin Bassett is author of the online serial Clock Work, published in several magazines and has a Chapbook published. She is a member of NTSFWW and Senior Editor for CW Productions. Erin enjoys off beat, out the ordinary writing of the urban fantasy persuasion, but also revels in classic fantasy stories with gripping battles, wizards, dragons or monsters, and epic fight scenes set in far off, mythical or fantastic places. Her book shelves are packed with everything from Holly Black, Martin Miller and Terry Pratchett to Christy Lijewski, Dean Koontz and Hal Duncan.

Thank you for this interview, Erin Bassett. Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?

A: It’s certainly my pleasure!

I usually tell people I’ve been writing since I learned how to; but I have been making up stories to entertain my sister and family since I could talk. I had an over active imagination as a kid and, honestly, that hasn’t calmed down any since becoming an adult.

Clockwork Can you tell us about your series and why you wrote it?

A: Clock Work is an Urban Fantasy story based around a young girl named Esther St. Claire. After being away from her private High School, Westin Academy, for the semester following the death of her parents she returns to a very odd reception that cumulates in the Westin student body being attacked by creatures thought to only exists in myths and story books. Esther is faced with the choice of accepting her role within the chaos and helping to tame it, or ignoring it and continuing life as she has been.

I had been working on Clock Work for a few months before the Managing Editor for Abandoned Towers approached me with the idea for a serial. Clock Work officially went live Tuesday May 5^th 2010. It updates every 5^th of the month; with as little variant as I can manage. Sometimes I do fall behind as some health problems get in the way. But if I am going to be late I send out emails and do an update as to why and when the episode will post. I try to keep my readers as informed as possible!

Can you share a short excerpt from your series?

Esther stopped at the tree line, still smelling of smoke, and bent into a stitch in her side, hands on her knees. A pair of very shiny new shoes rotated towards her. She glanced up and pushed her hat back. Tobie’s blue eyes were dark with annoyance even as a calculating smile twisted his lips.

“So you’re back, freak?” He crossed his arms, the other boy flanking his side like a pompous body guard in training; crowding her view of the third. “They let you out of the loony bin, crazy girl?”

“You must have lost your mind; running up to us like that.” Gus, a tall boy with sandy red hair, his Westin uniform jacket tied around his waist, rapped his knuckled against the top of her head. The hat slid down her forehead, teddy bear ears flapping. “Hello? Earth to crazy girl?” He cocked his head towards Tobie. “Don’t think anyone’s home, boss.”

Tobie laughed but started walking backwards. Ro was coming up the Quad. “We got plenty of time. 12B, right little late register? Come on, guys.”

Esther tried to ignore a spasm of panic cinching her chest and continued to stare at the boy that had to be Holon.

“How did you get here?”

He glanced over his shoulder impassively, hands in his coat pockets. “I walked.”

“Walked?” Esther cried. “How could you walk—”

“To a cab.” He turned to follow the other boys in the wave of their laughter.

“Wait! You have to let me repay you! Or at least give you your pass back.” She fumbled with her satchel.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“I have it…Just hold on.” She hunched over her pencil case, trying to get the zipper open.

“Esther.”

“Just a sec!”

“Esther.” Two hands were on her cold cheeks, lifting her head. Calluses scraped against her chin. “It’s alright, Esther.” The rounded tone filled her ears; familiar in its liquid ease of vowels but somehow too faint to trace back from the already fading memory.

The world softened. The rush of the kids in the quad faded away. The expressionless face with the darkest eyes she had ever seen gazing down at her an inch away blotted out the world.

“Who—”

Something folded over her knee and slid down her leg. A soft rattle punctuated the eerie calm. Sound rushed forward with an icy thrill, sweeping away the warmth cupping her cheeks. Her hand rested in her bag, now flopped open over her leg, fingers gripping her pencil case. Two spiral notebooks and her Tic Tacs spread over the bricks. Ro was coming up behind her and the boys were four steps in front. Holon was half turned away. Everything was as it had been. Or as it had always been.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of writing an online series and what has been the most rewarding?

A: Really the most frustrating thing about the serial is having to write linearly. I am a very organic writer, so having to post up episodes every month forces me to focus on the writing at hand. It’s a good thing, but my imagination gets a little rebellious and yearns to skip ahead.

The most rewarding has to be the instant interaction with the readers. The comments and emails I get and reactions on Clock Work’s FaceBook really keep me going. It’s very encouraging!

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life? Do you have support?

A: I live with my boyfriend Shay, two cats and our dog Riley. Writing has never been something I have had to inculcate into my life. As corny as it maybe to say, it is my life. I carry a journal with me everywhere; in which I am constantly jotting things down. I take my iPhone with me as well and have very much abuse the Notes feature on it. And Shay is very supportive. He is my first reader and my sounding board. Not to mention my cheering section when the doldrums of doubt seep in.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

A: We have this amazing, huge and snuggly couch. I really like to curl up under a blanket, put on some music and just write the day away.

What is one thing about your series that makes it different from others?

A: I really think it’s the characters. I worked very hard to make sure they are all multidimensional, interesting and, above all, real. They are the heart of the story. People don’t solely react to situations just because of one thing. We are all much more complex than that. We are made up of layers of environment, situations and experiences. And that is what I strive for in my characters: Subtext that drives each one. You may not see it right away, but there is always meaning to actions and words. Usually much more than simply the gesture and dialog itself.

Tables are turned…what is one thing you’d like to say to your audience who might read your series one day?

A: Clock Work is built out of the imagination we all shared when listening to tales of monsters and fairies as children. The foundation of this becomes reimagined when put against the setting of our own modern world and seen through the eyes of the people striving to keep the boundaries between there and here safe; whether they know what they are truly fighting or not.

Thank you for this interview, Ms. Bassett! Good luck on your online tour!

A: Thank you for having me!

I am working on my author’s website www.elbassett.com but can always be found around Clock Work, its FaceBook and my twitter:

http://ebclockwork.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Clock-Work/80408507198

http://twitter.com/#!/10thMuse

Clockwork

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How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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