Please welcome Imogen Keeper, this month’s interviewee for the Blog World Tour: Science Fiction Edition!
Thank you for being here today, Imogen. Let’s start off with an easy question! How do you relax?
If I’ve got time? Eat something delicious? Drink wine? Take a bath? Go for a walk? Eat some chocolate? Talk to my mom or my sister or my best friend? Bug my husband? Take your pick. I’m pretty good at relaxing. It’s more finding the time that I struggle with.
I can relate to that. Time really is a commodity some days!
Now I’d like to talk about your writing. Is there anything you find particularly challenging when writing as far as content?
Yes! The science part of sci-fi. I write very, VERY soft sci-fi, but I still don’t want to get it wrong. I love sci-fi for the settings and the freedom the genre offers in terms of world-building, but since my background is largely art and English, any scientific elements are especially laborious. There’s a scene in the second novel in my series in which I wanted to explode a room in space with my characters inside. So I had to do a lot of research to find out how long they could live in a vacuum and what kind of problems it would cause. I’m always terrified I will get it wrong.
Even with my scientific background, I still need to do a lot of research at times for my own science fiction writing. As long as you do the research and write the scene to the best of your ability, I think your readers will be happy.
Did you come across any specific challenges in writing The Bonding? What would you do differently the next time?
The Bonding is the first thing I ever finished. Which was great! But it was also a disaster. I learned as I went. And it’s a bit like deciding you want to learn to do DIY chores, and instead of starting with painting a room, or doing some easy wallpapering, you decide to renovate a kitchen. I just jumped straight on in to writing a whole novel.
It took me a year, and I had to do so much research, and so much rewriting, but in a lot of ways, it’s so much better for it. I slaved over every word in that story. I read it all aloud and rewrote it, deleted tens of thousands of words and started from scratch. There’s something to be said for laboring to that degree.
But it does mean that the second novel came out so much faster and so much more painlessly.
I know all about disasters like that! I pants my stories, but that does mean there’s a lot of revision required before they’re ready for the public to read. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though–I love the surprises that come from diving into a story without knowing what’s coming next.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Since I still have trouble calling myself a writer, no. I wouldn’t dare. If I could go back and tell myself anything to keep in mind back when I first started… I’d tell me not to be so afraid of making a mistake. I was so scared of doing something wrong that everything took so much longer. Writing should be fun. It shouldn’t feel like a chore, and I have a tendency to make life harder for myself than in should be. Now, I tend to just relax and let my characters take over, and they do fun things.
That’s good advice, both for your younger self and for other writers. Thank you for sharing! *glances at clock* We have time for one more question, so let’s wrap up with a fun one: What is your favorite movie and why?
Ooooooh. I can never answer this question. I love too many, and it all seems to depend on my mood. I have a soft spot for The Fifth Element. No clue why… well, okay, I guess I do know. It’s fun. I love the old Star Wars. I like scary movies, and RomComs. But honestly, when we had kids and time got slim, I had to cut stuff out of my life, and movies was one of the first to go. My husband and I tend to watch about an hour of TV in the evening before bed, but that’s all we’ve got time for. So I’m not really up to date on recent stuff. Some day, future-self, I promise!
I confess that I haven’t seen The Fifth Element yet, but a friend of mine insists I need to do so. Perhaps I will soon!
Thank you so much for stopping by today, Imogen!
About Imogen, in her own words: I’m Imogen Keeper. But please, call me Immy. I’m from the East Coast, born and raised and back here now with my husband and our son, who is a handful and a half. We just had a baby girl a couple weeks ago, so life just got even more hectic.
I discovered writing when my son was about six months old. It was something I’d always dabbled at in the past, but never really put on my serious hat. So, bored at home with a kid who truly took magnificent naps, I started studying up on the how-to’s and the how-not-to’s of writing. With about six active works in progress, I decided to knuckle down and focus on one.
It made me blush, and it made me sweat, and it made me cry a few times, but The Bonding came out. I had to get over the embarrassment of having people read sex that came out of my head, but get over it I did.
My first novel was just published, and I have to admit, I’m proud of it. Dirty sex and all.
The Bonding, an erotic science fiction novel, is available on Amazon.
You can learn more about Imogen Keeper through her social media sites:
