Interview with Miss Jack Lewis Baillot

Today I get to interview Miss Jack Lewis Baillot.

She blogs over at her blog, However Improbable ... but the most important thing is that she is going to self publish her book Haphazardly Implausible in just a week or two.

And so I get to interview her about her book.

One. Summarize your book in fifteen words. If you find this impossible you may raise your limit to a thousand.

Hm...does the hm count?
An adventure filled with airships and misfit characters who learn they are more then what they assume.
Aw, seventeen...I was so close too.

Two. I'm curious, and I have an obsession with book titles. How did you come up with the title Haphazardly Implausible?

Oh, this is sad. I've been waiting for a long while for someone to ask this one. Now I feel bad that the person who finally asked did so on an interview and I must say, “Can't say! Sorry!”
I mean, I could say...but I'm hoping to hold a guessing game and see who gets it first. It might be easier when the other books come out, but I can give a hint now.
I got the idea from a very famous quote. Grin And I hope that wasn't too evil of an answer...

Three. When did you realize you were called to slavery of the pen? Or did you always know?

I kind of always knew. I was probably born weird, and with my imagination a million miles away. When I was little I would tell stories to my siblings and imagine how different my life would be were I living in a different time and place. I would spend my afternoons sitting outside, staring off into space, seeing what no one else could.
However, I was thirteen when I found ways to write down these wonderful adventures my mind went on. And ever since then I knew I wanted to be an author when I grew up. (This has annoyed some of my friends who were turning eighteen and had no clue what they wanted to do with their lives. It always made me wonder what it might be like to not know. Personally, I think it might be a bit of fun. Kind of like a grand mystery one must solve.)

Four. I've not read any Steampunk, but from what my mom has read she says that it seems like Historical Fiction stuffed with Sci-Fi and lightly sprinkled with Fantasy. Do you agree or disagree with her assessment?

Wow, I think she's spot on. I don't think all Steampunk has fantasy elements, but a lot of them do. I want to use this description from now on though. I've had the hardest time trying to explain Steampunk and this sums it up so nicely.
So aye, I very much agree with her. It is like getting to re-write history, and add in all kinds of machines of your own creation. I find it a lot of fun.

(Note from Kendra: Feel free to use the description.)

Five. Do you have any current projects you are willing to disclose to us?

Hm, I have a lot of projects – some might be out rather soon as they just need editing, but I've yet to pick which will be next on the editing list.
Writing wise? Well, there is my NaNo book, and The Broken Blade. I've mentioned this one off and on on my blog and hope to start writing it again when the first wild months of publication pass. Also, there is book two in this current series. Sadly though, I cannot say too much on them, they are kind of waiting until I figure out what is going to happen with publication.

Six. I hear you have a pet hedgehog named John (who is incredibly adorable, I may add). Does he have anything he would like to say to us?

Yes, he says he does. I shall let him say it though. Smirk
I like you, because you think I am adorable. And I am hoping time goes faster because Jack is writing this while we wait for midnight and NaNo to start and I want to write my book. And I am hungry too....

(Note from Kendra: This was written just before midnight October 1st. John has his own blog, by the way.)

Seven. What was the hardest part of your book to write?

The ending.
I didn't plan on liking the story so much when I started it. In fact, the first draft I hated. Peter irked me so badly I wanted someone else to be the main character. So I scrapped that one and started over, and let Peter be himself. And over the next few weeks I grew very fond of him but I began to notice something. Very slowly, my beloved Peter was changing. Not in any bad ways, but he was...I can't really say because of spoilers, but basically...he was growing up. And I knew that, in book two, he would be different. Of course, I still liked him, but I missed him as well. If that makes sense. I am sure you other writers will understand. So, to say good bye to my little boy Peter was very crushing.

Eight. If you had a time machine and could go anywhere in time, where would you go?

Oh, I must just pick one place? Oh, this is going to be hard.
Grabs a flower and pulls off pedals while saying “Ben, Wallace, Ben, Wallace, Ben, Wallace, Ben, Wallace, Ben.”
I guess Ben Fane wins. I would go back to the Civil War and I would track him down and we would end up being best friends and having all kinds of fun together. (It helps that I have the same name of his real life best friend.)

Nine. What do you do when you aren't writing?

People do things besides writing?
Wait, no, I do have a life. You know, kind of.

I like to read, a lot. Unless I find the book boring and the plot too obvious. And I love going for walks and looking for spies. I watch movies a bit, such as Doctor Who...okay, so I watch that a lot. And when I can get them away from work long enough I spend time with my very busy family. And John who is my constant companion.

I also avoid my characters, some of which come after me with swords when I try and take a holiday. Some of them are just so ill tempered.

Ten. Which authors do you find most inspiring?

Aw, I love listing them!

Philip Reeve, for his wonderful imagination and the world he created in Larklight.

Rick Riordan. Even though I believe in just one God, I do enjoy his books. Rather, his characters. I love Percy, because he isn't the typical, “I can do everything,” hero. Very often he is clueless, he is absent minded, and he doesn't like to think things through too well. But he is loyal to his friends, and he has one of the quirkiest senses of humors I've ever read. (Also, I must admit, I think a dyslexic hero is kind of cool.)

Arthur Slade. Like Mr. Reeve, he is a very nice author who won me over when he took the time to help me when I was thinking of traditional publishing. On top of this, though, he wrote a very fun Steampunk series which is filled with a colourful cast of characters. He is one of the few authors I've read who was able to pull off having a lot of characters without making it confusing.

William Joyce. I love his take on the North Pole and Siberia. It was so magical and quaint with just the right amount of adventure.

C.S. Lewis. (Of course I had to mention him, seeing as how I was given his name and all) But the world he created in Narnia, what better place for a kid to spend a winter's day?

Let's see. Now I shall quicken my list. The fellow who wrote Peter Pan, the chap who wrote The Wind in the Willows, and Brain Jacques. And J.R.R. Tolkien for reasons you can guess.

Yep, so there it is, my list.

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Oh, and she has a collection of Short Stories already out.