Darklight On.. Dy Loveday Q&A

Today's Darklight On... is with Dy Loveday. Welcome, Dy!



How did you come to write speculative fiction? What attracted you to the genre? I write horror and dark fantasy because it speaks to the challenges of life. It doesn’t take me on a ride of pretence like Forrest Gump, where the good guy implausibly overcomes insurmountable odds. That just doesn't work for me. Horror tears down my sense of safety, my arrogant invulnerability and confronts me with what I fear most. Most of us rise in the morning and get ready for our day, avoiding abstractions of what could happen. We cling to the belief that we are safe: infallible, invulnerable and protected even. We’re oblivious to the potential dangers and catastrophes that can occur: the road accidents, tidal waves, earthquakes and bushfires. As well we might, otherwise we’d never leave our homes. 

When the inexplicable happens, when someone we love is harmed or tragedy strikes, we are reminded of the fragility of human existence. For me, the horror text opens the door on the unknown—a haunting place that sits between the possible and impossible. It's a place where the conceptual monster hidden inside peeks out, ready to surprise me with the unexpected. It's the 'what if,' that scares me most and what I try to put on the page. That being said I always add shades of grey to the text and bits of humour to lighten the prose. My background is in trauma and therapy so my characters often suffer. Maybe one day I'll get it out of my system and write a nice romantic novel that doesn't keep me up at night, worried about the demon hiding under my bed or the clown lurking in my drains. Sigh. I doubt it.



Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in-between?
Definitely a pantser. I always start by interviewing my main characters, right down to their hopes, beliefs, values, commitments and purposes in life. I want to know about their inner fears and needs and what armour they wear to protect themselves from fear. I use Debra Dixon's GMC to build conflict and motivation between the characters. I usually put the story through Dramatica Pro to see how it looks and so I'm happy with the starting place (even if I change it later). I have a general idea of next two or three chapters and the final chapter is always in my head from the beginning. Apart from that it's 'suck it and see'. I'm trying change my habitual way of working and plot out the storyline. I get two thirds the way through a manuscript and think, 'crap, I've just got to plot the rest of it so I know where I'm going.' So I get out my plotting tools and work out the rest of the novel. Once that's done, I ignore the printed spreadsheet and let the characters have their way (to a point).



Do have a favourite of your characters?
My favourite character is my current MC, Maya McAdam. She's sharp witted, has a sense of humour under pressure and a strong sense of self survival. She's a girl who can take care of herself and yet hasn't a clue to how well she can do that—what powers she has. Getting through a day at work so she can buy her spells is her goal, yet she ends up on a quest that takes her far from home and everything familiar. She's demon spawn and her art animates, opening portals to other dimensions. A warrior warlock steps through one of her paintings, on a mission to assassinate her. It's a tale of redemption and love and the hero and heroine are hard headed and delightful characters that were a pleasure to spend time with.

What are you currently working on?
I'm currently editing my urban fantasy ms, 'Illusion,' and have started my next novel which is about a witch who always knows how she's going to die, but doesn't know when, so she can't avoid it.

What is your favourite part of the process of writing? All of it. I love it when phrases spill onto the page and you're still tapping away after 4,000 words. I love digging deep for emotion, finding new ways to express feeling and smiling at my characters' antics. I enjoy researching historical details. For my current novel its alchemy, witchcraft, sorcery, Mesopotamia and child sacrifice. My background is also in anthropology, so digging around in the past is my idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon. Give me pyjamas and a cup of tea and I'm in heaven. Strangely enough, once the novel is finished I'm euphoric for a few days, then I buckle down into edits. I'd like to leave it alone for three months or so and maybe one day I'll do that, but right now, it's all about obsessively editing and fine tuning the ms.

What can we expect from Dy Loveday in the future?
Lots and lots of writing. More dark urban fantasy romance and probably some horror as well.

Who are your favourite authors?
Anything dark and humorous. Lilith Saintcrow, Kim Harrison, Stacia Kane, Kresley Cole, Faith Hunter, Kate Atkinson, JR Ward, Asimov, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs. I also love Elizabeth Hoyt, Julian May, Robin Hobb, Suzanne Collins, Garbriel Garcia Marzez, Jim Butcher, Robin McKinley and the back of shampoo bottles when I'm in a wet place and desperate.




What are you currently reading?
Jim Butcher, Julie Kagawa and Ray Bradbury.

Do you have a favourite spec fiction movie or tv series?
Not really. I have a bad visual memory so I struggle to remember anything that I've seen. For some reason reading leaves a different impression on my sensory processing. Generally, anything science fiction related is enjoyable. Splatter and gore doesn't interest me because it doesn't invoke my fear response. I just leave my partner to it and head back to my computer to keep writing.

Do you have advice for emerging writers?
Write write write. Read read read.

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Thanks, Dy!

You can find more information on Dy at her website.