Q: So, tell the
readers a bit about you.
A: I’m a new indie
author. I like long walks on the beach, except I live nowhere near
the beach, so that’s not going to happen.
My passion for writing
was recently re-kindled when I was thought-mugged by the idea for my
latest book. Before then I was just getting by, watching too many
movies and playing way too many computer games than can be considered
healthy.
I live in South Africa,
which has always been my home, so I’m not really planning on going
anywhere. Except maybe closer to the beach.
Q: How did you come
up with the idea for your book, Compile:Quest?
How did you come up with the name of it?
A: It came as a scene,
which most of my stories do. I then have to try and work out the
‘who/why/where/how long’ of the scene in my mind, which
eventually leads to a story. Usually, that first scene is completely
abandoned once the story evolves.
This scene was a
massive dome built on the African savanna. That already prompted a
few questions, but the ghastly mutated creatures attacking the sides
of the dome in an attempt to penetrate the structure had my brain
overheating. This scene never actually appears in the book, but it’s
what led to the tangle of lives and intrigue that the novel turned
into.
The name was one of
those
‘lying-in-bed-at-two-in-the-morning-not-sleeping-because-you-haven’t-thought-of-a-proper-title-yet’
moments. I was randomly thinking of every geeky term I could think of
(because the book is steeped in Geekism, and I wanted it to be a
silent alert to any geek out there that might glimpse the title).
Then it finally came.
Compile (geekism) /Quest (what happens). In restrospect, it’s
probably a bit lame, but it is what it is. The rest of the series
continue this theme (which was another aspect that made the choice so
difficult), and are named respectively: “Debug:Heroes” and
“Execute:Destiny”.
It’s better if you
kind of read them all together. And if you’re a geek. And if you
don’t mind a dash of lameness with your novel.
Q: What is your
favourite colour? (This must be read in a British accent a-la Monty
Python)
A: Uh… *whispers* pink?
Gosh, it felt good to
get that out there. I am a girl, after all. Not that all girls should
just like pink. But I’m one of those that do.
Q: Do you have any
special rituals or quirks when writing? Special foods or drinks?
Troll doll on the desk/Etc.
A: Eesh. So many of. I was
going a bit overboard at one stage. You see, our house is basically
just two floors, open plan all the way. So I don’t have a “writer’s
nook”.
So I ended up creating
this little nest for myself where I could plug in my earphones and
try and ignore our dogs as they ran past barking and yapping at each
other. This seclusion/nest-building just intensified until it became
something along the lines of:
Get home from work
Walk dogs
Feed dogs
Give dogs chewy treat
Have tea made for me by awesome
husband
Have packet/slab/bag of (jelly
babies, jelly beans, caramels, éclairs, chocolate) at hand
Clean laptop screen with
microfiber cloth
Clean reading glasses with same
cloth, making sure to remove every micron of dust
Wipe screen again because some
dust just zapped back on there (some days a full computer clean was
done before I could even begin)
Find headphones
Find appropriate deep house track
to listen to
Re-read previous day’s work
Move the dogs around until they’re
comfortable
Restart deep house track.
Start writing! *
* Some days may vary.
Ultimately, once I’d
gotten into the daily writing ritual, I found breaking the other
habits a little easier.
Q: What was the
easiest part about writing Compile:Quest?
A: The actual writing. As
in, “Peppermint danced.” I would run out of time/energy/the
ability to focus my eyes before I could stop writing every day.
Q: What was the
hardest part?
A: Everything leading up
to that point. Sheer torture.
In the initial
planning/plotting/research stages it was a daily struggle not to just
start writing. As it is, I started writing before I had every
microscopic detail of the plot nailed down, and then had to rewrite
50% of the first book because SOMEONE decided to create a more
convoluted back story for themselves than I’d originally planned.
Not mentioning any names. *coughs: GERARD *
Q: Do you like
bacon?
A: Yes. But not in a
‘bacon-flavoured ice-cream’ kind of way. Just in a regular, bacon
and eggs for breakfast kind of way. We are talking about that kind of
bacon, right? Because innuendos usually fly a kilometer over my head.
Jus’ saying.
Q: How long have you
been writing, or wanting to write and when did you actually write
your first story?
A: I’ve been writing
ever since primary school (uh… I think that’s age 10…11…?)
Sorry, my memory is pretty messed up. Too little brain capacity, too
many random characters and plots floating around in there.
I don’t remember my
first story ever, but the first one I can remember was
about a girl and a boy who were abducted. By aliens. In a space ship.
Once you’re done laughing, I’d like to state, in my defense, this
was when X-Files first came out. I suppose it was my first (and last)
fan-fiction piece ever.
Q: Do you have a
favourite character from your book/books? If so, who and why?
A: Yup. Jinx and Jasper.
I’ve decided it’s purely coincidental that both their names start
with a “J”. The letter “J” has no significance in my life. At
least, not that I’m aware of.
Jasper I like because
of the ‘ain’t no mountain high enough’ kind of love that he has
for his wife. It’s so profound that I get emotional when I write
his chapters. *sigh*
Jinx… I feel sorry
for her. Not in a pitying kind of a way. But more like when you’re
watching a really clumsy person in one of those narrow, crowded
antique stores. She’s big. She’s tough. But damn she can just put
her foot in it. Like all the time.
Q: Are you working
on anything else right now? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
A: Anything else? Anything
else? Are you kidding me?
I have to try and do a
hard reset on my brain every night just to avoid getting additional
stories piling into my mind. I’m at the stage where I’m like “No,
don’t you dare play that Lulu Rouge track”, because I just know a
few seconds listening to any music can chuck another story into the
maelstrom of my mind.
But yes, I do have (a
few) stories in the queue. First are the follow ups to this first
book in the series. Then, another sci-fi. Then either another sci-fi
or a horror, whichever is clamouring the loudest to be written.
Sometimes I let them have a go at arm wrestling and let that settle
their order in the queue.
Then I have another
horror, a weird general fiction (it’s about a talking dog, I have
no clue what genre that falls into), and a paranormal series just to
get it out of my system.
Q: Is there anything
else you’d like to tell the readers of this interview?
A: I just want to thank
Serenity Valle for allowing me to prattle on and fill her webspace
with my ramblings. For a new indie author, there is no such thing as
too much exposure, so thank you!
Also,
for anyone wanting to find out more about the book, upcoming works,
or just to say hi, you can get hold of me on my website. All my
social profiles are on there, so stalk away! Ha ha ha. Okay, not
serious stalking – I have really big dogs that will eat you alive.
Also, I’m always
looking for beta-readers, and have a few freebies if you’re so
inclined, so just pop in and see what’s happening.
Ronel provided me with a synopsis to include, enjoy!
In the year 2036, solar storms batter Earth crippling electrical infrastructures across the globe. Night falls and the ensuing pandemonium claims millions of lives, catapulting the world into chaos.
In the midst of this global turmoil a hero emerges. The altruistic SUN Council intercedes, constructing enormous domes on each continent to protect the world’s population from the radioactive CME’s of the incessant solar storms.
But not everyone makes it to the domes. In an attempt to survive the deadly radiation, hundreds of thousands of people dig into the earth, living in squalor under an oppressive military dictatorship.
Now centuries later, the final stage of the SUN Council’s plan to decimate the world’s population approaches. But as victory glimmers on the horizon, two women from discordant halves of this new world start to unravel the conspiracy.
***
Ronel is a brand-spanking new indie author. She loves creating fantastical worlds set in the future, the mythical, and the horrific. Translate: She writes science-fiction, fantasy and horror novels.
Her life story is not particularly fascinating, but her love of technology, PC games and writing is. Beside writing, she spends her time slaying rendered baddies in the form of robots, gangsters and aliens - with any weapon that happens to be at hand.
Ronel has published her first science-fiction book, Compile:Quest. She's currently hard at work creating the second book in the Corrupted SUN Script trilogy. When she's not writing, she's gaming, and when she's not gaming she's either sleeping or eating, as these are prerequisites for a continued life on planet Earth.
http://ronelvantonder.co.za
http://www.twitter.com/RonelVanTonder
http://www.facebook.com/Ronel.Van.Tonder.Author
http://za.linkedin.com/in/ronelvantonder/
http://www.wattpad.com/user/ronelvantonderza
https://www.google.com/+RonelvantonderCoZa
http://www.pinterest.com/ronel1014/
https://www.goodreads.com/ronelvantonder
...You Can't Take the Books from Me...
