Chatting to Anthea Carson
9 June, 2012
But then they start dragging her car from the lake. “Why,” she wonders, “after all this time, why are they pulling her car from the lake?”
Hey Guys!
So today I am introducing you all to the charming Anthea Carson, author of The Dark Lake. She has been interviewed for you all – I hope you like her answers!
Without further ado;
Hello Anthea, welcome to A Daydreamer’s Thoughts! Let’s get the basics out the way, shall we! Tell us a little bit about yourself, anything you would like your readers to know.
I’m a tournament chess player, chess coach and chess author, a mom and a writer. I write fiction as well, and have written several novels, two of which are published. My chess book is called “How to Play Chess Like an Animal,” my young adult fiction is called “Ainsworth,” or “Ghost Dancer at Tucker’s Grove.” One is paperback, and the other is a Kindle book, but they are essentially the same book. I have a degree from the University of Colorado in Philosophy, and I live in Colorado with my husband and two children.
Sounds fascinating and the Chess geek in me is proud right now. But what I’m sure everyone wants to know is, how long have you wanted to be a writer?
I have always wanted to be a writer, since I was a little kid. I’ve always loved to read, and was fortunate enough to have very educated parents who steered me in the direction of focusing on the classics, such authors as Dickens, Dosteyevsky, Hardy, Proust, and so forth. My love of reading eventually translated into writing efforts.
It’s always helpful when your parents are willing to guide you down the path you want to go! As you’ve wanted to be a writer from a young age, when you’re not typing away at the keyboard coming up with new ideas, what do you do?
I play lots of tournament chess, read lots of books, and love to spend time with my kids. I live near the mountains, and love to hike. I also love to travel, and I have a desire to research the back stories of Faulkner’s many great novels in Mississippi, and write a blog about my efforts. Http://www.stalkingfaulkner.blogspot.com
So now we know more about you, what about your novel? What is it all about?
My novel is called The Dark Lake. I would call it an existential ghost story. It’s about a girl/woman who lives in the past. She is in her forties, but seems to be stuck somewhere in her teens. Some past event haunts her mind. Her therapist tries to help her find out what it is. It seems to have something to do with a party, and a car that went in the lake.
Oooh. Sounds really intriguing! I’m curious though, what inspired you to write a story in this genre?
I was inspired to write in the genre because I love the Twilight Zone, and The Sixth Sense. I also love books in this genre: Lost Girls, by Andrew Pyper, The Other, by Thomas Tryon, At Some Forgotten Door, by Doris Miles Disney. I also love haunting fairy tales about ghost women who wander the lake.
And with that answer, I simply have to ask; would you say there was anything unique about this story to really pull the readers in? What makes it stand out?
I think the ghostly fairy tale aspect pulls readers in, and of course the question of what happened at the party, and the car at the bottom of the lake–but remember–if you read this book, that it is a part of a trilogy.
Duly noted! And how long did it take you to write this story?
The original story was written in three weeks, but the editing and revising took years.
Wow. That’s brilliant! With that thought then, were there any challenging scenes that you felt that you just couldn’t get right?
There were many challenging scenes, challenging aspects to this story. The story goes back and forth in time, which can be confusing. Some readers pick up right away what’s going on, others don’t like to be confused. I say, you can’t please everyone, but perhaps coming to the point of being able to say that has been one of the challenging aspects of this book–letting go of pleasing everyone and just being willing to let the book be a bit confusing. Another challenge was the character Gay. It was difficult to be clever enough to write her dialogue. I wrote a character smarter than I am. Fortunately I had hours to try and think of the witty one-liners she can come up with on the spot.
I think that was definitely a good idea in the end! In the same thread, which character in your story did you enjoy writing the most?
Gay is probably my favorite character, although her appearance is minimal in the first book of the trilogy.
That sounds inviting! Now I’m curious to know about the antagonist. Can you tell us a little something about the antagonist in this story – without giving it all away, of course!
It is sometimes difficult to figure out who the antagonist is. I think it’s Krishna, the friend who is one of the voices that call her from the past, or from bottom of the lake, but one can make an argument that it’s Miriam, the therapist, who tries to force her to see reality.
And finally, do you have any advice for any aspiring writers out there?
Be honest, don’t wear a mask when you write.
ebooks or hard copies?
ebooks only at this time.
day or night?
night
reading or writing?
reading
paper or computer?
computer
tea or coffee?
coffee
favourite book of the moment?
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
most memorable book?
Gone With The Wind.
Thank you for joining us today Anthea, it has been a pleasure chatting with you!
If you would like to know more about The Dark Lake, click here or to purchase the book on Amazon, click here.
Summary:
Jane wanders the lake in search of the voices that call her from the depths. She just can’t seem to get her life together. She tries to move on from the past. She goes to therapy. She goes to AA. She tries to find a job, and eventually, to avoid jail time, she goes to Anger Management. But she just can’t seem to get past her past.
Her therapist tells her she needs to remember what happened at the party. Whatever happened at the party holds the key. She tries to remember, but it’s hard if not impossible to remember what happened in a blackout. But whatever it is, that’s what haunts her, and if she can just deal with it, she can move on.
But then they start dragging her car from the lake. “Why,” she wonders, “after all this time, why are they pulling her car from the lake?”