Today I’m talking to another talented author of the Crimelines series,

Anna Mainwaring

[©2014 A.Mainwaring]

Tell us how you got involved in the Crimelines project?

I’m in the final year of the Manchester Metropolitan University’s MA in Creative Writing for Children. The third year students were offered the opportunity to write a story for ‘Crimelines’ fairly late on (we’d already had our turn with ‘Timelines’ the year before). Although the deadline was tight, I was keen to participate. When thinking about what to write about, I thought of a novel opening that I’d been working on several years ago and decided to develop that. Whilst I had the initial idea already, it needed quite a lot of work to change from an opening to a piece that made sense on its own.

Was it your first time at writing a short story to be published?

I was lucky enough to be part of ‘Timelines’ the previous year. Whilst being edited for the first (and hopefully not the last) time was somewhat nerve-wracking, I loved the launch day, reading at the John Rylands and generally hanging out with the other MMU students.

What is it you enjoy most when writing short stories?

It’s a challenge to get across character, setting and plot in such a short space of time. You really have to consider every word.

What are the main difficulties?

Pretty much the same answer to Question 3!

Tell us a little bit about what’s ahead of you as a writer.

I have a YA comic novel currently on submission which I’m very excited about. It may find a home with a publisher, it may not: I’m just happy to have finally finished a novel. I’ve started so many projects but never seen them through to the end. I will be forever indebted to MMU – without this course I’m sure I wouldn’t have got to where I am now. If my YA novel isn’t signed up, then I will self-publish that and just see what happens. I am also working on something very different, a MG fantasy novel. Despite it being a tough time to try and get a traditional publishing deal, it is also a world where there are many opportunities for writers. I intend to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way.

Thank you Anna for this interview and best of luck with your novel.

PS: Anna is represented by Anne Clark from the Anne Clark literary agency