What kind of books do you write?
The kinds of books I currently like writing are gothic novels. They are all thunder and lightning very very frightening in theme. They’re set in a place analogous to Victorian era Europe, with drips and drabs and dollops of magic here and there. They’re oriented towards more personal stories and villains rather than epic magical quests. They’re very prosaic, as I love gothic prose, and are very focused on character relationships as opposed to hack and slash action (though that does still play a part, but a very minute part).
Can you describe your writing why?
I was inspired to start writing these books when I read the Bronte sisters’ novels, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Frankenstein, Dracula etc—all the great gothic novels. I noticed how the authors spent time describing scene after scene and dipped heavily into the characters’ emotions and inner worlds rather than external action. The plot was moved forward as the characters grew, and the villains were their own personal demons rather than an evil king or the like. I wanted to create those deeply personal stories, with fallible heroes who relied on themselves and their friends to solve a problem rather than physically fight an enemy. They used words (and a bit of magic) to save the day.
Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most
I’ll share a piece from book 1: Third Time’s The Charm (no stealsies!)
To say I shook, was to say a leaf shook in a cyclone. To say I cried, was to say it rained in a typhoon. To say I begged, was to say a sinner begged at the foot of the furnace.
It was as if he had eaten the whole world, Clark, and found it gave him a bellyache and so decried the kitchen and cook and was shouting for more viands, better ones. And I, his lame waiter, the earpiece for his demands. The stone tiles cowered from his fury, and held each other closer so I could not dive between them to escape. His screams were so loud his words felt like waves battering a thin shoreline, tearing at its integrity. I had exited the entire world with a whimper. I was stripped of everything; utterly naked. I had lost my smalls after I pissed them in fright of Clark’s first tirade, and whatever covered my innermost person had fallen away like wet paper.
My arms heaved water into Clark’s bath. Every second I waited it for it to boil, I prayed it would and would not be my last. He did not speak throughout the process, but I felt his screaming anger rip the floor up. Even after the pot fell and I burned, he ordered I pick it up, and continue splash after useless splash until I was pouring my soul into the bath for him to soak in at his leisure.
My knees gave one final creak before they gave way, and I felt, somewhere far away, every joint and rib collide with the stone tiles of the floor. My body was in a heap, my head twisted toward Clark and each fibre in the thick cords and heaps of muscle in his arms, and chest. The steam prickled my skin, as if Clark’s static anger charged the water particles with electricity.
Tell us about your latest project
Well I’ve written 3 books in the last 6 months, and am currently writing the fourth, but only the first is published. It’s called Third Time’s The Charm. Here’s the blurb:
As the third son of the third son, Niamh Nestor is supposed to get a fae power on his sixteenth birthday. Instead he gets sentenced to a reform school for magically inclined youth, for committing a minor offence. At Carpathian Keep, he discovers a miserable world. The heads of the institution are sadistic, the teachers are cruel, the charges are mean and what is the painful sensation he feels on his neck in the evening?
The Keep hides deadly secrets, and Niamh must figure them out and escape before he and the few friends he makes bite the dust.
The novel is aimed at queer people, as the characters are all over the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. It’s very cosy, and focuses very much on the MC’s growth and novel ways he defeats the horrible villain than having a set baddie to beat form the get-go. It’s very focused on prose and dialogue, while also developing a soft magic system (don’t worry there’s a glossary at the back for user’s ease). I recommend it to anybody who wants a unique fantasy experience, one a little more slowed down than fast-paced danger.
What is your favourite cake?
My favourite slice of cake is carrot cake, which is odd since I detest carrots, but embedded in cake they suffice.
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Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.
