Ali Sparkes very kindly answered 5 questions for us, showing a fascinating insight into the writing of the Shapeshifter series:

30 May 2008

What was your favourite scene to write in the Shapeshifter series?

Impossible to pick one favourite -  but I think the scene on the platform, in the middle of the sea, where Dax ‘drops in’ on someone, towards the end of Stirring The Storm, was pretty fab to write. Those who’ve read it will know that it was a long time coming. It had such a wonderful sense of rightness about it – after such a long wait for Dax to make his point.

What was the hardest scene for you to write?

The scenes where Dax is coming to terms with his grief at Fenton Lodge weren’t hard to write – they absolutely fell out of me in torrents onto the keyboard – but they were hard in the sense that I was bawling my eyes out while I wrote them. The sense of loss was so tangible.

Did it take less or more time to write the sequels?

They varied. Finding the Fox was initially written extremely fast (about two weeks!) because I finally had an interested publisher, and was alight with enthusiasm and drive. But further down the line that version was tweaked and redrafted a few times before it was ready. FTF is probably about 85% true to the first draft.
Running The Risk followed and the second book is always a nervy experience, but probably got done within three months. Going To Ground and Dowsing The Dead were written in a similar timescale and I think I may have spent slightly longer on Stirring The Storm.
I am a fast writer – but although I bash out my chapters swiftly, the actual creation of the story is going on in my head for some time before and between the writing sessions, while I’m out running, or in the shower or lying awake at 3am.
Most authors do about a book a year or even 18 months – I have tended to average two or three books a year – which isn’t necessarily a good thing! I am trying to slow down a bit and take my time (although I have at least four more to write this year! Two are short ones, though...). Everyone has their own pace – but please PLEASE don’t twiddle with your work forever. Send it out ! Get feedback! Or you may never move on.  I was 14 when I sent my first manuscript to a publisher.

How much planning went into each character?

I can’t honestly say I planned them that much. They just sort of showed up. Although I did have plans for some minor characters at very early stages. Mr Eades, for example, just simmers along in the background for four books and it’s not until the fifth that you really find out about his true nature. It was fun working that out, although I have to admit that it wasn’t until about Going To Ground that I had decided exactly what that nature was.
Some characters are very easy – Caroline Fisher, for example – because she was almost entirely based on me. I used to be a local newspaper reporter and the tactics she used were pretty much the same as mine (although I probably wasn’t quite so sharp and tough).
Many other characters are based on people I know - and most of them know it (I keep their names in too). But I want to make it clear that any evil characters are only partly based on people I know. Just subtract the ‘evil’ bit please!