Writing and Rambling: Author Interview

This week, all the way from Budapest, we are happy to get a few minutes with Line by Lion author (linebylion.com) Dani J. Caile!

Stunning view of Budapest from Gellért Hill

M: Welcome to Rambling and Writing.

D: Thanks, its great to be here.

M: All the way from Budapest? What do you do there?

D: I mainly teach English as a 2^nd language to primary school children. I also edit and proofread.

M: That is awesome. Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk with us. So, besides teach and edit, what else do you do?

D: Like I said, I live just outside Budapest in Hungary with my family. In my spare time I write, run, do DIY, tai chi, and try not to piss off my neighbors too much.

M: How's that going?

D: Mmmm...there’s a Hungarian joke. A guy walks into a baker’s five minutes before closing time and there’s only one loaf of bread left. He asks for half a loaf. The baker cuts the loaf, but shouts bad things about the customer who wants half a loaf. The guy asks the baker if he’s talking about him. The baker replies, “No, it’s the other guy.”

M: LOL, so, don't be that other guy! Got it. Let's change the subject. When did you start writing?

D: When I started a degree course back in 2011, I needed a rest from writing serious essays, so I started writing stories. And I’m still doing it.

M: Do you outline, or do you fly by the seat of your pants when you write?

D: I pick up on an idea, good or bad, then expand on it, see where it goes, and if it’s plausible, I outline. Then comes the real work of finishing it and editing.

M: Finishing is the hard part. I actually enjoy the editing. I like the process of refining. So what is your genre? What inspires you to write that genre?

D: I try to stick to Fantasy Humor, Paranormal, Urban fantasy or something a little darker like a Thriller, whatever I feel I can write as best as I can. I would never try to write Erotica, for example. Whether I can do a good job of it is what counts for me.

M: What is your writing routine?

D: Unfortunately, as with life, I have no writing routine. I write when I can and when my muse hits me over the head with a big stick.

M: The muse is fickle. Good luck. So, what makes you…you? Something that you want your readers to know?

D: I’m determined. If I start, I finish it. Then I move onto the next task.

M: What kind of things are on your bucket list?

D: Parachuting, hiking in China, learning to dance and draw, and breaking 20 minutes in a 5km run-I’m nowhere near that time but if it was on my bucket list, I’d work on it.

M: As a former paratrooper and skydiver, I highly recommend the parachuting! The running...I'll leave that all to you.

D: I'll definitely look into the parachuting...

M: Between family, teaching, and writing, do you have time to read?

D: Would you believe it? Yes. I'm reading Harry Potter and Milton.

M: A power duo. Who is your favorite author?

D: Aldous Huxley. For myself, Crome Yellow is sublime.

M: So, we know what inspires you. What are you writing now? Your current work in progress?

D: At the moment I’m mainly editing books for other writers, but the occasional idea pops out from time to time. Right now I’m collecting material for the third book in my fantasy “How to” series, which will probably be some underwater adventure about a lost civilization, including monsters, an evil dictator… the usual stuff. The second book is coming out in the next month or two from Line By Lion, “How to Sink a Ship (in eight long, excruciatingly terrifying, stinkingly evil nights)”

M: Anything else you want the readers to know?

D: I write a lot of things. You WILL find something I have written that you like, maybe even LOVE. Others have.