The boring version: I’m a thirty-something mum, wife, author and teacher from Lancaster, England.

 The (slightly) more entertaining version: I always have too much to do and too little time. Somehow (and I really don’t know how), I manage to juggle being a mum and a part-time teacher, writing and all my various hobbies. I have a LOT of hobbies–knitting, spinning, dyeing, sewing, photography and drawing. Yes, there’s a definite crafty theme going on in my life! I lived in the tropics when I was a kid, which has given bit of a travel bug, which is only sated once a year (if I’m lucky!). So yes, that’s me–a creative, travel hungry, work-a-holic.

Believe it or not, this is a question that I always find hard to answer, namely because I’m not sure. As a child, I loved telling and writing stories. I remember once being very jealous, because one of my brother’s English teachers handed all of his class an exercise book and told them to “write a book”. His was called “Which Spaceship” (you can tell what he was interested in!) and I’m pretty sure he handed it to me to proofread. I never got that cool an assignment from any teacher, but I wish I had. Throughout high school, I was continually writing (often in lessons!) and once even got one of the really arty kids in the school to do some paintings for a collection of short stories I’d written. I guess it just carried on from there. I don’t think anything really made me want to become a writer, I just realised I wanted to be one.

I generally get my inspiration from things that I watch, or read. Anime is a massive source of inspiration for me, especially stuff by Clamp. Also, when people tell me a funny, interesting or unusual story, I have a habit of saying, “there’s a story in there somewhere.” I’m constantly looking for anything that could be a spark of inspiration. The world is full of it, I just need to keep my eyes open and be on the look out for it.

At it’s heart, Trinity is about three young adults trying to right a pretty hideous wrong–not because they have to, or because what went wrong was their fault, but because they WANT to. They choose their own paths in life and overcome some massive odds in order to achieve their goal. It’s an ensemble piece, with three central characters, who band together despite their differences. It’s a story of hope.

Editing, hands down. No matter how much I enjoyed the initial writing, editing always ends up feeling like a hard slog, especially the fast pass, which I do myself before anyone else gets to read it at all. Later drafts get more fun, once I’m working with an editor.

My laptop! I don’t really have a special drink or a lucky item. Increasingly, I need my Moleskin beside me, as it has plotting and editing notes in it. I also tend to have the TV on as background noise, I’m hopeless at working in silence.

‘The Chronicles of Prydain’, by Lloyd Alexander were my favourite childhood books. I love ‘Regeneration’ and ‘The Ghost Road’ by Pat Barker and Holly Lisle’s ‘Secret Texts’ trilogy. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been reading a lot of indie books recently as well. I adore the first two books in the ‘Cornerstone’ trilogy by Misty Provencher. Other indie favourites include ‘Torched’, by Andrea Lynn Colt and ‘The Violet Fox’, by Clare Marshall.

No, never. At least, not consciously and certainly not in any way I could recognise. I’d be wary of doing so, as I wouldn’t want to offend anyone!

I’ve just handed the first book in an urban fantasy series over to my editor, leaving me free to finish writing the first draft of book two. I’m also working on a prequel to Trinity, which focuses on the cause of the troubles that form the basis for the plot of Trinity.

Creating new worlds and torturing unsuspecting characters? What’s not to love?

Thanks for having me over for a chat!

Clare Davidson is a character driven fantasy writer, teacher and mother, from the UK. Clare was born in Northampton and lived in Malaysia for four and a half years as a child, before returning to the UK to settle in Leeds with her family. Whilst attending Lancaster University, Clare met her future husband and never left. They now share their lives with their young daughter and a cranky grey cat, called Ash. Clare juggles family life with writing, teaching and a variety of fibre craft hobbies.

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