Greetings and
salutations, everyone. My name is Pinkie Rae Parker. By day, I am a
mild-mannered historian living in the southern United States, but, by night (or
rather later in the day), I am a writer of fiction. Though I have been writing
for quite a while, I’m fairly new to the world of published authors, so here
are a few tidbits about myself.
1. How long have
you been writing?
I have been
writing short stories since I was a teenager, so it’s been about thirteen
years. It was a hobby that quickly led to writing fanfiction for my favorite
television shows. Writing became a way to relate to and interact with other
fans online, and I made a lot of friends through that. I did not start thinking
about publishing my original stories until I got into college, and my alma
mater’s literary magazine gave me my start. However, research and my day job
kept me from seriously pursuing fiction writing until I received my
undergraduate degree. After about a six or so months of trying various
publishers, Dreamspinner Press agreed to publish one of my short stories (“Curtain
Calls”) in their upcoming anthology, Snow on the Roof.
2. What is your
favourite genre to write?
I love writing
fantasy stories. Give me your elves, your vampires, and your huddled Hobbits. I
find that sometimes I have a pretty “Grimm” sense of humor (if you’ll pardon
the pun) that works well with fantasy elements that does not always translate
well into other genres. However, I would like to try to write some historical
fiction when the inspiration finally sparks. I spend most of my time buried in
archives, so eventually I will find that missing element that will spur me
along.
3. What are you
working on now?
I just finished
a humorous short story for one of Dreamspinner Press’s anthology calls, and I’ve
been working on revising the first novel that I wrote a few years ago in hopes
of finding a publisher for that. The novel is a science fiction tale dealing
with a dystopian alternative past. Anachronisms are always fun, I find.
4. When you
start a new story, do you begin with a character or plot?
Almost always I
begin with character with a smidgen of backstory peppered in that eventually
leads to the plot. Sometimes my stories develop out of the description of the
character, like a physical trait or a personality quirk. A shy, gap-toothed
smile or an infectious laugh can really bring life to a whole world of
possibilities for a plot or a setting.
5. Tell us about
your latest/upcoming release. What inspired it?
“Curtain Calls”
is coming out February 9, 2013 in Dreamspinner Press’s Snow on the Roof anthology.
It tells the story of an aging actor who worries that his place in the
spotlight is about to be usurped by a younger man. Going back to the previous
question, for “Curtain Calls,” I randomly sketched a doodle of a young man with
freckles. I thought, “Who is this?” The story evolved from trying to figure out
who this random fellow in my sketchbook was. All the details-- his name, his
personality, his job-- derived from a few graphite lines on Canson paper. That’s
what I love about writing; it’s a journey where I get to meet so many
interesting (albeit fictional) people along the way.
“Curtain Calls”
blurb: As aging British actor Kitt Holbrook gears up for a reprisal of his
signature role in William Shakespeare's The Tempest at on London's West
End, the part is unexpectedly re-cast to a much younger and more inexperienced
actor, Bascomb Willows, in hopes of boosting flagging ticket sales. While the
decision initially angers Kitt, he begrudgingly agrees to coach Bascomb. Will
Kitt's bruised ego prove detrimental to the production, or can he fight his own
pride to remember what it is like for a young man to make his way to center
stage?
“Curtain Calls”
Excerpt:
At
fifty-six years old, Kitt Holbrook had spent the majority of his life on the
stage. He had been much leaner and much hungrier in the early days. He spent
every waking moment clawing his way up the rung of the theatre hierarchy until
he finally received his break-- being cast as Ferdinand in Pleismann’s run of The
Tempest in 1976. The reviews for his performance made him a sought after
name in the West End and even landed him a few film and television roles.
Ferdinand, however, remained his signature role and, like many other British
stage actors, he returned to the part at various times afterwards. In three
weeks, Kitt would do so for the last time, saying goodbye to Ferdinand in a
final grand send-off.
Leaning
back in his chair, Kitt scrutinized his reflection for several moments. He
supposed he was aging gracefully enough. Long ago, the bright copper sheen of
his hair had faded into a dark brown that, in time, turned grey. Hair dye
returned some of the luster with just enough pigmentless streaks at his temples
for Kitt to appear distinguished. Though his lips were unfortunately thinning,
the deep-set lines around his mouth and eyes gave him a rather grim expression,
so he often tried to keep his eyebrows elevated to look less prickly, even
though that made his forehead resemble a cracked pavement in the muggy heat of
summer.
Leave
plastic surgery to the young, Kitt thought. It’s
too much effort to fix what nature’s already wrought.
Buy Links:
Author Bio:
Pinkie Rae Parker is happy to use the moniker passed down from her
great-grandmother. Born and raised in the southern United States, Pinkie Rae is
currently a cultural historian and graphic designer. She enjoys researching
fashion and design in Europe during the eighteenth century and studying French.
However, writing fiction is a passion that she has had since she was a
teenager, and she now hopes to pursue writing for publication (outside of
academia) as a full-time career.
Hi Pinkie Rae! Great intro post, nice to meet you! Your story sounds fascinating, especially as I am the same age as your protagonist! I wish you well with that and with all your other stories!
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to guest on my blog, I'd love to have you! I'm also a Dreamspinner author!
You can email me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com
Have a great day!
Julie
PS Loved the Grimm sense of humor comment :)