For some time now, I’ve been following the blogs and tweets of our next guest (links to follow). He entertains me, informs me, and gives me pause to think. Please give him a warm welcome!

Honoré Dupuis, aspiring writer, background in military, engineering, IT and financial services, now living in London. Born in Paris, worked in Germany, France, US and Britain, now partly retired but still a practising IT consultant. Fiction writing genres: speculative fiction, erotica, BDSM, science fiction. Amateur photographer, alpinist, Apple lover. Married to Gorgeous, his constant source of inspiration.

Jim: What do you do when you aren’t writing?

Honoré: I spend time on photo editing when I am not exercising, outside occasional consultancy work in IT.

Jim: Do you have a day job?

Honoré: That is writing! I retired from full-time working two years ago.

Jim: When did you start writing, and when did you finish your first book?

Honoré: I have always written, as far as I can remember. I have not yet finished my novel, The Page, which is my first long haul piece of work.  I wrote around half of the story – some 50k – and then convinced myself I had to start again.

Jim: From where do the ideas for your stories come?

Honoré: Life and reading, occasionally dreams. The characters are hybrid of people I know, or met at some point in my real life.

Jim: Do you ever experience writer’s block?

Honoré: I don’t know. I can be for days not being very productive, writing, but very little. I stall sometime, struggling with characters who dislike what I write about them.

Jim: Do you outline or write “by the seat of your pants”?

Honoré: I expect a bit of both. I have an outline for my book, the story is there, but with plenty of gaps. It’s not set in concrete.

Jim: What author or book influenced you most in your writing?

Honoré: The writer who inspired me to write in English is Stephen King. The main influence is Proust. And, no, it’s not that surprising (smile).

Jim: What challenges did you face in getting your book published?

Honoré: Well. I haven’t got there yet!

Jim: If you had to go back and do it again, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published you’d do differently?

Honoré: Not applicable yet!

Jim: How do you market your work? What works best for you?

Honoré: This is yet in front of me. At present I am seeking views and comments from people whose views I care for.

Jim: What was your favorite part of this story to write?

Honoré: The bit I have rewritten several times already, where the central character’s imagination  (or imagined memories) start merging with reality, or something that is analogue to it.

Jim: Do your characters lead you on merry chases, creating new plots or do you have to pull it out of them?

Honoré: Yes, they do. In more than one way they write the story beyond the basis outline. They are alive.

Jim: What’s the most amusing thing that happened during the writing of this book?

Honoré: Until now: my wife telling me I had to restart from scratch!

Jim: Why this story? What was your inspiration?

Honoré: The girl who’s the evil spirit in the story, and was my best childhood friend – all those years ago – is both the reason, and the inspiration.

Jim: Tell us about your writing environment. Is it messy or neat? Is there a cat on the desk or a dog at your feet? Do you use pen and paper, laptop?

Honoré: No animals! The desktop is clean, sometimes a bit erratic. I take notes on paper, iPad and Mac. I write on the Mac. Research work on PC. Two screens.

Jim: What about your process? Do you produce consistent daily or weekly word counts or do the words rush out all at once and leave you with a dry spell?

Honoré: Variable, and I am ashamed to admit, somewhat random. I am getting more disciplined (again Stevie).

Jim: What project are you working on now?

Honoré: The main WIP is still The Page. I am also working on a shorter piece about love and dominance.

Jim: What was the toughest criticism you received as an author? What was the best compliment?

Honoré: Gorgeous said it was non-sense. She also said she was interested in reading more!

Jim: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Honoré: Read and re-read “On Writing” by Stephen King.

Jim: Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Honoré: Not yet. But read the excerpts.

Jim: Where can we find you on the web?

http://ofglassandpaper.com/

and http://loveanddominance.tumblr.com/

 I’m looking forward to the publication of your book, Honoré. Perhaps I will have the honor of reviewing it!