In a few words, please introduce yourself.
As long as I remember myself I always wrote something. I completed my first short story about a dog when I was ten years old. But I wrote in Russian not English. Eleven years ago I moved across the Atlantic Ocean all the way from Lithuania to the U.S. I did not speak any English. My first language was Russian. My second language was Lithuanian. English was my third language to be! I could say a few simple sentences that any foreigner might learn quickly from a dictionary or a travel book. My English knowledge was very limited. I remember myself sitting in an American Civilization class and wondering what I was doing there because I could not understand a single word. Fast forward a few years and my English was more fluent. My accent was still heavy but my ability to express myself on paper had improved. Fours years at an American university took care of that. What can better polish one’s writing craft if not writing English papers and essays? For the record, I did not study English. My major was … accounting! And this was definitely the reason why I had to write. Who could stand debits, credits, budgets and variances day after day, hour after hour? I started writing in English six years ago, and boy was my writing awful. You should agree that it is one thing to be able to create, elaborate, muse, and ramble in your own language. It is a totally different thing to do it in your third language. But I didn’t give up. I read a lot. I wrote a lot. Then I read some more. And wrote some more.
What can you tell us about your work?
Click on the link below:
Neighbors
Neighbors
"Neighbors" is a historical suspense set in post-war Stalinist Moscow where fear and paranoia reign. Complete strangers are cramped into a small communal apartment and forced to share a small kitchen, a cold bathroom and a scarce supply of food. They also share their dreams, hopes and their secrets. Some harbor heartbreaking efforts to survive. Some hide an unrequited love. But there are also those who invite darkness and set a nightmare into motion. I will end it here not to give anything away.
"The Yearning" is another dark thriller about Lizzy, a frail creature with a strange facial deformity. To live a life of a rarefied mind where no one is allowed to trespass seems the only reasonable choice for her. Unfortunately, there are those who either willingly or by accident trespass into her world, unleashing forces of fear and death. It is a story of terror, blood and lust. But above all, it is a story of love, loneliness and survival.
How do you come up with your plot ideas?
My characters find me. I don't know how they do it. They simply show up in my head and that's it. Then I start writing a story with an almost formed idea of who my characters are, what their lives look like and what happens to them as the story progress. A plot is formed but it is never a crystal-clear path. The possibilities emerge along that path, and take unexpected turns.
How do you develop your characters?
I start writing and somewhere one third through the story, I let my characters go and take on lives of their own. They are not depended on their creator any more. They make their own decisions, they pick and choose their love interests, their victims and their next steps. They become alive, and the plot develops into a something completely different. It is my favorite moment of writing!
Do you believe that in order to write, you need to read a lot?
I am a very strong believer in it. Probably because I learned from my own experience. Without reading, I would not be able to learn English as well as I did.
How do you promote your books?
I am on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=8197cda4c2b197b6e90f7d6c151476ce&#!/pages/Marina-Scott-Author/204730759577477)where I joined several writing groups. I tweet (@Aloysa2011), I blog (http://writingunhooked.wordpress.com/) and I try to get around other blogs as well. I am on Goodreads. When I have time, I am trying to establish my on-line presence.
Why publish on Kindle?
First, I own and love Kindle. I love how easy it is to download a book and read it in a few seconds. Second, I doubt that there are agents and publishers out there who would be interested in publishing a short story or a novella, one at a time.
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