Anne C. Miles, an award-winning author, was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois in 1971. She successfully avoided writing fiction for years by blogging and extensive journaling. However, one day, she logged into a writing site and scribbled. She kept going, and now cannot stop. Her book, Sorrowfish, was named Best Fantasy of 2019 by Indies Today.

When Anne isn't working or writing, she plays violin badly and spoils her grandchildren. She is hard at work on the next book of her series, The Call of the Lorica.

Hi Anne

Me – I enjoyed reading Sorrowfish, what a wonderful title.

Which aspect of the writing process do you enjoy the most? And why?

Anne - When I write, the scenes unfold in my mind as if I am watching a movie. I really enjoy seeing that movie and trying to capture it on paper. It’s a joy to do it.

Me – I too am a visual writer, it’s such fun.

What distracts you when you are in writing flow? Is there anything you do to counter this?

Anne -I’ll wonder about something weird like what sort of chairs people used around a campfire in the medieval times and end up wasting an afternoon looking it up. I tend to try to write down my odd questions now to look up later, leave a space and keep writing.

Me- That’s a good tip for wandering thoughts and those pesky questions and ideas.

What part of the story pushes itself into your imagination first? Story premise, character, setting, plot, ending?

Anne - I started with a poem. I know it sounds strange but that is what came to me first. I had no idea what it meant and sort of discovered as I wrote it out. So, book one was the first stanza of the poem in the book. Now I am on the next stanza and discovering what it means. The poem relates to the characters and the plot.

Me – I think poetry is a fascinating way to plot a story.

What inspired you to write Sorrowfish?

Anne - Two things. My daughter and I had a falling out when she went to college. We didn’t speak for almost two years. This upset me. (Insert much wailing and gnashing of teeth and prayer and soul-seeking here.) Finally, I was arguing with myself one day and I said, “She’s just selfish.” And I heard in my mind as if someone had spoken to me, “No. She is sorrowfish.” She was acting from pain. And I remembered the word. It stuck with me. 

I’ve always had music which plays in my mind, ear worms. But one day I noticed the music related to what was going on around me so I called the -entity- playing music in my mind “Cosmic DJ.” One day it occurred to me that such things might make for a pretty fun fantasy story. So I started writing.

Me – I love the idea of a cosmic DJ and although I’ve had music stuck in my head sometimes, I didn’t know it was called earworms. Brilliant.

What is your approach to world building?

Anne - Haphazard. I download all the worldbuilding tools I can find. Compile them. Work on figuring out all the things. Stare at the map I drew. Write down everything I know about each place on the map. Write down everything I know (customs, religion, government, history, holidays) about all of the places and characters. I put it all in scrivener in a story bible. Then I promptly nuke the computer I was working on and find out my THREE BACKUPS are not working, try desperately to scribble down all I remember about everyone in a notebook. I’m still scribbling. It’s a process.

Me – Phew, that sounds chaotic and scary when backup’s fail.

Is your desire to write influenced by any particular author?

Anne - Patrick Rothfuss. Whenever I want to quit I think of him and it keeps me going.

Me – What is it about Patrick Rothfuss that keeps you writing?

Anne - I'm a Christian. So I admit to being zealous in some respects, particularly I am zealous for the glory of Jesus. Glory is an interesting word. One definition of it is "An accurate or complete estimate of who one is." Patrick Rothfuss is such a gifted author and has been given such a way with words and such a beautiful story to tell. Seeing his career is like watching an amazing athlete perform. What is tragic about Rothfuss is he is so thankless. I read an interview a few years ago where he talked about his influences. I'm just going to quote what he said.

"In terms of the wider mythology for your world, do we detect Christian influences?
What it has is the archetype of the self-sacrificing god. But honestly, by the time Jesus did that, it was old news. A bunch of people did it before Jesus---and, to be fair, some people did it better."

Bless his heart. I read that and was filled with such a fury. I have yet to see it doused. Who is he to judge Jesus? I was appalled. I have never seen such a careless and dismissive view of Christ in my life. Mr Rothfuss is much too educated to give credit where credit is due (to his Creator) So I started my book with the idea in mind that I would out-write the man. Literally that is why I started. I am not there yet, but this is what I pray for, because I want to show the world that Jesus is not old news. He's alive and very active and no one has ever done anything better than He did it. I write and dedicate myself to excellence in writing with that goal in mind.

Me – What a goal you have set yourself. Enjoy the challenge.

How do you decide what story to write next in the world you have created?

Anne - I’m sort of clueless about this. The problem is I have a prequel which I really need to finish at some point before I get too far into my story. Part of what has taken me so long to write book two is that I have abandoned book two at some points to write the prequel. But my story has a large overarching arc for me to finish and I’m determined to finish it. I have just decided to finish the current story then finish the prequel and I am sticking to that decision.

Me – That sounds like a plan to me. Good luck.

What is the strangest observation from the real world that snuck into Sorrowfish or the next book in the series?

Anne - A tiny word, the word “no,” can move a person toward their doom.

Me – Scary thought.

Which character reflects a part of your personality?

Anne - Sara is very like me, and so is Tabor. Sara loves movie quotes and I have been known to pop off with a few of those myself. My husband and I play a game where we try to only use cliches when we speak to each other (stolen from the TV show Gilmore Girls).

Me - Is it just movie quotes that makes Sara like you or is there some deeper personality trait you have explored while writing?

Anne - I suppose I have been sorrowfish in my life and that also makes me like Sara. I've dealt with deep shame and fear and faced it. While I do not have a twin sister, I do have sisters. Our relationship has always been complex. I suppose some of that has crept into the story. Then of course, I am an artist. (Graphic artist, not a sculptor) But yes, there is quite a lot of me in Sara.

Me - Do you have a writing tip for other writers who wish to tackle a fantasy story spanning the real world and a fantasy world?

Anne -Don’t judge your writing. No matter how strange or silly the idea seems, try writing it. Keep writing it until you get your point across.

Me – Not judging your writing, especially on a first draft, is very good advice. I like the idea of keeping on writing until the idea is finally complete.  Thank you. 

If you’d like to find out more about Anne Miles or her writing please visit the links below.

https://www.sorrowfish.com 
https://www.annecmiles.com 

https://www.facebook.com/loricaAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/loricaauthor/