Cara Fox
Cara is an English author, editor, and freelance journalist trying to write her way out of the dark. Inspired by authors such as Mary Shelley, Daphne du Maurier, Bram Stoker, and Jules Verne, and her Eastern European heritage, she favors steampunk, horror, and Gothic romance, but you can find her anywhere that the stories sink their claws into you and the wine is flowing freely. Her work has been featured in the Tales To Terrify podcast and in upcoming anthologies.
When not writing, Cara can be found spending time with her two daughters, studying towards her English Literature degree or getting involved with British politics. In what little free time remains, she enjoys heavy metal and rock music, watching obscure horror movies with her husband, and curating collections of antique poetry and unusual snow globes.
Cara has limited mobility as the result of a highly thrilling incident involving firefighters, forgotten keys, and a misplaced hero complex, which is a tale for another time. This influences her work with themes of mortality and pain often running throughout the twisted tales she writes, but she refuses to allow it to hold her back. https://twitter.com/caradabra
Featured Author: Cara Fox Interview
- How long have you been writing?
- What genre do you prefer to write in?
- Describe your writing process. What comes first–character or plot? Do you “pants” it or outline?
- What is your routine as a writer?
- Are there any software tools, resources, or websites you often use while writing?
- Do you have a set number of words per day you target? Or do you set other goals to meet?
- Do you prefer short stories or full-length novels in your writing?
- Can you give some us some insight into your story in Beautiful Lies, Painful Truths Vol. I ?
- What advice can you give other writers?
LHP: How long have you been writing?
Cara Fox: I’ve always loved creating stories, but the first time I made a real effort to sit down and write a story properly was about ten years ago, after the birth of my first daughter. Once I realised the height of my passion for writing, it became a daily habit, but it wasn’t until around a year ago that I pushed myself to venture seriously into the world of publishing. Back to top >>>
LHP: What genre do you prefer to write in?
Cara Fox: I gravitate towards horror. Though my stories run the gamut from steampunk right through to vampire erotica, there is always an element of darkness in the stories I create. I think there’s something particularly visceral about horror; as a reader, I love the powerful emotional response to a story or character that really gets under the skin and stays with you, lurking in the shadowy recesses of your mind to catch you unawares in the middle of the night. When writing, I strive to recreate that sense of disturbance, no matter which genre my story falls into.
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LHP: Describe your writing process. What comes first–character or plot? Do you “pants” it or outline?
Cara Fox: I always start with the central character, and the plot tends to evolve naturally around them each time. Once that’s in place, I sketch out a framework for the plot, then work through it filling in the gaps and building the dialogue. I tend to revise as I go along, but I’m a firm believer in coming back to the final story with fresh eyes to look for any plot holes or characterisation that doesn’t quite work in the context of the rest of the story.
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LHP: What is your daily/weekly routine as a writer?
Cara Fox: I write at every opportunity – little and often, by necessity. With two young children, a degree underway in English Literature and health problems, I take advantage of every chance I find to write down a few hundred words.
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LHP: Are there any software tools, resources, or websites you use often while writing?
Cara Fox: I’m a huge fan of Scrivener. I tend to research settings quite heavily, and I love how Scrivener makes it so easy to keep track of that research, as well as character backstories and ideas for how to develop the plot and work towards the conclusion. I also like Pinterest for creating moodboards when it comes to sketching out larger, more involved stories. Back to top >>>
LHP: Do you have a set number of words per day you target? or do you set other goals to meet?
Cara Fox: I now have a strict policy of one in, one out – I refuse to let myself start a new story until I finish another. It’s too easy otherwise to be distracted by the temptation of a brand new, shiny idea. By not starting a new story until I’ve finished the one I’m working on, I find I stay motivated, and by the time I begin writing the new one, the words are easy to find. Back to top >>>
LHP: How much time is spent on “the business of writing”, queries, seeking an agent or publisher, marketing/sales?
Cara Fox: Probably not enough! Like many of the other authors I know, I find it difficult to blow my own trumpet and promote my stories. For now, I’m working on building a strong portfolio of short stories whilst I finish the steampunk novel that I’ve been writing for the past year. Back to top >>>
LHP: Do you prefer short stories or full length novels in your writing?
Cara Fox: There’s a place for both, undoubtedly, but with my time constraints and health issues, at the moment short stories seem to dominate. Particularly in the horror genre, there’s something potent about packing a real punch into a short story and sustaining that momentum from start to finish without worrying too much about building a complex world and web of characters. I tend to see short stories as a snapshot of the characters’ lives at the pivotal point of their story, and condensing the story down to that vital moment is something I love to achieve. Back to top >>>
LHP: Can you give some us some insight into your story?
Cara Fox: My story, “Family Ties“, deals with the essence of death and the burden of the choices we make. From a young age we fear death; the human urge to survive is perhaps the most powerful instinct we possess. However, there comes a point when death is not to be defied, but should be welcomed and accepted. Nobody can live forever – and even if we could, should we even want to?
“Family Ties” seeks to answer that question. I’ve always loved fiction which personifies Death as a character with all the moral ambiguities that come with it, so it only seemed natural to explore the balance of life and death from the viewpoint of the being who understands it better than anyone else. At its heart, my story is all about the conflict between the two, and the human instinct to survive and beat Death at his own game. Back to top >>>
LHP: What advice can you give other writers?
Cara Fox: Make writing a habit. There will be times when you feel disheartened, when rejection after rejection hits your inbox and inspiration dries up, but I firmly believe that those are the times when you learn the most about your craft. Push through the difficulties, learn what you can from the rejections and work on understanding where your ideas come from. As authors we must never be complacent or think we know everything there is to know about writing. The more you read and write, the stronger your stories will become.Back to top >>>
Beautiful Lies, Painful Truths Vol. I
Cara Fox recently authored “Family Ties” for Beautiful Lies, Painful Truths Volume I, on sale now on Amazon.