I’m THRILLED to welcome Niki Valentine to my blog. She’s talking about why writing is the only kind of life that could keep her satisfied, in a guest post titled ‘Unreliable Possession’:
Over the course of my blog tour, I’ve been asked a lot about the two different genres I write. Thinking so much about this has made me examine my work closely. Much of what I’ve realised has surprised me. More than anything, what’s become clear to me is how similar my different novels are. Thematically, structurally, in so many ways. And I have realised that every single book has an unreliable narrator or, more accurately, an unreliable point of view character.
My Niki Valentine books have supernatural elements that I wanted to feel real, and to be surrounded by all of the doubt we feel when we have weird experiences in real life. Not only is the reader unsure about what has happened to the characters, often the protagonist herself isn’t completely certain either. I’m often asked what the ‘truth’ is about my stories. What happened to Jon? What did Kerrie find in the shed? Is the supernatural stuff really happening or not? I try not to answer these questions if I can help it. I worry that the truth might not be very satisfactory for the person asking because it’s exactly the way I feel about the supernatural in general; I don’t know.
I made the distinction between ‘unreliable narrator’ and ‘unreliable point of view character’ before for a reason. Not all of my novels are in written in the 1st person. Actually, my Monaghan novels are but my Valentine ones are not, one of the few clear differences. Despite having a 3rd person narrator, the supernatural stories follow the protagonist so closely they have a 1st person feel to them, a point that more than one reviewer has commented on. What I have done in every book so far is occupy the life of my protagonist completely. What she knows, I know, no more, no less. I see the world of my story entirely from her point of view.
Which is interesting. It makes my approach to writing these books a kind of literary ‘possession’ of those main characters. So, it’s curious that I should choose to write a book about spiritual possession. Perhaps it’s the previous three books I’d written, my imagination firmly planted inside someone else’s body and life, that inspired my thoughts about this. Maybe every book is about the chance to live to someone else’s life for a while and have his or her experiences, think his or her thoughts. This brings to mind the George RR Martin quote:
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies,” said Jojen. “The man who never reads lives only one.”
I was so greedy for experience when I was younger, I found it hard to settle to one career, moving from teaching, to finance, to software, all before I was thirty. Perhaps this is why writing is the only kind of life that has kept me satisfied; because I can take over any other and be anything or anyone I want for a while.
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About the author: Niki Valentine is an award-winning writer who, under a pseudonym, has been published internationally to huge acclaim. When she isn’t working on her next psychological horror novel, Niki teaches Creative and Professional Writing at Nottingham University.
The Kindle edition of Niki’s latest novel, Possessed is now available:
Who do you trust when you can no longer trust your own mind?
Emma’s life has always been a struggle, and now she’s been accepted at a prestigious music school, she is determined to excel. But when the impossibly chic twins, confident Sophie and quieter Matilde, come crashing into her life - surrounding her with champagne and parties - they demand Emma’s full attention.
Then shy Matilde commits suicide and shockingly, her identical twin Sophie flourishes. Now odd things are happening to Emma: blackouts, waking up in strange places, bizarre dreams. Something, or someone, is consuming Emma’s mind. Terrified, Emma begins to doubt everything and everyone around her, especially the beautiful Sophie…