Interview with M. Leon Smith

Hey all you readers and writers! Emma Michaels here to introduce our guest author of the day:
M. Leon Smith
Hello M. Leon and welcome to The Writers Voice!

What would you like for readers to take away from your novel/novels?

I just would like for people to have fun. The Blue Jackets is a series of Superhero short stories for the Kindle and a free flash series on my website. They are designed to be read without having to commit a huge amount of time to them. A novel is in the works but that may be a while in the making. Short stories and flash episodes will continue in the meantime.

What part of your first novel did you find hardest to write?

Starting a story is always the same. It's me versus the blank page. Finding the hook to open a story is very important (and quite difficult for me). There is quite a traumatic scene in Induction that became entirely necessary but I didn't want to write it as I was beginning to really like the character involved so either writing that scene or just starting!

Was there ever a moment when you wouldn’t trade what you do as an author for the world? What was that moment for you?

The first time I saw my name in print! Writing is openly inviting rejection. When you spend hours writing a piece and then submit it, only for it to be rejected is very demoralising at times. When I received my first email of acceptance (for a short story in an anthology) I was overjoyed. But even that feeling didn't compare to actually holding the book, looking at the contents page and seeing my name. It was such a buzz that I knew I had to carry on writing.

What makes you feel like you’re reading or have read a truly amazing book?

Any book that keeps me awake at night because I cannot put it down is a winner. If a novel draws you in so fully that you just have to read one more chapter (then another... and another...) then I feel that it is a great book.

Is there one book that has had an impact on not only your writing, but on you personally?

There have been many books that have impacted me over the course of my life so picking one is really tough. I think I would have to go for 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. We were assigned it at school for English Lit (I would have been 13 or 14) and the class complained about it. I devoured it! I finished the book in about two days and even used it as the central piece for my coursework. Never had a book touched me so deeply and I still read it every year or two. The central theme of racism was very pertinent to me as my brother is black and a lot of bigotry came our way.

Tell us something most people don’t know about you!

I refused to eat tomatoes until I was 35!

Thank you for stopping by The Writers Voice!