Deryn Pittar
1, Tell us about you, and your writing (themes, influences etc.)
Hi, so great to be here and to talk to you Kate. I live in New Zealand, which with the internet and social media is only a click away from the rest of the world. I write mostly stories with a sci.fi./paranormal/fantasy theme, although I have several contemporary romance novellas in anthologies. I’ve written Y.A. and even a cozy mystery. I like to challenge myself with a different genre occasionally. In between all this I write poetry. Again I like the challenge of different forms and have tried a lot of them. I’m a sucker for haiku. It’s trying to write in the ‘now’ moment and to say as much as possible in as few words as possible. It’s not just a simple 5-7-5 syllable thing. Sometimes the syllable count doesn’t matter that much. It’s deeper than that when you get into it, and a good haiku is a thing of beauty with the image it creates for the reader.
2, What are some of the ways in which you promote your work, and do you find these add, or eat into, your time writing?
I’ve tried blogs and a website and given up on them. I now stick to twitter and Facebook and yes, both eat into my time and I sometimes wonder why I bother. It’s really hard work promoting your work for little feedback and reward. However, the writing bug continues to niggle, so I never really stop creating worlds and characters.
3, What projects are you working on at present?
I’m currently writing a romance which involves a wager taken by two guardian angels about their respective charges. It’s a challenge to include the various points of view, plus I’m trying to make this one into a full length novel. I’m a tiger to write novellas, which causes some complaints among my reviewers – who want MORE and get cross when the story finishes.
4, What does poetry mean to you?
Poetry makes me happy. It’s the joy of playing with words so that they flow in a beat, although not necessarily in rhyme at the end of each line; perhaps a rhyme midline at times.
Again it’s the challenge of removing every unnecessary word (like editing fiction) yet painting a picture or story with the words you have left. Like fiction poetry can be realistic or fanciful, sad or joyful.
Here are two haiku examples: both have been published.
forget-me-nots
on an old cracked jug –
my mother’s smile
standing by the water
discussing tides and traffic
a gossip of dinghies
Amazon Author page // Goodreads
Poetic Insights 