Quickfire with: Ruby Dixon

For the Rubyverse fanatics who want to know it all!

Q1. What’s something about Aehako that nobody knows?

Ruby: Aehako doesn’t have secrets! That’s the thing no one knows. He likes to tell everyone his business.

 Q2. What was your favourite book to write?

Ruby: Oooh, that’s hard to say. I know that book six in this series, Barbarian’s Mate, is one of my favourites for sure.

Q3. Do you have completed books that you’ll never publish?

Ruby: Oh yes! I think I have 4 or 5 that I wrote that never quite came together. I have one I rewrote from scratch twice, but I could never quite nail the vibe, and I put it aside. I won’t publish them because they’re all ugly babies with terrible plotting. It would be cruel to inflict them upon anyone.

Q4. What characters would you say is most like you? A Sagittarius in hiding.

Ruby: That really is a tough one. Maybe Summer with her need to talk someone’s ear off, and not knowing when to actually stop talking.

 Q5. It’s the worst question to ask, so we won’t ask what you’re working on next, but… please tell us, if there’s any — what subgenre in science fiction are you interested in trying in the future?

Ruby: I had an idea for an Earth invasion-type story, but it was pretty grim. If I can find a way to lighten it up, I’d probably try it. But for now, I’m happy to stick in my current corner of the Rubyverse.

 Q6. What is your writing process?

Ruby: I try to write every day, and at this point, my first drafts are pretty clean. As I write, I think of and add new details to the ongoing document and tweak things as I go.

Q7. Is publishing a book a relief?

Ruby: Yes, but then I promise you another will immediately take its place.

Q8. If there’s one thing you’d say to a reader aspiring to be a writer, what would that be?

Ruby: Write that first book. Finish it no matter how ugly it is. Finishing the first book is powerful!