Today (August 5th, 2021) marks the release of author Naomi Gibson's new novel, Every Line Of You. To celebrate, we asked her to reveal some interesting facts all about her, so that readers can get to know the wonderful woman behind the enchanting words on the page of this unique and fascinating read...
1. I grew up without a TV. My parents made the lifestyle choice not to have a TV, and we didn’t get one until I was about 11/12. As such, books were a huge part of my childhood. My mum would take us to the library after school and at the weekends, and we always got new books before going on a holiday. Interestingly, we still had computers. My dad built a couple for us to play games on which we slowly destroyed one after the other when we discovered the internet and anti-virus software was not 'A Thing' yet.
2. I love psychology and psychoanalysing people. I love to know what makes people tick. The psychology behind why people act the way they do, what drives them to make certain decisions, what pushes each individual person to their own individual edge... I find all of that fascinating, and I love to incorporate it into my writing.
3. I'm terrible at keeping secrets. Just to clarify – I can keep someone else’s secrets but I’m a terrible blabber of my own. Not long after I’d signed the contract for my debut, I got chatting to a random couple at a table next to us in a pokey restaurant in Yorkshire. I told them all about my book and how I was an author. Both of them turned out to journalists working for prestigious newspapers. I could not have picked a more 'wrong' couple to blab to.
4. For me, characters come first. When I start writing a new book, I tend to sit down and write it by the seat of my pants without much plotting. However, I absolutely have to know my character inside out before I can begin. For me, the character always comes first. If I know how they tick and I know what they want, the plot comes to me naturally because they drive it. If my writing stalls, it’s usually because I don’t know my character well enough.
5. We're building a house in Scotland. Correction, my husband is building a house. I am in the caravan crying into my wine glass. When I first met my husband he told me he wanted to build a house. It’s a dream that’s stayed with us and finally, eight months ago, we moved to the Glasgow area to a plot with a gorgeous view and a dilapidated barn to renovate.
6. I love to paint. I’m not going to hold myself out as the next Picasso or anything, but when I’m on leave and not using it to write, I do love to smoosh some paint on a canvas. Abstract art is my favourite kind of art and it’s so fun to see where the paint takes you.
7. I love to play computer games. As I grew up with computer games, I’ve always played them. As a student I took part in Call Of Duty tournaments, and whilst I don’t compete anymore, I do still love to play. (My husband tells me I swear too much playing COD so I don’t play that so much anymore.) One of my favourite games is Detroit Become Human, which is a choice-based game and really puts you in the shoes of a robot having to decide to cause an uprising against the humans. It’s BRILLIANT.
Every Line Of You by Naomi Gibson is out now in paperback, £7.99, Chicken House.
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