The Illusionists

About Laure Eve

Laure Eve is a French-British hybrid who grew up in Cornwall, a place saturated with myth and fantasy. Being a child of two cultures taught her everything she needed to know about trying to fit in at the same time as trying to stand out. She speaks English and French and can hold a vague conversation, usually about food, in Greek.She is the proud owner of a degree in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University, has worked as a bookseller and, for one memorable summer, a costumed bear for children's parties.

She now lives and works in London in the publishing industry.

A Q&A with Laure...

What have you been up to since FEARSOME DREAMER?

Writing. Ha :) No, really. Oh, the glamour of it all.

What inspired you to write THE ILLUSIONISTS?

Damn. The biggest inspiration is a complete spoiler, so I’ll just say that this book takes its cues from some rather more classic science fiction ideas than FEARSOME DREAMER, which perhaps leaned more towards fantasy.

What was the toughest part to write?

There’s a complex scene set in the Castle towards the end of the book, and it was one of those that when I started writing it, I had no idea how it was going to play out. I wrote it to see what would happen!

Also… someone dies. I really didn’t think it would be that big a deal, but it’s genuinely tough to realise that you’ll never be able to write that character again.

What was the most exciting thing about writing this book?

The plot twists! I’ve been waiting to get to these for soooo long. They’ve been in my head for such a long time, it was a relief to get them out.

What advice would you give to writers struggling with a second (or third, fourth or fifth!) book?

It’s a bit galling to realise that after the first book, it doesn't actually get any easier - but it does get more familiar, at least. You recognise each stage as it comes. But it boils down the same thing it always has - sit down and write, any way you can. The world’s most boring advice, and the only advice of any use!

How do you come up with ideas for all of your books?

It could be from anything - dreams, a film I saw, a piece of music, a painting, a news story, an overheard conversation.

Has the way you write changed since FEARSOME DREAMER? Did you do

anything differently?

Well, writing to deadline is notably different! :D I certainly planned out this one in a lot more detail before I actually wrote it, but I think that was out of necessity more than anything else - it’s a direct sequel, so it has less world building and more plot motion than the first book, I’d say, and a lot of different storylines to resolve. That was a new way of writing for me. I have a tendency to meander around creating lots of world and character detail if left unchecked.

Have you got an idea for your next book? Or would you like to write something completely different?

I have several ideas. Too many. This is the problem - they always find you when you have the least amount of time to devote to them, i.e. when you’re knee deep in a current project. So I try to save them up for another time. My professional method has left me with a study full of scraps of paper with hastily scribbled half plots on them.

I have two ideas grabbing my attention right now - one is a standalone fantasy and one involves a series character, so they’re quite different from each other.