Interview With Author Karen Ankers
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Anglesey, North Wales. I have published three novels: The Crossing Place, The Stone Dancers and Luca. A fourth, Vivo, written as part of my PhD thesis, is due out in June 2026. I have also written eight short plays, which have been performed in several countries, and my poetry has been published in various magazines and anthologies.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Luca, is a mystery with elements of folk horror. It began when a friend of mine moved to an isolated cottage in the middle of a woodland – I remember driving out there and thinking it would make a great setting for a story. Then I read about Darwin’s idea of a universal common ancestor, I became involved with a local environmental campaign, and all these strands eventually wove themselves into a novel.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t write one thing at a time. I usually have three or four projects on the go at any one time and I’ll move from on to the other, depending on my mood and energy levels. Luca, for example, was written alongside my PhD thesis. At the moment I’m working on a film script and trying to start a fifth novel.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Alan Garner has probably been the biggest influence on my writing. I read The Moon of Gomrath when I was twelve, and life was never the same again. So my writing always works on more than one level of reality – since reading his books I’ve been intrigued by the idea that what we see around us isn’t all there is. I’ve also been hugely influenced by Margaret Atwood, Indra Sinha, and Lisa Jewell.
What are you working on now?
A few people have said to me that Luca would make a great film, so I’m trying to write the film script. This is way outside my comfort zone, very different from writing a novel, but I’m determined to find a way through it! I’ve also started a fifth novel, which doesn’t yet have a title, in which a woman takes on a new identity.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads. Instagram. Facebook.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up! Just keep writing! Learn about freewriting and allow yourself to write rubbish – you can edit it later. Work your way through a terrible first draft and then go back and write a better second one – keep refining it until you’re happy. Find a writing group – you’ll need to talk to other writers. Keep a blanket to hand to put over your knees, and choose a comfortable chair – it’s impossible to write well if you’re cold and your back aches!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t compare your first draft to a book you see in a bookshop, which will have gone through several drafts by the author before it was worked on by agents and editors, and looks nothing like the author’s first draft!
What are you reading now?
A Serial Killer’s Guide To Marriage (Asia Mackay). Hugely entertaining.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Try and finish the film script I’m working on. It’s such a different skillset from what I’ve done before. A real challenge. I’ve got one more round of edits to do on Vivo, the novel I have due to be published in June 2026, so then I’ll be helping the publishers design a cover, and working on marketing, so that’s really exciting. And by the time it comes out I’ll hopefully have finished the first draft on novel number five!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Moon of Gomrath, Alan Garner. Animal’s People, Indra Sinha. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood. Apocalypse, D.H Lawrence.
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