#17 Sarah R. New 1 on 1 with Mark Atley
Sarah R. New has been writing since she was 6. She specialises primarily in horror or fiction with horrific elements, but also writes speculative fiction and non-fiction. Her self published travel memoir, The Great European Escape, was released in 2023, and her Gothic horror novella, Amissis Liberis, was published in 2024. Sarah lives in the U.K., but frequently travels internationally. She can be found on Bluesky, Instagram and Twitter under the username aldbera.
Hello everyone, and welcome to "1 on 1 with Me!" In this series, I highlight a new author and engage in a thoughtful conversation about who they are, what they care about, and their perspectives on various topics. I start with standard questions and then move into tailored follow-ups based on their responses.
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On to the interview!
Sarah R. New
Who are you and can you tell me a little about your work? What drives you? What do you hope to accomplish?
My name is Sarah R. New and I’m an author from the U.K. I primarily write horror or horror adjacent work, but I also dabble in speculative fiction and non-fictious film analysis. I’ve written since I was a young child, and honestly, I’ve always found that I write because I have to. If I go a long time without writing it really affects me badly mentally. Telling and amplifying stories is incredibly important to me, and I just want to share my work.
How do you see your relationship with the reader?
I’m kind of intimidated by the reader! It’s so nerve racking to give your work over to someone and to see what they think of it; it’s almost like giving part of your soul over. Maybe it’s just my people pleasing nature, but I just want to put out work people enjoy.
How do you view your characters? What has changed over time, and what has stayed the same? How do you develop complex characters?
I’ve always considered my characters to be more like collaborative players in the narrative than pawns that I play around with, mostly because they usually come to me fully formed. I know people joke about hearing voices in their heads, but I often hear dialogue that ends up in the story, and if the character does not like the way the pieces is going, sometimes I have to make differing narrative choices to my original plans.
What is your version of success? Has it changed during your writing journey? How so? What’s different now versus when you started?
My version of success has definitely changed even since I started publishing. When I first started submitting to literary magazines in mid-2023, I was so excited just to get one publication, but it soon became almost addictive for me. Since then, I’ve had to make a distinct shift in my thinking regarding how I define success, defining it more about quality over quantity. I’ve also stopped defining publishing success when it comes to novels and novellas as being traditionally published, as there is such imagination and passion in the self-publishing and indie publishing realms.
What type of reader are you? How do you view books you read, and how do they affect you and your writing?
I try to read a large spectrum of books, and I have many different interests and hyperfixations that I like to research. I find that I don’t really get inspired as much by books in some ways; I might come across tropes that I enjoy and want to try writing myself, but mostly I like to use books to research into ideas I’ve already had. I’ve really enjoying getting into indie books at the minute, and using sites such as https://indiosyncrasy.com/ to find new authors.
How do you find readers? What works and hasn’t worked for you? What resonates with you when readers share thoughts about your work? And where do you see yourself in the writing community and publishing world?
I’ve found that in-person events and promotion has worked really well for me. I have a very strong support system who share my work between themselves and to people they think will like my work, which is really lovely. I’ve also found that I’ve had an uptick in readers since my interview on BOOKED, so I’m planning this year on focusing a lot on internet marketing.
—Tell me something interesting about yourself that these questions stimulated thought about. And tell me something you want others to know.
I started writing fanfiction at around thirteen years old and I think you can tell with how some of my works come out-I love playing with old fanfiction tropes or narrative devices.
I’ve seen so many people feel like they could never write because they feel that they’re not good enough, but you should never hold your creativity in. The piece is ultimately for you, and the act of creating is cathartic. If it helps you, it could never not be good enough.
How does writing horror in the U.K. differ in audiences in the U.K. As to the rest of the world?
Although the U.K. is very heavily influenced by America, we have our own host of influences and specific styles over here, and I definitely think that affects how the audience perceives work. I find British creatives tend to be more subtle in their approach, usually, particularly in the horror genre (I find that a good example of this is Black Mirror pre and post Netflix). This being said, I find personally, due to being so close to mainland Europe and being able to travel there often, I personally am quite influenced by European horror as well, particularly as I have a background in world cinema.
I also hear voices in my head when I write. Characters come to life or they don’t. What do you do when a character needs to be in the story but the voice isn’t coming to you? How do you handle these types of writing issues? What advice do you have to others when characters aren’t working on the page?
When a character won’t work with me, it can be one of the most frustrating things in the world! I actually had a situation like this with a character in my novella Amissis Liberis. Because I was unable to talk to that character in my mind, I had to restructure the piece entirely; changing the order of events, introducing new characters and, most importantly, change who narrated the piece. I would advise that, if a character isn’t working with you to write the story that you want to write, perhaps they are pushing you to look at the piece from a different angle.
Who in your life encouraged your writing? Who encouraged your reading? Was there anyone like that for you? And how has the appreciation for their advice grown within you or in spite of the feedback? (If that makes sense)
I am very lucky in my life to have many great friends who encourage me in all my creative endeavours, from beta reading, to boosting my published pieces and buying my books. I don’t know where I would be without them.
Sarah R. New has been writing since she was 6. She specialises primarily in horror or fiction with horrific elements, but also writes speculative fiction and non-fiction. Her self published travel memoir, The Great European Escape, was released in 2023, and her Gothic horror novella, Amissis Liberis, was published in 2024. Sarah lives in the U.K., but frequently travels internationally. She can be found on Bluesky, Instagram and Twitter under the username aldbera.
Mark Atley is known for writing crime fiction, with his works often characterized by complex characters, engaging dialogue, and narratives that build tension towards explosive climaxes.
Atley's approach to writing often involves creating intricate plots where characters' histories and motives are deeply interwoven, providing readers with both entertainment and a commentary on crime and morality. His work has been featured on platforms like Audible for audiobooks, indicating a broad reach in the crime fiction genre.
Mark Atley also engages with his audience through social media, where he can be followed for updates on new releases and insights into his writing process
Interesting interview and an author I will need to follow.
Thank you both for a fun, informative and uplifting episode