I’d like to welcome Mandy Eve-Barnett to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Ensuring I get my story plot, character description, dialogue, scene ideas onto the page before they disappear into the ether. We have all experienced the ‘I’ll remember it’ phenomenon.
Easiest thing about being a writer: When I am in the zone and actually writing and translating the ‘movie’ in my head into words. I have multiple characters past, present and future clambering in my head at all times.

Things you need for your writing sessions: Primarily peace and quiet with good light and the house to myself. I rarely have music playing. I have a dedicated study, which has made such a difference to my process. It is full of inspirational items, copious notebooks and folders for every book idea, as well as reference and research items, and a comfortable chair.

Things that hamper your writing: Deadlines, freelance projects, and book promotion efforts and other life commitments.

Last best thing you ate: A grilled salmon dish at a fancy restaurant. It was perfect – succulent, flavorful and fresh. I miss fresh seafood and fish desperately living in landlocked Alberta, Canada after having daily access when I lived in England.

Last thing you regret eating: A takeout Chinese shrimp dish I ate many years ago in England, which gave me food poisoning. The pain and repercussions were excruciating.

Things you always put in your books: I discovered after researching a deep dive into my story themes that every single book has love within it in all its forms, not just romantic but sibling, parental, friendship and environmental.

Things you never put in your books: Any sort of abuse of animals or children. They are all innocent and worthy of our utmost protection.

Favorite places you’ve been: Top of my list is Rome and will be forever more. I felt my soul had found its home. It is so full of history but also a modern place to live. The food, the siestas, and the way of life is perfect. The Insectarium in Montreal, which is an astounding exhibition of one man’s lifelong collection of the marvelous insects of the world. Paris, is iconic and a wealth of art, literature and romance.

Places you never want to go to again: Las Vegas. It was awful - dirty, noisy, demeaning and a disgusting focus on greed.

Favorite things to do: Time with my grown kids is the top of my list, they are extraordinary people I am proud to call my own, exploring and being in nature, frequent road trips, and, of course, reading and writing (no surprise there!).

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Going to America anytime soon. Self explanatory.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Princess Anne. She would attend horse trials every summer in the English village I lived in. She is so down to earth and pleasant. Nigel Havers (English actor) he hosted an annual cocktail party and was charming and personable.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Davy Jones (The Monkees) passing him on my local high street years after the fame of the group. His boyish looks had faded, but it was still a thrill.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Actually it was several asking me to write a sequel to my medieval fantasy novella, the Rython Kingdom, which I thought when I wrote it, was a standalone. They were so enamored of the characters and location, they wanted more, so, of course I obliged and wrote Rython Legacy. Subsequently, I came up with an idea for the villain of the piece and gave her, her own novella, Malgraf’s Dawning later on.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: It was actually while I was being interviewed on a New York radio station. I was asked if I could write the Rython saga going forward to modern day due to the magical powers of the main character’s skipping a generation. This would have meant engaging in a mammoth writing task. I declined and thanked them saying I had too many other story ideas to ‘get out there’.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: In high school I created a perspective artwork piece using a very large notice board taken off the school corridor wall. It was a corridor of black and white square tiles going into the distance and papier-mâché entrails at the end. This project and several other art pieces resulted in an offer to go the Royal College of Art in London, UK until my art teacher advised them I was only twelve.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I’ll be honest here most of my stories don’t turn out the way I think they will – my characters always come up with a better perspective, or plot and I’m happy to detour.

My favorite book as a child: The Story of Hiawatha, which I received as a prize from the Brooke Bond National Travel contest for an art piece I entered at the age of seven. I still have the book event though the spine is tattered, it is a precious keepsake.

A book I’ve read more than once: Ferney by James Long. It is the ultimate reincarnation love story and Galley and Ferney are real people to me inhabiting a place I see in my mind’s eye due to it being so familiar. I wrote my own reincarnation novel, The Twesome Loop as homage to it.

Your favorite movie as a child: This is a really difficult question, I have so many. Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Sound of Music, these were an era of fanciful stories and I loved them. We all need magic in our lives. I think that is why my narratives have such twists in them, it is the unexpected that makes constructing a story so much fun.

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): I made the mistake of watching Psycho, (the original) it had a profound effect on me and installed a real fear into my mind, I didn’t sleep well for a long time, or take a shower without the bathroom door open!

About Mandy:

Mandy Eve-Barnett is an Edmonton Best Seller, multi-genre author, writing children’s, YA and adult books. With eleven books published since 2011, and one more launching in September 2026, and another nine in various stages of completion, her writing life is full. This does not include her writing in numerous anthologies and magazines, and a variety of non-fiction projects through her freelance business as well as presentations and panelist positions at various writing conferences.

Mandy draws on over 10 years’ experience as a multi-genre author, freelance writer and writing community advocate. She is the current Secretary of The Writers Foundation of Strathcona County and Scouting Manager for Relatable Media. And past President of the Arts & Culture Council of Strathcona Council and past Secretary of Alberta Authors Co-operative. She hosts the local Writers Circle monthly meeting and creates weekly writing prompts for the WFSC website.

Mandy has been blogging since 2010 and has over 3,500 subscribers and visitors from 209 countries.

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