Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: Kerrie Noor is a writer and performer based in Scotland. She has written several comedic novels including Planet Hy Man Series, a Sci Fi comedy, and Belly Dancing and Beyond Series a romantic comedy for older women. She specializes in facial comedies, with full-bodied characters and will do her level best to avoid stereotyping in any shape or form. www.kerrienoor.com
Thanks so much, Kerrie, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: How would you describe your writing style/genre?
Kerrie Noor: Satirical, weird, Sci fi comedy
JSC: What is your writing Kryptonite?
KN: Coffee and peanut butter—it must be smooth.
JSC: What do you do if you get a brilliant idea at a bad time?
KN: I record into my mobile and then forget I have done this… or I write it down somewhere and forget where I put it, or the most successful email it to myself.
JSC: Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
KN: I write part time. I have another part time job with a charity—–dealing with people all day. It is the total opposite of writing and makes my days in my ‘woman cave’ that bit more special.
JSC: Where do you like to write?
KN: In bed, alone with coffee, peanut butter on something crispy/ munchie and a napkin.
JSC: Let’s talk to your characters for a minute – what’s it like to work for such a demanding writer?
Her Characters: Kerrie Noor has too many jokes and not enough romance, I had the chance to really make it with a male and she took it away from me? How could she? She has us on a planet where all the men are ancient and on the other side, finally I get a chance… to procreate discover… what it like to be an earth woman….and she just wipes it away like a friggin magician with a table cloth…how could she be so…selfish… I can’t write any more …it’s too upsetting.
JSC: What’s your core motivation in The Other Side of Planet Hy Man?
Her Characters: To breed, procreate, love…LUST… and more…as well as keep ruling this city of mine, I should say ours but really, I am the main controller not my political partner. I have her eating out of my hand.
JSC: Are you happy with where your writer left you at the end? (don’t give us any spoilers).
Her Characters: I think she has given me enough to well carry on in the next book, she would call it ‘hang myself’ but she doesn’t know what I am capable of, actually I’m not too sure I do either.
JSC: What other artistic pursuits (it any) do you indulge in apart from writing?
KN: I love to Belly dance and teach it, and write performance pieces such as poems and stories which if I get the chance perform along with Bellydancing. I compare an open mic locally and love interacting with the audience which is mainly the other performers and the odd friend bribed to come along with the offer a free drink.
JSC: Would you visit the future or the past, and why?
KN: I would definitely visit the past, and find all those amazing women and tribes who have been written out of history, and set the record straight.
And now for Kerrie’s new book: The Other Side Of Planet Hy Man:
Those on Planet Hy Man thought they were the only women on Planet Hy Man until a sea of mechanical rats exploded onto the scene.
H2, still reeling from the near pandemic of COVID-19, has turned from a fearless leader to an agoraphobic who struggles to open a window. She pins her hopes on Woody until Woody’s mother is abducted.
No one knew Woody had a mother, let alone that she was on the planet, and when the shock subsides H2 realizes the only thing they know about kidnapping is Mel Gibson’s film Ransom. They are not alone and before H2 can access the genius that is Woody, he is off and as out of reach as a defunct satellite.
Will H2 rise to the occasion and embrace the leader she was? Will she collaborate share resources, or take a leaf out of Earth’s defense strategies and blow the other city up?
The Other Side Of Planet Hy Man is the fifth book in the Planet Hy Man series, a Sci-Fi comedy where Women rule, and any man left has given up.
Universal Buy Link | Amazon
Excerpt
When Woody woke up for the second time he rubbed his eyes and was disappointed to find everything was all the same. This time he was hungry and with a quick glance at the bowl of ‘I think it’s fruit’, he rolled across the bed, miscalculated the edge, and slid off, grabbing the ‘I think it’s fruit’ as he went.
The bowl clattered to the floor, the large fruit tumbled out, crashed onto his head and rolled onto his chest – all split and leaking. Woody, sprawled out on the floor, swore, spied the juice and licked it. Oh god that’s good, he thought and licked again. He smacked his lips, then took a large lion-like bite. Sweet and savoury exploded in his mouth like sherbet, juice ran down his chin and onto the bib…and he didn’t care, he wanted more. He shovelled and gobbled, oohing and aahing, until he felt the cool air of fanning about him. He stopped, heard a giggle then looked up, to see a sea of young female dwarfs, all different shades blue, waving fans like in a Cleopatra film. For a moment he stared, until he realised he had nothing on but a robe.
He jolted to his feet, the fruit tumbled to the ground, he bent to retrieve it, forgetting his robe…It flopped open. The fan-wavers gasped and giggled. Woody jumped back into the bed, pulled the covers around him, and was just trying to muster something witty to say or at least ask about his mother, when he heard a door open, silencing the giggle of the fan-wavers.
A young pale blue dwarf appeared, holding a silver tray with a cocktail the size of an ice bucket on it. She moved forward like an awkward teenager and smiled. Woody slid under the covers as she placed the cocktail onto the bedside table and lingered. She went to touch his skin–
“That’ll do!” shouted Sir Two from a speaker.
The dwarf pulled away with a sulk. “Just a touch – I’ve never seen such skin.”
“I said, that will do.”
“Oh,” she whined.
The other girls giggled.
“And you can all leave to.” Sir Two turned on them.
“Us, what did we do?”
“Yeah, she’s the one that broke the rule.”
“That’ll do,” barked Sir Two. “Now, off with you, all of you.”
They moaned, casting grim ‘why did you have to spoil things’ looks at the tray- bringer.
“Thanks a lot.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Woody watched the girls slope to the door, dragging their heels. He wanted to shout, “Don’t go. What’s happening? Where’s my mother?” but something stopped him. And when the door closed behind them, he flopped back into his bed.
Then the door creaked back open and the face of the tray-bearer appeared. “Bye, Woody.” She waved a tiny blue hand.
Another face reappeared. “We love you.”
“Sshh,’ hissed another girl from behind the door.
“Well, I do,” said the tray-bearer.
The door shut, then eased open yet again. The same two faces appeared. “And don’t drink that cocktail,” said the tray-bearer.
“The fruit is ok,” said the other. “We would have stopped you if–”
“Come on,” said the girl behind the door.
The faces disappeared. “I was only trying to help.”
Woody clutched the blankets closer to him. He looked about the room, his hunger forgotten.
“Try the cocktail,” said Sir Two. “You’ll love it, way better than the fruit.”