Eleven Up: Interview with Helen Landalf, author of FLYAWAY

Today we're joined by the lovely Helen Landalf, author of FLYAWAY, which comes out tomorrow (December 20).

Here's a little bit about the story:

Stevie Calhoun knows how to take care of herself. It’s not like her mom hasn’t disappeared before. So why is Aunt Mindy making such a big deal of it now? It’s not like Mom’s really doing meth. Stevie makes sure of that.Whatever. She’ll go home with Aunt Mindy if it will keep her from calling Child Protective Services—but it doesn’t mean she’ll stay. Mom will come back. Mom always comes back. And Stevie will be there when she does.

But when Stevie meets Alan—frustrating and fascinating and so-different-from-everyone-she-knows Alan—and she starts helping out at the bird rehab center, things begin to look different. Even the tutoring and the ridiculous outfits Aunt Mindy’s forcing her into might not be so bad. Not that Stevie would say it out loud. She can’t. Because how can anything be good if it doesn’t include Mom?

Sounds awesome, right? I recently got to chat with Helen about FLYAWAY, her journey toward publication and, of course, some apocalyptic-type matters.

Hi, Helen! Tell us a little about your journey toward publication.

I actually started writing about 20 years ago. I've published two picture books and seven nonfiction books for teachers, but my dream was to publish a YA novel. I worked toward that dream for 10 years before it became a reality. It took me two "practice" novels and countless rejections before I finally landed an agent and sold FLYAWAY.

In FLYAWAY, your main character, Stevie, works with birds. Did you have to do any special research for that, or have you had any experiences working with birds?

I had no experience with birds before I started FLYAWAY, so I had to do tons of research. In order to make my bird rescue scenes authentic, I volunteered at PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, in their bird nursery. I also visited a home-based wildlife rehab center where teens volunteer for court-ordered community service. It was amazing to see how dedicated and caring they were with the birds and other animals, and that center became my model for On the Wing, the bird rehab clinic in my book.

That sounds like an amazing experience. FLYAWAY also deals with family relationships – the relationship between Stevie and her aunt, and most importantly, Stevie and her mom. How did you make those relationships realistic and honest?

To make those relationships honest, I just dug into my own heart. I'm a daughter, a sister, a stepmom, and a wife, and although my relationships aren't terribly similar to the ones Stevie experiences in the book, I still know how it feels to love unconditionally, to be abandoned and rejected, and to learn to accept another person for who they are instead for how I wish they would be. And of course I also drew from observing the relationships between people around me.

Great advice for writing authentic relationships! What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite part?

I'll answer the last part of your question first: I hate writing first drafts. I have this nagging inner critic who sits on my shoulder the whole time and tells me what a boring, useless book I'm writing and what a sorry excuse for a writer I am. It's a wonder I can complete my first drafts at all. (Sarah's note: AMEN to all of this!)

But revisions are a different story. I adore revising, especially with the guidance of my critique group, my agent, and my editor. I love digging through the muck of that first draft to find the gold nuggets that are the heart of the story and then polishing those nuggets till they shine!

It’s been over a year from book sale to book debut. What has been the most surprising part of the journey?

First of all, I've been surprised at how long everything takes! There's so much waiting involved in getting published: waiting for the contract, waiting for the advance, waiting for the revision letter, and so on. I was also surprised at how much revising goes on after the sale. I had rewritten my novel at least eight times before submitting it to my agent, then it went through two more major revisions with him. I thought for sure it would just breeze on through the editing process, but of course I revised it yet again for my editor. The attention to detail required, especially in the line edits and copyedits, is simply amazing.

Can you tell us something about your next project?

Well, I can't tell you too much at this point, so I'll just say that my next book is another contemporary realistic novel starring an urban girl. But no birds this time.

Ooh, sounds intriguing. Can't wait till you can share more about Book 2. Quick: it’s the apocalypse! Which five literary characters do you want by your side and why?

1.Katniss, from The Hunger Games, to remind me that I'm strong and powerful.

2. Harry Potter, to help me fight the forces of evil.

3. Alice in Wonderland, so I can see the absurdity of it all.

4. Emily Dickinson, who will keep me aware of the startling beauty in each moment.

5. Winnie the Pooh, to remind me that even the apocalypse will go down better with a bit of honey.

Excellent choices! Thanks so much for stopping by, Helen. To find out more about Helen and FLYAWAY, check out her website.

Eleven Up: Interview with Kathy McCullough, Author of Don't Expect Magic

I'm thrilled to have had the chance to read DON'T EXPECT MAGIC (released from Random House yesterday), and to have scored an interview with Kathy. Delaney starts out as a tart character and becomes sweeter as the novel progresses, so I like to compare her to a sweeTart.  It's such a fun, heartwarming book!

 Here's the summary:

Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with "Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever after? Yeah, right.
Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.
But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?

And the cover:

And of course, the interview!

Did you consciously plot Delaney's character arc from standoffish outsider to openhearted friend or did it just happen organically?
It wasn’t conscious in the sense that I had decided to do this from the start. Initially, I had a very vague idea for a story about a teen fairy godmother. But then I had to introduce conflict, which meant that the main character couldn’t be happy about being an “f.g.,” as she calls it. Then I had to figure out WHY she wasn’t happy about it, and so on. Once I came up with her name, Delaney Collins, her prickly personality seemed to manifest itself full-blown with it. Since she began as a sullen loner, her arc was then likely to move her in the opposite direction. As I developed the story and got to know Delaney better, this arc did indeed unfold organically as part of the story.

Delaney's lack of matchmaking prowess reminded me of EMMA and CLUELESS. Were these influences and if not, what were your influences/inspirations for the story?
Very astute of you! I love CLUELESS, which was written by Amy Heckerling, and which, a screenwriter, I admire a lot for its tight structure – which comes largely from the structure of its source: Jane Austen’s EMMA. I didn’t look at CLUELESS specifically for this book, although the movie may have influenced me subconsciously considering how often I’ve seen it! There were a couple of books that I’d re-read a passage from if I felt I was missing the comedy in a scene: BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY by Helen Fielding and it’s YA cousin, ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING by Louise Rennison. My book is nothing like either of these two (which are straight comedies, both written in diary form), but the way conflict is used in each of them to create humor makes them good models for me.

Tell us a bit about your path to publication - were there any fairy godmothers involved?
Lots of fairy godmothers! Years ago, writing teacher Karen D’Arc led me to the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), an organization that was (and is) invaluable to me as a source of inspiration and information. After I wrote DON'T EXPECT MAGIC, my manager, Dana Jackson, led me to my agents, Alyssa Reuben & Lydia Wills, who gave the book to Wendy Loggia at Random House.

If you were to chose a minor character from DON'T EXPECT MAGIC for a spin-off novel, who would you choose and what would the premise be?
Hmm. That's a good question! There’s actually a great character in the sequel, which I’m writing now, who could definitely star in her own novel. She’s a rival fairy godmother, who’s the opposite of Delaney in every way. If I had to choose someone from DON’T EXPECT MAGIC, I’d want to explore a character I don’t feel I know that well, because that would be more interesting to me as a writer. For that reason, I’d pick Mia, the frosty friend of Cadie Perez, the cheerleader whom Delaney is trying to fix up with a classmate. I believe that if you scratch the surface of any character, you can find an interesting story to tell, because no one is exactly what they initially seem to be. Not sure what the premise would be until I figured out what Mia's issue is. Of course, a story about Mia would be a completely different type of book than DON’T EXPECT MAGIC!

Finally - in what ways would fairy godmother powers help you survive a zombie apocalypse?
Delaney’s two main powers are “atom manipulation” and “object transference.” The first would allow me to transform myself into something that zombies wouldn’t want to eat, and the second would transport me far away -- hopefully far enough!

Thank you Kathy!

Find out more about the book and watch the trailer at Kathy's website.

Eleven Up: Interview with Anna Staniszewski, author of My Very UnFairy Tale Life

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky: TODAY!

I talked with the delightful Anna Staniszewski, whose middle grade debut, My Very UnFairy Tale Life launches today.  Okay, so the first thing you need to know about this book is that it's immediately engaging.  You can read the first chapter and see what I mean.  After I read that chapter, I just had to ask the following question:

Maybe you could start by giving us a sort of public service announcement.  What is the best thing to do when one is being chased by a herd of unicorns?

This Message Brought to You by the Author:

If you find yourself chased by unicorns, the best thing to do is to run really really fast. And if you have the misfortune of being cornered by unicorns, don't bother trying to reason with them. They only know the word "nay" which doesn't exactly make them great negotiators.

Is your magical kingdom falling apart? Twelve-year-old Jenny is on the case, whether she likes it or not. Saving the world might sound exciting, but for Jenny it’s starting to get old — even staying in the real world long enough to take a math test would be a dream come true! And when you throw in bloodthirsty unicorns, psychotic clowns, and the most useless gnome sidekick ever, Jenny decides that enough is enough. She’s leaving the adventuring business and not looking back. Or…is she?

I love it that Jenny is a strong girl main character, a plucky adventurer.  I also love the concept of a girl whose life is very magical and eventful longing for the life of a regular girl, complete with math tests and well, sleep.  Which of Jenny’s adventures (or misadventures) was your favorite to write?

In the story's main mission, Jenny is asked to travel to a land filled with magical animals and defeat an evil clown. Populating a land with magical animals was so much fun, especially since I was doing my best to annoy Jenny. I kept throwing pretty obnoxious characters at her to see how she would react. I'm not sure she's quite forgiven me yet.

When you were Jenny’s age, who were some of your favorite adventurers, in books or in real life?  What are some of your favorites now?

When I was Jenny's age, I was shy and a total nerd, so my adventures usually happened through books. I loved stories that transported me to other places, magical or otherwise, including Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Writing funny stuff is hard—do you have any tips for getting a laugh, or for how you manage to tap into the sense of humor of your audience?   

I'm a total goofball in real life and am always trying to make people laugh (not that I always succeed). When I was writing UnFairy Tale Life, it was a welcome break from other, darker projects. My goal was to make myself laugh. Then I used my husband as a joke-o-meter to tell me if what I had was actually funny. Usually, when something makes him laugh then I know I've done a good job.

Jenny as a character is instantly engaging—she has a snappy voice that keeps the pace quick and the tone light.  How did you go about developing Jenny’s character and voice?  Was there anything surprising about her that came out as you were writing? 

Developing Jenny's voice was a bit of a process. For a long time, the story was written in 3rd person with a snarkier, more mature narrator. But as I went through several revisions with my agent, she pointed out that the voice didn't seem to be working. I finally tried writing the story in 1st person and everything clicked into place. I could almost imagine Jenny saying: "Finally, you're letting me tell my own story! What on earth took you so long?" 

Your website says you’re interested in doing Skype visits with classes.  What kinds of topics might you talk about with a group of students, and how could they prepare for their visit?

I'm happy to do all kinds of visits, from a general Q&A to a more detailed discussion of the writing and publishing process for UnFairy Tale Life. In addition to the book's fairy tale themes, I also think of it as a satirical spin on a traditional quest fantasy. I'd love to see how students feel about the fairy tale and fantasy threads in the story, and how those relate to other books they've read.

I’m super excited about the release of My Very UnFairy Tale Life, but I’ve seen on your blog that you participated in the Camp NaNo project and started working on a picture book, too.  How do you as a writer balance the load of preparing for a release, first-drafting, and working on revising other projects?  Do you stick with one until it’s done or hop between them?  How is it different working on new writing since your debut sold?

Balance? What's that? *twitches* I actually like to work on a few different projects at once since it allows me to keep writing even if I get stuck on one story. I find, though, that juggling different projects works best if they're all at different stages: drafting one, revising another, etc. Otherwise, my brain starts to get too crowded and I have a hard time focusing on anything. As for working on new projects after selling my debut, I do feel like I put a bit more pressure on myself to write something sell-able. I try to hush the business part of my brain and let the creative part have its fun, but I don't always succeed.

And this is, after all the Apocalypsies, so let’s talk about the end of it all.  If the Apocalypse is now, what are your top three reasons why you do NOT want a gnome named Anthony as your sidekick?

This is a very important question. First, Anthony is obsessed with candy to the point where he needs to be munching on it every second. I'm not sure surviving the apocalypse and feeding Anthony's sugar habit are manageable. Second, Anthony rarely takes anything seriously, especially injuries. So if a flesh-eating zombie rips off your arm (in what I assume will be a zombie apocalypse), Anthony would probably just shrug and declare that it's just a scratch. And finally, remember how I said I put characters into the story who would annoy Jenny? Yeah, Anthony is definitely at the top of that list (though he does mean well most of the time). If he annoys Jenny, I have a feeling he'd annoy just about anybody. I'd say it's probably better to brave the apocalypse without a wise-cracking sugar addict by your side.

Thank you so much to Anna Staniszewski, and congratulations on your debut! 

Eleven Up: VIRTUOSITY by Jessica Martinez

I’m so excited to bring you this interview with Jessica Martinez, author of VIRTUOSITY – available Tuesday, October 18^th. This gripping story follows seventeen year-old Carmen Bianchi, a violin prodigy, as she struggles to transition into a career as a virtuoso soloist. Here's a little bit more about the story:

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen’s whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn’t just hot...what if Jeremy is better?


Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can’t end well, but she just can’t stay away. Nobody else understands her—and riles her up—like he does. Still, she can’t trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes antianxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what’s expected.
Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall...

Kirkus gave VIRTUOSITY a starred review, and had this to say:

“Former child violin prodigy Martinez brings this overwrought world to tense, quivering life and guides readers through it confidently. A brilliant debut.”

Mind-blowingly awesome, right?

I had the honor of interview Jessica on behalf of the Apocalypsies. So without further ado, here she is!

1) You've been playing the violin since a very early age. Can you tell us a little bit about your musical accomplishments? Do you still play? 

Oh, man.  Feel free to skip down the #2 if you don’t want to hear me brag.  I’ll be brief.

I started playing at age three and sacrificed my childhood to the music gods for the next fifteen years or so.  I won/placed in a handful of major competitions as a teenager, but the highlights of my musical experience were getting to perform as a soloist with symphonies.  So in VIRTUOSITY when Carmen wants to fling her violin off a balcony, I've been there.  The crazy mom and the performance drugs--I didn't experience those personally, but let's just say I had front row seats.

Yes, I do still play.  I’m not as good as I used to be, which makes my picky ear very sad, but violin will always be a huge part of my life.  I’ve got recordings from the glory days on my website here.  Just in case, you know, you want proof. 

(Sidenote from Veronica: I became addicted to the recordings of Jessica’s performances on her website. So, beware. And prepare yourself to be completely moved by her incredible gift.)

2) Have you always been a writer as well, or did that talent come later?

I have always been a writer, but it took me a long time to take myself seriously.  I got a degree in English and took a handful of creative writing classes, but publishing fiction always seemed too impossible to even dream about.  It wasn’t until about six years after graduating (four years ago) that I decided I would try to do more than just write and delete depressing short stories.

3) Can you share a bit about your writing process? Your inspirations for VIRTUOSITY? Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have a regular writing routine?

Plotter, but I don’t stick to my plots.  I learn so much about my characters during the writing process that my plots have to change to accommodate.  My process is disturbing.  I just finished editing my second novel and with both books I put my first drafts aside and rewrote the entire thing.  THE ENTIRE THING.  And with both of those rewrites, I used nothing from the first drafts.  NOTHING.  I'm banging my head on the keyboard just thinking about it.  I don’t think I even opened up the documents.  I try not to think about the inefficiency too much or it makes my brain want to explode.

My writing routine for the last four years has been to write like a maniac every time my children are asleep.  Frankly, this has resulted in four years of crankiness.  All of the sudden, though, I’ve got this little miracle called preschool.  Now I get to write AND sleep.  It rules.  Who knew?  No telling how much better life will be next year when I have an entire school day to write.

4) What piece of advice would you share with a pre-published writer? How about a debut author?

Pre-published authors: Lay off the delete key.  There’s a time for harsh self-criticism and it isn’t before you’ve written that first draft.

Debut authors: Lay off goodreads.  There are some crazy-mean psychos out there and most of them don’t know what they’re talking about.  Don’t let them get you down.  Channel all that energy into your next novel and you’ll be so much better off.

5) Finally, the apocalypse is coming! You have to pack your bomb shelter with music, books, food--your necessities. What are the first five things you reach for?

1. My violin

2. My computer

3. Gilmore Girls and Mad Men.  Weird together, I know, but I love them.  Both are clever and treat me like I’m smart.

4. Dark chocolate, black licorice, and Diet Mountain Dew.  And if that combo makes you want to hurl, you’re not alone.  My family is also repulsed.

5. My NYT Sunday Crossword Puzzle book.  Will Shortz, I love you.

CRAP! I FORGOT TO BRING A NOVEL!  If I get to run back and get one more thing, I’d grab something I haven’t read yet.  I don’t like re-reading, even if I loved the book to death the first time. 

Stop over at Jessica’s website for more information, or if you’d like to send your congratulations, you can find her on twitter!

Thank you, Jessica!

Eleven Up: Interview with Kiki Hamilton, author of THE FAERIE RING

by Susan Dennard

~~

Guys, I am SO incredibly excited to be able to share this interview with you. Kiki gives some fantastic, thought-provoking answers, and...well...I haven't exactly hidden the fact that I'm totally fangirling over her novel, The Faerie Ring.

If you want to read my review of this fantastic addition to YA fantasy, head here. Otherwise, onwards to the interview!

So, Kiki, when you started writing THE FAERIE RING, which came first for you: the characters or the plot?

The characters came to me first. Tiki was there and I knew she was a pickpocket. After she stole the Queen’s ring I suddenly t hought – what if somebody else wanted the ring? And that’s when the faeries showed up.

Wow, I had the same experience with my own characters--they came first, and then I built in the plot. Very cool. When you sat down to write the novel, what was the biggest challenge for you?

To be honest, there wasn’t a hard part. The story just fell out of my head onto the page and I had to type as fast as I could to keep up!!!! However, I’ve had hard parts in other stories and there are a couple of things I do: 1) keep writing and see if I can get the momentum going again and figure I’ll fix any problems in revision. 2) Think up the worst possible thing that can happen to my main character and throw it in there, or 3) figure out where I got stuck – sometimes plots will take a wrong turn and if you go back and eliminate a scene, you can get things moving again.

Um, okay, I'm officially jealous. My first drafts are like giving birth...for 30+ days straight. Once you had a finished book, what was your journey to publication like?

I think my experience has been pretty typical. THE FAERIE RING was actually my second book. An agent had requested a partial of my first book and I wrote TFR while I waited for her response. She asked for a revision on my first book and I mentioned I’d written a second book so she said send both back. At that point, (November 2008) the agent (Kate Schafer Testerman) offered to represent me and she went out first with THE FAERIE RING. We got close several times but it took about nine months to find the *right* editor at Tor.

And what a great fit it was! The end product for THE FAERIE RING was fantastic! Now, as an eager fangirl, I have to know: What’s your next writing project?

I just finished writing a YA contemporary called THE LAST DANCE. That one just fell out of my head onto the page too. So much fun to write! I will probably write book 3 of THE FAERIE RING series this winter and I’m halfway through a historical kind-of steampunk fantasy right now.

Historical steampunk. Clearly you and I were meant to hang out at some point (I don't mean that in a creepy fan-stalker way...er...not completely, at least). As a fellow historical/steampunk/fantasy writer, I am very curious what a typical writing day looks like for you?

It varies. I have to spend a lot more time with marketing now, so that takes up an enormous chunk of my day. Also, I’m a mom to a teenage girl so I spend a lot of time with her. Plus the cooking ,cleaning, laundry business. Yuk. But I write something almost every day – seven days a week. I do that instead of watch TV.

ME TOO! No TV, and 7 days a week of work. (I stand by my hanging-out declaration!) Do you have a critique partner or beta reader?

Yes, I have a couple of people who I trade manuscripts with.

As do most professionals, I think. And, when do you decide your book is ready for your agent's/editor's eyes?

It depends on the feedback I get from my crit partners. If their suggestions aren’t huge, then I know I’m close.

That's a pretty good approach, methinks. So, now that I've finished THE FAERIE RING and am searching for my next read, I have to know: what are YOU reading?

I’m reading an ARC of Laini Taylor’s DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE.

ACK! That's at the top of my TBR list! (These similarities are uncanny, Kiki. ;)) Now, before we wrap this interview up, do you have any final words of advice or inspiration?

If writing is your dream than you can never give up. The industry is VERY competitive and you have to go into it knowing that rejection is not personal. It will take time to sell your book. You might not sell your first book. (I didn’t.) One editor / agent will love a story and the next won’t. It’s subjective. But stick to it and write for the love of telling a story. There’s a lot to learn about writing and you will be well-served to take classes, join critique groups and attend writing conferences. Always be open to revising to improve the story and never give up!!

Ain't that the truth? Never give up, never surrender! (Any Galaxy Quest fans out there? Anyone, anyone?)

Thank you so much, Kiki, for taking the time out of your busy, laundry/cooking/writing-filled life ( ;) ) to answer my questions, and I can’t wait to more of your books in stores. (Um, and more Rieker--can you possibly give me some more of him too?)

~~~

Kiki Hamilton is the debut author of The Faerie Ring (Tor Teen, 2011), and you can find out more about her on her blog, twitter, or facebook.

Susan Dennard is a writer, reader, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. She is repped by Sara Kendall of NCLit, and her debut, SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY, will be available from Harper Children’s in 2012. You can learn more about her on her blog or twitter.

Eleven Up: Interview with Scott Tracey

 A boy who can see the world’s secrets and unravel spells with just a glance.

Braden’s witch eyes give him an enormous power. A mere look causes a kaleidoscopic explosion of emotions, memories, darkness, and magic. But this rare gift is also his biggest curse.

Compelled to learn about his shadowed past and the family he never knew, Braden is drawn to the city of Belle Dam, where he is soon caught between two feuding witch dynasties. Sworn rivals Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe will use anything—lies, manipulation, illusion, and even murder—to seize control of Braden’s powers. To stop an ancient evil from destroying the town, Braden must master his gift, even through the shocking discovery that Jason is his father. While his feelings for an enigmatic boy named Trey grow deeper, Braden realizes a terrible truth: Trey is Catherine Lansing’s son . . . and Braden may be destined to kill him.

I'm so pleased to be hosting Scott Tracey, author of WITCH EYES on the Apocalypsies today.

1) Describe your writing routine?

Headphones.  Something to drink.  Playlist of 10 to 20 songs.    When I'm drafting, I usually give myself a daily word count that I have to meet, it keeps me motivated.  And then, when I start surpassing that goal every day, I increase the amount little by little.  Add in episodes of "No, I'm serious, THIS is the worst thing I've ever written" and "I remember when writing used to be easy" on a regular rotation.

2) Which character in Witch Eyes is the most similar to YOU?
 

Oh jeez.  I would have to say that Braden's smart mouth is probably the most similar to me, but for the most part, that's the only similarity.  Actually, Drew is pretty snarky, too, so yeah, probably one of those two. 

3) You describe Witch Eyes as a modern day Romeo and Juliet with witches -- does this mean you're going to kill off all the best characters?

Only if they mouth off too much.  Or they stop giving me their lunch money every day.

4) If I suspect someone has witch eyes, what should I do?

Well, having seen firsthand the way that Braden attracts trouble into his life, I'd say RUN.  Run fast, run far, and definitely DO NOT let this person into your life. ;)  Also don't lie to them, because they're going to know.  Always.  Even if you lie about liking pineapple on your pizza. 

5) Who would you cast as Braden & Trey in a Witch Eyes movie?
 

These are some serious business questions!  I keep changing my mind on who I'd cast as Braden and Trey, at least once a year or so.  But for right now, I'd say Callan McAuliffe (he played the nerdy best friend in I AM NUMBER FOUR) for Braden, and Drew Van Acker (Jason on Pretty Little Liars) for Trey (but only if he dies his hair blonde again).

6) What are you going to do on release day?
 

I've got lots of plans.  I'll probably wake up, eat a bagel for breakfast, maybe go sit on my back porch and enjoy the fall weather.  And then I'll spend the ENTIRE day online because I have lots of things planned for that day, like a live chat and some giveaways and special extra things.

7) What is your good luck charm?

I have two.  On my desk there's a little green monster that we call the Panic Face monster, and every time you're about to lose your cool and panic, you get Panic Face.  So the Panic Face monster wards off the panic.

The second is this awesome paperweight a friend got for me, that rests on my monitor.  It's a page from a French novel, which someone has drawn an elaborate eye in ink over, which was then pasted to the bottom of this circular piece of glass.  

You can find out more about Scott Tracey at his blog, or on Twitter -- and while you're at it, pre-order a copy of WITCH EYES. It officially comes out Thursday, September 8th.

Eleven Up: Interview with Alex Epstein

       

Today I'm pleased to welcome Alex Epstein, author of The Circle Cast, a debut novel that chronicles the lost years of Morgan Le Fey.  It's a beautifully-written and evocative book that offers a unique perspective on the, dare I say, misunderstood character of Morgan Le Fey.


          1.  What inspired you to write about Morgan Le Fey?  Have you always been a fan of Arthurian lore?

My dad used to read to me from THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING and THE SWORD IN THE STONE by T. H. White. Those books always stayed with me. Later on, I did a lot of spiritual searching, and spent a lot of time with Wiccans. That was a big influence on Morgan's story. And my first wife was studying the legends of the pagan Celts, particularly their war goddess, the Morrígan, and I edited her Ph. D. thesis. All of this came together in the book.

2.  Piggy-backing on that: What does The Circle Cast bring to the Arthurian canon?

There are some fascinating holes in the King Arthur legend. For example, Arthur doesn't have a legitimate heir, but no one talks about it. Which is odd, considering he's the king. Was the subject too embarrassing? Why? Was he not sleeping with Guinevere?

And why does Arthur put up with Morgan? She repeatedly tries to hurt Guinevere -- she even sends Guinevere a poisoned dress. But Arthur never sends his knights out against her. He tries to thwart Morgan's plans, but he never goes after her. What's up with that?

And then there's Morgan herself. The legend tells about how Uter killed her dad to sleep with her mom. And then she shows up decades later as this super-powerful sorceress, second only to Merlin. Well, how did she get there? How did a fatherless girl become a feared witch? Sir Thomas Malory, in Le Morte d'Arthur, says she was "sent to a nunnery, where she became a great clerk of necromancy." What sort of nunnery teaches black magic?

It seemed to me there's a story there that needed telling. So I wrote the book. 

3.  What was your biggest challenge in writing this book?

I think the biggest challenge in writing anything is what I call the "Sucky Point." When you start something, you're full of excitement. Then about 40% into it, whatever it is, it starts to suck. You start to doubt yourself.

Then, if you stick to it, you hit the halfway point. You can start to see the shape of it. You know you're going to finish. 

And soon, you're over the hump and heading home.

The rest is tinkering. Sometimes years of tinkering, but it's less scary to rework something than to work it in the first place. 

4.  Can you tell us a little bit about your journey to publication?

I wrote the first draft of the book a long time ago. I had an agent, and she sent it around, and people said nice things about the writing and the story, but at the time no one was looking for a King Arthur book. The book was a bit longer, and maybe a bit more literary, and the relationships were a little less straightforward. 

Much later, someone pointed out that Morgan was a teenager throughout most of the story. Why not tweak the book a bit and make it a YA novel? There's a huge market for YA novels. I was in touch with a YA publisher about film rights for another book of his, so I asked if he'd like to read it. And he liked it.

Then I went through about three drafts, streamlining the story and shortening it, and compressing the story's chronology a bit so Morgan is a bit older to start and a bit younger at the end. But I kept all the magic and Morgan's spiritual journey. I kept her character and her drive toward vengeance. It's a much more readable book, thanks to my editor Kim Aippersbach's hard work.

5.  I noticed you are a television and film writer.  Was transitioning to working on a novel difficult?

Not at all. I wrote fiction and poetry in high school and college. In many ways it's easier to write a novel. In a movie or TV script, you can only show what people do and say. In a novel you can hear them think. You can slow time to take apart a moment, or speed it up to take in several years. Movies and TV don't do internal stories well.

Also, in a novel, you don't have to worry about budget. If THE CIRCLE CAST were a movie there would be some big special effects (a flock of birds attacks an army! the landscape itself changes as the lost lands beyond Tintagel rise!) and quite a few battles. 

So there's a lot more freedom. Of course you have to write more words. But writing more words has never been a problem for me. It's much harder to cut than to write!

6.  Without giving anything away, The Circle Cast definitely leaves room for a follow-up.  Do you plan to write a sequel?

I guess that will depend on how the book does. I have two sequels in mind. One is Morgan's romance with Arthur. The other is Morgan's romance with Merlin.

Of course they won't be YA novels, because Morgan's a young woman, not a girl any more, so I have to find another publisher!

On the other hand, I also have a YA novel in mind called HOUSE OF MORGAN which puts a modern-day Morgan in the world of the super-rich... I'm trying to sell it as a TV show right now, but at some point I'll probably write it.

7.  Have any advice for a debut author? 

Make sure there's a Kindle edition of your book. Price it low to get the word out.


Put together a blog tour, or several blog tours, if you can.


Expect to do all the publicity yourself; most publishers do little for most books.

          8.  Where can readers find out more about you and The Circle Cast? 

I've got a blog, Morgan's Lost Years, and a website. I also blog more frequently about screenwriting at Complications Ensue.

Eleven Up: Interview with Gretchen McNeil, author of POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil, author of POSSESS

Wait, what?

Shhh. Just go with it.

Um, okay. So I’m ever so pleased to welcome the amazingly talented, dazzlingly charming and absolutely perfect in every –

Really?

Too much?

Yeah, tiny bit.

Fine! Sheesh. What’s the point of interviewing myself if I can’t have a little fun with it? Anyway, I’d like to welcome Gretchen McNeil to the blog.

Here’s the scoop on her YA horror/paranormal debut POSSESS from Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Sounds awesome, right? Okay, here we go!

So Gretchen, how did you come up with the idea for POSSESS?

Why are you asking me questions you already know the answer to?

Well, technically, this is for the blog readers. And since they, hopefully, aren’t in our head, I think you’ll probably need to elaborate a tad.

Oh. Right. Sorry, this is already getting confusing.

Tell me about it.

Anyway, I wanted to write something creepy and in the horror vein. Some of my dearest reading memories from my childhood and teen years were reading scary stories. Everything from SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK to R.L. Stine to gothic tales like WUTHERING HEIGHTS and THE WOMAN IN WHITE. Reading with a flashlight under the covers, that creepy cold feeling spreading down your spine, every hair on the back of your neck standing straight up. Love it!

So I wanted to do that and when I started to think about the things that scare me the most, exorcisms and demonic possession were right at the top of the list.

Do you think being possessed is kind of like hearing more than one voice in your head? Or interviewing yourself on a blog?

I can only assume so. Only less annoying.

Right. Now, exorcism and demonic possession are sort of out of the common realm of experience for most people. Did you do a lot of research?

I did. I’m a big, nerdy researcher by nature, and I amassed a wild collection of first hand accounts by exorcists and demonologists from all around the world. I found the most compelling books to be the ones written from a skeptic’s viewpoint.

And did you attend any exorcisms? Maybe try one out on yourself.

*glares* No, but maybe I should have.

Moving on, tell us a little about Bridget Liu, your protagonist.

Bridget’s kind of a wounded bird in many ways. She has a secret she’s hiding from everyone close to her, she’s dealing with a traumatic personal loss, she has problems at home, a non-existent love life and a girl at school who’s making her life a living hell. She’s fiercely protective of her feelings and tends to push people away, rather than let them in.

Unlike you.

Yeah, well that might change. Move over, you’re hogging the sofa.

Sorry. And why did you choose to make Bridget bi-racial?

You mean what made us decide?

Yes, whatever! JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!

Simmer down. POSSESS is set in my hometown of San Francisco, and I wanted it to look like the San Francisco I know. My high school was 40% Asian. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Taiwanese. There was a tremendous range of diversity just within the Asian community. I wanted my characters to reflect that heritage.

So, scary story, set in San Francisco, half-Asian main character. Huh. What else do you want to talk about?

Aren’t you supposed to be driving this interview train?

You mean aren’t we?

Whatever. This joke is getting old.

Fine. How about you explain why you’re simultaneously an Apocalypsie and a 2011 debut author?

You had to go there, didn’t you?

Kinda hard to avoid it, given the circumstance.

Well, POSSESS was originally scheduled for Winter 2012, then got bumped up to Fall 2011. Funnily enough, I do have a book scheduled for Fall 2012 now. It’s called TEN, also with Balzer + Bray. It’s a horror/suspense novel about ten teens trapped on an island getting hunted down by a serial killer one-by-one.

Ah, I see. So a light and fluffy follow-up to POSSESS.

Funny.

I try.

Try harder.

Well, I’d say it’s about time to wrap up this little exercise in schizophrenia. Why don’t you tell us – them – everyone – what I is you do in your free time.

Sure! Before my writing career, I was an opera singer. Oh, and a television producer. Oh, and a voice over artist. I don’t really do any of those things anymore, but I do sing with a circus troupe here in Los Angeles. Cirque Berzerk. We’ve been performing since 2008 and it’s an incredible, amazing, whacky and utterly fulfilling experience.

I don’t think anyone is surprised that you’re in the circus.

Yeah. Probably not.

Okay! So a big round of applause for me and be sure to look for POSSESS on shelves August 23, 2011 from Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins.

Ciao!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debut with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins, August 23, 2011. Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2012 release. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is also a founding member of the vlog group YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday."

Eleven Up: Interview with Karsten Knight, author of WILDEFIRE

I'm thrilled to welcome my agent-mate Karsten Knight, author of WILDEFIRE to the Apocalypsies blog!

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

Wildefire hit shelves Tuesday and I can't wait for everyone to run out and buy a copy. If the gorgeous cover isn't enough to entice you, I managed to get Karsten to answer a few questions that will make you realize your volcanic need for his book!

~*~

How did the character of Ashline Wilde develop? Did she spring out fully-formed, like Athena out of Zeus's head, or was she more of a tough cookie you had to draw out over time?

Getting to know Ashline was like an arranged marriage (with a volcano goddess). She just sort of moved in one day, and started melting things. It took some time during our fiery little domestic partnership for me to see through her inflammatory instincts to get to know the loyal, funny, contemplative sixteen-year-old underneath.

Can you describe your path to publication? WILDEFIRE is your debut, but is it the first book you've written? What steps lead to your publication with Simon & Schuster?

WILDEFIRE is the…wow, I couldn’t even tell you how many books it’s been. I was writing novels the entire time I was in junior high, and high school, and then college. I signed on with my first literary agent when I was seventeen and went on submission twice, to no avail, When I graduated from college, started working as a college admissions counselor, and found myself on the road 14 hours a day, I didn’t write a word for two years. Not out of any sense of giving up or desperation; but the last thing I wanted to do on those nights when I stumbled into my hotel room at 10pm was to sit down in front of a laptop. I was drained.

When I lost my job in 2009, I reconnected with my inner Steinbeck and began the first draft of my teenage volcano goddess memoir. At the same time, I entered the M.F.A. in Writing for Children program at Simmons College. A classmate of mine, who worked at Simon & Schuster, was reading a draft of WILDEFIRE for fun and casually asked one day if she could “show it to someone who she thought would like it.” Unbeknownst to me, that “someone” turned out to be my future editor, Courtney Bongiolatti, who blindsided me one Monday morning last May with a 9am phone call, saying that she’d just finished reading and was about to make me an offer.

Which character in your book do you most identify with? OR...if Karsten Knight found out he was a GOD tomorrow, who would he be?

I know he doesn’t appear in the book, and this will probably make me sound like a total wine-o, but I’m going to have to go with Dionysus. Not just because I’m overindulgent, but because my Scandinavian pallor is really envious of Mediterranean tans.

The Pacific Northwest setting in WILDEFIRE really feels like an integral part of the story. I know you're from the Boston area, so how did you come to write a novel set primarily on the coast of northern California?

I have this weird theory that when you’re in high school, you’re more sensitive to the changes of season and climate than you are at any other point in your life. So many of my memories from being a teenager are paired with vivid recollections of the weather, especially the chill air of the New England fall. When I started writing WILDEFIRE, I wanted to pick a part of the United States with a really unique climate—and the redwood forests of Northern California in the late spring had a really eerie, misty ambience to them that perfectly fit the vibe of the story.

I have been asked the reverse of this next question a lot, so now I get to ask YOU--as a guy, was it difficult to write from the point of view of a teenage girl?

Well, it was at first. But then I watched The Twilight Saga: New Moon on repeat for days until I could fully appreciate Taylor Lautner’s abs. That was when I knew I was successfully channeling my inner teenage girl, and from there, it was a cakewalk. Growing up with two sisters also helped.

In all seriousness, I think one of the most egregious suggestions you can make in the writing world is that authors should only “write what they are.” Most readers seem genuinely interested in seeing the layers of complexity that evolve when an author writes from a perspective of the opposite gender. But I was very disheartened when I recently read one opinion that succinctly said, with regard to a man writing from a teenage female perspective: “Don’t even try.” I’m forever grateful that this belief isn’t commonplace in the open-minded YA community. Otherwise, the alternative would mean I could only write an MC who was a 20-something white male author, and I guarantee even my weekend shenanigans aren’t as entertaining as the hijinks of my 16-year-old Polynesian volcano goddess.

What kind of research did you do while writing this book? I know you're a dedicated writer... Did you *suffer* a trip to Hawaii to pay homage to Pele herself?

I unfortunately never made it to Hawaii while I was drafting WILDEFIRE. But I *did* use my tiki bottle opener from Hawaii a lot, so basically the same thing.

I know there's at least one sequel in the works after WILDEFIRE... Can you give any hints on what to brace ourselves for next? More kick-butt action? More smoldering romance?

Let’s just say that in book two, Ashline will be trading the marine cool of the Pacific Northwest for a locale a little more…tropical.

(**Cough**Miami**Cough**).

Name some books that have earned a permanent place on your All-Time Favorites shelf.

Marcelo and the Real World by Francisco X. Stork; the Myst trilogy by Rand & Robyn Miller; the Sabriel trilogy by Garth Nix; The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg, and my all-time favorite, How to Kill a Monster by R.L. Stine. I still own a few hundred R.L. Stine books. Most recently, Across the Universe—I think Beth Revis has some of the most fluid, elegant writing on the YA market right now.

You just received your MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College. (Congratulations!) Can you briefly detail what that program has involved and how you've benefitted from it?

The classes ranged from studying the history of the Picturebook to Contemporary YA Realism, but what I’ll really take away are all the contacts I’ve made. (I’m sorry, that was totally a “last day of summer camp” answer.)

Finally, since this is an interview for The Apocalypsies blog, name three people, living, dead, or fictional, who you'd want by your side to help you weather the apocalypse.

Charlie’s Angels. Or the three guys from the Hangover.

Visit Karsten at: http://www.karstenknight.com

Or on Twitter: @KarstenKnight

Eleven Up: Interview with Sheela Chari, author of VANISHED

Please welcome Sheela Chari to the Apocalypsies blog! Her middle grade mystery novel, VANISHED, is out today.

Eleven-year-old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, performing for admiring crowds on her traditional Indian stringed instrument. Her particular instrument used to be her grandmother’s—made of warm, rich wood, and intricately carved with a mysterious-looking dragon. When this special family heirloom vanishes from a local church, Neela is devastated. As she searches for it, strange clues surface: a teakettle ornamented with a familiar-looking dragon, a threatening note, a connection to a famous dead musician, and even a legendary curse. The clues point all the way to India, where it seems that Neela's instrument has a long history of vanishing and reappearing. If she is able to track it down, will she be able to stop it from disappearing again? 


Here's my interview with Sheela!

Please tell us about your path to publication. How long did it take Vanished to get written and published?

Sometimes I think I have the shortest path to publication …and the longest. The actual story took about a year and a half to write and polish, and about 6 months to find representation. After I signed with my agent, I revised some with him for almost 10 months, and then we went on submission for about a year. This had to be the longest stage in the whole process. During that time I became pregnant with my second child, and I use to joke to everyone that I wondered if I would have my baby first or get a book deal.  Well…the baby did come first. By about 4 months! I sold my book in 2008, but it would be 3 years before I would see its publication.

During those three years I changed editors once (my acquiring editor went to another publisher), and I got bumped from 2010 to 2011. Was it worth it? Absolutely. My new editor was fantastic and VANISHED is better and stronger than it ever was. I also got to help start the Elevensies, and I know that I’ve definitely grown so much over the past few years, not just as a writer, but as a reader and reviser. When you add up everything, from idea to publication, it took me a total of 6 years!

Veena (source: webIndia123.com)

In the novel, Neela loses a family heirloom, her grandmother’s veena. This made me think about significant things I owned and lost as a kid, through carelessness or neglect (like diamond earrings from my grandmother – I was supposed to get married in them!) Have you ever lost something significant, and if so, did that help you to imagine Neela’s reaction?

I know I must have lost some very important items in my life, but the one that comes to mind is a dark blue, cable-knit sweater I owned when I was sixteen. I had traveled with my high school orchestra from Pullman, WA to Seattle to hear the Seattle Symphony perform. While we were there, I put down my sweater on a bench somewhere, then forgot to take it with me. Sometime later I remembered and raced back, but the sweater was gone. It seems silly to mourn the loss of a sweater, but for me, I have a TERRIBLE memory. I only remember with certainty the things I record somewhere – in a journal, on camera, etc – or through the things I own. Material objects carry a lot of meaning for me, because they help me to remember. And as awful as my memory is, I do remember that sweater and all the places I went in it (including Berkeley, CA, which for me as a teenager, was the coolest place I could imagine). Having that sweater taken away from me, was almost like having those memories taken away, too. 

Did this experience help me to imagine Neela’s reaction? I do know that the guilt she felt about her veena’s disappearance was one of the hardest emotions for me to describe. It was important not to understate it, but I also had to be careful not to overdo it either. Once my brother was looking after a friend’s veena for the summer in Boston, where it gets insanely hot. The frets on a veena are made out of wax. Unfortunately, my brother left his friend’s veena outside in a car one day, when the temperature was really high, and the wax actually melted into a thick goop. He felt terrible! It turns out that the wax frets on a veena have to be regularly replaced because of their extreme malleability. So, it wasn’t the end of the world – but for a short period of time, it felt like it was for my brother. There is nothing worse than damaging someone else’s belongings. I tried to tap into that particular humiliation, and my brother’s experience certainly did help!

Here’s one of my favorite lines in the novel: “The world seemed full of surprises, of strange secrets, hidden talents, and unexpected discoveries.” This reveals Neela’s state of mind as she pieces together her clues, but I think it also captures something about being a pre-teen, about becoming more aware of the wider world. Can you say a little bit about why you chose to write for middle-grade readers, and what you enjoy about the age of your characters? 

I started writing a middle grade novel quite by accident. VANISHED was originally a birthday gift for my then 8-year-old niece – a story that would amuse her, but which I never dreamt would be read by a larger audience. But something happened as I wrote – an immediate comfort level, as if the story on paper matched the sensibility inside my head. 

If I look at my older work – at the short stories I published in the adult literary market, the writing hasn’t changed all that much – nor has the voice. But I find that my ability to craft a plot has significantly improved and sharpened…it’s as if I have a greater pool of experience to draw upon when writing about kids than I did when writing about adults. The first short story I published was about a retired married couple—which I wrote in grad school when I was in my twenties and still single! Imagine that! 

Writing VANISHED has been like opening the door to a part of my past I intensely enjoyed. I’m not saying 5^th grade was perfect. But there were perfect moments…and even though I have a terrible memory, I do remember those perfect moments completely…maybe it was because I was at an age when reading was everything. Or that having a best friend was just as important as falling in love (or even better), that school was a safe place where I looked up to teachers, even the eccentric ones, and most important of all, I had the whole possibility of the future out ahead of me, fresh and unknown. 

I really enjoyed solving the mystery alongside Neela, and marveled at your intricate plotting. What do you find most rewarding about writing a mystery? And most challenging?

I have one word: plot. Before VANISHED, my plots generally consisted of two characters who misunderstand each other having a sudden, fleeting moment of mutual understanding. THIS IS NOT PLOT. This is character growth perhaps, or what might be called literary writing. For a while, I was very happy writing no-plot…often times plot serendipitously found me. When I got to end of writing a short story, a light-bulb would go off in my head and I would think, Oh, so that’s what this story is about! But when I started writing an adult novel (which I never finished), I ran into the all-encompassing problem of no-plot.

VANISHED never had a no-plot problem. You simply cannot have a mystery without a plot. Mysteries require intense planning. And even though it was incredibly hard to plan everything out ahead of time (premise + suspicious characters + red herrings + believable culprit + resolution), writing a mystery novel was the best thing that happened to me. It made me appreciate pacing and chapter breaks, to learn to write effective dialogue and meaningful action, and how to think more like a reader. The challenge was doing all of this while still maintaining depth to my characters. In VANISHED, my characters do still grow (I hope), but I tried to think about how their personal growth was in service of the plot, and vice versa. In other words, how did Neela’s quest to find the lost veena help her to grow as a character? And how did her growth as a character help to search for the veena? All good for me.

Please tell us about your writing process. I’m especially curious if you write to music, since this is such a musical novel, or if you prefer silence. 

Oh, definitely no music! I need silence and a good cup of coffee.

Although I did make an exception when I was working on passages where I described someone playing the veena. I really have to say, THANK GOODNESS FOR YOUTUBE. For those parts, I played music I found on youtube by E. Gayatri to hear the right sounds as I wrote about them.

I was shocked to learn you are not a veena player yourself! The details about this instrument are so precise. I also learned a lot about dragons and wyverns and Indian culture. How do you balance writing and research? 

In most cases, I read only as much as I need to start or get on with my story. Then when I’m done, I go back and do more research to see if what I’ve “guessed” is right. I suppose this is very backwards. Because sometimes I do guess wrong, and I have to do a substantial amount of backtracking and reworking. But I do the research last because I think there is some magical that happens when you write spontaneously without researching it all ahead of time. 

I know this runs counter to what I said before about mystery and plot and planning. Which is why I think it’s even more important to build these spontaneous moments into my writing where I can. Also I find that even though sometimes I guess wrong (for example, I never realized just how big and difficult a veena is to carry and transport until I started asking people about it), most of the time, my writing muse leads me in the right direction. 

With the veena, which I don’t play (I play the violin), I tried to impose all the qualities I felt when I played the violin, on my character Neela when she played the veena (the need to get it right, the frustration of missing/misplaying notes, the fear of playing in front of others, the pipedreams of envisioning yourself as a musician in an unknown future). The actual mechanics of playing the veena – I left blank. But I went back and did my research later. I interviewed a veena teacher, then later a veena maker, who both helped me write with accuracy about what a veena sounds, feels, and looks like.

I loved how Neela has to practice the veena on a battered old instrument after the elegant veena  gets stolen. When she complains, Sudha Auntie, Neela’s veena teacher, says, “It’s practice that makes you a great musician, not the instrument.” Does this lesson apply to writing as well? What do you think makes someone a good writer?

I agree with Sudha Auntie about the importance of discipline – and committing yourself to show up for the job (whether it’s practicing an instrument or writing for a period of time, on a consistent basis). I think discipline and commitment really take you places. It’s what helped me finished VANISHED, and will hopefully help me to finish my next novel, too. 

But I also agree with Neela’s grandmother, who tells Neela to “play for yourself, and the rest will come beautifully.” At the end of the day, we create for ourselves, and it’s so important that we feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness with what we do. We are our first reader and audience.

Finally, since is the Apocalypsies blog, I must ask you: what prized possession would you grab before you run to your bunker?

Oh, man! I could make up something honorable, like taking WAR & PEACE (which I adore, but seriously, it’s too heavy to carry), or I could be sensible and say I’d bring a warm blanket and bottled water. But the truth is that I’d probably bring my iPad, so that I could check email and watch movies on Netflix. Of course, this would all be fine until the battery ran out…

Thanks so much for dropping by, Sheela, and congratulations on your book launch today!

Fortunately, Sheela's not vanishing! Here's where to find her online:

Visit Sheela's website
Follow Sheela on Twitter
Read Sheela's blog