Interview with Amie Rose Rotruck!

Oops, apparently forgot to cross-post this when I posted it yesterday. Sorry!

Amie Rose Rotruck is the assistant to R. D. Henham who penned Bronze Dragon Codex. She's a graduate of University of Pittsburgh and a double-graduate of the Hollins University Children's Literature program.


KF: Are you a musically-inspired writer or do you need silence? If you write to music, care to share any of your fave writing songs/singers/groups?

ARR: Scarily, I often watch TV while I write or I have nothing on at all. I enjoy music a lot, but for some reason I only ever listen when I'm in the car; when I'm home I usually have the TV on (much to my shame; I'm very much a couch potato!). I find that if I'm listening to music on my computer I end up fiddling with it too much and don't get writing done! So most of the time the TV's on as background noise and I don't pay attention, or I watch movies I love and have a similar atmosphere to what I like to write. I'll list those instead:

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Sleepy Hollow
The Illusionist
The Village
The Dark Crystal
Kingdom of Heaven
The 13th Warrior
Stardust
The Last Unicorn

As you can see, these are all historical fantasy, or historical, or fantasy. If I want the TV on just for background noise, I love horror movies and usually watch whatever's available on-demand from Fear.net. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been watching "Pet Semetary," "Bram Stoker’s Dracula," and some true gems in the bad horror movie genre. I use "watch" as a loose term, though, because if it isn't something I've seen before, I won't be able to tell you a plot point other than "stupid people get killed in ridiculous ways."


KF: Is there any writing advice you wish you’d never heard?

ARR: No prologues. We just talked about this on your blog and quite honestly I find it the most puzzling pieces of advice I've ever heard! I've NEVER skipped a prologue in my entire life and I am confounded by people who don't read them. Why wouldn't you read them, it's part of the story!

Two of the best pieces of advice I ever heard came from a recent interviewee of yours, Alexandria LaFaye. (ETA: Interview here.) First is that "writing every day" doesn't give your brain a chance to rest and the subconscious to work. Second best was "don't compare your writing to other people's work. Compare your writing now to your writing a year, two years, a decade ago."


KF: Come clean: Out of all your characters, which one is your favorite? No fair saying all of them, but if you'd rather turn it around and say your least favorite, I suppose I'll forgive you.

ARR: After thinking about this question, I realized I like my animals more than the people! I really enjoyed writing Simle from Bronze Dragon Codex, she was probably the most fun to write. I also really like White Rose, the greyhound in Tapestry Threads, and also Nocte from The Stone Chain (she’s a large cat). White Rose is the only one who doesn't talk, but my critique group has said that they find her more realistic and likable than some of the humans (hm, that's probably not a good thing!).


KF: What was the most fun thing about writing your book, Bronze Dragon Codex?

ARR: Having a chance to play in the Dragonlance world and throw little Easter Eggs in for people who know the books. I loved being able to reference favorite characters and even have a brief scene with one of them. It was also neat to realize that all the books I bought years ago just for fun came in handy. I was told by Stacy Whitman to hang on to my Dragonlance atlas, as it's a hard to find item, and I remembered one wonderful story about how the evil dragons were created by metal dragons tarnishing that I found in a general D&D guide to the Dragonlance world. It was also somewhat fun (and sometimes downright scary) to realize how much I already KNEW about the world and didn't have to look up. I'd read and re-read many of the books since 8th grade, so there was a lot of trivia rattling around in my brain. I think that proves that eventually you do find a use for every useless talent.


KF: You've written in shared worlds and you write your own worlds- is research easier for one over the other?

ARR: I'm going to say shared worlds just because there's always someone else I can ask if I can't find an answer to a question. I had pretty much every book available for research on Bronze Dragon Codex, but I could not find anywhere what color a bronze dragon's eyes were! I asked Stacy Whitman [editor], and she couldn't find it either, so I was able to invent that. You do have to make sure that what you're doing gels with the rest of the world's history and geography, but I didn't find that too difficult; more of a fun challenge.

Creating your own world, though, is much harder. The creating in and of itself isn't that hard, it's making sure there aren't any inconsistencies! My critique group is always finding them. Also, now that I'm working more in historical fantasy there's the question of just how accurate to make things. Tapestry Threads was set in a generic medieval world so that wasn't so bad, but I'm currently battling the setting for the sequel, The White Doe. That may be set in Roanoke colony, or may be set in a fictitious colony similar to Roanoke. Not sure yet.


KF: Can you tell us anything about the book you’re querying now, Tapestry Threads?

ARR: It was my MFA thesis for Hollins and I think is probably my best work to date. I’ve wanted to write something about the unicorn tapestries for years and started writing "The Unicorn Diaries" in 2002. It's evolved a lot since then; no longer in diary form, plus I changed my protagonist from a lady to a commoner who became a lady's maid; mainly because it offered her more freedom of movement both physically and socially.

In the story, Elaine goes to live with her aunt and serve Lady Catherine following Elaine's mother's death. When they journey to Lady Catherine's fiancé's homeland, Elaine falls ill and is healed by a unicorn. She becomes obsessed with finding it again, and later must figure out a way to save it from the hunt that must take place as part of Lady Catherine's marriage ceremony.

I wanted to show unicorns as a darker fantasy force, an object of obsession. Most of the books about unicorns tend to be cute and fuzzy. Kathleen Duey has an amazing series out, but it's for younger readers. I also wanted to delve a bit into the Christian myths surrounding unicorns; I ended up blending some true mythology with some stories of my own invention. I kept the setting generic Medieval because I was looking for general atmosphere. I did a lot of Medieval research though, as well as visiting the Cloisters in New York City (combined that with a trip to see Melissa Joy Adams) to see the Unicorn Tapestries there.


KF: Since I take any and every opportunity to gush about Hollins, I'm asking any Hollins-affiliated interviewees to do the same. So what's your favorite thing about the Hollins Children's Literature program?

ARR: Oh boy, where do I start? I guess it's mainly the people and the general attitude towards each other and their writing. It's a very nurturing program and I love how wonderful the professors are. I also adore the campus and the general student environment. It's been my vacation from 2001 on and I'm at a bit of a loss this year not being there! At least I live close enough to drive down for a visit; just got back, actually, and had a WONDERFUL time!

For me personally, it was SUCH a change from my undergraduate experience: I went from a city campus at University of Pittsburgh majoring in Engineering with mostly male classmates (I also have an undergrad self-designed degree in Writing for Children, but as I only took 1 or 2 classes for that per term, I didn't get to know many of my classmates there) to a rural campus with mostly females. Talk about culture shock!

Hollins opened so many doors for me. Through Hollins, I found out about the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts (www.iafa.org), which is where I first met Stacy Whitman (she wasn't an editor at the time, but we stayed in touch via Livejournal) who became my editor on Bronze Dragon Codex. I've had a chance to work with some amazing scholars such as C.W. Sullivan, Brian Attebery, and J.D. Stahl, as well as some amazing writers like Alexandria LaFaye, Han Nolan, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and Hillary Homzie. They all have contributed so much to my writing and I'm honored to have had the chance to study with them, as well as my fellow students. Like you. :)


KF: Here's a question from Travis M.: "How do you schedule your writing time? Do you have any specific techniques for motivating yourself to write?"

ARR: If I'm involved in a project of my own, I try to get a page a day out. If I'm working on a deadline, I actually make up a spreadsheet schedule with a page or word count and figure out what I need to do on each day to get it done in time. Whenever I'm stuck for words, I do a word or page count and enter it on my spreadsheet. So, can you tell I like math and organization?

I tend to write later in the day. The thought of getting up at 5AM to write (which so many writers seem to do) makes me ill to my stomach. I've always been a night owl and it takes me a while to get going in the morning. If I have an entire day to write, I usually start around 11AM. If it's a work day, I usually quit work (I work from home for my day job) around 5, step away from the computer for half an hour or so, then come back and write for an hour or two in the evening.

I wish I had a specific motivation technique. If I'm stuck, usually the only thing that works is staring at the screen and making myself not get up until I've written at least something. I try to go by Stephen King’s advice "never a day without a line." As long as I have at least one sentence put down, I feel like I've accomplished something. Also, I try to end my writing in the middle of a sentence. That way I am either thinking about what comes next when I return to the writing, or if I'm still stumped, I have a good place to start when I resume.


KF: And two from Megan: When did you start writing seriously?

ARR: I've been writing for a very long time. I think the first story I wrote and finished was a sequel to the movie "The Dark Crystal" which I worked on with my friend Meghan in the second grade. I started The Stone Chain around fifth grade, based on games that I'd play with my friend Amy (it was finally completed in 2005, so it literally was almost 20 years to complete!).

I never thought about writing as an actual profession, though, until I went to the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts in 1992 (between Junior and Senior year of high school). I literally ended up there because I couldn't find the right door; I'd gone to an information session about the different Governor's Schools; went to the one about sciences and then wanted to check out health care but couldn't find the right room. Time for the next session to start was getting close and I noticed the sign for the arts. I was very involved in music, so I thought I'd check it out. I was very surprised to find out that writing was included; I just never thought of it as an art for some reason. My English teacher that year, Lawrence Connolly, was VERY encouraging of my writing, so I was feeling confident. I applied, got in, and had an amazing 6 weeks of writing and discussing literature with like-minded people (sound like another place you know???). I came home from that summer and changed my plans from going to medical school to becoming an engineer (because I thought that would offer more free time) and writer. So I'd say my serious writing and thinking of myself as a writer started summer of 1992.

KF:...and- Where do you find inspiration for your stories? (KF: In particular, I want to know about Tapestry Threads!)

ARR: I mostly find inspiration in history. I love making connections; I love the little click my brain does when something falls into place (such as tying unicorns to the legend of the White Doe in Roanoke). I read and watch a lot of historical fiction and non-fiction. I dabbled in creating an entirely new world in The Stone Chain and I've found that I prefer to find the fantasy in this world, just in the past. I enjoy exploring the "what might have been" aspects and seeing history through different lenses.

I also adore fantasy artwork. The walls of my office are covered with artwork (mostly purchased at Renaissance faires) and my desk has a glass sheet covering a map of the Dragonlance world as well as many postcards of fantasy artwork. I don't often come up with stories directly relating to the art, but I do find it keeps me in the fantasy world (not that I need any help with that usually!).


Thank you, Amie!

Interview with Carrie Jones!

Today's interview comes to your courtesy of the ever-lovable Carrie Jones! Carrie is the author of Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend, Love (and other uses for duct tape), Girl, Hero, and Need. She's also super-cool, super-supportive and just plain grand :)


KF: Are you a musically-inspired writer or do you need silence? If you write to music, care to share any of your fave writing songs/singers/groups?

CJ: Oh, I am difficult.
Sometimes I need silence.
Sometimes I need music.

Sometimes I worry that if I'm playing something really sad (like the Soundtrack from The End of the Affair) or something really happy (like funk) it will fool me into thinking that I am writing something brilliantly sad or funny, but it's really the music that's moving me, not my writing. I learn this when I reread it a couple days later expecting to sob over my laptop and instead I am all, "Crud. This stinks. This stinks so badly. Ackkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!"

So, I get worried about that trap.

However, if I am having a hard time writing and feeling depressed I go over to Pandora Radio and put on a mix inspired by Prince's Sexy M.F. This always gets me writing. It is my new writing trick.


KF: Is there any writing advice you wish you’d never heard?

CJ: Short sentences are good.


KF: Come clean: Out of all your characters, which one is your favorite? No fair saying all of them, but if you’d rather turn it around and say your least favorite, I suppose I’ll forgive you. (Note: Carrie, if this causes panic, you may say all of them. But this exception is only for authors named Carrie Jones!)

CJ: Whine. I want to say them all! You are a harsh mistress of an interviewer.

Okay... Okay...Um...

As of right this moment my favorite character is Muffin the cat in Tips on Having a Gay Ex Boyfriend.

Why?

She's furry.
She doesn't talk back. She only meows.


KF: You often discuss how Grover is your writing cheerleader and how John Wayne is your internal critic/task master. Why do you think it's important for writers to have both?

Yes. I think that writers have tendencies to go to extremes especially when it comes to self-criticism. They become such perfectionists about their writing that:

1. They can't write anything
2. They hate anything they write
3. They loathe themselves for not being J.K. Rowling or Toni Morrison or Stephen King (insert name here) or Sherman Alexie.

It starts to limit us. Healthy criticism is fine, but there's a line into destructive self criticism that can be an easy line for writers to cross. That's why it's important for me to personify my critic as John Wayne. He's tough. He's hard. He doesn't let me slack off, but he's pretty fair.

To balance things out I have Grover, who is the best Muppet ever. He had his tonsils out with me. He loves me unconditionally. He's a little self absorbed, but you can't have everything, right?

Seriously, as authors (and as humans) I think it's important for us to find a balance between confidence and criticism, between optimism and pessimism, between taking it easy and taking it too hard. That's what Grover and John Wayne represent for me.

ETA from KF: By the way, Carrie doesn't know this, but she's totally my Grover-like cheerleader. For realz. I have a quote from her on my binder o' scary agent stuff & everything. Ask Tiffany, she's seen it!:-)


KF: Richard Peck once said, "We have to be all our characters but none of our characters should ever be us." Your books truly seem to take this to heart and you put a lot of yourself into your stories- has this always been your style or is it something you came to gradually?

CJ: That's such a tough question! For me it's hard to not be genuine. Honestly, that's the compliment in life that I get most often and I'm always standing there in the grocery store with a bunch of peaches in my hand and my mouth wide open going, '????' Because what can you say to that? I don't know how not to be genuine as a person, which is probably a horrific drawback and a reason I lost by 500 votes when I ran for office. I just am who I am.

When I write I think that's what happens. I just write. The issues I care about, the people I care about shimmy their way into my stories like slinky tango dancers and I have no idea how to keep them out. So, my characters tend to have random pieces of me in them. Belle has caffeine-induced seizures. Liliana is full of childhood pain and wants so badly to be a hero. Zara is a nutcase (in a good way – a better way than me). I think all my characters are much better than me. Well, except maybe Ian. And Megan. Gosh, I hope I’m not that bad. (ETA from KF: No, you are very much not!)

KF: What's the most fun/interesting/weird thing you've discovered when researching a book?

CJ: It's so naughty that I totally can't write it here. My mom might google me and find it. But it was so bad that I got worried the FBI would be tracking my web use after.


KF: You're organizing the Bar Harbor Book Festival- care to give it a shout-out here?

Yes! A cute local police officer and I have started this book festival in Bar Harbor, Maine. It's September 12-13 and this is its first year. There's going to be about 25 authors there, signing, talking, hanging out, reading, hopefully eating strudel and debating zombies versus unicorns.

The money we raise (if we raise any and it doesn't turn into one big party) is going to support local law enforcement literacy initiatives. Literacy rates are really linked heavily to crime rates. It's kind of a win-win situation: Books. Cute cops. Helping kids. Yay!

Please come! There's more info here

You can email me if you want to donate too: carriejonesbooks at gmail dot com
(ETA: In an attempt to help Carrie thwart spambots, if you want to email her take out spaces and replace at with @ and dot with . )


You've been hard at work on the sequel to Need, Captivate, so this particular question comes from Travis M.: What is your most successful revision technique?

CJ: The problem I've found is that every revision is different. Sometimes I find it super helpful to go back each pass and look for one thing to improve. Sometimes I find it helpful to outline and look for issues. Sometimes I find it helpful to think about structure and beats. Sometimes I find it helpful to cry and clutch onto the hem of my editor's skirt and beg her to put me out of my misery.

I think the only advice I could possible give is to be brave when you revise. Be unafraid. If you have to throw it all away, you have to throw it all away. The goal is to make the best book you can make. Do whatever it takes to do that and DO NOT GIVE UP!


KF: And, from Megan: What/who inspired you to become a writer?

CJ: My high school creative writing teacher, Joseph Sullivan, is the best human in the universe and when I took his class he would write in huge red marker: YOU ARE A WRITER! Or things like: YOU ARE TALENT! Or things like I SEE BESTSELLER LIST.
Since I am the sort of person who responds to massive amount of praise it made me want to be a writer. He made me a much better writer too, but I didn't really try until about three years ago. We live in rural Maine and it takes forever to drive anywhere. My daughter gets incredibly bored in the car so she would demand stories. I started making one up while I drove. It got longer and longer. Eventually, I started writing it down because I thought that it would be easier. Then Em would be like, "More pages! MORE PAGES!" (You can imagine a ghoulish monster waiting in bed for her story if you'd like). So I started writing 10 pages a day just to appease her. Then I realized it was fun. It was actually way more fun than being a newspaper editor, which is what I was.

So I foolishly quit my job, applied to graduate school and somehow got accepted to Vermont College of Fine Arts. A year after I started Andrew Karre bought my first book, TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (Ex) BOYFRIEND.

So, I guess Em and Mr. Sullivan inspired me.


A giant, Muppet-filled Thank You! to Carrie for the interview!

July Reading List

My reading has been a little scattered this past month. I finished up my last packet of reviews for CLCD and have temporarily resigned from reviewing. Or maybe not so temporarily. Either way, I needed to concentrate on my writing and querying so no more official reviewing for now, though I'll continue to do my monthly updates on what I've been reading.

And so... Here's what I read in July!

1)World's End by Mark Chadbourn
Age of Misrule, Book 1
Adult, Ages 14+
I'm apparently in a minority about this book. A number of reviewers on various sites found it thrilling and interesting. I... didn't. The plot is a fantastic premise, with all the old Celtic myths returning to the world, and most of the major plot points are exciting. But it just... took... forever... Every time things began to happen everyone had to *stop* and talk about their beliefs. I'm fairly interested in knowing how the series resolves, but I don't know that I care to read more. Again, a lot of people really seem to like this book; maybe I'm just used to a different kind of story arc now.

2) My Name is Jason. Mine too. by Jason Reynolds; Jason Griffin
YA, Ages 12+
A book of art and poetry isn't exactly what I first reach for when I'm looking for reading material, but this book was fantastic. Two college roommates move to NYC together, one to be a poet, one to be an artist. Sounds like a lot of books/stories/movies, right? Well, this one's real and fabulous. It doesn't sugar-coat their experiences, but it isn't depressing. It's realistic and hopeful and lovely. I highly recommend this book, especially for older teens.

3) Maya Angelou: A Creative and Courageous Voice by Jill Egan
Middle Grade, Ages 8-12
A great introduction to Maya Angelou's life and a perfect book for the late Elementary school or early Middle school student who needs to do a report on a famous person. :)

4) Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Theatre Illuminata, Act I
YA, Ages 12+
Excuse me while I *squee* :) This is such a fantastic, fun book. I came to it cold, trying not to read any spoilers, descriptions, etc. beforehand, and so was momentarily puzzled when I started reading: "Wait, they're *really*... Oh, her room *is*.... OMG, WOW!" was my first reaction. Followed by gleeful page-turning for the rest of the book. This is such a fun, fresh, irresistible confection. I'm already contemplating a re-read. :-) If you haven't gotten yourself a copy yet, why not??? Go, buy, read. It's the most fun you'll have without diving into the cupcake yourself. ;-)

5) Fire by Kristin Cashore
Prequel to 'Graceling'
YA, Ages 14+
First of all, a great, big, giant Thank You!!! to Tiffany Schmidt for lending me her ARC, since this book technically isn't out until October 5. I owe her big time, because I've found one of my new favorite books. I was a little hesitant, since sometimes I don't like companion books as much as the original- and I was very fond of Katsa & Po- so I wasn't sure I wanted to know about this Fire person. Oh, but I was so very wrong. I loved Fire's story on such a different level than Katsa's. And Kristin Cashore is now on my auto-buy list- the day I finished Fire, I pre-ordered my own copy. *love* It's hard to describe the plot aside from "a country on the brink of civil war, with monsters" which, honestly, doesn't much appeal to me when stated that way, but she's fantastic. I think Graceling fans will love this, and that even those who weren't enamored with the Katsa will fall in love with Fire (and not just because she's a monster).

Books read this month: 5
Books read this year: 46

Anyone else read any of these? Thoughts? Opinions?

Interview with Karen Mahoney!

In her varied career Karen Mahoney has been a professional Tarot reader, a college counsellor, a dating agency consultant and a bookseller. Ever since she was six years old what she really wanted to be was Wonder Woman, but has instead settled for being a writer which she thinks is the most fun you can have without bulletproof bracelets.

Her YA contemporary fantasy, THE IRON WITCH (Book 1 of The Ironbridge Chronicles), is currently on submission in the US. Among other work she has recently completed a companion novel, BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS, which is set in the same world but completely stands alone.

You can visit Karen online at her regularly updated blog or on twitter. She is also a proud member of the Deadline Dames

And now, on to the interview!

KF: Are you a musically-inspired writer or do you need silence? If you write to music, care to share any of your fave writing songs/singers/groups?

KM: At the risk of sounding very boring, I don't usually listen to music when I write. I can't seem to get into my writing and tend to work better in silence. I think I need to be able to 'hear' the characters' voices, and I find it easier to lose myself in the atmosphere of the story if I don't have too much outside disturbance. Having said that, I can work okay in cafes so the general background noises you get there don't seem to bother me too much… (I never said I was consistent! *g*) And of course, there are always exceptions. I remember once writing a particularly violent fight scene when I was sitting in the same room as a friend who was watching the film PAN'S LABYRINTH. There was an intense blast of music from the movie's soundtrack and, although I didn't look up at the screen, for some reason in that moment it helped me get into what I was writing. I think it helped that the fight took place in a nightclub, and in that case the music must've helped!


KF: Is there any writing advice you wish you'd never heard?

KM: Haha… Good question! I don't know if this qualifies as advice, but I'm lucky enough to be friends with my favourite author – Jonathan Carroll. Once, when I was complaining to him in an email about how long the submissions process takes, and how slow things are in publishing right now, he responded with (and I quote): "Get used to it, pal." I wish I hadn't heard that, but at the same time I probably needed to hear it. ;)


KF: Come clean: Out of all your characters, which one is your favorite? No fair saying all of them, but if you'd rather turn it around and say your least favorite, I suppose I'll forgive you.

KM: Well, I am fond of several of my characters, but I think I'll have to say Moth (from my story in The Eternal Kiss). Not just saying that because it's current - I really do have a soft spot for her, ever since she turned up in my head stomping around in her steel toe-capped boots and grinning madly at me. Makes me smile just thinking about it.


KF: You have a short story in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood & Desire, (available now- go buy it!) along with Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Libba Bray, Sarah Rees Brennan and Kelley Armstrong, just to name a few! Can you tell us a little about your story and how it feels to be in such a cool anthology?

KM: I am seriously telling you, I still cannot believe I'm in that anthology! I almost died when the editor – Trisha Telep – told me that Holly Black had agreed to be in it… Holly is one of my favourite writers and, as I expected, her story in the book is AMAZING. My own story is called 'Falling to Ash' and is about an 18-year-old vampire called Moth. She was Turned into a vamp over a decade ago, so she's really a 28-year-old woman stuck in the body of a teenager. I love thinking about all the questions and issues that raises: imagine being trapped as a teenager for eternity… How would you change and grow? Would you develop as a regular human being should do, or would you always be just a little immature? (Moth can be quite immature and impetuous, but at the same time the wisdom of her years shows through when she needs it.) How would it feel to see 'real' teenagers enjoying life, while you just continue on the way you've always been? Imagine how it would affect your family and friends. What would you tell them? Would you tell them? And what if they don't believe you? All these things I've explored with Moth, and packing it into 32 pages wasn't easy!

The thing with Moth is that she actually started out as a supporting character in my YA manuscript THE IRON WITCH, which is currently on submission with my fabulous agent. So she's in that book, but she has such a big personality and so much potential I knew she would grow into her own stories. When I was invited to participate in the anthology I saw this as the ideal opportunity to let Moth have the limelight. And then I loved writing her so much, I have since written the first draft of a novel all about her which I'm now revising. That girl won't leave me alone! :)


KF: You write both YA and Adult. What's the hardest thing about going back and forth between the two, if any? What's your favorite thing about writing YA? What's your favorite thing about writing Adult?

KM: Okay, well this is a tough question for me as I keep trying to write adult stuff, but always end up going back to YA. My favourite thing about YA is the opportunity to delve into a time of life that is so full of possibilities. Emotions run high, and I love to write scenes with lots of emotional resonance (and a good sprinkling of angst!). However, my next project is very definitely an adult book, and I like that it will allow me a bit more scope to delve into subplots. I'll have more room to expand on themes and ideas (like, literally another 30,000+), and the story I want to tell is particularly dark. Not that YA fiction can't be dark – obviously it can be and often is, and a lot of the books I love are dark. But with an adult book I won't have to be quite so aware of things like language and sexual content, violence, etc. Um…I'm making myself sound kinda psychotic, but I'm honestly not! ;) I'm just saying that there are certain lines you have to be careful of crossing with YA, just in terms of content, especially as you don't know when a 12-year-old might be picking up your book and not all parents of 12-year-olds would be happy to have their children read adult urban fantasy.


KF: Can you share anything with us about your current WIP?

KM: As I said earlier, I'm currently revising Moth's novel (BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS) with a view to sending it out on submission later this year. It's set six months after 'Falling to Ash', and we see what happens when Moth returns to Ironbridge for good. She gets involved with the thriving Otherkin subculture in the city, and has to investigate a series of teenage deaths that threaten to uncover the presence of the real vampires!


KF: This question comes from Travis M.: How do you schedule your writing time? Also, do you have any specific techniques for motivating yourself to write?

KM: In terms of schedule, I have a day job that takes up four days per week. On the three days I have off, I make sure to spend at least two of those writing – usually all day (with breaks for food and other things!) – and I also do some writing in the evenings after work. I admit that I'm not the best when it comes to time management, though, and tend to work better with longer blocks of time. I can throw myself into an intense period of work for a few weeks or months, and am then happy to take some time off in between projects. I love to read, so I always make time for that even if it's just while I'm commuting. I am also active online and find it very difficult to switch off from things like LJ and Twitter…

I think the best motivation for writing is to really, really love it. If you love what you do then, even when it is really tough (which it very often is), then you will still sit down to write. Telling stories is something that you must need to do otherwise it is just too difficult, I think. If you're writing with publication in mind – which is fine, as long as you really love to tell stories - that can be another motivating force. Just reading about all the publishing deals that happen every week helps me to say: "I want that too!" It makes me work harder than ever.


KF: This question is from Megan: What/who inspired you to become a writer?

KM: I know everyone says this, but I've wanted to write since I was a child. When I was twelve years old I was at school and we were all asked what we wanted to be when we "grew up'. When it came to my turn I replied, "A writer." My teacher said: "You mean, a journalist?" And I replied: "No, I mean writing books." And the whole class laughed, including the teacher. I think ever since then I've had a bit of an "I'll show them!" attitude, although there have been long periods of time in my life when I didn't write. In terms of who inspires me to write, too many to name! But, in terms of contemporary stuff, Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Holly Black and Vicki Pettersson are a good starting point.


KF: And this question came from Kitty: Where do you find the names for your characters?

KM: Everywhere! Seriously, I'm always on the lookout for good character names and have lists of them in my notebook. One of the best places is coffee shops – the servers in the ones I go to all have to wear name tags, and because they come to London from all over the world, I have a great stock of multicultural names. I usually ask people where their names come from and then do some research on a particular name if I really like it. I also take note of names on signs, shop names, other character in books that I might be able to 'mix and match', as well as using great websites like: http://www.behindthename.com/


Thanks very much for having me here, Kathleen! :)

And a big thanks to you for agreeing to be interviewed!