Author Interview: Marissa Doyle

Please join me in welcoming Marissa Doyle, author of Bewitching Season, Betraying Season, and the just released Courtship & Curses. Welcome to Damsels in Regress, Marissa!

1. Sophie has every reason to want to shy away from the uneducated views and comments that society has of her disability, yet she’s quite the feisty character at times. How did her story come about?

I knew I wanted to write a story set in the Regency, with Lady Parthenope, the mother of Persy and Pen in Bewitching Season, as one of the characters. Based on the timing (Persy and Pen were born in 1819), I knew I could set it at the tail end of the Napoleonic Wars…and it just sort of sprouted from there.  Sophie’s character popped into my head while I was taking a shower, which is where a lot of good book ideas are hatched and plot problems solved…and as I was drying off, the fact of Sophie’s illness and disability was just “there” in my head. As I say in the author’s note in Courtship and Curses, we had a dear family friend who’d had polio as a child; I based Sophie’s difficulties on a lot of what I remember about her physical issues.

2. Parthenope is not a name I’ve ever run across before your books. Where did you find it and what kind of research did you do?

Isn’t it just a wonderfully dreadful name? It’s from Greek mythology, specifically the Odyssey—she was one of the sirens Odysseus encountered on his long journey home. The twins’ father James, himself a classicist, wanted the girls to have classical names like their mother…where poor Parthenope got it from, she was never able to ascertain as her father wouldn’t explain why he’d chosen it. But as he’d been imbibing freely while hiding in his library when Parthenope’s mother was in labor, there might be a clue there. 🙂 As to where I got it…I have no idea! My head is stuffed full of weird things and factoids like that. For research on the whole, I was quite delighted to add substantially to my library of early 19th century research materials (thank you, Abebooks!) I did lots of reading on London society, of course, but also on French and Napoleonic history as well, with forays into things like 19th century amateur botany and parakeet species.

3. I so enjoyed the characters traveling to Brussels! (I’m a huge Belgium fan.) Was it merely done to put them near the Duke of Wellington or were there other reasons?

Well, it made sense for Sophie’s father, as a member of the office that provided war matériel for the British army, to be on the ground in Brussels to consult with Wellington…and I desperately wanted to include Brussels in the early summer of 1815 in the book, just because it was soooo interesting a place—definitely Party Central of Europe at the time. As soon as Napoleon had been defeated in 1814, thousands of well-to-do British flooded over to the Continent to go shopping in Paris (which they hadn’t been able to do since the Peace of Amiens in 1802) and travel to Italy…and also, thousands of not-so-well-to-do British families of noble birth but slender means flooded there as well, as it was cheaper to live there than in England.

So Brussels was full of British, even after Napoleon escaped Elba and returned to power. In fact, even more came over after that because they thought it would be exciting to watch what would happen when he marched on Brussels, as it was expected he would (and obviously did). It’s hard to imagine military tourism in these days, but no one thought it all that strange a thing to do then.

4. Wow, you’ve taught me something already! I was happy to see a member of the Leland family make an appearance in this book. Will you tell James and Parthenope’s story soon?

Hmm…probably not. Happily-ever-afters don’t necessarily make for the most exciting fiction…and James and Parthenope will lead a quietly happy life…or at least as quiet as anything can be in Parthenope’s proximity. I do have to say that it was fun to take the character I’d created back in Bewitching Season, and extrapolate her back to her youth. Charles, however…that may be another story, but I’m not ready to say much about that yet.

5. On a personal note, what kind of books did you read when you were a teenager?

Heh, I was just discussing this over on LibraryThing…I was a total Victoria Holt fanatic, and was thrilled when I discovered that she’d also written historical fiction as Jean Plaidy. I think she’s why I always write a bit of a mystery and peril in my stories…except I prefer to have my heroines do the saving of the day, and not leave it to the guys. I also liked science fiction and Stephen King. Curiously, I didn’t discover Jane Austen ’til very late in my teens, but I think she’s best appreciated by adults anyway.

6. What are among your favorite historical fantasy novels?

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is my favorite, hands down—it’s so richly detailed, slyly humorous, and wonderfully written. I’m a total fan girl over Caroline Stevermer’s books A College of Magics and A Scholar of Magics, and also greatly enjoy Patricia Wrede’s books like the Sorcery and Cecelia series (co-written with Stevermer) and her newer Frontier Magic series. I’d love to see more historical fantasy out there…which, I suppose, is why I write them.  🙂

7. What are you working on now?

I’m a little bit between books right now as I’m out on submission with something new and different—think America in the early twentieth century (gasp!) But it’s still historical fantasy…I fervently hope that it will see the light of day soon.

I hope so, too! Keep us posted and thanks for taking the time to chat with us today!
To find out more about Marissa and her books, check out her website www.marissadoyle.com and blog http://nineteenteen.blogspot.com.

Author Interview: Augusta Scattergood

Everyone please welcome Augusta Scattergood!

1. Hello Augusta. Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to stop by Damsels in Regress to talk with us. I love a good historical, but I have to admit I read very few that are set in the south during the 1960s. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I started reading, but I was pulled in from the start and thoroughly enjoyed Glory’s story. Where did you first get the idea to write this novel?

The easy answer is that I was “present at the creation.” I grew up during this time period, in a small town in Mississippi, and I’ve always been fascinated with how little we knew or understood until after some of these historic events took place.

So in some ways, I’ve been thinking about the story for a long time. But I actually started the version that’s closest to my finished novel after hearing Ruby Bridges speak at the New Jersey school where I was working. Having integrated the New Orleans public schools as a very young child, she really inspired me and made me think about my own childhood. After that, I turned a (potentially boring) short story about a wedding planner into what became GLORY BE. I’m so glad I did.

2. What type of research did you do for this novel? How much were you able to pull on your own memories or experiences to write Glory Be?

As a former school and reference librarian, I never considered writing purely from my own memories. Of course, it helped that I once actually sported a beehive hair-do, wore really short skirts, and loved Elvis.

But for all the true history behind the story, I read books, newspapers, and the oral histories I found on the Library of Congress and university library websites. I also spent a lot of time in actual libraries. In fact, I do much of my serious writing in a study room of my local library. All those books, and no distractions!

3. Glory is spunky and unafraid to stick her nose where it doesn’t always belong. I love this about her. Did you always plan for her to be like that or did she grow and change as your novel did?

Great question. I think she always had spunk. But she sure did change and grow. As the story evolved, Glory stepped up to the plate. I worked to make her less like me and my friends and more the hero of the story. I think Glory is the 11-year-old I wish I’d been.

4. What do you hope your young readers take away from your novel, particularly in terms of the topic of segregation?

One of the most gratifying things about visiting schools and talking to young readers is to hear the utter disbelief that the situation I describe in GLORY BE could have happened. Close a swimming pool? A park? A school? Just because certain powerful people don’t think they need to be inclusive? It’s mostly beyond today’s kids’ comprehension.

They have a lot of questions about what it was like to live in the South of the early 60s. I don’t know every answer, but I hope I can make them curious to discover more. I always end my school visit sessions with the suggestion that they ask their grandparents, parents, older friends and family about growing up during the Civil Rights era.

5. I know I get attached to certain scenes in my novels that end up getting cut. Was there any one particular scene that you especially loved but didn’t make it into the final novel?

There was one scene involving Glory and Robbie, Jesslyn’s boyfriend, and some particularly poignant exchanges— postcards, worries about a parent. I totally loved my writing in the scene. Some might say over-loved. But I’ve saved it all, and I will continue to try to slip it in somewhere, one of these days, in one of my books!

6. What are some of your favorite historical novels? Do you have any that are set during the same time period of Glory Be that you would recommend?

I really enjoyed ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia. Talk about getting the details right! That book just tickled me with the funny characters, and it made my heart stop with the emotion and strong storytelling.

Two recent adult books set in the 60s in the South that I felt were very thought-provoking were QUEEN OF PALMYRA and THE DRY GRASS OF AUGUST.

7. What’s next writing wise for you? Another historical? Or something completely different?

Middle-grade and historical –or at least kind of historical— that’s the way my brain operates. At least for now.

8. And lastly, I’m always curious to know what other authors are reading. What books are on your to read list?

How much time do you have?

I read constantly. I seem to be reading a ton of middle-grade novels. I scored the ARCs of Barbara O’Connor’s October book, ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO’S and Trent Reedy’s new book, STEALING AIR. I just finished WONDER which could be one of my all-time favorites. I’m reading Natalie Standiford’s new book, and I’m trying to get my hands on THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater because I think we killed at our recent Texas Library Association/ Readers Theater group performance of our southern books.

I’d better stop there, before you run out of room and word count and cut me off mid-sentence.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with the Damsels today! We really appreciate it!

I totally enjoyed talking to you. Thanks for having me!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, take a moment to check out Scholastic’s Mother Daughter Book Club. Glory Be is Scholastic’s first book! They’re offering a free Skype visit with the author! And there are some great discussion questions and a recipe that was adapted from the book!

Be sure to take a moment to check out Augusta Scattergood’s wonderful blog and webpage

Author Interview: Shelley Adina

Please join me in welcoming Shelley Adina, the prolific author of the Magnificent Devices series and many other books for both young adults and adults. Welcome to Damsels in Regress, Shelley!

Thank you—and what fun to be here!

1. Lady Claire Trevelyan has become quite a strong character by the second book, Her Own Devices. How did her story come about?
 
The “fish out of water” story has always been interesting to me, probably because I felt that way every day in high school. So when the urge to write steampunk finally got too strong to ignore, I thought, “What’s the worst kind of ‘out of water’ experience a young Victorian lady could have?” Well, if she’s brought up to wealth and privilege, the absolute worst would be homelessness. And then I got an image of a girl getting mugged outside a Whitechapel train station … and that was the flash point. The story just came.

2. Tell us about your interest in steampunk, including what kind of research you did.

I’ve been a fan of steampunk since I was a kid watching “The Wild, Wild West” on TV in the sixties. The research is absolutely the most fun part. I mean, in how many other careers can you go to Comic Con or Fanime and have it be tax deductible? Here in Silicon Valley one of the coolest events of the year is the Maker Faire, where “makers,” or DIY folks, come together with all the devices, clothes, processes and so on that they’ve invented. Just looking at what other people have created can spur your imagination to go one step further and put that cool raygun in a scene.

Of course, the world you build also has to be grounded in what people know, so my 1889 London features real streets and bridges, real neighborhoods, and real fashion.

3. I know you’re an accomplished seamstress. Did you make any of the costumes that appear in the books?

One of my favorite things about writing steampunk is the ability to go to booksignings and speaking events in full costume. I’ll be teaching at Clockwork Alchemy 2012 in May, and you can bet I’ll be dressed to the teeth. To answer the question, though … there is one costume I describe that I have the pattern, fabric, and trims for. It’s just a matter of carving out the time to make it before May.

4. How many books will there be in the Magnificent Devices series?

My original plan was for three books about Lady Claire’s adventures, but then I was browsing on Deviant Art and saw a picture of a girl who is a dead ringer for the grown-up version of one of the Mopsies (10-year-old twin orphan girls in Lady of Devices). So it seems clear that Lizzie and Maggie are going to become teenagers and have their own stories. And then there’s Peony Churchill, who is running loose in the Canadas with dreams of being an aviatrix … that sounds like three more books to me, don’t you agree?

5. Absolutely! When will the next book be available?

I’m hoping that book 3, Magnificent Devices, will be available in September. The artist who does my covers, PhatPuppyArt.com, sent me an image for book 3 that was just an experiment she wanted to show me … and it was so spot-on perfect that I bought it on the spot. Be prepared to swoon.

6. What kind of novels did you read as a teenager? Any favorites?

I come from Canada, which back then was heavily influenced by British writers. So I grew up reading Elizabeth Goudge, Enid Blyton, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, all of whose novels feature strong, interesting female leads who are appropriate for their time period. I think those fictional girls were Lady Claire’s literary ancestors.

7. What are you working on now?

I’m working on the last of my contracted novels for Hachette, which are Amish women’s fiction written under my Adina Senft pseudonym. Called the Amish Quilt trilogy, these books are about three Amish women who are working on a quilt together, and working through life issues with each other’s help. The first one, The Wounded Heart, is out now, and the second, The Hidden Life, is coming in June. The Tempted Soul will be out in March 2013.

Sounds great. Thanks for chatting with us!

Thanks so much for letting me come over—it was fun!

To find out more about Shelley and her books, check out the following websites.

http://www.shelleyadina.com – Magnificent Devices
http://www.adinasenft.com – Amish Quilt
http://www.shelleybates.com – Moonshell Books & Editorial
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=550040704

Interview: Jennifer L. Holm

We’ve had some talented, accomplished, and well-known authors on Damsels in Regress in the past three years, but today’s interview is definitely a sparkly jewel in our crown.  Please welcome three-time Newbery Honor winner, and author of Monday’s reviewed book, The Trouble with May Amelia, Jennifer L. Holm!

1.  Our Only May Amelia was a great story whose characters definitely left room for more stories, but the book as a whole seemed to stand on its own.  Did you always intend to write a sequel, or did The Trouble with May Amelia come to you later?

I hadn’t initially planned to write a sequel. And then a few years after it was published, I came around and decided I would write a companion novel from the point of view of her best brother, Wilbert. But when I got down to writing it, I couldn’t get May Amelia’s voice out of my head (she’s bossy that way.) So I just gave in.

2.  May Amelia has such a distinct voice and the writing style is unusual (the dialogue not being in quotations, the use of randomly capitalized words for emphasis).  Was it hard to get back into that voice after writing several other books, or did it feel comfortable from the beginning?

It was strangely comfortable, which isn’t always the case. Also, in a weird way, I missed her. My mom gave me this t-shirt that says “Writer’s block is when your imaginary friends won’t talk back to you.” I think this is perfectly true. I like it when I can hold a conversation with my characters. (Now that sounded a little strange … but, hey, writers are a strange bunch.)

3.  You’ve said that these books were based on family history.  How much is factual and what is from your imagination?

If the book was a cake recipe, I would say the batter was my imagination, the frosting was the historical details, and the icing roses were the facts. There was no May Amelia in real life, of course. Although her name sort of lives on in my daughter (we named her Millie May).

4.  What sort of research did you do for both of May Amelia’s stories?  What was one interesting piece of information that you weren’t able to fit in?

My research involved a lot of oral family histories, as well as general research about the area and the Finnish immigrant experience. If anything, it brought me a little closer to my Finnish heritage, especially the cooking. I can cook a mean laxloda now (a creamy salmon and potato casserole).

Also, I’m a sucker for local historical societies—I adore them. I love crawling through dusty collections and hanging out with archivists and historians. When I went to college (Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA), I worked in the Archive in the library and it ruined me for life.

So many bits didn’t fit in, and that’s always disappointing. But ultimately, the history has to push the story forward.

5.  How is the research for May Amelia’s stories easier, harder, or just different than the research you’ve done for your other historical novels?

It may have been a little easier because my father helped me a lot, as did my aunts (so I had first-hand stories). They had long memories for nickel knowledge. “Nickel knowledge” was what my dad called little historical details, like how it felt on a cold night when his father would lay his coat on top of him in bed to keep him warm when he was a child.

6.  May Amelia’s claim to fame is that she’s the only girl in her family and one of the only ones in her whole region.  She’s not your only character to be the only girl in a family full of boys, either.  Does this come from your own family experiences or is it just a situation you enjoy exploring?

Well, I guess you could say I have plenty of experience. I’m one of five children (and the only girl.)

7.  May Amelia calls Wilbert her “best brother.”  Which of May Amelia’s seven brothers was your favorite?

Matti (the eldest brother) was my favorite in the first book. But in Trouble, it was Kaarlo— which surprised me as much as anybody else. It’s easy to be the Golden Child (like big brother Matti) and go away and impress people. It’s much harder to be the Good Child who stays behind and takes care of a family when it falls apart.

8.  Are there any plans to explore other aspects of your family history or other time periods in future books?  Or are there any time periods you’ve already written in that you want to revisit?

I’m starting to feel the tug to go back to Key West and revisit Turtle and the Diaper Gang, so who knows? (Besides, who wouldn’t want an excuse to go back to Key West?)

Thanks again, Jenni!

No, thank you!

Author Interview: Myra McEntire

Everyone please welcome Myra McEntire, author of Hourglass, a young adult novel about a seventeen-year old girl who sees people who shouldn’t be there. These apparitions have haunted her since her parents’ death, and all she wants is for them to go away so she can be normal. In a last ditch effort, her brother brings in a consultant, Michael Weaver, a man who might change not only her future, but possibly her past.

1. I love the entire world and the logic behind it that you created. I love the fact that your novel is a contemporary time travel. You don’t see that often. It was a really unique way to look at time travel. How did you initially get the idea for this novel?

Thank you! It started as a prompt for a writing group. I wrote up to the part where Em goes into her room and sees Jack, and asks herself how Jack knew her name. I was working on something else, but I couldn’t stop wondering WHY DID HE KNOW HER NAME? I came back to the story, and I knew I didn’t want him to be a ghost, so that’s how the rip happened. That led to the time travel.

2. How hard was it to play by the rules you’d created? Did they evolve as you wrote, or did you always know how the time travel would work and made your story to fit with those rules?

The rules were always pretty close to they are now. As I learned more about time travel and did research on time slips, I saw how I wanted the story to work. I have a ton of research, and looking back, it’s a little wacky how the trail of research fits together.

3. I really liked Emerson. She was a strong character but she still had her flaws as well as fears to overcome. As a reader I really got attached to her. How hard/easy was she to write? What was the biggest challenge you faced writing her?

Aw, thank you for saying that, and for seeing her the way I wanted people to! She was easy to write in a way because I explored her character as I drafted. I wasn’t on a deadline, wasn’t agented, and I was basically playing! So she evolved slowly, and I always knew what she ultimately wanted. (And we have the same sassy mouth.) The biggest challenge was keeping her from throwing herself at Michael. Oh, the deleted kissing scenes.

4. I know there’s a sequel coming. Can you tell us anything about it?

Timepiece is out June 12, and it’s from Kaleb’s point of view. I knew he would be next, because he had a lot to say as I was writing Emerson’s story. I love how many readers grew attached to him. Kaleb was never an option for Emerson, just a temptation that confirmed what she really wanted. Two people that broken as a couple would be a complete train wreck! He has a lot in store for him in Timepiece, and they’ll all deal with Em’s choice to break the rules at the end of Hourglass. The rips start changing …….. 😀

5. Do you have a favorite time travel novel? Did any time travel in particular inspire you to write your own?

I am a really big Doctor Who fan, and I read Diana Gabaldon’s books when I was younger. I really didn’t intend to write a time travel. It was kind of accidental!

6. And finally, because we’re always interested to hear what others are reading, what’s currently on your to read list?

I am reading A Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, Everneath by Brodi Ashton, and I have Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock in the pipeline. I’m also reading a bio of Catherine the Great, and The War of Art, which is an amazing book on craft.

Thank you Myra! I look forward to Timepiece!

Interview: Carolyn Meyer

Please help us welcome Carolyn Meyer, author of over fifty novels, including the Young Royals series. Hello, Carolyn. Thank you for chatting with us today.

1. You’ve written a number of historical novels. How did you decide to write one about Cleopatra?

It’s always fun to come up with a fascinating female character, particularly one who lived in a time period I’d never written about before, and Cleopatra was a natural. The challenge was to develop a narrative based on very little real data. And I had a hard time getting Elizabeth Taylor out of my head…..

2. Me too! What are the pros and cons of writing about a real historic person?

The down side is that there may not be much to go on; we don’t really know what Cleopatra looked like, exactly when she was born, who her mother was, or if she had two sisters or three. There are huge holes in her story, most of them filled with legend. The up side, then, is that there isn’t much to go on, and so I was free to fill in those huge holes in her story with my own creation.

3. I’ve noticed that you vary between present tense and past tense in many of your stories. Why did you use only present tense in Cleopatra Confesses?

It’s a matter of voice, and I fiddled around with it for a long time trying to get a feel for how I wanted her to sound; present vs. past tense was part of that—it just felt right for the story I wanted to tell. One of the big debates I had with my editor was the use of contractions; she opposed it, and I felt it was the best way to show informal speech with Cleopatra’s sisters, friends, and maids. I have no idea how she might have spoken to them in ancient Greek, but I’m pretty sure it would have been different from the way she addressed her father, for example.

4. What kind of research did you do?

Short answer: lots! Reading not only about Cleopatra, but about culture of the period—food, music, dress (or lack of it—there was a lot of nudity), how the calendar worked, etc.  I did visit Egypt and went on a boat trip down the Nile, but I’m pretty sure our boat was in no way like the floating palace in which Cleopatra traveled.

5. You didn’t dramatize Cleopatra’s adult relationship with Marcus Antonius like you did with Caesar. Was this mostly because of book-length constraints?

When the book was in early draft, the decision was made to focus on Cleopatra’s early life, ending the narrative before the birth of Caesar’s child. Marcus Antonius didn’t come into her story until much later. Many older readers who are familiar with the story of her life with Marcus have expressed disappointment, and in fact I have been roundly criticized for “stopping too soon.” Given the age of my usual readers, I think it was the right decision. What I’d REALLY like to do is to write a sequel aimed at those older readers and covering that torrid love story. Maybe it will happen.

6. Yes, I think paying attention to the age of your readers is important. What were your favorite books as a teenager?

I don’t remember—isn’t that awful? I had a strong liking for the Uncle Wiggly books when I was very young, but I’m pretty sure I had outgrown them by the time I was a teenager. I probably read a lot of trash. It didn’t seem to hurt me.

7. What are you working on now?

VICTORIA REBELS is in the editorial process right now. I’m pleased to have uncovered a feisty young girl in those decades before Victoria became a sour-looking old woman, and the villainous man who was always hanging around her mother and making Vicky’s life miserable.

Sounds great! Thanks so much for visiting with us! For more information on Carolyn and her books, visit http://www.readcarolyn.com/index.htm. Don’t forget to stop by on Friday for a chance to win a copy of Cleopatra Confesses.

Interview: Kiki Hamilton

Please welcome Kiki Hamilton, author of The Faerie Ring and fellow Seattle-area resident, to Damsels in Regress!

1.  Historical fantasy authors always seem to do double-duty–they have to build both their historical world and their fantasy world (and make them work together).  Which came first and/or easiest to you–the faeries and their world, or the human world of Victorian London?

I think Victorian London was a bit easier because there are tons of resources to reference when creating that world. The Otherworld, on the other hand, is more nebulous and undefined –which makes it just that much more fun to write.  I started with the foundation of the well-known Seelie and UnSeelie courts and then made up my own world from there.

2.  What sort of research did you do for the historical elements?

I used the internet, which has an amazing amount of data on just about anything, and I used several reference books.

Did you get to make a trip to London or were you drawing on past visits or other research methods?

When I wrote the story I had never been to London and actually didn’t know very much about the City.  It was very fortuitous that I set Tiki living in Charing Cross, which is the true heart of London and the point from which all distances are measured, even to this day.  After I sold the book I did have a chance to go to London and visit all the places in THE FAERIE RING.  It was amazing and surreal and the best trip ever!

3.  Though most of the story is from Tiki’s viewpoint, there are several scenes from Prince Leo’s.  What were some of the differences, challenges, or pleasures of writing from a male point of view?

I can’t say that I thought of it as writing from a male or female POV but more from a different character’s POV.  Leo comes from such a completely different world than Tiki it was fun to switch hats and see events from his perspective.    How he has grown up, how he lives influences his reactions and actions so the challenge comes more from being able to stand in his shoes and then switch and see life from the desperate straits of a pickpocket struggling to find enough food to survive. I thought the juxtaposition of their lives provided an interesting contrast.

4.  What influenced your portrayal of the faeries and their world?

I wanted to create my own faerie world. I’ve read some stories where I just didn’t like the world that had been created and that was really the impetus to write this
book:  To write what I wanted to read.

Were there myths or contemporary stories you drew on and any you sought to turn on their heads?

I was one of the many who thought a faerie ring was a circle of mushrooms in the grass. I loved using the motif of the ring throughout the story and making it something completely different in more than one way.

5.  Since this is your first book, could you describe your writing and publication journey?

It is hard to get a book published! I have rejection letters just like everybody else. But you can never give up!!  I kept working at my craft, taking classes, joining critique groups, reading other work, practicing, practicing, practicing and I was lucky enough to get an agent. It took her about nine months to sell THE FAERIE RING.

6.  Did you always intend Tiki’s story to cover multiple books or did it just grow?

When I started writing THE FAERIE RING I was just telling a story. But what I found when I got to the end was that I had just scratched the surface of the true story.

Can you give us a hint of when the others will appear and what’s in store for the next book?

At this point I don’t have a release schedule, but I’m going to do everything I can to have book 2, THE TORN WING, out in Fall 2012.  I won’t give away any spoilers but I can tell you that Tiki spends a lot more time in the Otherworld and new characters are introduced that definitely
complicate things.

Thank you, Kiki, and readers, be sure to enter our contest on Friday!

Author Interview: Janet Fox

Everyone welcome Janet Fox, author of Faithful, a young adult historical novel set in 1904. Sixteen year old Maggie Bennet is looking forward to her debut as part of Newport, Rhode Island’s high class society. Her dreams are put on hold though, when her father drags her halfway across the country to Yellowstone National Park in search of her mother who disappeared the previous year. When she learns her father plans to stay in Montana, Maggie is furious with her father for dragging her away from her family, friends, and the only life she’d ever known.

1. Hello Janet. Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to stop by Damsels in Regress to talk with us. I really enjoyed Faithful. Maggie made a huge impression on me. So often when I read a book, the protagonist is “perfect.” She or he doesn’t really have any faults. Maggie though isn’t perfect. She does things that really do annoy the reader, but she’s so real and her emotions pure, so it’s possible to forgive her and understand her actions. She’s really well written. Did you have a hard time balancing Maggie’s snobbishness with her genuine good-heartedness and getting the reader to love her despite her faults?

Thank you so much! And thank you for being willing to appreciate Maggie’s considerable flaws.

Maggie was not an easy character to write – or to love. In my early drafts, I had lots of comments from my critique readers about how difficult it was to like her. I had to tone her way back, rein her in, so to speak. I was trying to balance her upbringing (in which she was really spoiled) with her conflicted feelings about her mother. Once the story took her to Yellowstone, and she began to open up her heart, I liked her more, and I think readers did, too.

The trick is always, when starting with a difficult character, to get readers to move past the opening pages when the character may not be likeable to the point when the character digs deep and admits her flaws. I know some of my readers couldn’t make it past that point – and that’s okay.

But I do like to write about nuanced characters, not perfect people. So ultimately I’d rather struggle to bring a difficult character to life than to write about someone two-dimensional, and I’d rather read that kind of book, as well.
And if it sounds like my characters “live” in my head, they do.

2. I love your setting! Yellowstone in 1904 is not a common time period or location you find covered in historical fiction. How did you decide to write a story set in Yellowstone?

Thank you! At the time I started the novel, my family was spending every summer in a cabin not far from Yellowstone (now we live here), and my son was of an age where we took lots of trips into the Park. I fell in love with Yellowstone, and it suddenly seemed a natural thing for me to write about the things I loved best and knew extremely well, including the setting. Which I find to be truly magical, in every sense.

And I have to say, I now see that there is a true need for an American “mythos” for teens – settings and times and cultural aspects of our country that are not often explored in YA historical fiction. So that’s what I’ve set out to do in my series.

3. As a follow-up to the previous question, what type of research did you do to find all the details you incorporated in the novel (which were wonderful and seamlessly worked in!)?

Oh, my, thanks again! After spending all that time in the Park, the research came very easily. We’d listened to lots of lectures by rangers and other experts, and taken tours. And there’s a wonderful new Research Center in Gardiner, just outside the Park, and I spent time there collecting data.

There are also scores of books about the history of the Park and the region, and I loved reading them. In other words, the research was a treat!

4. I know I get attached to certain scenes in my novels that end up getting cut. Was there any one particular scene that you especially loved but didn’t make it into the final novel?

Not really. There was a scene with Edward that I liked but it had to go because it slowed the early action. There was another scene with Kitty that I had to drop. But these were not scenes I truly loved. Those made it into the final novel. My favorite scene – the climax, with the bear (no spoilers!) made it in almost completely untouched by me, my editor or anyone. I wrote that scene in a frenzy of a few hours; it seemed to write itself. I think I would have dueled to the death to keep that scene.

But those attachments for me are few and far between. I will edit anything, because I really believe that no work is perfect. Except that scene with the bear. 🙂

5. Graybull is one of those characters you love to hate. Every time he was in a scene my skin crawled at his actions and I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. He came to life on the page! Was it fun to write him? Did you base his actions off anything you’d come across in your research?

Graybull was a hoot to write. I had a complete image of him in my head. He was based a bit on the European gentry of the time who traveled through the American west and carried with them a sense of entitlement – “oh, those poor ignorant Americans.” I read about one English lord who was thrown out of the country for shooting animals in the Park (against the law, but he didn’t care) and thought, “That’s George.” And it was also a matter of crafting a character who looked down on women, which many men did at the time.

I had to restrain myself from making him too one-dimensional…but frankly, I had a great time playing up his ickiness.

6. You have a sort of a companion novel Forgiven out and two more planned. Can you tell our readers a bit about them?

My second novel Forgiven, just out, follows Kula Baker from Faithful on her own journey. So that I don’t spoil either novel I’ll just say that Kula must go to San Francisco in 1906 in order to save her father, and there she finds love, and loss, and she encounters the great earthquake of April, 1906.

My third novel, Moll, is set in the mid 1920s, and it’s my current work in progress. It follows an entirely new set of characters through what I’m calling a “noire romance.” This story has many more elements of mystery – even a hint of the paranormal – while still being faithful to that history which encompasses the era of flappers, gangsters and Prohibition.

In the fourth novel, Paradise, I plan to bring back characters from all three previous novels and place them in Paradise Valley, Montana, just north of the Park, in the mid 1930s. I’m very excited about this one, and hope that it captures not only the time and place but a sense of epic quality. Here’s hoping.

7. Finally, I’m always curious to know what other authors are reading. What books are on your to-read list? And do you have a favorite historical novel?

Confession: I’m enthralled by The Game of Thrones series, and I’m reading book 2 now. But I did just finish Maggie Stiefvater’s Forever and adored it. And I loved Chime (Frannie Billingsly) and I’m reading, as I can tolerate its tormented characters and high tension, Tim Wynne-Jones brilliant Blink and Caution. Oh, and Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls – awesome. My favorite historical of recent reading is Judy Blundell’s gorgeous Strings Attached.

Thanks so much for having me!

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us! We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Author Interview: Caroline Stevermer

Caroline Stevermer

Please join me in welcoming Caroline Stevermer to Damsels in Regress. Ms. Stevermer is the author of several fantasies including A College of Magics and A Scholar of Magics, and co-author with Patricia C. Wrede of the Sorcery and Cecelia series.  Welcome, Caroline!

Thank you so much for asking me to participate in Damsels in Regress. What a terrific resource you have!

1. How did Frederick’s story come about?

When Patricia C. Wrede and I finished The Mislaid Magician, our editor, Kathy Dawson, then at Harcourt Brace, suggested that I might like to try my hand at a middle-grade novel set in the same world. I jumped at the opportunity.

In one of my earliest books, The Serpent’s Egg, the heroes are aided and abetted by a grouchy yet competent servant named Frederick. I’d begun to wonder where Frederick came from originally. The Frederick in Magic Below Stairs is a completely different character, but that’s where the story began, wondering about that earlier Frederick.

2. Tell us about the creation of Billy Bly.

Who wouldn’t want a brownie to help with housework once in a while?

In The Personnel of Fairyland, K. M. Briggs mentions Billy Blind, a hobgoblin or brownie from the ballads of the border between England and Scotland. Billy Blind is the inspiration behind Billy Bly. Of Billy Blind, Briggs says his “chief function seems to be to give good advice.” Billy Bly gives Frederick pretty good advice too.

3. You have a lot of details about the daily operation of a lord’s house.  What kind of research did you do?

The single most useful reference was The Complete Servant by Samuel and Sarah Adams, originally published in 1825. The authors were in service themselves. The book goes into all kinds of detail about what kind of duties each sort of servant performed. It even talks about wages—circa 1825, of course. Currency conversion is required.

From MRS HURST DANCING. Here ladies are putting up wallpaper!

I tend to learn visually, so it helped to find references that let me imagine how the house looked inside. I visited the period rooms at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, a favorite haunt, to look at furniture and tea sets. As for books, I found The English Country House in Perspective by Gervase Jackson-Stops really helpful. Also Mrs Hurst Dancing (and other scenes from Regency Life 1812-1813) with the authentic regency watercolors of Diana Sperling and accompanying text by Gordon Mingay. I also studied Women’s Worlds (The Art and Life of Mary Ellen Best 1809-1891) by Caroline Davidson.

4. You’ve revisited characters from your other work in Magic Below Stairs.  Do you plan to write any more stories that do the same?

I certainly hope so! I have nothing formally planned at this time, but I love the characters and the setting.

5. What are some of your favorite historical fantasy novels?

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.

The alternate history aspects eluded me when I originally read them—I was in grade school—I’d never heard of Hanoverians—but I’ve always loved Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts in Battersea, along with the other Dido Twite books.

Not fantasy, but vividly historical, Rosemary Sutcliff’s books give me what I love in historical fiction, a sense of a worldview authentically different from our own. In particular, Simon, in which for once the hero of a novel set in the English Civil War is a Roundhead and not a Cavalier.

Most recently, Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis, which I enjoyed so much I read it in a single sitting. I’m looking forward to more from her.

6. Some great recommendations! What were your favorite books when you were a teenager?

The Lord of the Rings, predictably enough. Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea books.

Because Ballantine Books brought out the works of E.R.R. Eddison in a paperback edition very similar to The Lord of the Rings, I tried Eddison’s The Worm Ouroboros. The first sixty pages or so were very rough sledding, I admit, but ultimately I fell in love with the language, the bad guys, and most of all, the vainest and laziest fantasy hero I’d ever encountered, Lord Brandoch Daha. I still have a soft spot for him. How could I resist a character, who when his cousin the king comes to tell him about a prophetic dream he’s just had, does this:

Brandoch Daha snuggled him under the bedclothes and said, “Let me be and let me sleep yet two hours. Then will I rise and bathe and array myself and eat my morning meal, and thereafter will I take rede with thee and tell thee somewhat for thine advantage. I have not slept in a goose-feather bed and sheets of lawn these many weeks. If thou plague me now, by God, I will incontinently take horse over the Stile to Krothering, and let thee and thine affairs go to the devil.”

And then his cousin the king just laughs at him and goes away and lets him sleep. Heady stuff, when you’re 13 and living on a dairy farm, let me tell you.

7. I can imagine. What are you working on now?

I’m polishing the rough draft of a YA novel set in a different regency London from the Kate and Cecy books, but it has magic. (Wish me luck.)

Thanks so much for the good questions and for letting me natter on answering them.

You’re so welcome. And thank you for joining us on the Damsels. Good luck on your new novel!

For more information on Caroline and her work, check out her website: http://members2.authorsguild.net/carolinestev/.

Be sure to visit us on Friday when I’ll post a contest to win an autographed copy of Magic Below Stairs.

Interview: Kathleen Benner Duble

Today the Damsels welcome Kathleen Benner Duble, author of Phantoms in the Snow.  Starting Friday, you can enter to win a signed copy of this fascinating book.  Until then, read about Kathleen’s inspiration.

1.  You said on your web site that you got the idea for Phantoms from an article on these skiing soldiers.  What about that story sparked your interest?

 In the Sports Illustrated news article, they mentioned that they called the skiing soldiers Phantoms.  The name caught my attention.  I wondered what it would be like to be in a unit that had that nickname attached to it.

 

2.  Were any of the characters in the book based on people you know, such as the Phantoms you met or your relatives who served in World War II?

  No, none of the characters in the book are based on people I know, but a little of everyone you come into contact always seeps into your writing.  I do know several Phantoms, one very well, Peter Binzen.  But I’ve only known him since he was older.

3.  How did Noah’s pacifism come to play a role in this story?

I grew up in a military family.  My father is a jet pilot and my sister is a tanker pilot.  I’ve always wrestled with the idea of fighting and going to war.  Noah was a nice catalyst for me to be able to explore my own feelings about the topic.  As you can tell from the story, there is no easy answer.  And the only conclusion I came to was the same one Noah did – that in war, innocents always pay a price.

4.  What sort of research did you do?  What was an interesting piece of information you had to leave out of the story?

Well, learning to ski was something I had done – at a much too old age!  Many of Noah’s failed attempts, I experienced.  As for research, I read a lot of books and newspaper articles on the  10th Mountain Division.  There are several wonderful videos on this group which I watched.  I had been to Vail, near where they trained so I knew the terrain.  I had also been to Italy, near Riva, so again, the descriptions were easy.  Also, Peter Binzen was good enough to read a draft of my book and make sure the details were accurate.

I didn’t include the attack the next morning on Mount Belvedere.  While the attack on Riva was fairly easy in terms of casualties, the attack on Mount Belvedere was not.  A lot of good Phantoms were lost in that charge.  However, without the capture of Riga the night before, the casualties would have been a lot higher.

5.  You’ve written several historical novels in different time periods.  Do you have a favorite period, or one that you find easier to research or write in?

I don’t have a favorite time period.  I find all historical periods fascinating.  And each time I choose a new one, I learn a lot of things that either I’ve forgotten from school or I just never learned.  I love finding really cool facts to relay to kids – things like how a sailor went to the bathroom on a boat or the fact that rats permeated a jail cell in 1692 Colonial America.  Obviously, the more recent the history, the easier it is to research, but it doesn’t make the time period more interesting to me.

6.  I’m always impressed with authors who seem to write comfortably inside the head of the opposite gender.  Was it easy or difficult for you to write from Noah’s point of view, as well as writing so many other male characters?

It is always a bit difficult for me to write male characters.  I don’t have any brothers and I had no sons.  So I have to rely on my daughter’s guy friends to try and imagine their perspective.  Noah is not a rough and tumble kind of kid to start with, so that made writing about him a bit easier.  Although, my girls did play ice hockey growing up so rough and tumble is something I do understand.  But there is no doubt that I am more comfortable writing from a girl’s perspective.  But then again, trying a boy’s perspective stretches my growth as a writer.

7.  Do you have any other upcoming projects you’d care to share?

I just finished a book about the French Revolution from Madame Tussaud’s apprentice’s point of view.  If you aren’t aware, Madame Tussaud lived during this period and later opened a wax museum in London.  Before the Revolution in France, she worked with the King’s sister showing her how to mold wax saints.  When the Revolution happened, she was accused of being a Royalist, arrested and slated to go to the guillotine (her hair was hacked off to be ready).  Right before her beheading, the National Assembly came to her and offered to free her if she would make wax heads of the people they beheaded (namely Marie Antoinette and the kIng).  She agreed and that is why at Madame Tussaud’s waxwork house in London, they have the head of the kIng and queen of France.