Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year...and order this book
Hey Everybody,
Here we go with another one. Welcome 2007!
To start this new year I've got a special treat. One of the perks (or curses depending on your deadlines) of being a published author is that people start assuming you've got some kind of writing mo-jo and send you manuscripts or ARCs to get blurbed. John Scognamiglio, Editor in Chief at Kensington Publishing, sent me this wonderful manuscript, SUCCUBUS BLUES by Richelle Mead, and I loved the story. I had to share.
Below is the Q&A Richelle was gracious enough to complete.
Check out her websites:
Official Site - www.richellemead.com
Blogging Action - www.richellemead.com/blog/
Succubus Blogging Action - magicalminxes.blogspot.com
Best wishes to everyone.
Mario
How has your master's in Comparative Religion played into writing this?
Very little, actually. I did my thesis on “heretical Christianity as practiced by barbarians in the late Roman Empire.” So, um, yeah. Most of the info for Succubus Blues has just come from years of reading mythology. I've loved it ever since I was little and actually didn't have to do much research at all for this book. I already had succubus info embedded in my brain. And if I ever decide to write Barbarian Blues, I'm golden.
You've made the protagonist from a succubus, a lesser known supernatural character. What drew you to that as opposed to a more traditional creature such as a vampire?
I wanted to do something different, plain and simple, especially since this genre is growing so fast! I really liked the idea of sympathetically writing about a woman whose life is devoted to having sex and corrupting souls. (No jokes about how that's how all women are, please!). I also wanted it to be funny, so mixing all of those components proved pretty challenging at first. I think (hope) it's all worked out.
You're a very polished writer. How did you learn to write? Did you have a mentor or belong to a writing group? What is your daily (or weekly) process now that you write fulltime?
I've been writing all my life, starting with my own homemade picture books in elementary school. In college, I took a lot of humanities classes but few writing ones, and I honestly think I learned the most just by reading other books. When you read good writing, you learn good writing. So nope, no mentors or writing groups. Just me. Unless you count Marion Zimmer Bradley and Neil Gaiman as mentors.
As for my daily process, it varies wildly. When I'm writing a first draft, I usually do three 3-hour sessions of straight writing, broken up with meals and gym trips. When I'm just revising, my schedule goes to hell, and I tend to spend more time than I should browsing blogs and answering e-mail.
How I got published story…
In 2004, I went to a writers conference trying to pitch an 800 page sci-fi epic. I quickly learned a first time writer can't get away with anything that massive, so I went home and conceived the succubus idea a week later. I outlined every detail and told my husband, “This'll be the one that gets published.” I finished it in six weeks later and let it cool off for a few months. I then queried about ten agencies and signed with the one I'm with now.
The sale itself also moved pretty fast. We got a 3-book pre-empt offer from Kensington about a week after it went on submission, and we accepted that day. I feel extremely lucky to have had things turn out so well.
Where do you see your writing career in five years? Ten?
I've since sold two other series, one of which won't come out until the end of 2008. So, actually, it'd be exciting in five years just to start seeing all these books in print! But seriously, I hope by that time I can be a name in this genre. Like all other writers, I harbor dreams of bestseller status and fans asking me to sign their chests. But even if I'm not a member of JK Rowling's country club, I'd still be extremely happy knowing I have a consistent group of readers waiting impatiently for my next book. And, yeah, who maybe want me to sign their chests too.
In ten years, I'd like more of the same and hopefully another series or two out, but that answer may be subject to change since deadlines for my current three are starting to catch up with me.
What's next for Georgina?
I can't say too much since her first book isn't even out, alas. But she's got at least two more books coming and hopefully a lot more. The most I'll say are that her blues are far from being over, and she has a lot more romantic and supernatural hijinks to come.
SUCCUBUS BLUES, Available March 2007 from Kensington Books ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 7:11 AM
Hey Everybody,
Here we go with another one. Welcome 2007!
To start this new year I've got a special treat. One of the perks (or curses depending on your deadlines) of being a published author is that people start assuming you've got some kind of writing mo-jo and send you manuscripts or ARCs to get blurbed. John Scognamiglio, Editor in Chief at Kensington Publishing, sent me this wonderful manuscript, SUCCUBUS BLUES by Richelle Mead, and I loved the story. I had to share.
Below is the Q&A Richelle was gracious enough to complete.
Check out her websites:
Official Site - www.richellemead.com
Blogging Action - www.richellemead.com/blog/
Succubus Blogging Action - magicalminxes.blogspot.com
Best wishes to everyone.
Mario
How has your master's in Comparative Religion played into writing this?
Very little, actually. I did my thesis on “heretical Christianity as practiced by barbarians in the late Roman Empire.” So, um, yeah. Most of the info for Succubus Blues has just come from years of reading mythology. I've loved it ever since I was little and actually didn't have to do much research at all for this book. I already had succubus info embedded in my brain. And if I ever decide to write Barbarian Blues, I'm golden.
You've made the protagonist from a succubus, a lesser known supernatural character. What drew you to that as opposed to a more traditional creature such as a vampire?
I wanted to do something different, plain and simple, especially since this genre is growing so fast! I really liked the idea of sympathetically writing about a woman whose life is devoted to having sex and corrupting souls. (No jokes about how that's how all women are, please!). I also wanted it to be funny, so mixing all of those components proved pretty challenging at first. I think (hope) it's all worked out.
You're a very polished writer. How did you learn to write? Did you have a mentor or belong to a writing group? What is your daily (or weekly) process now that you write fulltime?
I've been writing all my life, starting with my own homemade picture books in elementary school. In college, I took a lot of humanities classes but few writing ones, and I honestly think I learned the most just by reading other books. When you read good writing, you learn good writing. So nope, no mentors or writing groups. Just me. Unless you count Marion Zimmer Bradley and Neil Gaiman as mentors.
As for my daily process, it varies wildly. When I'm writing a first draft, I usually do three 3-hour sessions of straight writing, broken up with meals and gym trips. When I'm just revising, my schedule goes to hell, and I tend to spend more time than I should browsing blogs and answering e-mail.
How I got published story…
In 2004, I went to a writers conference trying to pitch an 800 page sci-fi epic. I quickly learned a first time writer can't get away with anything that massive, so I went home and conceived the succubus idea a week later. I outlined every detail and told my husband, “This'll be the one that gets published.” I finished it in six weeks later and let it cool off for a few months. I then queried about ten agencies and signed with the one I'm with now.
The sale itself also moved pretty fast. We got a 3-book pre-empt offer from Kensington about a week after it went on submission, and we accepted that day. I feel extremely lucky to have had things turn out so well.
Where do you see your writing career in five years? Ten?
I've since sold two other series, one of which won't come out until the end of 2008. So, actually, it'd be exciting in five years just to start seeing all these books in print! But seriously, I hope by that time I can be a name in this genre. Like all other writers, I harbor dreams of bestseller status and fans asking me to sign their chests. But even if I'm not a member of JK Rowling's country club, I'd still be extremely happy knowing I have a consistent group of readers waiting impatiently for my next book. And, yeah, who maybe want me to sign their chests too.
In ten years, I'd like more of the same and hopefully another series or two out, but that answer may be subject to change since deadlines for my current three are starting to catch up with me.
What's next for Georgina?
I can't say too much since her first book isn't even out, alas. But she's got at least two more books coming and hopefully a lot more. The most I'll say are that her blues are far from being over, and she has a lot more romantic and supernatural hijinks to come.
SUCCUBUS BLUES, Available March 2007 from Kensington Books ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 7:11 AM
