How did you get published?
In contrast to what most people seem to expect, my path to publication was pretty straightforward. I wrote a book. Then I wrote another book. Then I wrote a third book. I thought the third one (Stray) was good enough to be published. I was wrong. With the help of a great mentor, I rewrote it. Then I polished it. Then I rewrote it some more, and polished it some more. Then I edited it. Then I started the process all over again. Finally, after five major rewrites, I began querying agents. Several expressed interest. I signed with my wonderful, amazing agent, Miriam Kriss. She made a couple of minor requests, and I made the adjustments. Then she took over. She sent my book out during the first week of January, 2006.
On Friday the 13th (no kidding), we got an offer. Another week and a half later, we had three more. Miriam negotiated, and I consumed large amounts of caffeine and chocolate. Then, on January 30th, almost two weeks after the first offer, we had a deal. Stray had sold, along with two sequels. Of course, there's lots more work to do after the sale, but that's truly another story.
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How did you get an agent?
This is the question I hear most often, and no one seems to believe me when I say that there is no mysterious secret. I wasn't recommended to my agent by another client. I didn't use any special gimmicks or attention-getting techniques to catch her eye. I didn't enter or win any contests. I didn't even meet my agent at a conference. I am truly a slush pile survivor.
After writing Stray, I reworked it for a long time--off and on for about eight months. When I thought it was ready, I sent out queries to well-researched agents with good sales records, whose websites said they represented (or even specialized in) books in my genre. I got a few rejections and a few requests for more material. I got rejections from requested material. Then I got a rejection containing suggestions. I evaluated the suggestions, made the changes I decided I liked, and sent out more queries. I got more requests and more rejections. Then I got an offer from my agent. I knew immediately that Miriam was the agent for me. She's smart, and confident, and reads faster than anyone I've ever met. I accepted the offer without hesitation. That's it. It was that simple.
Random related comment:
Make no mistake, rejections will come. They're part of the business. They come before you're published. They come after you're published. Serious writers learn to take criticism and rejection. Then they learn to write through them both.
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How long did it take you to sell a book?
This question (posed to any writer) has no good answer. It took a very long time, if you start counting up the years since I wrote my first story, at age six. Even if you don't start counting until I finished my first novel, the answer is meaningless. It takes a different amount of time for every writer, and that amount of time isn't really important. It takes as long as it takes. The key to passing the time easily and quickly is to keep writing. When you finish one book, write another one while the first one "ages." Always have something in progress, and finish what you start. Even if the product isn't publishable, the experience you gain from writing it is immeasurably valuable. Most writers have one or more unpublished "practice novels." I have two. I love them both, and maybe someday I'll have the time to go back and rework them. But I learned more than I can ever explain from writing them.
But, if you're still interested in numbers, the true answer to this question is that it usually takes several years and more than one manuscript before an author sells his or her first book. Expect it to take time. If you don't enjoy the process before you're selling, you won't enjoy it afterward either.
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Why cats?
Finally, an easy one! The simple answer is that I love cats. When I was eight, my first and only puppy broke into our shed and chewed up the Nativity Set in storage. I've been a cat person ever since. I have a lot in common with cats, really. We're both cuddly, and friendly, and generally spoiled. But cats can also be fierce, even when confronted with much bigger creatures. Cats are slinky and sensual in a natural, unconscious way. They seem lazy and arrogant, and invariably have an attitude of one sort or another, which lends itself to interesting fictional characters.
And there are already lots of werewolf stories out there, most of them fantastic. But I didn't have anything new to add to werewolf lore, so I wrote about what I know: cats.
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Why Urban Fantasy?
Another easy one. I love urban fantasy (also known as contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy and dark modern fantasy). I read several fiction genres, but urban fantasy is my favorite for both reading and writing. It gives me the freedom to write about magic and creatures usually found in the sword-and-sorcery worlds of traditional fantasy, but lets me set my stories on modern-day earth, with all its social quirks and technological wonders. What could be better?
However, I should probably point out that the Shifters books aren't technically urban fantasy, because most of the action takes place in small towns and large forests, rather than in the concrete jungle. Some might classify the series as contemporary or modern fantasy, instead. But I'll leave the labels up to you.
Werecats with cell phones and internet access? Absolutely. Why not?
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What is Urban Fantasy?
The term “urban fantasy” usually describes a book that takes place in a modern, real-world setting, but that includes elements of the fantastic, like shapeshifters, vampires, faeries, demons, etc…. However, some urban fantasies actually take place in rural settings (as does my Shifters series), or in a futuristic or historical time periods. While there is some crossover between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, the defining difference, in my opinion, is that in urban fantasy, the fantasy, world-building, and action elements are the focus and the romance is a subplot, whereas in paranormal romance, the romance is the focus of the book, while the world-building, fantasy, and action are secondary to the main characters’ relationship.
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How many Soul Screamers books will there be?
Right now, I’m under contract for five Soul Screamers books. My Soul to Take and My Soul to Save are available now. My Soul to Keep comes out June 1, 2010 (in the US), and My Soul to Steal comes out Jan 1, 2011 in the US, and Dec. 1, 2010 in Australia. I don’t have a release date for the fifth book yet. And after that, it all depends on sales.
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Will there be another Shifters book after Alpha?
No, Alpha (October 1, 2010 US release) will be the sixth and final Shifters book. Why? Because that’s where Faythe’s story draws to its logical conclusion and as an author, I have to be true to the story—including its ending. However, there will be at least one short story featuring some Shifters characters (“Hunt” in the Chicks Kick Ass anthology, early 2011), and maybe a couple more in the future.
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Will you write something else for adults after the Shifters series?
Yes. I’ll be launching a new urban fantasy series for adults in 2011, but I’m not ready to discuss the details of that one just yet.
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How did you pick the model on your covers?
Actually, I didn't. Authors typically have little to do with their cover art, and my only input was a physical description of Faythe on the Shifters covers and of Kaylee on the Soul Screamers covers. However, I've been very pleased with all of my cover art. Alpha is my favorite so far, and I can’t wait to show off what the art department is cooking up for My Soul To Steal!
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Why don’t you make your books into a movie?
Because I’m not a film maker. I’m an author. I wouldn’t begin to know how to make a movie, so I’m gonna stick to writing books. However, Stray was recently optioned for film by Evolution Entertainment. While this doesn’t necessarily mean it will actually be made into a movie (the chances of that are still pretty slim), it does mean the first step has been taken. Someone in Hollywood thinks it has enough potential to pay for the exclusive right to develop the project. So, it’s largely out of my hands from there. Should there be any further developments, you’ll hear about it on my blog. A lot. ;-)
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