Oh boy, I’m so excited! We have a visitor today, and not just any visitor either – it’s Seanan McGuire, author extraordinaire of the October Daye series! *squeals* (Can you tell I’m excited?) Let’s not wait. Here we go!
drey: Tell us a lil’ something about yourself…
SM: Well, I’m a California-born blonde girl with a fondness for reptiles, bugs, and arachnids, and an absolute terror of weather, which explains why I stay on the West Coast. We have an absolute minimum of the stuff here. I like horror movies, comic books, candy corn, and Diet Dr Pepper, and I write about four books a year, because apparently, I don’t believe in sleep. I’m pretty friendly, although I can get grumpy if you get between me and my soda.
drey: I promise I’m not getting between you and your soda…
What was the first story you wrote, and when did you write it? Was that when you first realized you just had to be a writer?
SM: Oh, cheese and crackers, I don’t know. I remember that when I was a kid – like, pre-double digit age – I was already writing stories about adventures on the planet where it was always and forever Halloween. Also occasional My Little Pony adventures. I realized I wanted to be a writer a little later, when I found out that there were PEOPLE behind all the stories that I loved best. Before that, I sort of assumed they all grew on a tree somewhere or something.
drey: Where did you get the inspiration for Toby and the cast of characters in the October Daye series? What can we expect from ASHES OF HONOR?
SM: From a trip to the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park; a girl I went to high school with; several years spent studying folklore at the University of California Berkeley (GO BEARS!); Shakespeare; and Child’s Ballads of England and Scotland. You can expect about 110,000 words from ASHES OF HONOR, give or take somewhere around 4,000 words.
…oh, was that not what you meant?
drey: Ooooooh, sass!
How did you go from inspiration to paper? What was your road to publication?
SM: I got from inspiration to paper by writing a book. I am very, very, VERY good at forcing myself to sit down and write. This eventually led to me having a finished book, which was very, very bad, but which allowed me to see where the issues were. By rewriting that same book multiple times, and writing a few sequels, I got to where what I saw in my head was actually on the page. This was also my road to publication.
Once the book actually became good, I got an agent, who is wonderful, and she went out and sold my first three novels. It was awesome. Having an agent is like having a magical unicorn that breathes fire and occasionally brings you leprechauns on a stick.
drey: I love your agent. Without her selling your first three novels, I wouldn’t have found Toby. So yay for fabulous agents!
How did you celebrate getting published?
SM: I paid for major dental surgery and bought a bunch of My Little Ponies. These were the two most expensive things I did that year. It was a good year.
drey: Lol!!
Why urban fantasy, as opposed to any other genre?
SM: Because that’s where the story was. I also write science fiction, horror, YA versions of everything else that I do, superhero fiction, and the occasional straight-up romantic comedy. I go where the story is, and let everything follow from there.
drey: What genres do you like to read? What are you reading now?
SM: I read everything, although the majority of my reading is horror, urban fantasy, YA, and non-fiction about horrible diseases and parasites. Right now, I’m reading Daryl Gregory’s latest novel, which is about zombies, and a book about parasitic evolution and how hard it is to be a parasite sometimes.
drey: I was with you till the non-fiction… o.O
Who is currently your favorite author? Why?
SM: My favorite author is Stephen King, and has been since I was nine years old. The way he uses words just gets to me. He is my platonic ideal of fiction, even when he’s flawed.
drey: You’re up for a karaoke number. What song do you sing, and why? What does it take to get you up there in the first place?
SM: Oh, cheese and crackers, it’s EASY to get me to do karaoke. My current standards are “Only the Good Die Young” and “When You’re Good to Mama” from CHICAGO. I love doing Counting Crows songs, but the register isn’t always good for me, so I avoid them unless I’m really, really drunk. If it’s geek karaoke, I grab my best friend, Vixy, for a rousing rendition of “On the Rise” from DOCTOR HORRIBLE. I get to sing Doctor Horrible. I’m just that kind of girl.
drey: Awesome!! I LOVE Doctor Horrible!!! 🙂 And I’m envious – I can’t sing worth a lick. In public, anyway…
Of all the professions you haven’t experienced, (if not a writer) you would be a _____________.
SM: Assuming this somehow came with the training necessary, and maybe some retroactive college classes, I’d join the EIS, the CDC’s investigative branch, and eventually die horribly in the field. It would be wonderful.
drey: Whoa.
Thank you, Seanan! I really appreciate your taking the time to do this Q&A, and I definitely appreciate your writing!
SM: Thanks for having me!
Well, there you have it. The fabulous Seanan McGuire. Find her online at her website seananmcguire.com, on facebook and on twitter. And if you’re an urban fantasy fan, you MUST pick up her October Daye series. Start with ROSEMARY AND RUE.
