Will you read my manuscript?

No. It's not to be mean, it's a legal thing. If your manuscript is under contract to a publisher who meets SFWA guidelines for publication, you can contact my agent about a cover quote.

 

Will you recommend me to your agent/editor?

Generally the answer is no. If we meet in person and get to talking, the answer might be different. But probably not.

 

Why write speculative fiction?

Because I love the strange, the weird, and the unknown. I think stories are a lot more fun when you can inject an element of the fantastical or the just plain odd. I've tried writing straight mysteries and romances, but they just never engaged me the way specfic does.

 

And why are you calling it "speculative fiction"? Aren't your books urban fantasy?

They're shelved under "urban fantasy" at the bookstore, but genre is largely a marketing concern. I write stories with a speculative element, but they don't all fall under the same marketing genre. Hence, specfic.

 

Where do you get your ideas?

Anywhere. Nonfiction books, fiction books, articles, folklore, urban legends, music, television, film, observation, artwork, the arrangement of the tea leaves in my morning cup...seriously, ideas are everywhere. It's the execution that's the trick. 80% of the plots I jot down never go anywhere. Sifting the content from the inspiration is a learned skill...but start with the idea. The rest can be learned.

 

Your books are dark/depressing/scary/gory. Why don't you write a nice novel about Happy, the Shiny Pink Unicorn?

I have a dark side. I tend to put it on the page so that I don't sit around in a dark room writing depressive poetry about how my soul is a knife, and it cuts me to the core. Trust me, nobody wants that. I'm a terrible poet. My life has exposed me to the best and worst side of people, and the real world, and I try to show the whole gamut. I think you'll find that my books do deal with dark, gritty situations, people and events, but I try not to make things hopeless and gloomy. That said, if you prefer your fantasy filtered through a sparkly purple lens rather than a dark one, you may prefer to read something else.

 

You're kind of snarky. And you swear a lot on your blog.

Yes. I do, because it's my blog and I can write how I bloody well please. But I'm told that in real life, I'm actually quite sweet. Don't let my snark put you off writing me or coming up to me at conventions. I don't go in for rude remarks unless you behave like an idiot. Mom raised me up right. Nothing to be done for the swearing, though.

 

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Yes...write. Even if you think it's bad, or that you're no good, or that nobody will ever want to read your stuff. Write anything--short stories, novels, fanfiction, comics, screenplays. Dedication is the first thing...practically everything else can be learned. I wrote my first "novel" when I was 13, and it was terrible, but I wrote another one, and it was slightly less terrible, and eventually I wrote one that got published. Writing fiction has a steep learning curve if you want to get good at it, but fortunately you can take all the time you need to hone craft before you attempt publication. So start practicing, and repeat until you look back at your old stuff and realize you've gotten better.