How I Write What I Write

::taps mic:: is anyone there? I know I’ve been a horrifically bad blogger this year. I’ve really taken to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr for my social media, because the sharing and commenting features are so much more natural and organic than WordPress.

I was tagged to join the blog hop by my friend, fellow writer, very frequent traveling companion (seriously, we went on four things together last year and have already done two this year (and are scheduled for at least two more) Mari Mancusi, who writes awesome books about dragons. Here’s the cover of SHATTERED, the one coming this September:

Okay. Here are the questions:

What am I working on?

The other reason I haven’t been blogging much. What am I NOT working on? Self-publishing, which I’ve been doing since November, is quite the enterprise, and takes a lot of time. I’ve been working on my self-published books (promoting the first, guiding the second through the production process, writing the third, and scheduling and planning for forthcoming titles)…

I’ve also been working on the OMEGA CITY series. I’m alllllmost through with revisions for the first novel, OMEGA CITY, and I’ve been working with my publisher, Harper Collins, on the concept art for the cover. Middle Grade novels tend to have drawings on the covers (think Harry Potter), and I’m absolutely thrilled with the artist they’ve chosen and the direction they are going in. It’ll be out in 2015. I’ve also started work on the second in the series, currently codenamed GC.

Other things I wrote this year:

“The Deeper the Thorn”, a contemporary retelling of Sleeping Beauty told from the point of view of Maleficent. Yes, really. It’s dark and it’s gritty and it’s about bullying and slut-shaming and herbalism. It’s coming out this summer in Brazil from Editora Record. This is the beautiful cover:

I heart you, Brazil.

For those of you not living in Brazil (or not speaking Portuguese) who want to know how to get your hands on a copy of this badass story… um… I’m working on that.

“Huntress Sinister”, a killer unicorniverse short story. This makes, I think, the sixth KU short story I’ve published, after “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn,” “Errant,” “Hammer of Artemis,” “Last of the Unicorn Hunters,” and the now out-of-print “On a Field, Sable.” Good news: For those who have read “On a Field, Sable” you will recognize some of this short story, because “Huntress Sinister” is about 40% “On a Field, Sable.” It’s about Melissende and the events of Ascendant as seen through her eyes. Even better news: it’s available now, in the collection Athena’s Daughters. (You can also get the e-book from major retailers like Amazon, etc.)

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Let’s be honest, I don’t know anyone else who has ever written a series about killer unicorns. 😉 I also like to think I have the best fans out there, because they totally put up with me, whether I’m writing about secret societies, killer unicorns, post-apocalyptic romances, underground bunkers, or soapy dramas. You’re all so versatile and broad-minded, I love it!

Why do I write what I do?

To piggyback on the above, I write what I write because I’m drawn to lots of different kinds of stories. I was never the kind of reader to say “I’m only going to read regency vampire romances,” and so it’s not too surprising to me that I’m not the kind of writer who limits herself like that, either. I had a conversation with my Harper editor recently that although I’ve written in several different age ranges and genres, my books are almost always about “awesome girls doing awesome things”. A book is such an awesomely huge undertaking that I don’t know if I’d be able to make it through without a driving passion to get that story out into the world, so I deeply love all my books and am so glad to have readers who agree.

How does your writing process work?

Long periods of mental marination followed by panicked bursts of great output. I’m not a “write every day” kind of gal. I like to think about things for a long time and get them all worked out and right in my head and then put that all down on paper (or pixel).

And…. speaking of Janine K. Spendlove (a fellow contributor to Athena’s Daughters), I’m tagging her on this post. Janine is a force of nature, y’all. I met her at Capclave last fall and we’ve become really good friends since then. She is the author of the WAR OF THE SEASONS trilogy and one of the owners of Silence in the Library Publishing. And that’s just in her “spare” time. She’s also a Marine pilot and a mom. And she runs marathons dressed as Thor.

Yes, really.