Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Author Interview: Michelle Davidson Argyle
About Michelle: "I'm a mother, artist, and writer who lives in the Rocky Mountains with my sword-wielding husband and energetic daughter. I write contemporary, literary, and fantasy fiction." - from Michelle's author site
Yours Truly: CINDERS is a look at what happens to Cinderella when happily-ever-after doesn’t go according to plan. What made you want to write about the beloved fairy-tale?
Michelle: I've always had some issues with Disney princesses, and since my daughter kept watching Disney's *Cinderella* over and over again, I one day got the idea to tell a short story about Cinderella after she gets married. The short story grew into a novella.
YT: Your book is a novella; is there any particular reason you chose the shorter format?
M: Yes, actually. One of my favorite stories is *The Awakening* by Kate Chopin. It's a novella, and I fell in love with that format back in college. I always knew I wanted to write a novella, so when I got the idea for * Cinders,* I knew it was perfect for a novella-length piece. I wanted a fairly simple story - straightforward and a quick, fun read. Like a fairy-tale.
YT: I'd definitely say you accomplished that, though I don't know that "fun" is the word I'd use to describe CINDERS, haha. Since most people think about writing novels, which are by definition longer than novellas, how did you go about getting CINDERS published? Is the process any different than the process for publishing novels?
Novellas are difficult to get published in the mainstream traditional publishing sense, so I knew that *Cinders* was the perfect project to self-publish. Self-publishing is different for every writer, meaning you can go many different routes. Some writers choose to publish only an ebook, some go with a vanity press, some go with a POD (print-on-demand) publisher. I knew I wanted to go with a POD publisher, and then had to do my research on who was right for me. The process to self-publish is, of course, different from traditional publishing with a large publishing house, but as far as the difference between self-publishing a novel vs. self-publishing a novella, to me they would be the same.
If you want more information on my self-publishing process, you can follow my self-publishing series at The Literary Lab. It begins here:
http://literarylab.blogspot.com/2010/08/do-you-want-to-jump-fence-part-1-of-why.html
YT: As a writer, you contribute to The Literary Lab blog which gives great advice to writers; if you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice,what would it be?
Keep writing and make professional connections. I think it's vital for writers to know when their work is ready, and most of the time their critique partners can't tell them that. Save your pennies and hire a professional editor. Query your work to agents and see what feedback you get. Make friends with a published author who might be willing to read your work and give you an honest opinion. Most of all, don't cheat yourself into thinking your work is ready simply because you're impatient and want to share it with the world (trust me, I know how that feels). I wrote 3 novels and countless short stories and got an English BA degree before I knew I was ready to publish on any sort of scale larger than a short story. I'm not saying you have to get an English degree, but be serious with your work and yourself no matter what you decide to do. From my experience, 98% of the time, my work is not ready.
YT: (As an English major myself, I have to say I'm a little biased, but I think everyone should have an English degree . . . Totally kidding, you guys.) Are you working on anything else that you can share with us?
M: I'm currently working on a novel to submit to a small press, and intermixed with that I'll be writing two more fantasy fairy-tale novellas that I will self-publish alongside *Cinders*. I also plan on self-publishing a
novelette with Scott G.F. Bailey and Davin Malasarn from the Literary Lab. We'll be doing a collection of three novellas/novelettes. I'm excited for all these projects!
YT: Me too!! So, what is your favorite part of writing?
M: Plain and simple: sharing it with readers!
YT: Great answer! Haha. And one last question for fun: since I know you’re a fan of poetry, if you could meet any poet who would it be and why?
M: Oh, tough! I'd have to say Annie Dillard. She is the writer whose work made me turn from an editing degree to a creative degree in college. I love her work dearly.
YT: Sorry about that, Michelle. Sometime I ask mean questions. : ) I loved CINDERS, and thanks again!
M: Thank you! It's been a pleasure.
Cinders:
Cinderella's happily-ever-after isn't turning out the way she expected.
With her fairy godmother imprisoned in the castle and a mysterious stranger haunting her dreams, Cinderella is on her own to discover true love untainted by magic.
Visit the author online.
Buy the book: Amazon | Others
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Interview: Author/Agent Mandy Hubbard
Today, my dearest bloggers, I have a real treat for you (partially to make up for the lack of attention I've been giving you, but mostly because today's guest is awesome). The wonderfully gracious Mandy Hubbard, author and agent extraordinaire, is here for an interview!
About Mandy:
"Mandy Hubbard is the author of Prada & Prejudice, You Wish, and five other to-be-published novels for teens. She is also a literary agent for D4EO Literary, where she represents authors of middle grade and teen fiction. She is currently living happily ever after with her husband and young daughter in Enumclaw, Washington." -- from her website.
For more information about Mandy, visit her online at http://www.mandyhubbard.com/.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Agent Interview: Sarah LaPolla
Sarah is super nice and very easy to get along with, just don't mention Thin Mints. (They're all sick of those evil little cookies.)
About Sarah (courtesy of the Curtis Brown website):
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Author Interview: Natalie Whipple
Today is a special day. Why? Because today I welcome the wonderful Natalie Whipple, writer and artist extraordinaire for an interview! (Also, the font size is being really difficult today, so I apologize if it shows up wonky.)
If you don't know Natalie, I honestly don't know what you're doing with all of your blogging time, because she's awesome and an inspiration to writers. No seriously, she writes first drafts faster than I can write a paper (it's kind of ridiculous- in a good way), and she's got some of the coolest ideas and is full of helpful advice and tips.
But you aren't here to listen to me ramble on about how amazing she is, you're hear to listen to her talk! So, without further ado, Natalie Whipple:
Alright Natalie, almost everyone knows that you’re represented by the amazing Nathan Bransford – we aren’t jealous a bit, nope, not one bit – and that you are a wonderful writer with a book on submission – which you won’t give us any details about.
But what’s something we don’t know? Are you and Kiersten White secretly writing a screenplay together…about yetis and cyborgs?
Hmm, something you guys don't know? I am pretty open on my blog when I can be. And while that screenplay with Kiersten sounds amazing, I'm afraid we aren't working on anything together. Though I must say the two of us combined would make one seriously awesome writer. Could you imagine? With her wit and my, uh...weirdness...we'd rule the world.
No, sorry, got a little sidetracked there. Um...something you guys don't know.
Oh! I got it! I eat my Cup o' Noodles with a cheese stick. (This just goes to show how much I tell you people. I can't think of much writing-related that I haven't told you that I'm allowed to tell you. Does that even make sense? [maybe it's a little late to be answering interview questions.]) (It's never too late for interview questions! hehe)
I heat up my noodles, then I stick a cheese stick in a let it get all gooey and then eat it. I know, probably a little gross and definitely strange, but there's a reason. I'm hypoglycemic, and it's important for me to eat protein with every meal to keep my sugar levels even. Protein slows the sugar down, so to speak, and helps it release more evenly through the blood stream. Thus, cheese stick with my Cup o' Noodles.
That actually sounds intriguing enough to try, I'll look into that when I can afford to eat again!
Those who follow your blog know you have an incredible talent for drawing as well as writing; is there one (type of) thing you like to draw more than anything else?
Well, I like to draw anime a lot. I've always been best at cartooning, and anime is the coolest cartooning. (At least in my opinion, hehe.) I may not be the best artist out there, but drawing is fun for me. (Amanda would like to interrupt to say that not only does she agree about anime, but that Natalie is pretty darn good at it!) It's my hobby, my escape. I don't let myself be too critical about it—I never plan on doing it professionally. I don't want to treat it as a job.
When I was younger I could never decide which art to take seriously. I dabbled in so many things! Visual arts, writing, drama, music, even dancing. I loved everything—I was even pretty decent at all of them. So I was a Jack of All Trades, and a Master of None. Finally I chose writing, knowing I had to pick something to Master.
I draw for enjoyment. For me that's cartooning. I get over-critical if I try realism, and I have enough areas in my life that require criticism.
Well, you're absolutely fantastic at it, and if you ever decide to do a graphic novel I'll buy it. You majored in Linguistics in college, was there something in particular that drew you to it? As an English major myself I find it fascinating.
I've always loved language, and in particular I loved English! But I quickly realized near the end of high school that it wasn't the literature I was interested; it was the actual language. Like, I wanted to know more about the grammar/declensions in Beowulf's Old English than the actual story. I wanted to know how Chaucer would have pronounced the Canterbury Tales, not what they meant about medieval society.
Luckily, the year after I started at BYU, they opened the English Linguistics major. I jumped on it, minoring in editing. Farewell, literary analysis. Hello, morphemes and phonemes. Oh, baby.
English is a very unique and amazing language—largest vocab in the world, most flexible at integrating new words/structures, and essentially a pure hybrid of a language. Seriously, English did not exist until the Germanic languages smashed into the Celtic. Old English was a creole (a mother tongue [as in new generation is taught it as 1st language] from two languages), that evolved from the pidgin spoken between native Britains
I wish we had at least a minor in linguistics; it's so interesting!
But back to writing, what is your favorite part of writing a new work-in-progress? Is it the rush of a first draft, the seemingly endless revisions, the time spent on Twitter talking with other writers about your Shiny New Idea, or is it something else altogether?
You know, this is a very interesting question for me right now, as I am kind of struggling with why I write and how much I really love it.
I'm starting to realize I have to wear two hats as a writer—the Egotistical First Drafter and the Humble Reviser. You have to have serious confidence in yourself to pull out that first draft. You can't think about your mistakes or you'll never finish. Basically, you have to think you're the best writer in the world to get to "The End." And then you have to tear it all apart in revisions, admit you actually kind of sucked, and figure out how to fix it.
It's HARD to switch hats. I go through this phase of doubt every time I have to switch. When I have to revise, I beat myself up for being so confident. Then when I have to go back to first drafting, I seize up for a while because I can't remember how to believe in my writing. I definitely don't like this phase, but it passes.
I guess what I love depends on what hat I'm wearing at the moment. If I'm first drafting, I love when my characters surprise me or when I figure out pieces of the story I didn't know before. I love having this big pile of blocks and being able to stack them however I want. I love living in the world for the first time, when everything is fresh and exciting. If I'm editing, I love when things click together. I love when a character opens up and shows me their true story. I love finding the exact right word or description. I love that feeling of FINALLY getting it right.
If you could take credit for writing one book/short story/play/screenplay/poem/etc. ever written, what would you claim as your own? (Personally, I’m kind of torn between Penelope , Australia
I hate to be lame, but I don't think I'd claim anything! I've always been the kind of person who wants to do their own thing. I don't follow recipes when I cook—I make it up as I go. When I quilt, I make my own patterns because I hate using other people's ideas. I could never write fanfic because it just feels weird to use someone else's characters.
There are a lot of movies and books and plays I love, but I don't wish for any of them to be mine. I can't imagine having written Phantom of the Opera, for instance, though I love the musical. I have my own stuff. It may not be as awesome as Phantom (okay, not even close), but it's mine and I like it that way. Even when I wish I could be better, I wish I could be better for MY ideas, which I so often fail.
And last question, what is your favorite Miyazaki
That IS a mean question! But I'm going with Kiki's Delivery Service. I identify with Kiki a lot. As a creative person, that movie resonates with me every time. When Kiki loses her powers and worries she'll never get them back—yeah, been there, AM there. I love that scene when she's at Ursula's cabin, and this artist is telling her to basically stop worrying so much. I need that reminder, and I need it often.
Thank you, Natalie!
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