I immediately fell in love with the main character of Seanan McGuire’s debut novel, Rosemary and Rue
The fast-moving plot was so engaging that I know I’m going to want to re-read the book to better appreciate the language as well as nuggets of Seanan’s wit sprinkled throughout, like this one:
Cats never listen. They’re dependable that way: when Rome burned, the Emperor’s cats still expected to be fed on time.
If you’re a fan of Tanya Huff’s books, you’ll like Rosemary and Rue, which debuts on September 1st. I’m already looking forward to the sequels!
Photo credit: Beckett Gladney.
Seanan is also an accomplished artist (and a songwriter/vocalist, incidentally — see the links at the end of this interview for more info). Click the thumbnail below to see a great one-page comic she drew about her book. You may have to click twice if your browser scales the image down:
So how long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing for literally as long as I can remember — it’s probably a miracle I was allowed to live long enough to get my first computer, since I used to pound away on my manual typewriter at three o’clock in the morning. My first “serious work” was the essay I wrote when I was nine, explaining to my mother why she had to let me read Stephen King, since she’d already allowed me to read Lovecraft. I’m pretty sure she still has it.
Heh. Do you think you’ll ever post that on your blog?
Probably not. I mean, for a nine-year-old, it’s pretty awesome, but for an adult, it’s a little bit of a mess. Also, I was really bad at self-censorship at that age. I think I may have swallowed a dictionary.
How did you make your first sale?
My very first sale was a poem called “Mystery,” and I sold it because my friend Tim was the poetry editor, needed to fill space, and had seen the poem before — not the most standard method, but better than nothing! After that, it became the standard round-and-round of “submit story, get rejected, stomp feet, revise story, write new story, continue.” It was actually a really important process for me, because it taught me to write to what matters.
Tell me about Rosemary and Rue.
“Rosemary and Rue” has been described alternately as urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and fairy tale noir. It’s the story of October “Toby” Daye, a changeling — half-human, half-fae — trying to etch out a living in modern-day San Francisco without the help of her fae relations. Toby’s been burned badly by Faerie in the past, and she wants nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that Faerie is willing to give up on her.
It’s a murder mystery. It’s an adventure story. It’s the beginning of a classic hero’s journey. And it’s a great excuse to kick the crap out of Toby on a pretty regular basis. It’s a good thing she doesn’t know where I live.
How long did you take to write R&R?
This is a hard question to answer, because ROSEMARY was the book that taught me how to write books. So I spent about six months writing it…and then I wrote the sequel, and learned how to fix some of the broken bits in ROSEMARY, so I re-wrote ROSEMARY essentially from scratch. And then I wrote another book, and learned how to fix some of the broken bits in ROSEMARY, so I re-wrote ROSEMARY essentially from scratch _again_. This pattern went on for years. It taught me a lot, although I wish it had taught me a little bit quicker.
Did you do an outline in advance? If so, how detailed?
For ROSEMARY, no — I very much flew by the seat of my pants the first time through the book, and only began outlining in the revision stages. I’ve learned to outline since then. I love outlines.
How long are your outlines? And how much background info do you accumulate before you actually start writing?
When I’m doing an outline, I tend to go about one paragraph per projected chapter, and update the outline as I work — some things take more time than I think they will, and some things take less. I almost never do my research before I start. I get to work, and then I let the text tell me what I need to study up on.
How much of your own personality is in Toby’s character?
Very little! I have a few characters in the series that I feel have bits of “me” in them, but Toby isn’t one of them. We both like Siamese cats and dislike being shot at. That’s something, right?
So which is your favorite character in R&R?
Definitely the Luidaeg. I love her so much, and I just love her more with every book.
When you wrote R&R, did you know it would be a series?
When I started it, no — I would probably have run screaming. By the time I finished it, oh, yeah. I don’t think I realized how long a series it would be until I started work on book four. This world is huge.
How did you sell Rosemary and Rue?
I passed it back and forth between me and my agent for a bit, getting everything “just so,” and then she went out into the world. My first choice house was DAW, and I was insanely lucky, because they took me!
What are your writing habits? (e.g. do you have a special writing spot/process? daily goals? etc.)
I’m very disciplined in my writing, and have “home” and “travel” routines. At home, I’ll roll through projects in a set order, finishing a chapter of each to keep myself fresh and moving forward. When doing revisions, I switch to page counts, and tend to set myself a much tighter schedule, since that generally means I have a deadline. While traveling, I’ll have daily revision and word count goals to get through.
I do set word counts for myself, usually when I feel “stuck” on something. I find that really needing to hammer through 3,000 words almost always gets me moving again. I can write just about anywhere, thanks to my Netbook, and I carry an iPod, so as to block out the world when necessary.
How many writing projects are you usually working on at one time?
Um…several. Right now, I’m writing THE BRIGHTEST FELL (Toby five), BLACKOUT (Newsflesh two), a YA project, and DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON, the first of an urban fantasy series about crazy cryptozoologists. I’m also editing FEED (Newsflesh one) and LATE ECLIPSES (Toby four), and doing a lot of short fiction projects. And eventually, I want to get back to my romantic comedy…
How do you keep from being distracted by the Internet? (e.g. e-mail,
blogging, etc.)
Checklists. I make lots of checklists. I can’t go to bed until everything is checked off. So if I mess around on Facebook, I’m not stealing writing time, I’m stealing sleep.
Do you have an agent? If so, how did you find him/her?
I do! Diana is my personal superhero, and I adore her. I met her through a mutual friend who knew I was seeking an agent and Diana was seeking clients, and after a lengthy courtship process, we decided we were right for one another. I’m absolutely glad I didn’t rush things — I think that being willing to be patient and get the _right_ agent has been incredibly good for me.
Did you get your agent before or after you sold R&R?
Before. I think that’s a very good progression — get something into salable condition, and then find an agent to sell it.
What advice do you have for writers looking for a good agent?
First off, do your research. Look at what genres an agent represents, and compare them to the genres you write. A lot of “new” agents actually used to work with larger agencies, and are just setting off on their own — see if you can find out who else they represent, and what other sales they may have made. There are various magazines and news feeds that track this, and a lot of agencies will post client lists and sales on their websites.
If you have friends who write, you can ask them about their agent experiences, but please don’t ask them to introduce you. If they feel you’d fit well with their agent, they’ll volunteer an introduction.
When you find an agent you think may be right for you, please, PLEASE read the guidelines for agency submission. If you can’t get “hello” right, they’re not going to have much faith in your ability to work in a professional setting. Also, remember, agents are online, too, and a lot of them are very savvy. If you get turned down and post a bitchy letter in your blog, the odds are good the agent who turned you down will see it, and it’s going to hurt your chances of finding someone else. Be polite, be professional, and remember that the Internet is not a good place to vent about things that can hurt your career.
Where to find more info:
You can follow Seanan at www.seananmcguire.com. She blogs at seanan_mcguire.livejournal.com, and her alter-ego, horror author Mira Grant, can be found at www.miragrant.com. Twitter: @seananmcguire.
In addition to being a talented writer and artist, Seanan is also a musician who has several CDs available (hey, I play flute on one of them!); see the Web site URL above for more info.
Series order:
Rosemary and Rue (September 1, 2009)
A Local Habitation (March 2, 2010)
An Artificial Night (September 2010)
