Interview with Jenn Reese - MIRAGE

A thrilling sequel from an exciting new voice in middle-grade sci-fi tracks two ocean-born children braving the dangers of the Above World.

 

Photo credit - Rita Crayon Huang

The desert is no place for ocean-dwelling Kampii like Aluna and Hoku, especially now that Aluna has secretly started growing her tail. But the maniacal Karl Strand is out to conquer the Above World, and the horselike Equians are next on his list. Aluna, Hoku, and their friends — winged Calli and Equian exile Dash — race to the desert city of Mirage, intent on warning the Equians. When they arrive, Strand’s clone, Scorch, has gotten there first. Now the Equian leader has vowed to take all his people to war as part of Strand’s army. Any herd that refuses to join him by the time of the desert-wide competition known as the Thunder Trials will be destroyed. To have any chance of defeating Scorch and convincing the Equians to switch sides, the four friends must find a way to win the Trials. The challenge seems impossible. But if they fail, the desert — and possibly all of the Above World — will be lost to Karl Strand forever. Here is the action-packed follow-up to Above World, which Kirkus Reviews called "a thrilling sci-fi adventure. Imaginative and riveting."

How much do I love this book? I can’t even begin to express my love for it! First of all we get to see the Equians and the Serpenti, snake-like people, in this amazing desert back-drop that is just epic! You know I loved Above World, but I have to say I loved Mirage even more! And I’m so glad to have Jenn here to talk a little bit about Mirage with us today!

Ello – I have to say that I’m so crazy about this world and cast of characters you’ve created in both Above World and Mirage! So last year we had this amazing interview about Above World (link here) where we talked about the world and characters in your first book. And now we are here talking about your amazing sequel, Mirage! I’m blown away! It’s the same characters we’ve grown and loved but in such a different world and culture! I’m really in awe of your world building. Can you please talk to us about how you went about creating this rich and complex world of amazing cultures and species?

Jenn – Quite frankly, I cheated. When I was back in college, I ran a Dungeons & Dragons campaign for which I created a race of honor-bound centaurs called the Minrabi Horsemen. Although that D&D party never got to meet the Minrabi, I’ve never forgotten about them. Mirage gave me the perfect excuse to bring back these herds of desert warriors as the Equians.

The Serpenti, my half human, half snake people, were invented for a very specific reason: because I wanted someone to teach Aluna the Brazilian martial art of capoeira. (Or a version of it that might exist in about 700 years.) Capoeira uses a lot of leg sweeps, and I thought both mer-people and snake people would be able to use their tails to great effect in this style… with a few modifications, of course. With that seed, I worked backward to develop a race of people with a very different philosophy than the other races we’d met so far in the series.

Ello – And it is a really awesome philosophy! So Mirage brought me a whole new set of favorite characters, my most favorite being Tal, the Equian character who is an outcast. I absolutely loved her character. A very close second was Nathif, the Serpenti character who is the healer. You have this ever growing cast of characters that you do a great job keeping the reader completely invested in. I know how challenging this is. Can you tell us some of your new favorite characters and attributes of Mirage?

Jenn – I hadn’t realized how many new characters I’d introduced in Mirage until the audiobook director emailed me to ask how to pronounce their names. There were over twenty-five new characters on his list! I guess I got a little carried away.

My favorite new characters are Tal and Nathif, who you’ve already mentioned, and a crotchety Upgrader named Rollin who’s favorite pastime is lobbing objects at Hoku. She’s actually named after a character from the original Mission: Impossible TV series, Rollin Hand, although she bears no other resemblance to actor Martin Landau. I loved writing her brusque speech patterns almost as much as I loved writing Nathif’s jokes.

Ello – Oh, I loved Rollin's also! She was a tough old gal! Once again your fight scenes are just incredible! What did you research this time and what was your thinking to match the fighting styles to your characters?

Jenn - In this book, Aluna has to deal with her growing Kampii tail. She has to learn to ride and fight in a whole new way. I’ve already mentioned the capoeira (which the Serpenti call “cappo’ra”), but Aluna also has to learn to fight with a partner, her horse Tal. Aluna isn’t nearly as strong as her massive Equian opponents, but she is far more adaptable and well-rounded, and that gives her a big advantage. It’s a philosophy inspired by the teachings of Bruce Lee (although Aluna doesn’t know that).

My only regret was that I wasn’t able to teach Aluna to use tonfa, which are simple Okinawan weapons wielded in pairs that could have doubled as crutches. She watches someone use them in book 3, but that’s as close as I got.

Ello - What were the challenges you faced writing this book?

Jenn – Please picture my eye twitching here. The biggest challenge I faced was writing this book in five months. I had the ending all worked out, and I was happy with it, but I just couldn’t get the beginning right. I’m thoroughly embarrassed by the draft that I showed my novel workshop friends. It was appalling. I trashed it and rewrote the first 10,000 words again. They were better, but still not good. Luckily, my editor is brilliant and said just the right things to help me find a better path.

But during this time, I was a horrible person to be around — surly and short-tempered, in constant need of chocolate and kind words. Thankfully my friends and my partner were true heroes and never gave up on me. I’m a very lucky writer. (And yes, I developed an actual eye twitch while working on this book.) 

Ello – I think all writers go through these stages where we need to beg forgiveness from our loved ones! Lastly, please share with us a little teaser of book 3. I seriously can’t wait until next year. You must write faster!!!

Jenn - I’m revising as fast as I can, I swear!

In book 3, Aluna, Hoku, Calli, and Dash are tired of chasing Karl Strand around the Above World and decide to take the fight to him — and they start by infiltrating a group of Upgraders! Perhaps the most surprising part of the book, though, is that Calli and Dash get their own PoV chapters for the first time. I had so much fun with those. I truly hope I’ve given readers an ending they can celebrate.

Ello - Damn it! I want it now!! Ok thank you for sharing all this great stuff with us Jenn!

Jenn - Thanks so much for inviting me to talk about Mirage!

Jenn's publisher has generously provided the Inkpot with a paperback copy of ABOVE WORLD and an ARC of MIRAGE! To enter, all you have to do is tweet or facebook this interview and leave a comment here on this  post and you will have a chance to win both of these ARCs!!! This contest will run for two weeks so help us spread the word and maybe you will be the lucky winner!

TOTW: Systems of Magic

In medieval times, witchcraft was believed to be a craft: arcane, complicated, and work-intensive. To the modern mind, though, this might seem dubious; we find it easier to think of magic as the power of the mind, a simple if powerful force, not requiring potions or incomprehensible words or weird ingredients gathered at midnight. Think “the Will & the Word” from David Edding’s Belgariad series, where magic is just a matter of mental focus.

As a writer, you might be drawn to one or the other based on personal inclination, but it’s worth notingthat both these ways of dealing with magical systems have their advantages and disadvantages.

The arcane method can give a sense of flavor and, especially in historical fantasy, authenticity; plus, it can be useful for plot reasons, giving your characters motivations for getting into all sorts of trouble. (This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel is a great example of this.) On the other hand, the reader might either be bothered by the fact that there’s no cohesive magical system, or, alternatively, bored by your explanation of how exactly it all works.

 

On the other hand, the “modern” method has the advantage of simplicity and believability. Plus, magic that comes from within can be useful in terms of character development.

As fantasy writers and readers, which system of magic do you prefer? Does either feel more authentic to you? Which makes for better stories – or does it depend on the type of story?

And last but not least, please share any books that you think do a good job of using one or the other!

Featuring MINDEE ARNETT and THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR

Hi, P. J. Hoover here, and today at the Inkpot, I'm so very happy to feature fellow Tor Teen author, Mindee Arnett. Huge congratulations to Mindee on the release of her debut novel!

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR by Mindee Arnett (March 5, 2013)

(You can read my review of the book here!)

And now, here is Mindee!

*****

PJHoover: You’ve run into an old classmate from high school and you tell them THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR just came out. They ask what it’s about. What do you say?

MindeeA: 16-year-old Dusty Everhart is a literal Nightmare, a magical creature who must feed on dreams to fuel her magic. When she discovers her secret crush, Eli Booker, is dreaming about a murder that shortly comes true, she and Eli must join forces to stop the killer before he strikes again.


PJHoover: I love hearing happy publication stories. Can you tell us the path to publication for THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR?

MindeeA: I’d love to! It was pretty straight forward, actually. I started writing short stories in high school and college, eventually publishing some in semi-pro magazines before turning to novels. I wrote a couple of “practice” novels, and I made the mistake of querying two of them too soon. I received a handful of rejections and moved on to a book that I spent more time with before submitting. It received a couple of full requests from agents but in the end, no one liked it enough to sign me.

While licking my wounds from this painful rejection, I started to write The Nightmare Affair. I took a lot of time with it, revised like crazy, and found some awesome critique partners. I then plucked up my courage and started submitting again. I sent out a grand total of ten queries, and within just a few short weeks I had an offer of representation from rockstar agent supreme, Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary. I signed with her as quickly as I possibly could.

Within a month, and after a couple of quick rounds of editing, the book went out on submission. I had an offer from Tor within 17 days.

So in summary, I spent a LOT of time writing, had a rough couple of years of rejection and heartache, and then I signed and sold so fast I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around it. But yeah, I’d consider it a very happy story.

PJHoover: I love all the fun and mystery and fantasy of NIGHTMARE. Can you tell us what biggest influences were for the story?

MindeeA: The big ones, the ones I turned to in order to help get the feel and tone I wanted for the book were Veronica Mars, The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, and Harry Potter, of course.


PJHoover: There are tons of books out there. What are five awesome reasons why THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR should be the one for them to read?

MindeeA: Oh boy, what an unfair question. I object! Kidding. But I seriously am not sure how to answer so I guess I’ll just wing it.

1. No cliffhanger ending guaranteed — hooray!
2. Lots and lots of magic and mayhem — hello? The MC hangs out in dreams. How cool/weird/fun is that?
3. A hot boy who is not abusive or an asshole.
4. The jokes and humor outweigh the angst. For real, there’s almost zero angst. Dusty is way too busy trying to figure out the murder for that.
5. If you don’t read it, a Nightmare will have no choice but to seek you out while you’re sleeping. And trust me, not all of them are as nice and cuddly as Dusty. Mwhahahaha…


PJHoover: If the apocalypse came, would you still find a way to write? If yes, then how and why?

MindeeA: I think I would certainly try, even if I only had a pen and paper to do it with. Writing has been the way I cope with life. Really, if the apocalypse happens I might spend even more time writing just to stay sane.



PJHoover: When it comes to marketing, what do you think makes the biggest difference in whether a book is successful?

MindeeA: If the book trailer is posted when the moon is in the second house of Jupiter. Seriously, I have no idea whatsoever, although I think the most important thing is the story itself. If you read something you love you tell somebody about it. That’s how I am at least.


PJHoover: Finish this sentence, and tell us why. Writing is a lot like…

MindeeA: Having a baby. There’s a lot of chocolate and food binges involved, sleepless nights, and moments of pure, inexplicable joy.


PJHoover: What is next? WIPs? Future publications? Please tell all!

MindeeA: Aside from the sequel to The Nightmare Affair, which should be out in about a year, the first book in my sci-fi series, AVALON, is due out winter 2014 from Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins). I’m deliriously excited about it. It’s an undeniable space-based sci-fi. There’s a short description of it over on Goodreads.


PJHoover: What has been your favorite experience as an author thus far?

MindeeA: I can’t really point to one single moment, but definitely the most rewarding has been hearing that people liked the book and enjoyed it. That is by far the best. Especially if said person is a total stranger who has absolutely no reason to be inclined to like the book even if it sucks. You know, like your mom or sister or something.


PJHoover: Please share your favorite inspirational thought!

MindeeA: I’m not sure if this an inspirational thought, but it’s definitely the absolute best advice I can give based on my own experience—if what you’re doing hasn’t succeeded so far, then change it up and try again. Seriously, don’t think even for a second that you have it figured out. There’s always something new to learn and ways to improve. The key to taking a book from the drawer to the bookshelf is by not being stagnant. Keep searching for the method/voice/story that works for you.


PJHoover: Thank you so much for being here!

MindeeA: Thanks so much for having me. I had an absolute blast.

*****

About THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR:

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli's dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

*****

Bio:

Mindee Arnett is the author of two young adult series. The first book in her contemporary fantasy series, The Nightmare Affair arrives March 5, 2013 from Tor Teen (Macmillan), while her YA sci-fi thriller, Avalon debuts Winter 2014 from Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins). She lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space.

*****

P. J. Hoover is the author of the upcoming dystopia/mythology YA book, SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 2013), the upcoming Egyptian mythology MG book, TUT (Tor Children's, Winter 2014), and the middle-grade SFF series, THE FORGOTTEN WORLDS BOOKS (CBAY, 2008-2010). You can read more about her and her books on P. J.'s website or blog.

Scattered Musings on Music & Magic

Music is magic. This is known. Innumerable fantasy novels feature magical tunes and sorcerous musicians. The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones—a list of cliches in the form of a travel guidebook, as useful as it is hilarious—catalogues several forms of magic in fantastical fiction: magic that comes with a price, synecdochically sympathetic magic, nature magic "done by attuning to trees and breezes and things," and so on. She gives a full paragraph of explanation for every kind of magic but one: the ninth entry is simply "Music," with no explanation given or required.

Supernatural singing is as fixed in our shared imagination as the idea that you can make some things happen by talking about them—especially if you speak Latin, or Quenya, or the language of dragons. In Tolkien's Silmarillion the world begins with singing rather than speech. And according to Oliver Sacks "music occupies more areas of our brain than language does." Dr. Sacks often writes about patients who suffer severe neurological damage and afterwords need music to maintain memory, identity, or the ability to tie shoelaces. The right tune can hold them together.

Now here's Karl Paulnack, Director of the Boston Conservatory, in a 2004 speech to new students. You can find the whole speech on Amanda Palmer's blog. This bit is from the beginning:

Ptolemy's Wizardry 

The Greeks said that music and astronomy were two sides of the same coin. Astronomy was seen as the study of relationships between observable, permanent, external objects, and music was seen as the study of relationships between invisible, internal, hidden objects. Music has a way of…helping us figure out the position of things inside us. 

This bit is from the end:

Well, my friends, someday at 8 pm someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft.

Readers likewise come to books overwhelmed by the outside world (I do, anyway). And fantasy is escapism, right? It offers an escape from the world we know—and the possibility of returning to it whole afterwards.

William Alexander won the National Book Award for his debut novel Goblin Secrets. His second novel, set it the same world and city, is yet another fantasy about music. 

Shameless Oopsie!!!

I think I totally forgot to post last week.  My brain is...old.  :)

Portlandians and Horror fans! Our very own Nancy Holder will be one of the Guests of Honor at the 2014 World Horror Convention in Portland, Oregon, May 8-11.  Make your travel arrangements now!

Dawn Metcalf's INDELIBLE is available for pre-order.  You should probably just order it now. You know you want to.

We have some fabulous award and reading list news this week, starting with Leah Cypess, whose short story "Nanny's Day" (Asimov's 3/12) was nominated for a Nebula Award.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

Not to be outdone, THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer A. Nielsen has made yet another awards list, this time earning the 2012 Cybil Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy!

Speaking of short lists, Kate Milford's THE BROKEN LANDS is on the Locus Recommended Reading List in company that makes me want to pass out cold. Way to go, Kate!!

In foreign rights news, P. J. Hoover's The Forgotten Worlds trilogy has sold in Hungary!!! THE EMERALD TABLET, THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD, and THE NECROPOLIS, sold to Fonix by Lex Copyright Office, on behalf of Taryn Fagerness Agency and Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Oh yeah.  I had a cover reveal.  HA! TOTALLY FORGOT THAT ONE!!!!  Here's the cover for 3:59, my sci fi parallel universe dopperganger horror novel due out September 17th from Balzer + Bray.  :)