Hi Stacia and Happy Release day!
Stacia is the author of The Megan Chase series, about a woman involved with demons, and the new Downside series, which I’ve been reviewing here at BookLove.
1. Let’s get right to the good stuff. In your new urban fantasy series (which starts with Unholy Ghosts) your heroine, Chess Putnam, is an addict. Urban fantasy does often deal with characters with dark pasts, but an outright addict is new. Why did you choose to make this rather bold move?
It just appealed to me, actually. I wanted to write about a character with real problems, real issues and reasons for what she did. And I loved the idea of someone struggling to be independent from her past, someone who’d finally found her personal power and was in a position where she could truly use that power, but who still had this problem that made her powerless in some ways. And for Chess, her addiction is–or was in the beginning–really the only thing that ties her to the world outside of her work. Plus as a writer having that sort of touchstone, a way to mark off time, really interested me.
Plus I had this very dark world envisioned, and wanted to reflect that. You know, the plot and story should be natural outcomes to the character and world; if the story could happen with a different type of character, in a different type of world, it’s probably not original or specific enough. You want a story that can only feature this character; you want who she is to be part of the plot. So the addiction gives me a lot of room to play and to explore the world.
2. How has reader reaction been so far?
Actually, it’s been great! I had a few issues before the book was released–just people being nasty, telling me I was evil and anyone who bought the book was evil–but since it’s actually been out there, and people have been able to read it and see for themselves, it’s really been amazing. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive; they just blow me away. The book was even highlighted as a Summer Fantasy Pick by the London Times, which was a huge deal!
3. You’ve been pretty involved in the online writing scene for a while now. How has it changed since you started?
Oh, my, people are much more pessimistic now. There’s a lot more negativity, I think, or maybe I just didn’t see it as much when I started. It bothers me, and it makes me sad. I love writing and I love the business of publishing, and I’m tired of people predicting its death and the idea that self-publishing will become standard. And especially the idea that when self-publishing becomes standard that will be best for readers; how many readers want to spend hours wading through books by authors they’ve never heard of, just to try to find something even readable? I sure don’t.
4. How do you think you’ve changed?
Hmm. My focus has changed, certainly; when I started out I wrote romance, but I gradually realized that really wasn’t what I wanted to do and it really didn’t suit my voice. And I’ve become disillusioned with a lot of the online writing/reading community; it just doesn’t seem fun anymore. But I think a big part of that is again, because I’m no longer writing romance, the issues of the romance community just don’t interest me the way they once did. I think I have less patience for silliness and drama now; I’m very tired of the negativity.
5. You’ve always been one to speak your mind, even if those thoughts might be unpopular, in a virtual environment where budding writers are encouraged to be quiet, never react to anything and not share too much in case they offend someone. Why aren’t you taking this kind of advice?
Well, to some extent I do! I don’t blog about politics at all, for example, although that’s more because I want all my readers to feel comfortable on my blog. I’ve read blogs where politics are discussed and the implication always seems to be that if you disagree you’re a moron; I never want people to feel that way at my blog. I like hearing opposing viewpoints; I think I have great readers and love hearing what they have to say.
But yeah, I have stood up and said some things that didn’t exactly make me popular, and I did it because it was something I believed in really strongly, and I thought someone should say something. I don’t like seeing readers treated badly, for example, and it amazes me that so few writers speak out against it when in fact we’re the ones who should be doing so, you know? The way I see it, those are MY readers (even if they’re not specifically, lol), and I don’t like people hurting MY readers. It’s the same reason the nasty emails before UNHOLY GHOSTS’ release upset me so much; not because they were being nasty about me, but because they were being nasty about my readers.
So yes, I’ve stepped on some toes. I know there are some people who aren’t very happy with me or don’t like me. But I don’t like bullying, no matter who does it. And my theory is always, you know, if you want to be nasty to someone, go ahead and be nasty to me; I’d rather it be me than someone else.
6. You’ve also been involved in a variety of genres, starting with romance under the pen name December Quinn. Why can’t you stick to one genre, and do you think it’s something more people should do?
Hahahaha! Well, like I said, romance just wasn’t the right fit for me. I wanted to tell broader kinds of stories and work with more unconventional types of characters. That’s not to say anything against romance, just that when it came down to it, it just didn’t feel right.
Do I think more people should switch genres? No. It should be just me. Lol, no. I think people need to write what they truly want to write, deep down. They need to write the story they really need to tell, whatever the genre. And if that means they skip around a bit at first until they find where they belong, that’s fine, and if it means they grow out of a particular genre at some point, that’s fine too, really.
7. Despite all the people out there who say it’s impossible, you landed an agent the traditional way, by writing a good book then querying it. Can you tell us about this, and a bit about all the myths surrounding how writers get from aspiring to multi-published, like you?
Oh, geez, those myths drive me crazy. I can stand in front of those people waving my hands and shouting, “I got an agent by just sending a query! So did most of my friends!” and they’re still going to insist that you have to “know” somebody or you have to be published before you can get an agent. There are so many of those fallacies out there: that self-publishing is the way to get a deal, that it costs money to be published (it’s the “If you really believe in your work you’ll invest in it” lie), that you have to send an agent a “portfolio” of “clippings” to interest them, that you have to go to conferences to meet them in person…it just amazes me that all of those myths are still out there, even now when we have the internet and can find agents online, good ones, who explain how most of their clients come from simple queries.
I wrote UNHOLY GHOSTS and was extremely excited about, and started querying. I queried the man who became my agent on a Monday morning, with my regular query and five or ten sample pages pasted in, I can’t recall offhand. Three hours later he requested the full, and on Wednesday he emailed me to ask if I’d be around for a phone call, and that’s when he offered representation. He hadn’t even completely finished the book yet, but he knew I had six or seven other agents looking at the full, and he when I asked him about editing and the ending he basically said he was convinced I was good enough to fix whatever problems he may have with the very ending of the book. But to me that was a huge deal; I wanted an agent with that kind of enthusiasm for me and my work, and with that kind of drive to not let what he wanted get away.
I think that’s something aspiring writers forget, and it’s so important. It’s not just about finding an agent, any agent. It’s about finding one who’s right for you, who truly likes your work and who truly likes you. I’ve heard too many stories of writers who just grabbed the first agent who came along without really talking to them or discussing their long-term career plans or working styles, and it ended in disaster. Looking for an agent is a bit like looking for a spouse; you really do need to find the right fit, and you really do want someone who wants you as much as you want them. You’re going to be working with this person pretty closely at times; you’re going to be talking about a lot of things. You need to trust him or her, and he or she needs to trust you, too. All agents are not equal when it comes to personality and working style, and I firmly believe that if you can interest one agent you can probably interest another.
8. The role of author and reader is also something you’ve spoken about a lot. What responsibilities does the reader have to the author, and vice versa? Once it’s on the shelf who really “owns” the book?
The reader has no responsibility to the author beyond paying for the book. That’s it. It’s nice if they want to tell their friends or pre-order the next book or talk about it online or write reviews, but paying for the book is their only obligation (and not even necessarily that; they can borrow books from the library or from a friend or whatever, too, and that’s just fine).
The author’s responsibility is to tell the best, most entertaining, and most honest story they can. My job is to entertain readers, but I can’t say I’m obligated to do so simply because what people find entertaining varies so much from person to person. But I am obligated to do my best to entertain them. Do you know what I mean? My obligation is to give them the best that I can, to give them everything I can, and to respect their intelligence and not throw some cop-out crap at them and figure they’ll suck it up. My obligation is to respect them as human beings and leave them alone, basically, too. I’ve always felt I had an obligation to my readers to be kind and courteous, and to let them know how much I appreciate them.
I’ve always felt it was my obligation to let them know what they’re facing with my work, to some extent; when Anna J. Evans and I wrote DEMON’S TRIAD together, a book which was given an “X” rating under Ellora’s Cave’s old rating system because it had some very difficult plot elements–an incestuous rape, sexual violence, things like that–I thought it was only fair to give my loyal and regular readers, who were familiar with my more light-hearted stuff, a heads-up that this book was a lot darker and let them know what they were in for, just as Ellora’s Cave did by putting a warning on the book’s blurb on their website. I felt the same way when UNHOLY GHOSTS was released, because it’s so much darker than the Megan Chase books. And I refuse to feel like I did the wrong thing in trying to let people know to expect something different. They weren’t obligated to listen to me and I wasn’t telling them what to do. I was just trying to let fans of the Demons books know that the Downside books are very different. I felt that was the right thing to do.
The lack of respect on both sides frustrates me, and I don’t understand why it feels sometimes like writers and readers are at war, like readers are so angry with us, when we are and should be on the same side. I’m a writer, sure, but I’m also a reader, you know? I was a reader for a long time before I started writing. So it feels kind of awful to think I can no longer be part of that community, or like I’m suddenly the enemy of people I once felt allied with. It’s very hard, and it’s very hard to realize you suddenly have to watch everything you say or do because people will be waiting to give it the worst possible interpretation, the worst possible spin, and try to turn you into an enemy even after you’ve lost friends because of the way you stood up for readers and their rights. It’s as if suddenly more friends have turned on you, and you don’t know what to do. Luckily I do have other friends, but it’s still painful.
9. Your books are also pretty dark. Even the Megan Chase books (Personal Demons, Demon Inside and Demon Possessed) have some very dark moments, emotions and elements in them. Would you consider your work, and urban fantasy in general, horror-influenced?
Oh, mine definitely is! I love horror in general, but what I dislike about it are the downer endings. It seems like the protagonist always loses, or at least most of the time, and I hate that. I want a better ending, a more cheerful one. So to my urban fantasy is like being able to write horror but with happier endings and more adventure.
I absolutely want my books to be a little creepy in places, and I absolutely want them to stay with the reader. I want them to have atmosphere! To me that’s a huge part of horror, and of UF. I don’t necessarily want to write happy stories, but I do want to write hopeful ones.
10. What else can we expect to see from you soon?
Soon? It depends on your interpretation of ‘soon!” Ha. I have a short story in an anthology, but I’m not sure when that’s going to be out; it’s a Downside story but from an outsider’s POV. And there will be more Downside books; I think we’re looking at the fourth being released in fall of next year, but I don’t have any solid details on that yet. I just know I get to write more of them! In the US, at least; we haven’t yet heard from HarperUK as to whether or not they want more, but I have my fingers very tightly crossed.
And I’m working on a new project, which I can’t really discuss, but it’s a sort of dystopian/alt-hist/magical-steampunk kind of a thing. I’m really pleased with it so far and quite excited about it, and I hope to have it done by early August.
And that’s it, really!
Thanks so much for having me!
Michele- Thanks so much for being here!
ISBN: 9780762108947
