The time they were fast talkers

Posted October 16, 2014 by Stacee in Signings | 0 Comments

Going to see Sara Raasch was always a sure thing. When she was announced at Mysterious Galaxy, it was added to the calendar, even before I had read Snow Like Ashes. And then when I had? I was so so so excited for the event.

Michelle and I both ditched work early and met up at Starbucks for drinks and yummies. We headed over to the bookstore around 4:30 and chatted it up with Rob before buying our books and finally settling into the front row.

1

Sara and Kathryn got to the store around 5:30, Kiersten was running a little late because of traffic, but got there right after 6.   Sara started out by saying that since it was her event, she came up with a 5 second game for all of the authors.  The had 5 seconds to explain the MC, love interest, bad guy, antagonist, setting, culture, song, favorite scene, least favorite scene, plot, author. This went by way too fast and I didn’t get any of it.

Then Kiersten said that she wanted to hear more about Sara and her writing.

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S: I started writing when I was 12 or 13 and it was so terrible. I was so in love with this book and tried so hard to get it published.

KW: When I met you during Paranormalcy, you were trying to get it published.  I think you were about 19.

S: I started rewriting it when the pirate book tanked. I fell in love with the characters again and I hope that you guys will feel it.  I poured a lot of love into it.

KW: I always say that no writing is a waste. This is a perfect example.

How did the book come about?

KR: I watched the 1953 version of Nights of the Round Table and I thought that Merlin would be a great stream punk character.

S: And he’s super hot

KR: I loved the characters and they just came to me. This was the first book that made me think I would give up.

KW: This is my 8th novel. It came out in September. I was in the middle of writing Perfect Lies. It’s very dark and includes real world violence and I needed a break, so I wrote a book.  It was a magical experience because I got an idea and sat down and had a book in 7 days. All of the elements came together.

Kiersten talked about her new book coming out next year. She talks really fast, so I didn’t any of it: epic historical fiction with a gender swap, based on Vlad the Impaler.

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What do you have coming up next?

S: Book 2. Book one was aaah: world building. Book 2 is aaaahhh: sequel. Book 3 is aaaah: feelings.

KR: I just sold the third book.

This went off on a tangent about a taser, Meira’s weapon {I have no idea what it’s called} and a cross bow and the MCs going clubbing together and people dropping on the dance floor.

It was then opened up to audience questions.  Sara said that she had 2 swag packs to get things started.

You wake up and you’re Bella from Twilight.  What do you do differently? {Thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me steal this question!}

This led to a lot of clarifying questions: which Bella? Because waking up as pregnant Bella is an entirely different set of problems. I said that it would be Bella from Twilight.

S: Jacob. I was Jacobing from the beginning.

KW: I like how you made that a verb.

Patrick: You grow a pair and move on.

KW: I liked Twilight. I thought it was a good story.  I would say let’s skip middle book twice and go right to the end.

KR: Maybe ask for a new chemistry partner.  Then it’s a whole new story.

4

What’s the most drastic thing you’ve ever done for a deadline?

KW: I get so panicked about my deadlines, that I get focused on my word count. It’s not a good thing because it sets a precedent.  Then my editor thinks I can get things done in a month.

S: I also turn in things early, but then my editor thinks I didn’t edit enough, so I’ll get a huge edit letter. Now I know to wait so she thinks I’ve taken that long.

KR: I’m good with time. I will write another book.

With your love interest do you generally base them on someone else?

KW: My first characters tend to burst out of my brain, fully formed. Isadora was that way. My love interests I tend to learn while my MC does. I try to write to challenges. I wanted to write a fantasy novel where the chosen one didn’t have any magic.  I don’t base my characters on other people, but inspiration.

S: I wanted to write a MC who wanted to be the hero and save the world. She’s a 16 year old girl and not a very good fighter, so they keep telling her no.

KR: I based her on Q in James Bond. She cannot be who she should be or who she wants to be, so a lot of it is behind the scenes. She’s not a great fighter at first. She’s smart and can build things.

5

Any kind of themes or ideas that you love to talk about?

S: A lot of the books I’ve written are about being enough on your own. Not needing magic or anything else. It’s something I unintentionally have in my mind.

KR: I like writing about hope. It’s a central theme. I like to play with creative characters and seeing the world in ways that maybe I wouldn’t be able to see. Oh and beautiful men.

KW: I never intend to, but then I always do. Fate vs free will and the nature of mortality. I also like writing girls with attitude.

Do you have any triggers that will make you write?

S: Music, which is funny because I can’t listen to anything while I’m writing.  But I can get inspired by something in the song and then go work on it.

KR: I watch a lot of Discovery Channel and we’re always pausing it so I can writes stuff down.

KW: Deadlines. Or a song. You know how songs can tell you a story in 4 minutes? Like that.

Mindgames came from from PIRATES 4. The move was horrible, but I loved the mermaid and how she was beautiful and vulnerable, but in the water she could kill you.

KW: Do you guys have ideas that you know you’re not ready to write?

S: Yes. I have a contemporary idea and it frightens me. No one is getting stabbed, I don’t know what to do.

6

How much outlining do you guys do?

S: So much. Especially with fantasy because there’s so much world building. There’s a map that came from something I made from Microsoft Paint. I’m horrible with architecture, so I have to draw everything first.

KR: It’s a big thing for me. I outline as much as I can. Then I can draft faster. What really helped me with book 1 was writing book 2.

KW: It depends on the book. This one had no outlining. The collaboration I did with Jim for In the Shadows was specific. It’s a chapter of art and then a chapter of text and we had to have the same amount of chapters.

I will write literally one line so I know where I’m heading next.

From then, it was time for the signing.  Michelle and I were able to be the first in line, so Michelle went up to Kiersten and I went to Sara.  I told Kiersten that I didn’t have anything for her because I just saw her.  When Sara opened my book, she saw my post it and I had my Twitter handled written down.  She said, “You’re The Stacee!”

And I do love my inscription!

s1 s2

These three ladies were hilarious together.  I wish I would have been fast enough to get all of the tangent stories and giggles, but I wasn’t that fast.  Just go get all of their books and go see them!

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