Writing may seem like a very solitary job, and in a way, it is. However, through local writing groups and through social media, you can build a wonderful network of authors.
Here in Geneva, I have met several talented writers, one of whom I am interviewing today to celebrate the release of her newest YA steampunk fiction, Submerged. It is the second book in her mermaid series, The Clockwork Siren.
What is Steampunk?
The best definition of steampunk I’ve heard was given to me by our author-of-the-day, Katie Hayoz—historical science fiction.
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Hi, Katie, if you were to summarize your book in three lines, what would they be?
Monster hunter Melusine Dore’s deepest fear becomes reality when she is called to slay a beast in the one place she swore she’d never return to: home. There, she must face the evil of her family’s past—and the possibility that she is more monster than maiden.
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Melusine sounds like a very interesting character. Can you share one random fact about the book?
This adventure takes off where the first one ended—in a steampunk version of Chicago in the 1850s. Fact: Chicago was built on marshland and was a cesspool of disease and muck. In the 1850s the city officials took on the enormous feat of actually raising the streets by several feet to install proper drainage pipes.
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Well, I just got smarter. So what inspired this book?
Immersed, the first adventure in the series was very, very loosely based around the medieval myth of Melusine. Submerged digs further into Melusine’s past, her relationship with her mother, and her own beliefs about herself. I wanted to explore further just how fully our visions of ourselves affect who we are.
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Now tell me, who is your favorite character of all times?
I have to admit, I don’t have a favorite character. My preferences evolve as I do and “favorites” don’t stick with me. I can, however, tell you what character still haunts me even years later: Alice, from The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing. She was so disturbing on so many levels, I felt I needed a good scrubbing down after reading the book. Lessing is such a master.
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For the writers following this blog, this question will be of extra interest to you: what was your road to publication like?
Muddy. I have an agent who believes in my work, but so far, hasn’t been able to sell my manuscripts to a publisher. So I decided to go ahead and publish my books myself. I am lucky to be in a group of indie authors called the Blazing Indie Collective. We support and encourage each other. Immersed actually came out of a BIC group project called The Falling in Deep Collection in which fourteen of us wrote novellas with mermaids in them! You can get the whole collection here.
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Last but not least, what are you currently working on?
Surfaced, the third adventure in the Clockwork Siren Series. This time, Melusine and Levi just may have to deal with a traveling freak show…
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For those of you who are as intrigued as I am about Melusine, the book came out today on Amazon and is available for 99 cents, so get it while you can.
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