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Joyce Damask Interview 9/1/2012 10:15:23 PM
YA & Urban Fantasy author Joyce Damask discusses her novels and the writing life! Do you enjoy reading taut, beautifully written Urban Fantasies set in exotic locales? Then you’ll want to meet today’s guest blogger! I’d like to introduce you to YA and Urban Fantasy author Joyce Damask. She is the creator of Wolf at the Door and its sequel, Obsidian Moon, Obsidian Eye, smart, gripping urban fantasies set in exotic Singapore. I’d like to begin by having you share a little information about yourself with our readers, Joyce. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
JD: Thank you for having me on your blog! Well, first off, I am Chinese, married with two gorgeous girls and –um- I garden. I also write science fiction and YA and things in between. What do I enjoy when I am not writing? I garden, I do a bit of photography and I relieve stress by cooking. I enjoy going to parks or any bit of wild/forest land. Nature is part of me.
Has writing stories always been a part of your life and becoming a published author a life long dream?
JD: Definitely. I love writing stories, since I was a child, and I love sharing my stories. I started contributing to my school magazine back when I was in secondary school – and I loved the feedback I got from readers and teachers. When I started university, I wanted to be published for real – I wrote poems, short stories (got rejected) and novel chapters. It was only in 2000 when I first got published in a magazine called “Fang, Claw and Steel”.
I had a chance to read an excerpt from Wolf at the Door as well as its sequel. And I loved the way you intrigue the reader with how you describe the inability to shape-shift into a wolf as a ‘genetic malformation, a physical glitch’, like becoming a wolf is the normal thing to do! I also love how you immediately draw the readers in, immersing them into Jan’s world with your beautiful writing style. What was the inspiration behind this story and can you tell us a little bit about your protagonist, Jan Xu?
JD: I challenged myself to write a story with Chinese werewolves whom I could relate to. There are so many urban fantasy novels with Northern Hemisphere (American) wolves. Why not a Chinese wolf? And why not, a married wolf with children, living in Singapore?
Jan is the eldest of the two daughters of the Xu pack leaders. She was a teen “vigilante” in the past, basically dealing with the nasties like ghosts and vampires. The present story sees her coping with married and family life, her parents getting old, and balancing all of them without going crazy. I guess she is stubborn, compassionate, but definitely feral within.
Without giving away too much, can you reveal what’s in store for the readers when they crack open Wolf at the Door?
JD: Expect intense pack relations, wolves, elves and Chinese dragons. And oh, it will be fun.
The road to publication is difficult at the best of times. Was it difficult for you to land an agent? Do you have any advice you’d like to share with the author struggling to find representation?
JD: To be honest, I do not have an agent. I have tried – and am still trying – to find an agent. But it was difficult trying to find a publisher, as Singapore doesn’t have a market for genre (yet). So I tried… overseas publishers.
Advice? Don’t give up. Work at your craft. Keep at it.
Can you share that moment when you sold your story to Lyrical Press?
JD: When my story got accepted by Lyrical, I was over the moon! I danced around the room!
Nice! ;-) What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on the road to publication?
JD: Persistence.
Still on the subject of writing styles, are you a plotter or pantser? The readers would like to know if you tend to plot out your story line in great detail or if your writing is more organic with the characters and events unfolding as you write.
JD: I think I am both. I plot, but my characters tend to have minds of their own. Organic, I guess, with events unfolding naturally as I write. I tend to have a ‘framework’, but things fall into place.
Some authors meditate, others need to fuel up on coffee or listen to music. Do you have any rituals, ones that can be shared with the readers, that you must do before you hunker down for a writing session?
JD: A good shower. And good music. I allow my mind to clear before I write. Also, the kids must be in bed before I write. These days, I count myself lucky if I am not disturbed in the evening. ;)
At one time or another, most writers hit the wall and their work stalls because of the dreaded writer’s block. What do you do to get around or over this mental wall to resume writing?
JD: Ooo, writer’s block. I do other things besides writing. I read. I catch up on my sleep debt. I garden. I photograph. I do nothing. Sometimes, I write flash fiction or drabbles, to keep myself going.
Who is your favourite author and how has he/she inspired you to write or influenced your writing style or choice of genre?
JD: I have many! Well, I started with Anne McCaffrey when I began reading. She inspires me a lot –in a way, I owe it to her when it comes to my writing path. The middle-grade/YA me was going “Oh my goodness, a woman writer! I want to be like her!” And so it began.
What do you foresee in your future over the next five years and do you hope to branch out from YA and Sci-fi/Fantasy into other genres? Can your fans expect a third novel to follow Jan Xu’s latest adventures?
JD: I foresee myself writing more and experimenting with other genres. But science fiction and fantasy is my first love. Definitely a third novel in the Jan Xu Adventures series…
Thank you so much for taking the time from your hectic schedule to discuss your novels and the writing process, Joyce!
