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Alison DeLuca Interview 7/13/2013 9:14:15 PM
Steampunk author Alison DeLuca discusses her Crown Phoenix series and the writing life! LTS: As most of my regular followers know, I now make it a point to read, at the very least, an excerpt of an author’s work before I decide to invite them here as a featured author. In this case, I read an excerpt from Alison DeLuca’s Crown Phoenix Series but also; Alison’s novels came highly recommended by Connie Jasperson (.cjjasp on Twitter). And I trust Connie because she is a refreshingly honest book reviewer and a fellow author I greatly respect!
I’d like to begin by having you share a little information about yourself with our readers, Alison. What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
AD: Writing is very intense, so I love to do things in my free time that let me escape entirely: skiing, for example, forces me to concentrate on a snowy mountain instead of fiddling with story arcs and plot points. I am a huge movie and book geek, so I’m also very happy to stay indoors on a rainy day and read. And whenever I get the chance to travel with the family, my suitcase is ready.
LTS: I get the sense that writing stories has always been a part of your life. Am I wrong? Is this something fairly new or has it always been a lifelong dream to become a published author?
AD: Oddly, I was only able to finish a manuscript when I got access to a computer. Before the 90’s, my typing was dreadful and I couldn’t bear the ugliness of my own handwriting, so when my husband gave me an old Mac, it was as though an entirely new world opened up for me. I instantly began to write, first a screenplay adaption, next a long fantasy novel, and finally the Crown Phoenix series.
However, creating stories has always been a part of my life; when my sister and I were children, we spent summers in an old house in Ireland with no television. To keep from being bored, we made up long plots and acted them out for each other, day after day, in the rock gardens of our grandmother’s house along the Irish seacoast.
LTS: Your debut novel, Crown Phoenix: Night Watchman Express has been the recipient of many great reviews, and understandably so! What was the inspiration behind this story and can you tell us a little bit about your protagonist, Miriam?
AD: While listening to Angelique Kidjo’s music, I had a vision of four kids in Edwardian clothes on an island. One was an extremely angry girl called Miriam – I still have no idea where she came from. It was obvious that some very bad people were chasing Miriam as well as her group of friends, and the story just grew from there.
Miriam was angry because her father died – the ultimate abandonment – and she and her house were handed over to the Marchpanes, a pair of guardians who certainly didn’t have her best interests in mind. In revenge, she acted out and became almost feral, so the Marchpanes had to hire a teacher to take care of her.
And that was how Mana, Miriam’s beautiful governess, arrived on the scene. She grew from the Kidjo music - a lovely, intelligent, elegant woman who was just a little bit magic.
LTS: Without giving away too much, can you reveal what’s in store for the readers when they crack open Crown Phoenix: Night Watchman Express?
AD: I always adored adventure and mystery, and I served them up with just a hint of romance. Readers will encounter a strange typewriter – the Crown Phoenix - that bends time and space, an odd series of silver circles on a cliff wall, a very beautiful (and evil) woman with red hair, and Simon – Miriam’s frenemy. He’s very different from her, so they clash at first and later discover they have a lot more in common than they thought.
LTS: The road to publication is difficult at the best of times. Though you are happily indie, would you ever consider traditional publishing?
AD: I am considering the traditional route simply to have that experience, but at the moment I’m on my own within an author collective.
LTS: Becoming a published author is truly a difficult road to travel. Can you share some information about the Myrddin Publishing Group?
AD: Myrddin Publishing, my publishing group, permits Indie publishing within a group setting. It was formed with about twenty writers in order to allow us to publish our own works. We also have the support and perks that come with being in a wonderful group of lovely, dedicated friends. I would do anything for them – they have certainly done more for me than I could ever repay. I can honestly say it is a wonderful way to write and publish.
LTS: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on the road to publication?
AD: Without a doubt, I have discovered how vital it is to have a good editor, one who is not afraid to tell me a section of my script needs serious rewriting. I’m incredibly lucky to have Carlie Cullen working with me on CP: The South Sea Bubble, the fourth and final book in my series. Carlie has an eagle eye for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. She is also that rare, wonderful person who finds problems with logic, repetitions, and sections needing complete rewrites.
LTS: Carlie sounds like every writer’s best friend! That’s wonderful to have this kind of support! Now, 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.
AD: My first book, Night Watchman, was plotted out with a long, meticulous outline. I found it soothing to have a roadmap, as well as a direction for each day’s writing, as a beginning writer. Since then, I’ve weaned off from outline and am more of a pantser. I start with lists of words I find beautiful that have to do with my concepts, and arrange them in a story map structure. The story map changes as the book grows, so I can keep track of where characters are and what they are up to!
Now I allow my characters to direct the plot, and often I have to completely rethink my book as they surprise me with their actions. As an example, the very last section of Lamplighter’s Special came as a complete shock. I had no idea what was going to happen until Miriam spoke the final line of the book (which is not a typo, although it may look like one.) Once I typed it, I sat back, nodded, and thought, “Ah, now this all makes sense.”
LTS: 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?
AD: Oh, indeed I do. I like to write something short – a blogpost, a poem, or a bit of a short story before I settle into my day of writing the current work in progress. It’s a way to stretch the creative muscles without plonking right into my manuscript. Of course, I also need a large cup of tea so I can enter the zone.
LTS: 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?
AD: Music is a great inspiration! As I mentioned, Angelique Kidjo still gives me loads of ideas. I also love Celtic music, classical, 40’s jazz… Heck, I’ll listen to anything. Reading helps too, especially classics. There’s nothing like a bit of Shakespeare to get those juices flowing; ditto Hemingway and Austen.
LTS: Who is your favourite author and how has he/she inspired you to write or influenced your writing style or choice of genre?
AD: Murakami is one of my favorites; I’ve read everything he’s ever written. I love Rowling, of course, as well as John Green and Karen Thompson Walker. Catherine Stine is a fabulous Indie find, as well as Dwight Okita. And there are those classics, as well, such as the Brontes. It’s difficult to believe, reading Wuthering Heights; so much passion could surge under those Victorian petticoats.
LTS: What do you foresee in your future over the next five years and do you hope to branch out from urban fantasy into other genres?
AD: Since I am currently editing the final book in the Crown Phoenix series, I will leave steampunk Edwardian England soon and try a bit of New Adult in a standalone novel. Of course, I have to include a bit of magic and fantasy in any story I write.
I have another standalone going as well, a dieselpunk book set in WWII. I’m doing loads of research for that one. And I have a new series in mind, one which brings steampunk to present-day. Meanwhile, in case these plans sound too toplofty, I have a daughter to raise and piles of laundry to do!
LTS: Thank you so much for sharing in your stories and your writing life, Alison! Catch you on Twitter!
AD: Lorna, thank you so much for the interview. It was a lot of fun to chat with you!
