Monthly Archives: December 2014

Question 9. Everyone has an interesting story related to their work—what’s one of yours?

The most memorable story I have related to my work is actually a sad one. One client commissioned a painting of an angel with the facial likeness of his girlfriend as a gift to her. It was to have large, elaborate wings, a sparkly dress, and be shown melting away the snow from a wintery forest to herald the arrival of spring. Excited about the idea, I set to work, sending in a preview for the starting sketch, the halfway point and finally, after upwards of a month of scribbling away, the final preview. Oddly enough, although the initial responses had been fairly quick, the one to the final never came. After some waiting and reminders, I concluded the client must have for some reason decided to bow out and left it at that.

It wasn’t until a few months later that I suddenly received the payment for the finished painting and a response; however, it was not from the client, but from his girlfriend. It was then that I learned that the original client had passed away just before the painting had been completed, leaving her a final parting gift. It has been several years since this happened, and I can safely say I’ll never forget this story.

Winter Angel, in memory of Isaac, can be seen on Liiga’s site.

 

The second book, currently titled The Cook’s Curse, is complete, and in the hands of beta readers now. I hope to have it released in May of 2015.

There is something I have been dying to ask. The idea of a cockroach as a magician’s familiar is hilarious. What inspired that?

I knew I wanted Winki to have a familiar to help her through her new life. The traditional role is a cat, which has been done to death. A dog was recently done in the Dresden Files (one of my favorite series). I wanted something unique to New Orleans, and something small so Winki could carry it in a pocket, and I IMMEDIATELY thought of a cockroach. And I IMMEDIATELY dismissed the cockroach because, well, ew! No one wants to read about roaches, right? But, the thought wouldn’t go away. Hence, Hercule.

The Dead Man’s Deal combines elements of mystery with traditional fantasy: the training and testing of a champion. Which came first, or was it all part of your initial inspiration?

The fantasy element came first, and specifically the idea of the tournament. As I wrote it, however, I wanted Winki to be more reluctant about her new role, and the mystery unraveled itself.

You changed the gender of your main character from male to female because a writer friend suggested it. It’s hard for me to imagine Winki any other way. Besides the obvious, how did that change the way you saw his/her character?

Her attitudes towards (for example) cockroaches and spiders were much easier to write since they aligned with my own biases. Surprisingly, little changed as to how I saw the character – brave, caring, a bit thick – but it changed her voice tremendously.

How did that change impact the plot?

The biggest change plot-wise had to be the beginning. When the reader meets Winki she’s in a state of depression, lacking any interaction with the world. She starts her journey from a more frightened place and grows into the champion, whereas a man would come from a disbelieving place, I think.

The book is, on the whole, light-hearted, but there are some horrifyingly cruel things that have happened to characters in the past or that threaten characters at the time of the story. Was it hard to balance those so that the tone of the story didn’t change drastically somewhere in the middle?

It was, and it remains a tough line to walk. But that is life, really. We joke, we laugh, we live, yet horrible things happen to all of us, and happen all around us. It’s our own strengths that make us laugh again.

I’ve read that you were a math major and were drawn to math because you like solving puzzles. What was it like putting together a puzzle in the form of a mystery inside a fantasy novel?

A task involving many notes! I keep lists of problems and questions (as well as characters, places, and descriptions) to make sure that I answer everything – I even had a carry-over list for “things yet to be fully explained.” The secret to fun fantasy is the tiny line of plausibility!

How much planning do you do in advance? Do you begin with an outline, or do you begin with only a general idea and write the story to see what will happen next?  Or is it a combination?

Since this is a series, I have a major story arc. Each book has a “what happens here,” a major plot point on the arc. Then. For each book, I outline – I love an outline. I don’t always stick to it 100 percent, but it gives me breadcrumbs to follow to get to that story’s big reveal.

The inevitable question in an author interview: who are some of the writers that have particularly influenced your own writing?

I’ve enjoyed Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files), Anne Rice (the Lestat novels), Laurie R. King (the Mary Russell books), and recently Christopher Moore (the novel Lamb). The largest influence came from direct feedback from my writers group, who’ve been helping me develop for over ten years now.

Did you choose fantasy, or did fantasy choose you?

I chose it. I’ve written mysteries and science fiction in the past, but fantasy just rings my bell.

You’ve lived all around the country. Do you think that has influenced your writing?

As a kid we moved a lot, and making friends could be a long process. In the meantime, I daydreamed. I think that primed the creative pump, making tapping into the bizarre and “what ifs” a little easier now. It’s also made me open to change. I’m not tied to a particular story or character; so when someone suggests, for example, the hero needs to be a heroine, I shrug and give it a whirl.

New Orleans, where I currently live, gets a bunch of credit. It’s one of the oldest cities in the US, and it hums with history and mystery. It’s hard NOT to daydream here!

In the portrait, Falion has a line at the bridge of his nose, which looks just like a scar.  I didn’t know he had a scar on his face.  But he does now.  I just have to figure out what or who gave it to him.  The other detail that caught my attention was that if you look very closely, Falion has stubble on the left side.  Elves don’t grow beards, and Falion has never shaved in the story thus far.  But perhaps, because he is part human, he grows a beard, or at least the skimpy shadow of one.  Perhaps he has to shave a few times a year.  And according to the portrait, only on one side.  The right side is baby smooth!  I think I’ll just ignore that dichotomy.  So I wanted to know how Liiga approached depicting Falion. I saw Falion in a new light—or shadow—because of her answer.

Question 8. The art that inspired me to contact you is called Sunlight. I see that it was a heavily manipulated photo. How did you come up with my portrait of Falion?

In Falion’s portrait, the element of sunlight is portrayed through the contrast of light and darkness, as the character is shown emerging from a murky, foresty area. Since the character has a ‘darker’ and more experienced air to him than the one in ‘Sunlight,’ I felt this would be suitable as a transition from dark into light implicitly shows change, progression, experience.

From the technical standpoint, I kept the description close at hand and looked up additional photos of the actors and characters that had been pointed out as having resemblance to the character, as well as others which seemed to bear a resemblance. For instance, Pierce Brosnan was very helpful when it came to manly eye wrinkles.

I also stared at some birch leaves for a while.

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Not for commercial use.
Reposting allowed with the following attribution:
Falion from In a Mortal Shadow. Artist,  Liiga Smilshkalne
(Link to site or list as https://leasspell.net//jennifer-at-leasspell/).

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Full interview will be available after the last of the selected questions has published on December 12.

I wanted that kind of emotion in the portrait of Falion, too.  When I went to Liiga’s gallery, I found several pieces that stirred me. That’s when I knew it was worth throwing the dice.  Sss-Mine is one of my favorites because it appeals to the storyteller in me.

Having found my favorites, I wanted to know what the artist’s were and how she gets inspired to make moving pieces or art.

Question 7: What are some of your favorite pieces and what inspires you the most?

It is difficult to pick favorites from my own works due to the common artist malady of picking out all the flaws in them once the initial excitement has worn down. So far the ones that have held up best in my own eyes are Brenell and Candlebright for Bella Sara. As for inspiration, it can be in a variety of places—the right kind of music, a foggy sunrise, a concept that explores interesting contrasts, or just the opportunity to draw shiny details, to name a few. And if all else fails, looking at art usually does the trick.

 

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Full interview will be available after the last of the selected questions has published on December 12.