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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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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