Ask the Author: Abigail Roux
Answered Questions (35)
Abigail Roux
Fitting that this is the last question to come in under the midnight wire! Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy the Sidewinder books!
I'm also going to use this answer to throw out a thanks to everyone who sent in questions this week! I'm going to leave the ask box open, and I'll occasionally come back and toss some answers into the wild.
I'm also going to use this answer to throw out a thanks to everyone who sent in questions this week! I'm going to leave the ask box open, and I'll occasionally come back and toss some answers into the wild.
Abigail Roux
Actually, you read that in an interview I did for the Crash & Burn blog tour, and there's not much more to share than what you've already read (the post is still up, here: http://lovebytesreviews.com/2015/04/0... )
But here's a TL;DR version: When I took on the series solo, I didn't inherit a lot to go on re: Zane and his arc and his background. I had to use scenes of books we'd already written, and the very few things my former co-writer had shared with me in messages about her creation of the character.
One of the very last scenes written of Zane before the split was the one I shared in that blog post, where Zane receives a call telling him that Ty is dead, and his very first instinct is to put his gun to his head with his finger on the trigger because life just wasn't worth it if he didn't have Ty with him. This is a scene where the BAD GUY is telling him Ty is dead, and yet his first instinct is not to rage or go out to find them, it's to put his gun to his head.
That is not a Zane any of us want to know.
That Zane is still the Zane from the first 7 books, the one who views Ty as a crutch, a drug, as just another addiction to feed. In the last act of the last book, that's just unacceptable. There's no character development there, there's no growth, there's no HOPE. Intending for Zane to float through 9 entire books, depressed and dark and hopeless, with only one thing to live for? The thought just broke my heart.
That's when I scrapped everything I had on Zane, and began to make a plan that would have him rise from the ashes of the first 4 books as a phoenix, instead of wallowing in them.
But here's a TL;DR version: When I took on the series solo, I didn't inherit a lot to go on re: Zane and his arc and his background. I had to use scenes of books we'd already written, and the very few things my former co-writer had shared with me in messages about her creation of the character.
One of the very last scenes written of Zane before the split was the one I shared in that blog post, where Zane receives a call telling him that Ty is dead, and his very first instinct is to put his gun to his head with his finger on the trigger because life just wasn't worth it if he didn't have Ty with him. This is a scene where the BAD GUY is telling him Ty is dead, and yet his first instinct is not to rage or go out to find them, it's to put his gun to his head.
That is not a Zane any of us want to know.
That Zane is still the Zane from the first 7 books, the one who views Ty as a crutch, a drug, as just another addiction to feed. In the last act of the last book, that's just unacceptable. There's no character development there, there's no growth, there's no HOPE. Intending for Zane to float through 9 entire books, depressed and dark and hopeless, with only one thing to live for? The thought just broke my heart.
That's when I scrapped everything I had on Zane, and began to make a plan that would have him rise from the ashes of the first 4 books as a phoenix, instead of wallowing in them.
Abigail Roux
My favorite types of books are adventure/mysteries that have a historical element. Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series introduced me to that kind of entertainment in high school, and I've loved them ever since.
I don't read m/m books and I never have, in order to protect myself from unconsciously copying plots, themes, or styles of other writers in the genre. I've always been sort of a sponge, especially when it comes to narrative style, and if I'm reading while I'm also writing I will sometimes notice myself mimicking the style of the books I'm reading. It was especially obvious during one of my re-reads of the Amelia Peabody series. I realized that my characters suddenly spoke as if they were Victorian era adventurers, and I had to halt everything and walk away because I felt ridiculous.
It would be especially harmful if I were to accidentally copy the voice of someone writing m/m books alongside me, and so I make sure that will never happen. It's the reason you'll not see me talking about my peers or giving books recs.
I don't read m/m books and I never have, in order to protect myself from unconsciously copying plots, themes, or styles of other writers in the genre. I've always been sort of a sponge, especially when it comes to narrative style, and if I'm reading while I'm also writing I will sometimes notice myself mimicking the style of the books I'm reading. It was especially obvious during one of my re-reads of the Amelia Peabody series. I realized that my characters suddenly spoke as if they were Victorian era adventurers, and I had to halt everything and walk away because I felt ridiculous.
It would be especially harmful if I were to accidentally copy the voice of someone writing m/m books alongside me, and so I make sure that will never happen. It's the reason you'll not see me talking about my peers or giving books recs.
Abigail Roux
My interest and knowledge of weaponry comes mostly from my father. He taught me how to love history and everything about it, and anyone who knows history knows that weaponry isn't too far behind!
I've always been a huge fan of competence. It's not so much about a gun or a knife or knowing how to throw a punch, it's far more complex than that. It's about being competent. It's about the type of people who can, with anything within reach, defend themselves in any situation, who can think themselves out of trouble just as easily as they can fight their way through it.
Other than just loving the grace and simplicity of that type of competence, I just really like things that go boom.
I've always been a huge fan of competence. It's not so much about a gun or a knife or knowing how to throw a punch, it's far more complex than that. It's about being competent. It's about the type of people who can, with anything within reach, defend themselves in any situation, who can think themselves out of trouble just as easily as they can fight their way through it.
Other than just loving the grace and simplicity of that type of competence, I just really like things that go boom.
Abigail Roux
Thank you!
My absolute favorite book couple of all time is Amelia Peabody and Emerson, from the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I adore everything about those books, including their relationship. They got me through some very tough times, and it's the only series I've ever read multiple times.
My absolute favorite book couple of all time is Amelia Peabody and Emerson, from the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I adore everything about those books, including their relationship. They got me through some very tough times, and it's the only series I've ever read multiple times.
Abigail Roux
Well, probably not. Ty and Zane have gotten their on-page wedding ceremony, and the follow-up is one of those things that's probably best for me to leave to the imagination of each reader. If I do decide to send the boys back to Texas for a massive wedding one day, we all know I'll just set a tiger or two loose in a church and we won't get to see the ceremony anyway.
As for Nick and Kelly, they've got a ways to go before they can say their vows.
As for Nick and Kelly, they've got a ways to go before they can say their vows.
Abigail Roux
Absolutely not. In Zane's world, any scenario where he is drinking, with Sidewinder or otherwise, is a scenario in which an illness has overtaken him.
The world of fanfiction and AUs is the only place Zane taking a happy drink can exist, and those are not my worlds to play in.
The world of fanfiction and AUs is the only place Zane taking a happy drink can exist, and those are not my worlds to play in.
Abigail Roux
I absolutely do still plan to re-write, re-edit, and re-release the Cut & Run series books, along with every other book I get my rights back to from Dreamspinner in the next few years.
As for what I intend to do to them, they will most certainly receive a proper Riptide edit. The POV shifts in the first book will be resolved, and I think we can all agree that's both necessary and a serious challenge. So the first book will look quite different.
I do not intend to change the bones of the stories, which is something I know people have expressed worry over happening. But I do plan to smooth the wrinkles that can happen over 9 books - especially when the first 5 books were edited....loosely, whether I originally wrote them or not - and I intend to add new material for anyone who buys the new versions. I want the re-read to be entertaining and surprising even if you've read the original a dozen times before.
One thing that I'm so excited for is a special hardcover release Riptide has planned, and the only thing holding it up is how fast I can get through the rewrites! A full box set of hardcover novels, completely rewritten and edited, with new artwork and IT'S GOING TO BE AMAZING.
Those will be out long before the rights to the ebooks/paperbacks will revert to me, so if you've been waiting to buy hard copies of the series, that's the release I'd aim for!
As for what I intend to do to them, they will most certainly receive a proper Riptide edit. The POV shifts in the first book will be resolved, and I think we can all agree that's both necessary and a serious challenge. So the first book will look quite different.
I do not intend to change the bones of the stories, which is something I know people have expressed worry over happening. But I do plan to smooth the wrinkles that can happen over 9 books - especially when the first 5 books were edited....loosely, whether I originally wrote them or not - and I intend to add new material for anyone who buys the new versions. I want the re-read to be entertaining and surprising even if you've read the original a dozen times before.
One thing that I'm so excited for is a special hardcover release Riptide has planned, and the only thing holding it up is how fast I can get through the rewrites! A full box set of hardcover novels, completely rewritten and edited, with new artwork and IT'S GOING TO BE AMAZING.
Those will be out long before the rights to the ebooks/paperbacks will revert to me, so if you've been waiting to buy hard copies of the series, that's the release I'd aim for!
Abigail Roux
It is highly unlikely that Chester Grady knew any of the characters from A Cruel Thing. While A Cruel Thing told the (sort of fictional) tale of the defenders of Wake Island (who were very real and part of the 1st Defense Battalion), and Chester did fight in the Pacific Theater of WWII, there were hundreds of thousands of Marines stationed there throughout the war, and they mostly comprised two different types of troops; defense battalions and mobile Marine forces. Defense battalions, like the one on Wake Island in A Cruel Thing, were stationed on key outposts and remained there to defend them. Once placed in a defensive position, they didn't get around much, to say the least. Chester was part of a mobile unit that participated in several campaigns to take locations held by the Japanese, and therefore wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet the defenders of Wake Island.
As for Ty and Zane's secret; Chester has sharp ears, sharp eyes, and a sharp mind, and like a lot of elderly family members, he has a knack for being invisible when it serves him.
As for Ty and Zane's secret; Chester has sharp ears, sharp eyes, and a sharp mind, and like a lot of elderly family members, he has a knack for being invisible when it serves him.
Abigail Roux
There was actually a sequel to Caught Running that was started years ago. I lost it in the great laptop explosion of 2011, and coupled with the 'retirement' of my co-writer and my exodus from Dreamspinner, I lost all motivation to start the sequel over again and deal with all the legalities of asking DSP to refuse the sequel so I could take it to Riptide, like I did with the Cut & Run Series books. (This is also the reason I can't do any shorts with those characters, because of rights entanglements and . . . crap, really.)
Having said that, when I get the rights back to Caught Running in 2018, I intend to rewrite it so it's more polished and actually reads like a book that got a real edit. And after doing that, a sequel would be very likely and probably super fun to write! I've still got all my notes, and those characters definitely had miles and miles of story left to tell.
Having said that, when I get the rights back to Caught Running in 2018, I intend to rewrite it so it's more polished and actually reads like a book that got a real edit. And after doing that, a sequel would be very likely and probably super fun to write! I've still got all my notes, and those characters definitely had miles and miles of story left to tell.
Abigail Roux
You know, I have no clue. When the rights revert in 2018/19, all of the rights revert, meaning Dreamspinner will no longer have the right to make or sell the audiobooks either. I think the main factor would be whether or not Audible thinks redoing the audio would be profitable, and considering they will have been out for over 7 years at that point, I'm not really sure Audible would be able to justify the expense.
Abigail Roux
Nope. At one time I had a tentative schedule for deadlines, releases, and re-releases. But then I had emergency spine surgery and spent the next few months in recovery both physically and mentally, and all my calendars went up in smoke.
I've discovered that planning so in depth and precise is not conducive to my creativity, and so I never started again after that. Now, I announce a new book as soon as I have dates and enough information to make it interesting for readers, and I try not to make promises anymore that I might have to break if another health crisis pops up.
I've discovered that planning so in depth and precise is not conducive to my creativity, and so I never started again after that. Now, I announce a new book as soon as I have dates and enough information to make it interesting for readers, and I try not to make promises anymore that I might have to break if another health crisis pops up.
Abigail Roux
I adored them too, and I'm so glad you did! It's never outside the realm of possibility to see characters again, because all of my books exist in the same universe. It may be something big, like Julian and Cameron traipsing across a Cut & Run or Sidewinder book. And it may be something small, like finding Tudor, the tattoo artist who made Ty and Zane's rings permanent, trapped in a blizzard with his cranky neighbor.
So, while I don't have plans right now for another story featuring Ash and Wyatt, they're in the Rouxverse right now, waiting to bail from any bar with suspected paranormal activity they may stumble over!
So, while I don't have plans right now for another story featuring Ash and Wyatt, they're in the Rouxverse right now, waiting to bail from any bar with suspected paranormal activity they may stumble over!
Abigail Roux
The Ace Spectrum is a spectrum because there are so many points on it. I'm still kind of trying to figure out where on that spectrum I land, but I think it's closer to the demisexual end of it. As far as it affecting my writing, or the genre I choose to write in, I don't really think it does. Writers draw on all sorts of experiences, emotions, moments, and intuition about life and living. There are so many things that I've never experienced that I like to think I'm able to write about with accuracy and genuine emotion, that something as simple as sexual attraction is incredibly easy for me to draw on past experience in order to include in my writing.
Abigail Roux
I could probably name something about each one that gives me a reason to name it my favorite. My first instinct whenever I'm asked that, though, is Touch & Geaux. I loved the feel of that book, with New Orleans being part of that cast of characters, and the emotions running the gamut. It was a fun book to write, and it was a fun book to watch people read. I think it's always going to have a little bit of an edge when it comes to naming a favorite.
Abigail Roux
Ha! Other than the Sidewinder Series, I don't have current plans for any series. A series plan has to start with characters that are able and willing to carry multiple stories, and the stories themselves have to be the type the characters can't wiggle themselves out of. And those elements are pretty rare. The Gravedigger's Brawl, for example. I would love to revisit those characters because I really did enjoy them, but every single person in that book, if they were faced with another even remotely paranormal situation, they would peace out of that book so hard it would wind up the length of a pamphlet.
I'm always on the lookout for the perfect storm of characters and story to lead into another series, though, because I do love them.
I'm always on the lookout for the perfect storm of characters and story to lead into another series, though, because I do love them.
Abigail Roux
Actually, yes! The one I'm writing right now, Beeswax, two of the main guys are both 39 when the story starts.
Characters who have lived through most of their 30's and into their 40's and 50's have so much backstory to give a reader! I'm certainly not saying that a 23 year old character can't be interesting or layered or varied, because they most certainly can. Hell, a 6 year old can give a reader an amazing backstory. And there are certain stories that require certain ages. A baseball player, for instance, is going to be between 18 and 35 years old. Younger or older and you're stretching the limits of credulity. A doctor or veterinarian? After 8 years of medical school, a newly minted MD or DVM is going to be starting out in their early 30's.
And then there are some stories where age just doesn't matter, and for whatever reason I tend to gravitate toward men who are older for those roles. Even if I'm picking random actors for facecasts and inspiration, they will almost always be over 40 when I Google to find out how old they are. I guess it's just something about how interesting a face can be, when it's got years and years of a story to tell.
Characters who have lived through most of their 30's and into their 40's and 50's have so much backstory to give a reader! I'm certainly not saying that a 23 year old character can't be interesting or layered or varied, because they most certainly can. Hell, a 6 year old can give a reader an amazing backstory. And there are certain stories that require certain ages. A baseball player, for instance, is going to be between 18 and 35 years old. Younger or older and you're stretching the limits of credulity. A doctor or veterinarian? After 8 years of medical school, a newly minted MD or DVM is going to be starting out in their early 30's.
And then there are some stories where age just doesn't matter, and for whatever reason I tend to gravitate toward men who are older for those roles. Even if I'm picking random actors for facecasts and inspiration, they will almost always be over 40 when I Google to find out how old they are. I guess it's just something about how interesting a face can be, when it's got years and years of a story to tell.
Abigail Roux
Well, I only have about 16,500 words written of Tried & True, and that's only because I wrote those scenes in fits of creativity during the middle of the night. It's next up on the WIP docket, but I'm still working on my current novel and it'll be a few weeks before I even get started on T&T.
Riptide never schedules or announces a release date before the manuscript is done, so word on when Tried & True will be released is probably months down the line. As soon as I know anything, I'll announce it pretty much everywhere I announced things, though!
Riptide never schedules or announces a release date before the manuscript is done, so word on when Tried & True will be released is probably months down the line. As soon as I know anything, I'll announce it pretty much everywhere I announced things, though!
Abigail Roux
I'm so glad you enjoyed Cross & Crown! I'm partial to historical mystery/adventure type books myself, so that one was fun to write. Nick and Kelly will definitely have more adventures together in the Sidewinder Series. They've got tons of sources for fun and mayhem, including all kinds of things from the Marines and the Navy and Recon in their pasts, Kelly's camp for underprivileged kids, Nick's former work as a Detective, their commitment to Emma Grady's group to go adventuring and hunting for treasures and myths and cryptids, the Irish mob! The list goes on and on with the kinds of things they could get themselves into, and that's just Nick and Kelly. The rest of Sidewinder will feature in the series too!
All that's not to mention the fact that any single member of Sidewinder could be sitting at home on the couch and get into trouble without lifting a finger. They should be fun to visit for a long while to come.
All that's not to mention the fact that any single member of Sidewinder could be sitting at home on the couch and get into trouble without lifting a finger. They should be fun to visit for a long while to come.
Abigail Roux
Thank you for reading!
I try to write from start to finish. That's when I'm most productive, when everything is clicking. On the occasions when I do step out of line and start writing scenes out of order, it's a pretty good indication that I'm struggling and losing focus.
There are exceptions, of course, like if I have an idea for a scene and wake up in the middle of the night so excited about it that I have to et up right then and write it out.
But if I can write a book from opening scene to the end in order I'm happy. I almost always go back and switch things up, find better order for certain scenes, do some smoothing over with edits. If I'm looking at 15 different documents with all these different pieces of scenes that need to be tied together, I'm liable to go bang my head against a wall for an hour because that's not what I'd intended to end up with!
I try to write from start to finish. That's when I'm most productive, when everything is clicking. On the occasions when I do step out of line and start writing scenes out of order, it's a pretty good indication that I'm struggling and losing focus.
There are exceptions, of course, like if I have an idea for a scene and wake up in the middle of the night so excited about it that I have to et up right then and write it out.
But if I can write a book from opening scene to the end in order I'm happy. I almost always go back and switch things up, find better order for certain scenes, do some smoothing over with edits. If I'm looking at 15 different documents with all these different pieces of scenes that need to be tied together, I'm liable to go bang my head against a wall for an hour because that's not what I'd intended to end up with!
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