Ask the Author: R.R.S.
Answered Questions (8)
R.R.S.
I intend to finally read Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, pick up Malinda Lo's newest book, and finish Ken Liu's Paper Menagerie short story collection.
R.R.S.
Hmm...I think just that I loved READING books so much that I decided it would just be incredible if I could one day be on a library shelf too and have the stories in my head be able to come out and be there for anybody to wants to know them! I'm in love with flipping through pages and feeling the smooth covers and realizing how magical it is that stories can come so alive in your mind just from reading words on paper. I wanted to become a part of the magic :3
R.R.S.
Piercing Midnight was ultimately inspired by the conflicts between North and South Korea. It is so intriguing to me that a nation once united could split into two completely different people and cultures and end up arch enemies. It's like something out of a dark fairytale. Because then I learned how, because of the conditions in the North, the North Koreans have evolved differently in height and body structure and skin tone. The two sides have been apart for so long that they are nearly different races. They each are their own culture with their own values and ideas and welfare and yet the most remarkable thing is that they speak the same language. They are still united under that, despite all that has separated them they cannot escape the past and the reminder that they are still ultimately one people. In terms of Raine's world, Fluxaria would be South Korea and Thgindim would be North Korea. I drew inspiration from accounts I read by North Koreans for what everyday life in Thgindim would be like and researched North Korean and Chinese propaganda, but other than that let my own imagination develop the mysterious mountains into their own individual nations. I thought I could add some mystery to the series as well by imposing a spiritual presence. In Piercing Midnight, the reader learns that Raine and Destan and even Irene are all under the impression that spirits separated the feuding people form each other, placing Mythland between them. And yet there is a somewhat significant lack of mystical presence in the book. And so it raises the question if the people have chosen to believe this rather than investigate whether or not they were once one mountain or if a long term battle caused the distance between them. There's also the chilling fact that no other foreign presence is mentioned in Piercing Midnight. Is it just Thgindim and Fluxaria? where's the rest of the world? Is there a rest of the world? Why is it only those two? I'll let you chew on that for now in terms of the world where everything is situated. For character inspiration I remember being in a ballet rehearsal and during a break doodling a blue haired girl and placing her within this world and figuring out everything about her right there and then. I'm not sure about Destan. He kind of just jumped out the woods at me. And for Chantastic, Irene, Velle, and Carmen, they were inspired by my real life friends.
R.R.S.
I go outside and talk to little kids and read about faeries and watch good television and read good books and poetry and just fall in love with different aspects of life.
R.R.S.
I'm doing intense revisions of the sequel to Piercing Midnight. I have the manuscript all written out, but there's a lot to be done until I can send it off to the presses. I'm also working on a poetry and art collaboration with one of my illustrator friends, and I'm having fun writing blurbs of future novels I plan on pursuing. One is a lesbian romance taking place in downtown Baltimore, one is about a corrupt spirit-whorehouse that thrives off of the memories of victims of suicide, and there's a handful of others that I'm toying with.
R.R.S.
Write the book you want to read! And if you're writing and finding yourself getting bored, give the project at least three chances to redeem itself before you give up and start another entirely. Try changing around character genders or social class, the structure of the society, the point of view or tense you're writing from, etc. Read as much as you can and read whatever the heck you want because it helps develop your skills and exposes you to all sorts of styles and ideas.
R.R.S.
A part of me is just crying at this question because it's so awful sometimes. Being a writer means you aren't just responsible for yourself anymore, but you've got these characters and worlds you have to nurture and take care of as well and it's a lot of responsibility because there's a chance the book might not do your vision justice or it totally flops or it does so well you don't know how to handle it. It's amazing having the experience of creating so much from your collection of memories and influences, but it's also terrifying and puts you in such a huge position of power. So I guess the best and worst parts are the same. Being a writer is being a parent; you're the creator and parent of stories and people and worlds. So it's awesome being a mommy to such cool things, but it's also so much stress and you still have to change diapers and do all the heavy lifting that comes along with parenting.
R.R.S.
I just try to get inspired. I watch a show I like that inspires me, take a walk and observe things, just open myself up to all things interesting and novel-worthy. I always have to be excited about what I'm writing, so if the excitement fades I erase, take a walk, and then sit back down to rethink my plan. I also have this pink squid hat that has light up tentacles. If I put it on and stew for a while, I usually overcome writer's block and ideas flow from the squid into my brain.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more