Ask the Author: Jennifer Quail
Answered Questions (7)
Jennifer Quail
Thanks for the question! I don't really talk TO my characters as myself-we don't exist in the same worlds and it would be a very strange conversation. But I have one or two where I am more likely to take their role in my head and have conversations with other characters. They may or may not end up the book verbatim or at all, but they always say something interesting to me about the characters, whether it's discussing a movie (Alan and Elaine from "Strange Roads" would have a very interesting time watching "Star Wars" together) or talking out a plot point between characters who don't interact during the book. When I say I write about the people who live in my head, I'm only half kidding!
Jennifer Quail
If I could transfer thoughts as I walk outside (walking the dogs, just taking a long stroll through the country around here, walking on the beach, anything) I'd get work done so much faster. I do my best thinking while moving.
Jennifer Quail
I have two major projects I'm working on at the moment. The first is a novella expanding on the universe seen in the short story "Number Nine Penwiper Mews", a gaslamp mystery called "Night Train to Cherbourg", featuring vampire gentleman detective Joszef Kiraly. The second project is off course "book three", titled "A Hot And Copper Sky." There are a few other projects ticking along, most notably a horse-racing themed work and a short story set in the Omens universe which will put the spotlight squarely on the three undead characters: "Knight, Death, and the Devil."
Jennifer Quail
You're not as good as you think you are. The worst thing about the new indie market is people can throw things up as 'published' that really aren't ready for it. I'm so glad it didn't exist when I created the first iteration, or even the second or third, of my characters, because I'd have been locked into a version of the story that wasn't the best it could be. Sure, I could rewrite, but it's hard to go backwards. Even knowing almost no one has read it, I have a hard time working around a short story featuring the character who became Joszef Kiraly that was published in 2001 as that's no longer the version of the character I'm working with. It's not just about writing something, it's about really writing it well. Sometimes that means going back and admitting what you wrote isn't great and maybe it needs to be changed, a lot. (No, you can't see the earlier versions. Even if I had a version that was easily readable on current OSs, I wouldn't post it.)
Jennifer Quail
Having someone enjoy your book. That's the best feeling, up there with acting and having someone tell you your performance 'gave them chills.' It's knowing you got that reaction.
Jennifer Quail
I'm a 'picker.' I will poke and write a line or two, even when I'm not especially inspired. And if it go on a tear, unless I'm genuinely in a situation where I *have* to stop (I'm on the train and we're at my station and I have to get up and move) I will keep writing. I don't find forcing myself to be hugely productive, as I often have to go back and rework or throw out what I've done while feeling blocked or rather uninspired, but the important thing is tog get even just ten more words on the page to maintain forward momentum.
Jennifer Quail
Since it was a sequel, it grew out of my first book, 'Strange Roads.' I find immediate sequels harder than new ideas or stories set farther into a series because you've generally left the characters at the end of an exciting time in the first book, and it's too soon for longer-term plans to come into play. I wanted a smaller, quieter story with a chance to introduce a new character and time for my protagonists both to think about what's happened to them and in one case to start to accept this new role in her life. I had visited the National Building Museum and definitely wanted to use both its amazing architecture and some of the ghost stories surrounding it as the basis for a novel, and book two, which became "The Demon That Is Dreaming", was a good opportunity. It's a large-scale 'locked room' mystery and the setting gave me a lot of ideas for the plot. It lead to some unexpected developments (in "Strange Roads", it's Elaine who really goes on a 'hero's journey', including a near-literal descent into the underworld and a meeting with her predecessor, in "Demon" it's Alan who steps outside his world and really faces the supernatural head-on) and it also provided some lighter moments as well-I had not planned one particular scene that happens early on, but it set up a chemistry between characters I hadn't really expected but which paid off nicely at the end. So a half-thought-out 'research visit' really prompted what turned out to be the entire A plot of the book.
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