Ask the Author: Valerie Davisson
Answered Questions (6)
Valerie Davisson
Although I currently live in Southern California, I am from the Bay Area, where sea otters frolic in the ocean in and around boat docks and beaches. When I wrote SHATTERED: Logan Book 1, I included my favorite marine mammal in Logan McKenna's home town. I even named the local arts festival the Otter Festival.
I assumed sea otters were here, just lower in number due to over-hunting years ago. I assumed they lived somewhere vaguely off the coast here in kelp beds. The seals on the rocks just morphed into sea otters in my mind. I figured they were out there somewhere.
I was talking to a surfer friend of mine, and he told me he'd never seen a sea otter. They didn't come this far south anymore. Yikes!
So....I did a little (let's face it...a LOT) more research, and learned that these little guys have been missing, but are being spotted more often in Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach. People who know I'm looking into this send me pictures every time they spot one - I get all excited!
All of this set off a spark - it just felt natural to have one of the characters from SHATTERED get involved with helping to bring them back. Not everyone is in love with sea otters, though - money, greed, and ignorance all come out to play in Book 3....!
I assumed sea otters were here, just lower in number due to over-hunting years ago. I assumed they lived somewhere vaguely off the coast here in kelp beds. The seals on the rocks just morphed into sea otters in my mind. I figured they were out there somewhere.
I was talking to a surfer friend of mine, and he told me he'd never seen a sea otter. They didn't come this far south anymore. Yikes!
So....I did a little (let's face it...a LOT) more research, and learned that these little guys have been missing, but are being spotted more often in Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach. People who know I'm looking into this send me pictures every time they spot one - I get all excited!
All of this set off a spark - it just felt natural to have one of the characters from SHATTERED get involved with helping to bring them back. Not everyone is in love with sea otters, though - money, greed, and ignorance all come out to play in Book 3....!
Valerie Davisson
Being out and about - ideas are always popping up - grocery store, gas station, art galleries, the beach, festivals, restaurants, DMV, Home Depot, Costco, and OMG Walmart!
I like watching the people everyone else is ignoring. The workers, the homeless, the waiter. What are they thinking?
I like watching the people everyone else is ignoring. The workers, the homeless, the waiter. What are they thinking?
Valerie Davisson
2 projects: The 3rd book in the Logan McKenna series, and putting together a children's picture book with a friend of mine who is an awesome illustrator. It is joyful, has some science in it, and will make a great bedtime story read.
For Logan's 3rd adventure, I'm bringing her back to Jasper, CA, her southern California coastal hometown. All I can say is it will involve sea otters, salty dogs, and a pair of unlikely siblings.
For Logan's 3rd adventure, I'm bringing her back to Jasper, CA, her southern California coastal hometown. All I can say is it will involve sea otters, salty dogs, and a pair of unlikely siblings.
Valerie Davisson
Keep writing. Pick up a copy of Stephen King's 'On Writing'. Read widely - outside your favorite genre. Mix it up - YA, science, history, fantasy, mystery, biographies, books that explain quantum physics or gene editing. Read excellent literature - old and new. Go to writers' workshops, take a class. Treat your writing as a business now. Set up a separate business checking account and keep good records. Even if you only make $15 your first year - record that $15! Believe that it will grow.
Valerie Davisson
Creating characters! As a species, we are hilarious! I love taking someone I see at the airport or while on jury duty, then putting them together - turning them into a barista, security guard, or love interest. I'm attracted to people on the fringes of society and eccentrics who go their own way, totally unconcerned with what others think of them.
Valerie Davisson
So far I haven't experienced any significant writer's block. When I am not sure how to begin, I just start writing. I pick a scene that's in my head. I visualize that character, put them in the scene, then see what they do.
I think we get writers block when we worry too much about being perfect - getting it just right the first time. You may write scenes you'll never use in the finished product, but that's OK - it gets you off the block.
I think we get writers block when we worry too much about being perfect - getting it just right the first time. You may write scenes you'll never use in the finished product, but that's OK - it gets you off the block.
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