Deborah Wilde's Blog, page 12

#amwriting – a look inside the author process

Launch days make me want to vomit. Yes, I want to share my baby with you all, but I also want to hide it, because it is really terrifying to put my words out in the world like that.

Death & Desire is my 9th Deborah Wilde book, so you’d think it gets easier, but nope. See, Nava was me, and Ash is me, and so with each book, I’m putting more of myself out there on display. It’s like that dream where you’re the only one naked and everyone is staring. Anyone else get that? No? 

That said, at the same time, there is this giddiness to the day, because by the time it comes around, I have been waiting forever to share this story with you. I want to sit in all your rooms with you and ask “What did you just read?” every time you laugh. (Ask my husband. This is a real and, according to him, highly irritating habit of mine.)

So, I spend launch day feeling kind of high and kind of queasy. Also very relieved, because once it’s out there, it’s out there and I just have to keep moving forward.

If you haven’t had a chance to read book 1 yet – Blood & Ash, why not devour it this weekend? 
https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

I have a confession to make. 

When I wrote The Unlikeable Demon Hunter books, I had a solid plan for each one right from the beginning. Each one would feature a demon to be tracked down that would be dealt with in that book. It would represent one of the deadly sins, which in turn was what Nava thematically was dealing with in that book. That was then combined with larger ongoing Brotherhood conflicts.

Obviously some stuff surprised me as I researched each book and found mythological and historical details that took the books in exciting directions that I hadn’t anticipated, but for the most part? Yeah, there was a detailed plan from the start. 

But with The Jezebels Files? *looks around and whispers* There is no plan. 

Okay, that’s not exactly true. I have a big picture overview of what needs to happen on the Jezebel conflict front and I know there needs to be an A-Plot mystery to solve, but the series as a whole is way less planned out from the start than Nava’s stories were.

You know what? It’s been creatively freeing writing from this place of pure instinct and creative drive. For an anal retentive, list loving, outline creating person such as myself, it’s also kind of terrifying but in a “roller coaster about to go over the big drop way” – and I do love roller coasters. 

Ash is uncovering this huge mystery involving her own life, and I’m uncovering it with her. And I love it.

If you haven’t yet read Blood & Ash, then get on that, will you? 

#amwriting – a look inside the author process

After I finished Nava’s story, I decided that my next series would not involve nefarious agendas that grew larger and more global with each book, because dayum, that’s a lot of work.

So yeah, that didn’t go so well. 

#amwriting – a look inside the author process

Addiction. An obvious choice for a snarky urban fantasy series, right?

Initially, the entire Sherlock Holmes element that runs through the Jezebel Files was only going to be a kind of cute homage. Maybe one or two details in the first book. But the more I researched Holmes and re-read some of the stories, the more things resonated with me on a thematic level for this series.

There are the obvious comparisons to how Ash approaches a case, direct quotes that she uses as guideposts, and her love of and insistence on the truth, no matter how hard that may be to hear. (Because it becomes fun when she’s the one having to hear it.)

Addiction was never part of the plan. However, once that idea got into my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and how I could do something interesting with it. For those of you who haven’t read book one yet, it’s not what you think.

Ash has a lot of coping strategies, but addiction prior to the start of this series, has never been one of them. Thus, I wanted to force her into having to deal with one to reveal character. It’s been an interesting journey for her–and like all addictions, this doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There is a very real impact on other characters… but you’ll have to keep reading to find out what.

Dive into Blood & Ash today! https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

I’ve always been fascinated with the seven deadly sins. The virtues are of little interest to me. (Shocker.)

When I began writing this series, I took a page out of the master Joss Whedon’s playbook. He would ask his writers about their most embarrassing moment as a teenager. From there, they would figure out which monster embodied that.

I did the same thing with the seven deadly sins. For each book, I figured out which sin embodied Nava’s emotional growth, then I applied it to a demon.

It was a blast to figure out and write. 

Do you think I pulled it off? 

Grab book one and decide for yourself. https://geni.us/g1BHd

The post #amwriting – a look inside the author process appeared first on Author Deborah Wilde.

#amwriting – a look inside the author process

When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to get out of Vancouver. It may shock you to learn I neither ski nor hike so I dreamed of living in New York and hosting glorious salons with witty people. (Yes, Dorothy Parker fetish much.) When I got the chance to go to Montreal for university, I was elated because it’s such a cosmopolitan city, and when I had to return home, pretty bummed out.

One thing about Vancouver? We never seem to have alien invasions or an influx of vampires or hoards of zombies. That just didn’t seem fair and I set out to change that. Look, there is nothing I could add to the many excellent stories set in NY or New Orleans or really anywhere else in the world. And while I joke that I set my books here because of laziness, I’ll let you in on a little secret.

*lean in*

Vancouver is a pretty great place. So if NY could feature as a character in so many stories, why couldn’t my hometown? And who better to do it justice than a born and bred Vancouverite? 

I love sharing my city with you, warts and all. And I get so excited when readers tell me they are coming to visit and post photos of places from the book. 

Have you been to Vancouver yet? If not, do you have a sense of it from my stories? 

And if you haven’t read the books yet, then dive in today and get a feeling for my little corner of Canada. It may surprise you. https://geni.us/g1BHd

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#amwriting – a look inside the author process

I have always seen my life as a movie. (The quality of extras and craft services varies.) Therefore, the soundtrack of my world is hugely important.

Like many of you, I have wide reaching tastes in music. The great thing about creating a story with a tap dancer and a rock star, was I got to share many of my favorite songs. 

The music in the Nava Katz series spans from Beyoncé to Big Band and everything in between. I had a lot of fun finding the perfect songs for various scenes. It was also an excellent way to procrastinate.

There were the songs that maybe didn’t get mentioned in the books, but which I played on repeat while writing. One example is the Pentatonix version of Papaoutai, which I played for a month straight while writing book two. 

But of all the songs I mentioned, there is one in particular that is near and dear to me: “More” by Bobby Darrin. This song is played by Nava in a pivotal scene in book 6. And while I won’t give spoilers, I will say that I always wanted to use it in the same way. 

Honorable mention has to go to Drio’s rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You.” I confess to singing my heart out to it on a regular basis. 

#amwriting – a look inside the author process

American English is not my first language.

Here in Canada, we learn the British spellings of words. “Doughnut and neighbour” have a “u” in them, theatre and centre are “re”, and “grey” is spelled with an “e.”

However, when I decided to launch my author career, I knew that the US would be my largest market. I’d have to adjust accordingly, even though my stories are set in Canada. It was a challenge to train myself to use the variations in spelling. However, where things really got tricky were the cultural differences. I hadn’t realized there were so many differences.

Americans don’t have (so I’m told): 5 pin bowling, ketchup chips, or mickeys of alcohol. My southern neighbours call a toque a knit cap, and say college for university.

To be fair, either through perversity or laziness, I’ve gotten a lot more relaxed about using Canadianisms, though I still only use US spelling. 

I’m curious if Nava feels especially Canadian or if she just has a generic North Americanness vibe to her?

And if you have yet to read her books, what’s stopping you? Funny, sexy urban fantasy in a complete 6 book series plus a companion novel.

Grab them today! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075V2KDNV

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Happy book birthday to Shadows & Surrender!

I’m torn between great excitement and incredible nausea because it’s launch day. More excitement though.

#amwriting – a look inside the author process

I am a very secular Jew, though I was raised going to an Orthodox synagogue where the men and women were segregated, and where we always fasted on the High Holidays. We lit the candles on Shabbat and made our own menorahs one year for Hanukkah. I was even chapter president of my local Jewish youth group.

I was always proud to be Jewish (and always will be) and I loved the sense of community it brought. However, were things I struggled with as well. One of them was how patriarchal it is. 

When Nava and the Rabbi finally meet, he won’t shake her hand because she might be “unclean.” This happened to me as a child with an older Hassidic Jew, as well as with the Rabbi presiding over my father’s funeral. That dude didn’t even acknowledge me at all. He just spoke to my brother the entire time. 

In exploring more of my religion and its mythology in this series, I worked through a lot of gender politics. Luckily, that too tied into the stories, with Nava being the only female in this all male Brotherhood. 

We’re often told to write what we know, but the many different way that manifests, fascinates me.

Even if you aren’t Jewish, do any of these issues resonant for you?

If you want to find out if Nava came out stronger for all her struggles or misogyny got the best of her, check out The Unlikeable Demon Hunter. https://geni.us/g1BHdhttps://geni.us/g1BHd

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