Author Interview: Samaire Wynne
I recently had a chance to chat with Samaire Wynne, the author of the "Meridian Pack" series, the first volume of which, Awakening Fae: Fated Mates, I reviewed here.
Deborah J. Ross: Tell us a little about yourself. How did you come to be a writer? Samaire Wynne: Well, I have loved books andreading since I was a very young child. Wanting to create stories and bookscame naturally from that.
DJR: What inspired your book?
SW: I love urban fantasy and have read many wolf-shifter books, and Ithought I’d try my hand at that genre. I thought I would be taking a break fromwriting about fae creatures, but they crept into my story anyway!
DJR: What authors have most influenced your writing? What about them do you find inspiring?
SW: Madeleine L’Engle, Walter Farley, SusanCooper, and Neil Gaiman have influenced me the most. They write about utterlyfantastical places and characters, and I loved getting lost in their stories.They taught me how to write.
DJR: Why do you write what you do, and how does your work differfrom others in your genre?
SW: I lovewriting fantasy: It’s my favorite genre. I write about characters that myreaders end up caring deeply about, especially when the characters find afamily of friends. “Found Family” is the theme running through every book I’vewritten. As to how my work differs from others in the Urban Fantasy genre, I amnot sure. There are some really fantastic writers and storytellers out therecreating some amazing books. I hope I stand out to readers. I love world-buildingand character backstories, and I love creating stories. I don’t think I’ll everstop.
DJR: How does your writing process work?
SW: To begin a new book, I always write adetailed outline. A typical 100,000-word book will have an outline at leastfive to seven pages long detailing character quirks, motivations, andbackgrounds, and outlining the entire story from start to finish. I write earlyin the morning. Most of the time, I use the Pomodoro Method and write in 25-minutesprints. I try to see how many words I can write during each session, and Iusually get so involved with the story that I write well into the afternoon.
DJR: What have you written recently? What lies ahead?
SW: I’m currently writing the sequel to AwakeningFae. It’s titled Ruthless Savage and takes the Meridian Pack intoEurope to investigate why they’ve become the target of the reigning WolfCouncil, the governing body that oversees all wolf-shifter packs.
DJR: What’s the strangest or most touching fan mail you’ve everreceived?
SW: I’ve received manywonderful letters, but I cherish the ones that say my stories have inspired theperson to write their own.
DJR: What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
SW: Read as much as you can and as widely aspossible. That’s how you learn. When sitting down to write, push all doubt andworry aside and just get the story down on paper. You can always fix it later,but you must get it down first. I also recommend brainstorming what your storyis about and writing an outline for it. This makes the process much easier andpulls away the mystique that often produces anxiety, which can freeze a writer.
Samaire Wynne is a Puerto Rican author of over 20 novels in variousgenres, including horror and urban fantasy. She is Editor in Chief of BlackRaven Books. She has been writing professionally for over 11 years.
A longtime Californian, you can find her skulking about in southernVirginia. If you were to visit her at twilight, she might serve you flower teaor butter whiskey on her back deck. If she excused herself and strolled intothe forest, you might be tempted to wander after her. Past a stream, you’d seea stone well at the edge of her property, and you might hear voices coming fromdeep inside.
If you were to trip and tumble down the embankment, youmight be stolen away by faeries keen to offer you a cookie or a bit of mead ina flower cup.
And if you were to drink it, you’d awake to find that ahundred years had passed...
