1. Readers may know you best for your Norse Chronicles series, but your newest novel, Touch of Smoke, uses a brand new mythology. What drew you to the change?
My answer to why I chose this new mythology for Touch of Smoke, without giving away spoilers, is the same answer to why I chose Norse mythology for my other series: because I wanted to write about something supernatural, but also something a little less commonly known. Vampires and werewolves and witches seem to feature heavily in the genres in which I write, so I’m always striving to write about something a little less common. The mythological component of Touch of Smoke is something I’ve rarely seen in urban fantasy or paranormal romance, and especially not in a way that tries hard to respect the source material and the beliefs and culture where that mythology originated.
2. Word is you recently did a lot of renos at your house. What’s your favorite new space?
The biggest change we’ve made is converting our screened-in-porch into a fully indoor laundry room and pantry. Before this, our washer and dryer were in our kitchen, taking up a lot of much-needed space. You know you’re fully an adult when having a new laundry room is one of the most exciting things to happen in your life.
We also gutted our living room and my father-in-law, who is a skilled jack of all trades, constructed a huge built-in book shelf on one wall. It has made the space so much more organized and less cluttered. I think Marie Kondo would be proud of us.
3. You co-edited a special edition of the YA short speculative fiction podcast Cast of Wonders. Could you tell us a bit about what that series features?
Artemis Rising is a special project that the Escape Artist family of speculative short-fiction publishers (PodCastle, Escape Pod, Pseudo Pod, Cast of Wonders) began five years ago to specifically highlight women and marginalized genders in genre fiction, a demographic that has been underrepresented until recent years. This showcase helps to address that historical imbalance and correct the impression, which continues to persist in some social circles, that people from marginalized genders cannot write excellent genre fiction. For the month of March, each individual podcast will be publishing and producing five narrated “podcasted” stories written by authors from marginalized genders.
I’ve been a submissions reader for the young adult speculative fiction podcast Cast of Wonders for about a year, so when the senior editors invited junior members of the staff to volunteer to be editors for the special Artemis Rising edition, I jumped at the opportunity. Empowering women’s voices is a passion of mine and I was excited to work on a project for which I have a particular enthusiasm. Working with my co-editor, Amy Brennan, we selected five stories from a specific submission call, and we edited and published them with the Cast of Wonders production team. You can find out about our stories and listen to (or read) them here: http://www.castofwonders.org/
4. Spring is finally in the air! Do you have any plans for the warmer weather?
My family loves being on the water. Our favorite place to go on warm weekends is Kerr Lake, located on the North Carolina/Virginia Border. We have a special spot where we like camping that sits right on the lake and has a wonderful sandy beach. I love to kayak, but I also love to kick back on our boat and read while my guys are fishing. Now that it’s finally starting to get warm, everyone in my house has lake fever. We can’t wait to get out on the water.
5. Last but not least, can your readers look forward to anything else on the horizon?
I don’t write as quickly as I’d like, but I’m always working on something. My next appearance will be in Thrilling Adventure Yarns a mutli-genre pulp fiction anthology from Crazy 8 Press. My contribution, “The Green Lady and the Rogue” is a short historical romance about a highwaywoman and a French blockade runner during the American Revolution. It doesn’t have a speculative element, but there’s still plenty of action, adventure, and a woman who knows how to hold her own in a fight. I’m particularly excited that the anthology is going to include original illustrations for each of the stories—I’ve seen mine and it is SO COOL!
I’m also working on a contemporary young adult novel set in the Appalachian Mountains, specifically in and around Asheville, North Carolina, that includes elements of bluegrass and mountain music and of course a little magic.
And I also have plans for another adult urban fantasy series, but it’s still in its early stages, so I won’t say much about it, but, yes, it has some mythology in it.
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