Please Welcome Author...Aislinn Kerry

Thank you for taking the time to interview with us. Aislinn’s newest release is All that Glitters, which came out in April 2008.

http://www.aislinnkerry.com

http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/aislinn-kerry

http://loose-id.com/searchresult.aspx?CategoryID=412

http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/230/102/

1. When/how did you know you wanted to write?

AISLINN: The real defining moment came to me suddenly in eighth grade. I had just finished reading The Sleeping Dragon, by Joel Rosenberg, and I said to myself, "I'm going to write a book like that!" And I did (except that it wasn't at all like that!). For a long time, I thought it was strange how abruptly the urge to write had come to me, like turning a switch. It wasn't until years later that I realized that I'd always enjoyed writing when I had the opportunity to do so in school. My mom still has a story that I wrote in kindergarten about a turtle!

2. How long did it take you to become published?

AISLINN: About eight years. But bear in mind -- I was thirteen when I started! I think part of the reason it took so long is that, when you start that young, it's not just your writing skills that need developing, but also the complexity of your ideas. And there's no way to gain that except through time and experience. The novels that I wrote when I was a young teen were an awful lot of fun, but quite terrible, for all that I thought they were brilliant at the time. I look at what I wrote then, and what I'm writing now, and there's no way I could have even conceived of a plot like this when I was thirteen, much less written it.

I've got no complaints about the way I went about it, though. Being able to write in the margins of my notebook saved my sanity in many a high school class. And while it did take me many years to achieve publication, the flip side of that is that I have three books published, and I'm younger than many writers are when they first start writing at all.

3. Who are some of your favorite authors?

AISLINN: Jacqueline Carey. I just love the richness of her world and the complexity of her plots. C.E. Murphy writes an urban fantasy heroine who kicks butt without being a stereotype, and I adore her Negotiator trilogy. Emma Bull absolutely blew me away with War for the Oaks. She makes me want to learn how to play guitar, just so I can experience what Eddi does when she plays.

4. How long does it usually take for you to research a book?

AISLINN: I write fantasy (both contemporary and secondary world), so my books don't require as much research as, say, historical romance. Usually I weave my researching in with my writing, digging up information as I discover that I need it. The book I'm currently working on, though, is a bit of a departure for me. Its based on biblical mythology and the Book of Enoch, so I spent several weeks researching information in those areas before I felt my premise had developed to something rich and complex enough to begin working on. I can't see spending much more time than that on it, though. I'm a total magpie when it comes to writing. A shiny idea will catch my interest, and I just want to run with it as fast and as far as I can before my inspiration runs out.

5. How long does it take for you to write books?

AISLINN: It depends on the length of the book and how hard the muse has gripped me, but I'm generally a quick writer. All that Glitters is a novella that took me about a month to write. On the other hand, my current project, tentatively titled Egregore, is probably going to end up at about 120,000 words, and I'm looking at about three months for that.

6. Do you see yourself writing in the same genre in 10 years? If not then what?

AISLINN: I can't see myself not writing fantasy, or romance. Ever. Even when I try not to write those genres, they slip in! I finally thought I might have found a romance-free project with Egregore, but nope -- romance snuck in on that one, too.

7. Where do your story ideas come from? Do you use people you know as characters sometimes or even sometimes a certain event from real life happenings?

AISLINN: I've only once intentionally based a character off of a real person in my life, when I modeled a heroine's mom off of my own. Sad to say, my characters' lives are usually much more exciting than mine.

I get a lot of my inspiration from mythology. In All that Glitters, the antagonist is a monster from Welsh folklore. Psyche is a modern-day retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros. Egregore is inspired heavily by myths about fallen angels. I just love the idea of taking something old and familiar and making it new and different.

8. What is your favorite part of writing?

AISLINN: My absolute favorite part of writing is when my characters step up to the mike and surprise me. I do a lot of plotting and outlining before I start writing, but I love it when my characters take the story into their own hands and start directing me, instead of the other way around. Some of my favorite scenes are the ones that my characters came up with all on their own.

9. Do you write your stories out with pencil and paper first or do you work straight on the computer?

AISLINN: Up until the past two months, I did virtually all of my writing directly onto the computer, and only wrote longhand when I didn't have access to my laptop. 90% of Egregore has been written longhand, though, during my lunch breaks at work. It's definitely been quite a change for me.

10. You just recently were published. How does it make you feel?

AISLINN: It's surreal and amazing. For so many years, the only people who have read my books have been family and friends. The idea that there are complete strangers out there reading and enjoying the stories that have come out of my head is just awe-inspiring.

11. How do you feel about fans doing fan fiction and/or roleplaying on the web based on your or other author's works?

AISLINN: It would probably make my entire week! There have been a handful of books and TV shows that have inspired me so much that I've wanted to write fan fiction based on them, and as far as I'm concerned, if anyone is similarly inspired by my work, they're more than welcome to.

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Disclaimer (because we don't have a choice): The views expressed by the guest blogger do not necessarily reflect those of The Deadly Vixens.