Christine Pope is a novelist who defies categorization. She's equally at home writing contemporary romance and science fictionized fairy tales. She writes short stories. She blogs. She keeps up with Kindle boards. She is my hero! This year she's been especially prolific and if I didn't like her so much, I'd hate her. If you like well-plotted, character-heavy fiction with a romantic edge, you owe it to yourself to discover Christine's work, if you don't know it already.
Let's
talk about the books.
Your
new book, All Fall Down, is the first
of your "Tales of the Latter Kingdoms." What are the "Latter
Kingdoms" and what is the book about?
The "Latter Kingdoms"
are a group of countries spread across one continent in a fantasy world that's
more Renaissance than medieval in terms of technology, the arts, politics,
fashion, and so forth. Since I plan for the series to be set in a variety of
these kingdoms, I wanted the series title to reflect all of them. All Fall Down is mainly set in a kingdom
named Seldd, a land that's rather backward compared to many of the other
countries on the continent. It's about a young woman named Merys Thranion who
has been trained as a physician, and how she's captured as a slave and brought
to Seldd, at first to heal a nobleman's injured daughter. But she comes up
against a far more difficult situation when the plague appears for the first
time in hundreds of years. And behind her surface struggles is her growing affection
for Lord Shaine, her master. Physicians in her Order are not supposed to form
personal attachments, so poor Merys really has to go through the wringer on
multiple levels in the book.
Did
you originally intend to write a series? Will each story in the series be
stand-alone or will there be "cross-pollination" of plots and
characters? Can you tell us a little bit
about the second book in the series, Dragon
Rose?
You know, I really didn't think
about writing a series. I just started writing several different books set in
this world, and then I sort of realized partway through that they were a
series, although one connected by milieu and not any overarching quest or
storyline. All the books in the series are standalones, although events in some
books may be mentioned in passing in others. For example, the next book in the
series, Dragon Rose, has a brief
comment about the plague that dominates the storyline of All Fall Down. Dragon Rose
takes place about five years later in a neighboring kingdom called Farendon.
It's a very different book, somewhat inspired by the Beauty and the Beast fairy
tale, but with an almost gothic tone.
Your
book Blood Will Tell and your novella
Breath of Life are both set in the
Gaian Consortium world. What do you have planned for other books in that
series?
I have two more books planned
right now, but I'm sure there will be more than that. The first one is called The Gaia Gambit, and it's another
planet-hopping romance/adventure story with an adversaries-to-lovers
relationship at the center of it. That one is planned for a spring release,
depending on what happens with my other books. The next book after that is
called Marooned on Mandala, and it
also has a Zhore hero (the same alien race we first meet in Breath of Life), although the heroine is
very different. She's a Gaian ambassador who gets flung into a world of hurt
when the ship she and the Zhore are on crash-lands on an uninhabited planet. I
actually got the idea after a fan commented that she really wanted to see another
book with a Zhore hero. Your wish is my command!
See my comments on Dragon Rose. I really don't have any
plans to do more science fiction fairy tales, although I am going to do some
set in the "Latter Kingdoms" world. I have some ideas jotted down for
a Red Riding Hood–inspired book called The
Wolf of Harrow Hall.
You've
published a couple of books this year. Anything else coming out this year?
What's in the queue for next year?
Dragon
Rose is slated
for release in December. It's finished and has gone through its first edit, and
I'll be sending it out to beta readers in October. For 2013 I'm planning on releasing
The Gaia Gambit, the next Gaian
Consortium book; Desert Hearts, a
sequel to my paranormal UFO romance Bad
Vibrations and the second book in the Sedona trilogy; Binding Spell, another "Latter Kingdoms" book; and
possibly Marooned on Mandala and (I
hope) Angel Fire, which will complete
the Sedona trilogy. In addition to all that, I'll start getting the rights back
to my small press–published books in 2013, so I'll be editing and updating them
as needed and then releasing them with new covers.
Let's
talk about process:
You
always have such gorgeous covers. I especially like the cover for All Fall Down. How did you find the
artist and what was it like working with her?
Well, my day job is as a graphic
designer and editor, so I do my own covers (and those of many other people). I
actually found Nadica, the artist for All
Fall Down (and Dragon Rose)
through one of my clients. I commented on how beautiful the original art was,
and the client gave me Nadica's contact information. She is a wonderful artist and
an absolute dream to work with, very open to suggestions. I plan to use her for
all the "Latter Kingdoms" covers.
What
comes first for you--the idea or the character?
That's a tough one. I'd say the
idea, though, and then the characters come to life around it. However, since
they appear pretty early on, it's an organic process from there on out. My
stories are fairly character-driven.
How
much do you outline? Do you write in a linear fashion or do you skip around,
leaving a troublesome scene until later?
I don't outline at all. I'm an
inveterate "pantser." Sometimes I'll scribble some quick notes for
upcoming scenes, but that's about it. And I write in a linear fashion. Because
character is so important to me, and I need to feel how a character grows throughout
the course of the story, I need to take the journey with her, which means I
don't skip around. I do skip names of secondary characters, though -- if I'm
writing in a rush and don't want to stop to think something up, I just put in
an initial, knowing I'll fix it in the second draft.
Do
you ever get writer's block?
Sometimes. But that's why I have
so many projects going at once. I can skip to a different one if a particular
scene or plot point is giving me trouble. I also like making covers or working
on my website. If I'm feeling really stuck, having those other creative outlets
gives me a chance to work on something that's related without forcing myself
through the block. And I always eventually get past it.
Cassandra
Clare and E.L. James have made fanfic respectable these days. I know you used
to write fan fiction set in various universes. Do you think writing fan fiction
is a good way for a writer to gain experience? Did you find the community
nurturing or competitive?
Fanfic was great for me because
I'd hit a place in my life where I wasn't writing anything. It was awful. I
discovered fanfic and just took off. I wouldn't say I was hugely involved in
any of the fanfic communities, and my stories never had the huge followings
that some of the other ones did, mostly because I either wrote about niche
characters or used my own original characters in established settings. It was
very helpful, though, because you get immediate feedback every time you write a
chapter, and you get a feel for the sorts of things people react to.
You
once wrote a hilarious serial story based on the song "Welcome to
Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulter. Are you often inspired by
songs or music?
Well, my first piece of fanfic
was actually my book No Return, which
was inspired by Phantom of the Opera and which I heavily edited and then
actually published. I also have another Phantom project partway done, a sequel
to the original book by Gaston Leroux, but I'm not sure when I'm going to
squeeze that one in. Otherwise, I do use music during my writing process -- I
have playlists I make up for each of my books and listen to them as I'm
writing. It's almost all soundtracks. I've found they work best for me,
especially music from movies I've either never seen or only seen once. That
way, I don't get images from the film in my head as I'm trying to write.
Do
you participate in NaNoWriMo? Have any of your novels emerged from a project
you completed during the writing challenge?
I've been doing NaNo for years
(seven? eight?). All Fall Down was a
NaNo project, and so was my paranormal romance, Sympathy for the Devil. The
Gaia Gambit started as a NaNo book, but I didn't "win" that year
because I was in Sedona for a week that November and just fell way behind.
Do
you write every day? Do you have a
specific word count you'd like to hit?
I try to write every day, but
it's probably more like five days each week. My daily goal is 1,500. I shoot
for 2K if I'm in the groove, and I try to get at least 1K. This keeps my output
pretty high.
Your
first books were published by indie presses but you've since begun publishing
under your own imprint. How's that working out for you?
It's working out great. For
whatever reason, my indie-published books sell far better than the ones put out
by the small press, and of course I get to keep far more of the royalties from
my indie books. Also, self-publishing allows me complete creative freedom. I'm
not sure I could have gotten my former publisher to release some of my titles
because they wouldn't have fit in with their brand.
When
marketing your books, what do you think is the most effective tool? Social media? Blogging? Posting on Kindle
Boards?
I seriously have no idea. I don't
do a lot of marketing, and I'm pretty low-profile when it comes to social
media. I have my various accounts, but I'm not super-active. I really think my
best marketing strategy is just writing more books. The more of them that are
out there, the more discoverable I am.
Let's
get personal.
Your
books feature such beautiful descriptions of clothing. (I loved the peacock
gown worn by Lavinia in your gaslight/steampunk romance Hearts of Gold.) Are you a closet clothes designer?
I don't know about clothes designer,
but I do love clothes. My wardrobe is probably overkill for someone who works
at home! And I have a background in historical costume stretching all the way
back to high school, when I was in the Society for Creative Anachronism. I've
also won awards for my costuming at local science fiction and fantasy
conventions. So I guess that love of costume comes out in my books.
You
write in a lot of different genres--romance, contemporary romance, science
fiction, fantasy--do you have any favorite authors in those genres?
Oh, this one is hard to pin down.
In fantasy, I've really enjoyed George R.R. Martin's "Ice and Fire"
series, but the last few books turned me off a little because he was killing
off everybody that I cared about! I adore Barbara Hambly's books. She's one of
my go-to comfort reads. I'm also a huge Mary Stewart fan, although it saddens
me that none of her romantic suspense titles seem to have been digitized yet.
For contemporary romance, you can't beat Jennifer Crusie. I haven't kept up with
my SF reading as much lately, but I really like Neal Stephenson's and Vernor
Vinge's work, although for widely varying reasons.
Are
there any romantic movies you've enjoyed lately?
It's hard for me to catch many
romantic movies, since my husband is much more an action, shoot-'em-up kind of
person when it comes to movie-watching (and actually, so am I, come to think of
it). But I'm addicted to Downton Abbey!
Are
you a romantic in real life?
I'd like to think so. I know I do
believe in happy endings -- I had the hugest crush on my husband all through
junior high and high school, but he never really knew about it. We reconnected
years later and have now been together for almost fourteen years. So you can
get your happily ever after if you're willing to be patient!
Check out Christine's author page
Follow Christine on Twitter @ChristineJPope
A true multi-talent. top interview.
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