{"id":382,"date":"2015-04-16T15:58:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T15:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/?p=382"},"modified":"2015-05-03T14:21:12","modified_gmt":"2015-05-03T14:21:12","slug":"fantasy-maven-an-interview-with-jill-marcotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/fantasy-maven-an-interview-with-jill-marcotte\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Maven: An Interview with Jill Marcotte"},"content":{"rendered":"

For this week’s author spotlight, it is my pleasure to introduce the fabulous Jill Marcotte. I recently discovered Jill’s work through the Women in Horror Issue of The Sirens Call<\/a>. I was impressed with her command of language as well as her\u00a0ability to establish a haunting mood in very few words. Naturally, I\u00a0was eager to feature her on my blog.\u00a0Earlier this month, Jill was kind enough to answer my questions about her fiction writing process. Her responses are as revealing as they are enthusiastic.<\/p>\n

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Jill<\/a>I was one of those creepy stair goblin kids who always wanted to be a writer.\u00a0 Of course, I also wanted to be an astronaut, an exotic dancer, a firefighter, an assassin, an Animorph, and a nun, but the writing stuck.\u00a0 Now I get to bypass all the training and working out and trespassing in construction sites looking for downed alien spacecraft, and just write about all those people instead.\u00a0 It\u2019s really the best of all possible worlds.<\/p>\n

That said, I\u2019ve still got a loooong way to go, and what is an aspirant without her idols?\u00a0 I\u2019ve always admired Terry Brooks for his prolificness, and Brandon Sanderson for his ability to blow my mind.\u00a0 Shakespeare, for his sass and dirty jokes.\u00a0 I love the crazy creepy worlds of Neil Gaiman and China Mi\u00e9ville.\u00a0 And I will always hold a special place in my heart for the writers of the classics: Bram Stoker, Henry James, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, and lots of others.\u00a0 This is hard to narrow down!\u00a0 There\u2019s so much to love out there.<\/p>\n

You write in a variety of genres, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, and even children\u2019s books. Do you have a favorite genre, or do you enjoy the flexibility of writing so many different styles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love having a genre for every mood, and when I get my hot little hands on some delicious new concept, there\u2019s no denying that siren song.\u00a0 And I dearly love to twist and tweak tropes from one genre into another.\u00a0 There are very few genres that I haven\u2019t dabbled in at least once, although I definitely have a better feel for some than others.<\/p>\n

Epic fantasy, however, is the ex-husband I keep remarrying.\u00a0 I just can\u2019t keep away from it for long.\u00a0 I might get distracted by a shiny new idea, and I might work on other stuff for weeks, even months, but I always come back.\u00a0 Love me some epic fantasy.<\/p>\n

Since Alaska is your current home, does the often harsh climate there ever impact your story ideas, or have you become so accustomed to the weather that you don\u2019t even think about it anymore?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most definitely it impacts me.\u00a0 In fact, I was just thinking this morning about how I usually write in season—that is, the things I write are very often set in the season I am currently living in.\u00a0 For me, in real life and in my writing, nature is practically a living creature.\u00a0 It moves and breathes and loves and kills.\u00a0 It\u2019s wild and shifting and everywhere.\u00a0 I cannot fathom living in a place wherein it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s summer or winter.\u00a0 Where I live, that can be a temperature swing of a hundred degrees F or more.<\/p>\n

I love Alaska.\u00a0 It is indescribably glorious year round, from the stark, brutal beauty of an endless night to the bright, bursting exuberance of summer, where every growing thing is desperate to get twelve months of life and activity into three months beneath an unsetting sun.\u00a0 The funny thing about Alaska is that it\u2019s too extreme to ever get used to.\u00a0 Summer Alaska and Winter Alaska are two different places, with spring and fall just a hiccup in between.<\/p>\n

As a member of your local NaNoWriMo, what advice do you have for other writers interested in getting involved? Also, what\u2019s the most important thing you\u2019ve learned from the NaNoWriMo experience so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sirens<\/a>My best advice for getting involved, in just about anything, is to dive in and do it!\u00a0 The great thing about NaNo is that there\u2019s something for everyone.\u00a0 Are you a social butterfly delighted to meet other writers?\u00a0 Go to write-ins, show up at planning meetings, check in with your accountability buddies.\u00a0 You\u2019d rather hide in your closet and spend that time writing?\u00a0 That\u2019s fine, too.\u00a0 Just sign up, make your goal, and hit the road running.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re like me and fall somewhere in between, there\u2019s plenty of online engagement available so you can egg on your writing buddies from the safety of your Batman print snuggie.<\/p>\n

NaNoWriMo is, admittedly, kind of stupid.\u00a0 I mean, who blocks off one month to write an entire novel?\u00a0 FOR FUN?\u00a0 Well, I do, and I love stupidity!\u00a0 You know what else I love?\u00a0 Accountability.\u00a0 And creativity.\u00a0 And neat little graphics that show my progress.\u00a0 But I think the most important thing I\u2019ve gleaned from NaNoWriMo so far is that drafting is just that- drafting.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a finished product and it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s utter poop.\u00a0 Keep.\u00a0 Moving.\u00a0 Before NaNo, I spent years editing the same one book.\u00a0 Over and over and over.\u00a0 NaNoWriMo jolted me out of the editing rut, and that has been of incredible value.\u00a0 Now I know how to draft and how to edit, and how to hold the two apart.\u00a0 And even more important, how to move on.<\/p>\n

Out of the stories you’ve written, do you have a personal favorite piece?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have an epic fantasy series that I am absurdly in love with.\u00a0 I daydream about these places and make up grammar rules for their dead languages.\u00a0 I make physical copies of the games they play and have been known to call my children by characters\u2019 names.\u00a0 If I were to suddenly be transported to this world, I would have about twenty minutes to be absolutely elated before something horrible killed me.<\/p>\n

As far as published works go, I believe I am currently proudest of my most recent one, The League of Draven<\/i>, about a girl who learns the hard way to believe in fairies.\u00a0 Check it out in Issue 19 of The Sirens Call eZine.<\/p>\n

What upcoming projects are you working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year, I drafted several new novels, so this year I\u2019m focusing on cleaning them up.\u00a0 I especially look forward to polishing The Sad, Sad Tale of Dead Timmy<\/i>, a supernatural tragicomedy about a prince who dies, and then the real trouble begins.<\/p>\n

Any links you\u2019d like to share?<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t mind if I do!\u00a0 I\u2019m big into literary camaraderie and can attribute a lot of my successes to digital high fives (and butt kicks) from other writers.\u00a0 If you\u2019re just starting out, having writing buds can make a world of difference–as sounding boards, as beta readers, as cheerleaders\/drill sergeants, etc.\u00a0 Here are just a few of the fertile fields of friends:<\/p>\n

NaNoWriMo<\/a>–If you\u2019re still on the fence, consider this a loving shove.
\n Camp NaNoWriMo<\/a>— For those of you who can\u2019t get enough of a good thing.<\/p>\n

Twitter<\/a> — This is hands down the best place I\u2019ve found for surrounding myself with fantastic writers from all walks of life.<\/p>\n

Local writing groups- I\u2019m involved in a couple writing groups, as well as just people I like to informally write with.\u00a0 (Okay, person. HI, MARY!)\u00a0 Join a group in your neighborhood, or start your own!<\/p>\n

And of course, everyone is always welcome to pop over to my blog<\/a> to say hello and read the doofy things I say.\u00a0 I\u2019d love to meet you!<\/p>\n

Major thanks to Jill Marcotte for this fun interview! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Happy reading!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For this week’s author spotlight, it is my pleasure to introduce the fabulous Jill Marcotte. I recently discovered Jill’s work through the Women in Horror Issue of The Sirens Call. I was impressed with her command of language as well as her\u00a0ability to establish a haunting mood in very few words. Naturally, I\u00a0was eager to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-interviews","tag-the-sirens-call"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382\/revisions\/450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}