Interview with Karen Mahoney!
ETA: After the interview, check out the comments section for a "sekrit" message from Karen, AKA kazdreamer!
In her varied career Karen Mahoney has been a professional Tarot reader, a college counsellor, a dating agency consultant and a bookseller. Ever since she was six years old what she really wanted to be was Wonder Woman, but has instead settled for being a writer which she thinks is the most fun you can have without bulletproof bracelets.
Her YA contemporary fantasy, THE IRON WITCH (Book 1 of The Ironbridge Chronicles), is currently on submission in the US. Among other work she has recently completed a companion novel, BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS, which is set in the same world but completely stands alone.
You can visit Karen online at her regularly updated blog or on twitter. She is also a proud member of the Deadline Dames
And now, on to the interview!
KF: Are you a musically-inspired writer or do you need silence? If you write to music, care to share any of your fave writing songs/singers/groups?
KM: At the risk of sounding very boring, I don't usually listen to music when I write. I can't seem to get into my writing and tend to work better in silence. I think I need to be able to 'hear' the characters' voices, and I find it easier to lose myself in the atmosphere of the story if I don't have too much outside disturbance. Having said that, I can work okay in cafes so the general background noises you get there don't seem to bother me too much… (I never said I was consistent! *g*) And of course, there are always exceptions. I remember once writing a particularly violent fight scene when I was sitting in the same room as a friend who was watching the film PAN'S LABYRINTH. There was an intense blast of music from the movie's soundtrack and, although I didn't look up at the screen, for some reason in that moment it helped me get into what I was writing. I think it helped that the fight took place in a nightclub, and in that case the music must've helped!
KF: Is there any writing advice you wish you'd never heard?
KM: Haha… Good question! I don't know if this qualifies as advice, but I'm lucky enough to be friends with my favourite author - Jonathan Carroll. Once, when I was complaining to him in an email about how long the submissions process takes, and how slow things are in publishing right now, he responded with (and I quote): "Get used to it, pal." I wish I hadn't heard that, but at the same time I probably needed to hear it. ;)
KF: Come clean: Out of all your characters, which one is your favorite? No fair saying all of them, but if you'd rather turn it around and say your least favorite, I suppose I'll forgive you.
KM: Well, I am fond of several of my characters, but I think I'll have to say Moth (from my story in The Eternal Kiss). Not just saying that because it's current - I really do have a soft spot for her, ever since she turned up in my head stomping around in her steel toe-capped boots and grinning madly at me. Makes me smile just thinking about it.
KF: You have a short story in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood & Desire, (available now- go buy it!) along with Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Libba Bray, Sarah Rees Brennan and Kelley Armstrong, just to name a few! Can you tell us a little about your story and how it feels to be in such a cool anthology?
KM: I am seriously telling you, I still cannot believe I'm in that anthology! I almost died when the editor - Trisha Telep - told me that Holly Black had agreed to be in it… Holly is one of my favourite writers and, as I expected, her story in the book is AMAZING. My own story is called 'Falling to Ash' and is about an 18-year-old vampire called Moth. She was Turned into a vamp over a decade ago, so she's really a 28-year-old woman stuck in the body of a teenager. I love thinking about all the questions and issues that raises: imagine being trapped as a teenager for eternity… How would you change and grow? Would you develop as a regular human being should do, or would you always be just a little immature? (Moth can be quite immature and impetuous, but at the same time the wisdom of her years shows through when she needs it.) How would it feel to see 'real' teenagers enjoying life, while you just continue on the way you've always been? Imagine how it would affect your family and friends. What would you tell them? Would you tell them? And what if they don't believe you? All these things I've explored with Moth, and packing it into 32 pages wasn't easy!
The thing with Moth is that she actually started out as a supporting character in my YA manuscript THE IRON WITCH, which is currently on submission with my fabulous agent. So she's in that book, but she has such a big personality and so much potential I knew she would grow into her own stories. When I was invited to participate in the anthology I saw this as the ideal opportunity to let Moth have the limelight. And then I loved writing her so much, I have since written the first draft of a novel all about her which I'm now revising. That girl won't leave me alone! :)
KF: You write both YA and Adult. What's the hardest thing about going back and forth between the two, if any? What's your favorite thing about writing YA? What's your favorite thing about writing Adult?
KM: Okay, well this is a tough question for me as I keep trying to write adult stuff, but always end up going back to YA. My favourite thing about YA is the opportunity to delve into a time of life that is so full of possibilities. Emotions run high, and I love to write scenes with lots of emotional resonance (and a good sprinkling of angst!). However, my next project is very definitely an adult book, and I like that it will allow me a bit more scope to delve into subplots. I'll have more room to expand on themes and ideas (like, literally another 30,000+), and the story I want to tell is particularly dark. Not that YA fiction can't be dark - obviously it can be and often is, and a lot of the books I love are dark. But with an adult book I won't have to be quite so aware of things like language and sexual content, violence, etc. Um…I'm making myself sound kinda psychotic, but I'm honestly not! ;) I'm just saying that there are certain lines you have to be careful of crossing with YA, just in terms of content, especially as you don't know when a 12-year-old might be picking up your book and not all parents of 12-year-olds would be happy to have their children read adult urban fantasy.
KF: Can you share anything with us about your current WIP?
KM: As I said earlier, I'm currently revising Moth's novel (BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS) with a view to sending it out on submission later this year. It's set six months after 'Falling to Ash', and we see what happens when Moth returns to Ironbridge for good. She gets involved with the thriving Otherkin subculture in the city, and has to investigate a series of teenage deaths that threaten to uncover the presence of the real vampires!
KF: This question comes from Travis M.: How do you schedule your writing time? Also, do you have any specific techniques for motivating yourself to write?
KM: In terms of schedule, I have a day job that takes up four days per week. On the three days I have off, I make sure to spend at least two of those writing - usually all day (with breaks for food and other things!) - and I also do some writing in the evenings after work. I admit that I'm not the best when it comes to time management, though, and tend to work better with longer blocks of time. I can throw myself into an intense period of work for a few weeks or months, and am then happy to take some time off in between projects. I love to read, so I always make time for that even if it's just while I'm commuting. I am also active online and find it very difficult to switch off from things like LJ and Twitter…
I think the best motivation for writing is to really, really love it. If you love what you do then, even when it is really tough (which it very often is), then you will still sit down to write. Telling stories is something that you must need to do otherwise it is just too difficult, I think. If you're writing with publication in mind - which is fine, as long as you really love to tell stories - that can be another motivating force. Just reading about all the publishing deals that happen every week helps me to say: "I want that too!" It makes me work harder than ever.
KF: This question is from Megan: What/who inspired you to become a writer?
KM: I know everyone says this, but I've wanted to write since I was a child. When I was twelve years old I was at school and we were all asked what we wanted to be when we "grew up'. When it came to my turn I replied, "A writer." My teacher said: "You mean, a journalist?" And I replied: "No, I mean writing books." And the whole class laughed, including the teacher. I think ever since then I've had a bit of an "I'll show them!" attitude, although there have been long periods of time in my life when I didn't write. In terms of who inspires me to write, too many to name! But, in terms of contemporary stuff, Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Holly Black and Vicki Pettersson are a good starting point.
KF: And this question came from Kitty: Where do you find the names for your characters?
KM: Everywhere! Seriously, I'm always on the lookout for good character names and have lists of them in my notebook. One of the best places is coffee shops - the servers in the ones I go to all have to wear name tags, and because they come to London from all over the world, I have a great stock of multicultural names. I usually ask people where their names come from and then do some research on a particular name if I really like it. I also take note of names on signs, shop names, other character in books that I might be able to 'mix and match', as well as using great websites like: http://www.behindthename.com/
Thanks very much for having me here, Kathleen! :)
And a big thanks to you for agreeing to be interviewed!
In her varied career Karen Mahoney has been a professional Tarot reader, a college counsellor, a dating agency consultant and a bookseller. Ever since she was six years old what she really wanted to be was Wonder Woman, but has instead settled for being a writer which she thinks is the most fun you can have without bulletproof bracelets.
Her YA contemporary fantasy, THE IRON WITCH (Book 1 of The Ironbridge Chronicles), is currently on submission in the US. Among other work she has recently completed a companion novel, BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS, which is set in the same world but completely stands alone.
You can visit Karen online at her regularly updated blog or on twitter. She is also a proud member of the Deadline Dames
And now, on to the interview!
KF: Are you a musically-inspired writer or do you need silence? If you write to music, care to share any of your fave writing songs/singers/groups?
KM: At the risk of sounding very boring, I don't usually listen to music when I write. I can't seem to get into my writing and tend to work better in silence. I think I need to be able to 'hear' the characters' voices, and I find it easier to lose myself in the atmosphere of the story if I don't have too much outside disturbance. Having said that, I can work okay in cafes so the general background noises you get there don't seem to bother me too much… (I never said I was consistent! *g*) And of course, there are always exceptions. I remember once writing a particularly violent fight scene when I was sitting in the same room as a friend who was watching the film PAN'S LABYRINTH. There was an intense blast of music from the movie's soundtrack and, although I didn't look up at the screen, for some reason in that moment it helped me get into what I was writing. I think it helped that the fight took place in a nightclub, and in that case the music must've helped!
KF: Is there any writing advice you wish you'd never heard?
KM: Haha… Good question! I don't know if this qualifies as advice, but I'm lucky enough to be friends with my favourite author - Jonathan Carroll. Once, when I was complaining to him in an email about how long the submissions process takes, and how slow things are in publishing right now, he responded with (and I quote): "Get used to it, pal." I wish I hadn't heard that, but at the same time I probably needed to hear it. ;)
KF: Come clean: Out of all your characters, which one is your favorite? No fair saying all of them, but if you'd rather turn it around and say your least favorite, I suppose I'll forgive you.
KM: Well, I am fond of several of my characters, but I think I'll have to say Moth (from my story in The Eternal Kiss). Not just saying that because it's current - I really do have a soft spot for her, ever since she turned up in my head stomping around in her steel toe-capped boots and grinning madly at me. Makes me smile just thinking about it.
KF: You have a short story in The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood & Desire, (available now- go buy it!) along with Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Libba Bray, Sarah Rees Brennan and Kelley Armstrong, just to name a few! Can you tell us a little about your story and how it feels to be in such a cool anthology?
KM: I am seriously telling you, I still cannot believe I'm in that anthology! I almost died when the editor - Trisha Telep - told me that Holly Black had agreed to be in it… Holly is one of my favourite writers and, as I expected, her story in the book is AMAZING. My own story is called 'Falling to Ash' and is about an 18-year-old vampire called Moth. She was Turned into a vamp over a decade ago, so she's really a 28-year-old woman stuck in the body of a teenager. I love thinking about all the questions and issues that raises: imagine being trapped as a teenager for eternity… How would you change and grow? Would you develop as a regular human being should do, or would you always be just a little immature? (Moth can be quite immature and impetuous, but at the same time the wisdom of her years shows through when she needs it.) How would it feel to see 'real' teenagers enjoying life, while you just continue on the way you've always been? Imagine how it would affect your family and friends. What would you tell them? Would you tell them? And what if they don't believe you? All these things I've explored with Moth, and packing it into 32 pages wasn't easy!
The thing with Moth is that she actually started out as a supporting character in my YA manuscript THE IRON WITCH, which is currently on submission with my fabulous agent. So she's in that book, but she has such a big personality and so much potential I knew she would grow into her own stories. When I was invited to participate in the anthology I saw this as the ideal opportunity to let Moth have the limelight. And then I loved writing her so much, I have since written the first draft of a novel all about her which I'm now revising. That girl won't leave me alone! :)
KF: You write both YA and Adult. What's the hardest thing about going back and forth between the two, if any? What's your favorite thing about writing YA? What's your favorite thing about writing Adult?
KM: Okay, well this is a tough question for me as I keep trying to write adult stuff, but always end up going back to YA. My favourite thing about YA is the opportunity to delve into a time of life that is so full of possibilities. Emotions run high, and I love to write scenes with lots of emotional resonance (and a good sprinkling of angst!). However, my next project is very definitely an adult book, and I like that it will allow me a bit more scope to delve into subplots. I'll have more room to expand on themes and ideas (like, literally another 30,000+), and the story I want to tell is particularly dark. Not that YA fiction can't be dark - obviously it can be and often is, and a lot of the books I love are dark. But with an adult book I won't have to be quite so aware of things like language and sexual content, violence, etc. Um…I'm making myself sound kinda psychotic, but I'm honestly not! ;) I'm just saying that there are certain lines you have to be careful of crossing with YA, just in terms of content, especially as you don't know when a 12-year-old might be picking up your book and not all parents of 12-year-olds would be happy to have their children read adult urban fantasy.
KF: Can you share anything with us about your current WIP?
KM: As I said earlier, I'm currently revising Moth's novel (BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS) with a view to sending it out on submission later this year. It's set six months after 'Falling to Ash', and we see what happens when Moth returns to Ironbridge for good. She gets involved with the thriving Otherkin subculture in the city, and has to investigate a series of teenage deaths that threaten to uncover the presence of the real vampires!
KF: This question comes from Travis M.: How do you schedule your writing time? Also, do you have any specific techniques for motivating yourself to write?
KM: In terms of schedule, I have a day job that takes up four days per week. On the three days I have off, I make sure to spend at least two of those writing - usually all day (with breaks for food and other things!) - and I also do some writing in the evenings after work. I admit that I'm not the best when it comes to time management, though, and tend to work better with longer blocks of time. I can throw myself into an intense period of work for a few weeks or months, and am then happy to take some time off in between projects. I love to read, so I always make time for that even if it's just while I'm commuting. I am also active online and find it very difficult to switch off from things like LJ and Twitter…
I think the best motivation for writing is to really, really love it. If you love what you do then, even when it is really tough (which it very often is), then you will still sit down to write. Telling stories is something that you must need to do otherwise it is just too difficult, I think. If you're writing with publication in mind - which is fine, as long as you really love to tell stories - that can be another motivating force. Just reading about all the publishing deals that happen every week helps me to say: "I want that too!" It makes me work harder than ever.
KF: This question is from Megan: What/who inspired you to become a writer?
KM: I know everyone says this, but I've wanted to write since I was a child. When I was twelve years old I was at school and we were all asked what we wanted to be when we "grew up'. When it came to my turn I replied, "A writer." My teacher said: "You mean, a journalist?" And I replied: "No, I mean writing books." And the whole class laughed, including the teacher. I think ever since then I've had a bit of an "I'll show them!" attitude, although there have been long periods of time in my life when I didn't write. In terms of who inspires me to write, too many to name! But, in terms of contemporary stuff, Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr, Holly Black and Vicki Pettersson are a good starting point.
KF: And this question came from Kitty: Where do you find the names for your characters?
KM: Everywhere! Seriously, I'm always on the lookout for good character names and have lists of them in my notebook. One of the best places is coffee shops - the servers in the ones I go to all have to wear name tags, and because they come to London from all over the world, I have a great stock of multicultural names. I usually ask people where their names come from and then do some research on a particular name if I really like it. I also take note of names on signs, shop names, other character in books that I might be able to 'mix and match', as well as using great websites like: http://www.behindthename.com/
Thanks very much for having me here, Kathleen! :)
And a big thanks to you for agreeing to be interviewed!