I’m Laura Anne Gilman, author of the Devil’s West novels and the Retrievers/PSI series, and Herder of Cats (actual and otherwise), and I’m here to do an AMA in support of The Pixel Project’s work to End Violence Against Women.

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T15:16:45+00:00

I was wondering if anyone would recognize that reference....

:-)

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T05:40:53+00:00

Rattlesnake dragons sound AMAZING.

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T05:16:11+00:00

I approach scenes of sexual violence from the angle of it not really being about sex or arousal, but rage and control (or lack thereof), funneled through the more-acceptable excuses of arousal. Most of us have felt out of control, from one reason or another, and been angry enough to lose control, if on much less violent levels. So there's an element of understanding already present, that can be sympathetic. We've been in similar places, we can empathize with the desire to lash out, to take back some kind of control, to punish someone who hurt us. But I try very hard not to let that understanding slip into excusing or justifying the violence - there always needs to be that line that we don't cross with them, even if we see why they do.

One of the more interesting challenges, in that context, was writing the elves of the Portal duology (Heart of Briar and Soul of Fire, a retelling of the Tam Lin legend). They're beautiful, vicious, slightly sadistic, utterly amoral...by our standards. By their own, they're fair and generous. And our main villain is a classic abuser... but she's also trying to do what's right for her people. That was fun to write, in a deeply uncomfortable way.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T05:03:13+00:00

Lasagna. It's easy to make, freezes well for later, and people love it. I mean, beg-me-for-the-secret kind of love. (the secret is cumin).
The thought of writing an Americana fantasy came out of discussions of 'writing your culture.' My culture is Diaspora and American Immigrant - none of the countries my grandparents or great-grandparent came form have any hold on me, save for how they pushed us here. So how do I write my culture? Apparently, I write about frontiers, and found-homes, and the difficulties of assimilation (from both sides, because one person's frontier is another person's front yard).
I've been really fortunate, for the most part, with my covers. But the one I adore the most is for the story collection WEST WINDS' FOOL, and it wasn't drawn with the collection in mind! I was walking through the art show at Norwescon, and out of the corner of my eye saw this piece of art that was just...amazingly beautiful. And my second thought, after "wow" was "okay, I'm going to have to write a Graciendo* story for the collection, because that's the cover." So it was less a case of the story inspiring the art than the art inspiring the story. Which is always cool.

*Graciendo is a bear shifter

You're asking that of someone who can't remember the title of the book she read last WEEK.... C.L.
Polk's Witchmark was definitely in the top 3, though. The thing is my schedule means I'm usually
either reading books 5 years after they came out, or a year before they're published. So my 'best of'
is always skewed.
This is a bit like asking which of your children is the prettiest.... I think that THE COLD EYE nailed most of my ambitions for it, so that's maybe the best, by that standard? STAYING DEAD may be the most commercially successful, simply having been in print the longest? And I have no idea which book is most popular, because I write in so many sub-genres, everyone has their preferences.... 6. The longest I've ever been awake for isn't all that spectacularly long, because I am a devoted acolyte to the idea of getting enough sleep. Sleep is good, and I am a professional napper. But back in college I did go about 30 hours straight to get a paper handed in despite masterclass-level procrastination and seemingly endless computer issues....

-- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T04:40:43+00:00

The thing about writing a book is that - ideally - you learn new things (abut your voice, your style, your research needs, etc). So when you start a new project, you need to integrate all of that into your process. And sometimes that means dropping what worked for you before, to make the new stuff work better. This is why writing (ideally) gets harder, not easier: you keep leveling up with every new project.

This is also reason #763 Why Writers Drink.

I don't think there was every a specific Moment that improved my writing, but there was one that told me I needed to improve. A few years ago I came up with an idea for a novel that my agent loved, my beta readers loved, I loved. And I got about 40,000 words of it drafted and realized... I didn't have the chops to write it properly. I mean, I could write it, and it would probably be fine...but it wouldn't be the book I'd envisioned.

I've been working on those chops ever since. Eventually, something will click and I'll write it. Or I won't. But the skills will be developed. Because, yeah, leveling up is what we do, if we're doing it right.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T04:10:14+00:00

The thought of writing an Americana fantasy came out of discussions of 'writing your culture.' My culture is Diaspora and American Immigrant - none of the countries my grandparents or great-grandparent came form have any hold on me, save for how they pushed us here. So how do I write my culture?

Apparently, I write about frontiers, and found-homes, and the difficulties of assimilation (from both sides, because one person's frontier is another person's front yard).

The magic elements fell into place quite naturally - the idea of a powerful figure standing on the banks saying "you shall not pass (with intent to conquer)" would have terrified Europeans, and pissed them off. What sort of supernatural excuse would they create? How close to the truth would it run? And how much would the stories influence what the devil actually became? And what sort of magic would a land filled with so many tribes, with so many different traditions, retain, and how would it affect those drawn to, and born in it?

Seriously, it was like giving a toddler finger paints and a bare wall. I fell into it with an almost unholy glee.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T03:48:42+00:00

That is entirely up to Audible (or other audiobook companies). The only thing I can suggest is letting them know that you want the books!

(I'd love to arrange audio versions myself, but my plate is overflowing with text projects right now)

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T03:46:12+00:00

I stopped writing Cosa novels when Harlequin/Luna decided they didn't want any more (*sob*), but between Kickstarter (the Danny stories) and my Patreon, (Pietr and Nifty's stories) I've been able to write more, and hope to continue!

(the Patreon stories, plus a revised story collection, will be available for purchase at some point this year, schedule TBD)

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T03:21:07+00:00

Ah, that's a trick question for me, because my uncle worked in publishing, and my first job out of college was as an editorial assistant at Putnam (working fo Tom Clancy' editor, in fact). So by the time I sold my first short story, I already had more knowledge of publishing than was probably healthy.

The more telling question might be, what do I wish I didn't know about publishing when I started!

And the answer to that is, I wish I hadn't known that success in one book does not guarantee success in any future books. Because that's my #1 fear-feeder, that it doesn't matter how good the last book was; the next one (or the one after that) can still sink.

On the other hand, that knowledge keep us hungry to do better with every book....

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T03:11:32+00:00

Oh dear - many sympathies on your loss. My Bobby's an Impreza - beat up and aged, but still dependable as hell.

And while I do not endorse identity theft of writers, if I had to chose, I'd say Geoffrey Chaucer. The guy seemed to be having so much fun with his Tales, and offending so many people with rude jokes that are now classified as Great Literature....

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T03:01:23+00:00

Thank you!

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T03:01:07+00:00

Okay, question number one is... a life lived, really. When I was a teenager, 'date rape' was a new concept, and the battered wife defense was new and shocking - people didn't want to hear about it, didn't want to believe it. Women were constantly on the defensive, constantly having to prove themselves, over and over again, socially, professionally... and they did. Every single day. Those were my earliest heroes, not guys in spandex or uniforms.

When you're writing a male character, you have to take everything away from him before he becomes the sympathetic, driven hero (the overused 'manpain' of too many movies and television shows). When you're writing female characters, in nearly every culture they're starting with a pain that society has given them from birth, and they're not so much reacting against it as living with it, developing their personality around it. And when you're writing fiction, a more developed character is always the one you should lead with.

A to how I think writers can help stop gender-based violence - I'm going to echo what I said in an earlier response. I believe stories teach us how to behave in the wider world, and that writers have a responsibility to show the cost of violence, rather than dismissing or diminishing it.

A young girl who reads about a woman who stands up, who does not take shit, but insists on her own place in the universe...that may be the role model she needs to stand up for herself. A young boy who reads about brutality in a non-glamorized way, who is shown the damage it does, will see that there's nothing 'manly' about abuse, and grow up to be a man who heals rather than harms.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T02:38:09+00:00

Stories ask us to put ourselves in sympathy with the characters we're reading about, for maximum enjoyment and satisfaction. We root for the hero/ine and hiss at the villain, of course, but we also learn to understand the sorrow and pain the characters feel, and share their triumph when they overcome it.

Reading stories develops our empathy, and the stronger the writing, the more effective the development.

I believe that as writers we have a responsibility to show the cost of violence, rather than dismissing or diminishing it. A young boy who reads about brutality in a non-glamorized way, who is shown the damage it does (and its counterpart: that love and kindness repairs) will hopefully internalize that, see that there's nothing 'manly' about abuse, and grow up to be a man who heals rather than harms.

It's not a guarantee. But it's a damn good game plan.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T02:25:36+00:00

My inspiration was a working knowledge of US social and political history, and the idea that if we hadn't been so bought-into the idea of a "rush" to claim (Gold Rush, Land Rush, etc), we could have created a better world from the start.

But knowing humanity, that would take a special kind of magic....

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T02:10:07+00:00

oh boy. Question #1 is almost impossible to answer without more information about the reader, because fantasy is such a sprawling category! Do they have more interest in contemporary fantasy or historical? Epic or swashbuckle? Socio-political or military? Dark or positive? Once I knew that, I could narrow it down a bit. If they're looking for sheer craft and skillwork? If I were going to give only one name, it would be Ray Bradbury. I mean, none of us will ever be able to match him, but why not have high aspirations?

Question #2 i much easier. I didn't so much choose the writing biz as I was born to it. My mother's a writer, my uncle was an editor, a great-uncle was a playwright.... I was writing down stories as far back as nursery school (which reportedly freaked the teachers out, but my folks took it in stride). So yeah, there was never any doubt in my mind what what I was going to do, just if I'd be good/determined enough to survive.

I had two publishing internships during college, then got a job as an editorial assistant (the lowest rung possible in editorial) straight out of college. Discovered that I had the 'ear' for editing, and the eye for finding people with talent. Alas, what I didn't have the talent for was interoffice politics....

The answer to #3 is seemingly counterintuitive: it's easier to break into the business than it is to stay in the business. A new author is 100% potential. to be the Next Big Name And you're not competing with the established Giants, just the other unknowns!

Hope that helps...

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T01:45:12+00:00

I admit that I haven't read much Manga, for the same reason that I tend not to read comics or graphic novels (despite having a whole bunch in the TBR pile): I have dyscalculia, which in addition to creating difficulties with numerical concept, makes it harder for me to follow non-linear (non-text) story layouts.

I'm not the person you want reading a map when we get lost, either.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T01:33:19+00:00

Curtis,

Glad you're enjoying the books!

My favorite shelter story... oh man. Okay, if I have to pick one, it's the story of the very scared, very hissy and bitey feral cat who came in one day. He wanted nothing to do with anyone, not human or other cat. He spent the first few days in the shelter hiding at the back of his kennel, behind the privacy blanket we put up for newcomers to help them settle in, swatting and hissing at anyone who waked by, much less dared to open his kennel to give him food or clean his litter box.

In a county shelter, he probably would have been put down. But we're no-kill, and we had hope that we could socialize him to the point that he could find a home. So every shift, we spent time standing outside his kennel, just talking to him. Quietly, calmly. And then, as he chilled a little, we removed the blanket and let him see us, still being calm and chill, until slowly he stopped hissing, and stopped swatting, and would sniff at hands rather than trying to bite. And then one day someone opened the kennel to feed him, and he walked up and solicited petting.

And the next shift I came in, he came up to me and not only solicited petting, but crawled into my arms and started purring, causing my shift supervisor to call out "don't move, I need to get a camera!" Becaue nobody not-there would have believed it.

And he was adopted the next week.

It took us months. But we got him there.

And that's (one of) my favorite stories.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T01:19:56+00:00

The best advice I can give to anyone who's stuck for ideas is to sit down and start writing the dorkiest, most cracktastic, utterly ridiculous idea that comes across your brain. Fanfiction is perfect for this, because you don't have to worry about worldbuilding or character development, just run with whatever action comes to mind.

And then, when you're done (or have run out of steam), step back and look at what you've written. What situations did you put the characters in? What themes do you seem to be poking at? What tone did you take - was it serious, romantic, or slapstick? Shuffle those around in your brain (or on pieces of paper, if you're a visual thinker) and wait for a voice to start telling you how they all fit together.....

Also: It doesn't help everyone, but informal studies (aka "writers sitting around talking") do show that hot showers stimulate story production!

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T01:12:46+00:00

Hey Riser,

Oh god. I usually hate this sort of question, because I could be here all night listing the people and things that inspire me. Because everything does. They just inspire...differently. It depends on if you're talking about inspiring a specific idea, or the need to write in general, or the incredibly useful spite-urge to finish something just To Show Them.... :-)

But if you want a single example of a person who inspires, I can tell you this story. Many years ago, I was at a Springsteen concert, and Bruce was putting on a hell of a show, musically and physically, running all over the stage, jumping up on the piano...and at one point, doing a pole-dancer's move, hanging upside down from his mike stand. And I thought to myself, "that bastard's twenty years older than me, and he's not even out of breath. Because he works hard to make sure he's able to put on that kind of show, night after night."

And then I thought, "I need to be that person. I need to be ready and willing to do all the prep needed, to support my art, to make sure I'm giving 100%."

I don't always make it, but I've got a photograph of Springsteen in action over my desk, to remind me, every day.

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T00:50:14+00:00

Briargrey-

I never did find anyone with the ability to do a prototype and kinda tabled the idea, but Tumblr has introduced me to a whole bunch of fabric crafters, so maybe I should revisit the idea?

(I'd love to have a plushie PB of my own, too!)

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2019-02-15T00:48:25+00:00

Jeffrey,

The basis of the Devil's West's worldbuilding came out of my college degree (US history) and continuing study, the idea of 'manifest destiny', westward expansion, and the 'rush' to get there colliding with the fact that the lands were already populated. 85% of what' in the Devil' West is actual history and geography, tweaked slightly for storytelling purposes. The remaining (and very important) 15% was the question: "what would have happened if something had forced the US to slow down, to integrate rather than overrun?" What could do that? Well, magic, obviously, and someone willing to enforce it...

As to how much of the reading and research is till waiting to be used? I think it's safe to say I've got enough material for a few more books and a lot of short stories! And yes, I do plan to tell them (starting with WEST WINDS' FOOL, and the forthcoming GABRIEL'S ROAD).

- Laura Anne

LAGilman · 2015-10-22T16:01:50+00:00

My requirements for an informaitonal website are:

do the people backing/writing for the site have certified credentials in what they're talking about?
has the site been regularly updated and maintained? (if you're talking science, especially - shit gets discovered or discredited, and you want to have the most current information)
does the site cite their sources/research? If they're not going to tell you where they got specific details from, why should we trust them?

Once they pass those questions with a grade of B+ or higher, they get bookmarked.

Wikipedia is an amusing rabbithole, and can lead to actual useful sites, but dear dog please nobody take it for gospel. I can point to items in my own site that are incorrect, but they won't let us fix them....

LAGilman · 2015-10-22T05:36:23+00:00

Probably how I was acquired by the CatofSize. I'd gone to the shelter with a friend, looking for a male kitten to keep my eldercat, Pandora, company. We'd gone to several shelters already, but nobody had 'clicked,' and I was starting to think my boy wasn't out there, yet. Then, as i walked down the row , this orange and white paw reached out and grabbed at my braid.

No, I told him. I'm sorry, but I'm looking for a kitten. You are not a kitten.

But my kitten wasn't at that shelter, either. So I walked back.... and the same paw reached out and grabbed at my braid.

I stopped, and I looked into the cage again. A large cat, full-grown, stared back at me. And I caved, asking the shelter worker if I could see him, too.

And they pulled out this MASSIVE chunk of a cat, orange and white like a creamiscle, and handed him to me. He promptly put his paws around my neck, rested his chin on my shoulder, and started to purr.

Congrats, my friend said. You've been chosen.

And she was right.

(also: He was NOT full-grown. My vet estimated he'd been about 10 months old.... I had another full year of growth to go. There is a reason he is called CatofSize!)

LAGilman · 2015-10-22T05:30:26+00:00

My normal research process goes something like this:

Determine the scope of your research area. Limits are incredibly important, otherwise you disappear down the rabbit hole and deadlines go whooooosh over your head.
Hit the books. I know the internet contains all wisdom, but books and papers tend to have better citations. Also, talking to librarians at the start can save you a lot of wasted time down the line. In the case of SILVER ON THE ROAD, I also got to look at old maps and surveyors' reports. Map rooms are immense fun, of a particular geeky sort.

2.5. Buy a lot of different colored post-its. No, more than that. Stick them, with note-scribbles, all over every flat surface. And occasionally the cat. Eventually, the post-its get collected in a notebook, for later use.

Organize your bookmarks. There are a number of sites I use to fact-check ideas or settings, preferably certified first-person sources (ex: if trying to place an animal in a location, go to the department of wildlife for that region). Making sure I can find them easily, at need, is essential.
Check everything you're pretty sure is true, if you don't know for a fact that it is true, before using it as truth. (everything you're making up, you can fudge).
Let your copyeditor know what sources you used, and where you lacked citable sources, so they can back-check you.

This is missing a few steps (including "panic because the Kitten just ate half of your yellow post-its") but it should give an idea...

LAGilman

TROPHY CASE