Mindy Klasky Spooks the Romance Writers' Revenge!
Hellion: *punches button to play spooky music* Welcome, pirates and ‘lubbers, it’s that time of year again—that’s right, Hellion’s most favorite time of the year!
Jack: You mean when we sail into Tortuga to stock up on rum?
Hellion: …Hellion’s SECOND most favorite time of the year: Halloween. And to kick off the month of October in a spooky and festive way, we’ve brought Mindy Klasky, author of the fun, witty, and dare I say, charming books about a witch named Jane Madison. Her newest novel: Magic and the Modern Girl hits the stands today (September 30, run, run, run and buy it now), and I cannot wait to read more about the hunky David, her warder. Say hello to Mindy!
Crew: Hello, Mindy!
Mindy: Hello Jack, Hellion, and the Crew! Thank you so much for having me here today!
Jack: Would you like some rum? *handing Mindy a drought of grog which she takes, looking at the mug dubiously*
Hellion: Mindy, I’m so glad you agreed to let us interview you today. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed your series so far. Okay, so I can: I loved them! They were awesome! (They remind me of a paranormal version of Hester Browne’s Little Lady series.) For those of the crew who haven’t read the first two books, can you tell us more about Jane Madison and her merry adventures into being a witch?
Mindy: Jane Madison is a librarian in Washington, D.C. The library where she works, which specializes in Americana, is so underfunded that they need to cut Jane's salary. (They also need to lure people in by having Jane dress in colonial costume, and by featuring expensive coffees at an in-house snack bar.) In fact, the salary cuts are so severe, that Jane can't afford rent on her lousy apartment – but the library comes through, letting her live rent-free in a cottage on the library grounds. Only after she moves in does she discover a secret stash of books in the basement – books about witchcraft. Jane's first, inadvertent, spell awakens her familiar, a snarky man who spends part of his life as a black cat. Her second one is a love spell, which goes awry rather dramatically. After that, things get, um, interesting.
Hellion: Interesting. *laughing* Yeah, that’s an understatement! What is Magic and the Modern Girl about? And do you plan to write any more in the series?
Mindy: In MAGIC, Jane has let her powers lie fallow for several months, as she tries to get other aspects of her life under control. As a consequence of not being used, Jane's magic withers; her runes crumble, and her books fade. Jane realizes that she needs to use the last remnants of her power on one last-ditch spell. When that working doesn't turn out as she plans, Jane has to stake everything on her survival as a witch, dragging her familiar – Neko – and her warder – David – along for the struggle. Along the way, she encounters true love, re-engages in battle with her self-centered mother, and agrees to be a bridesmaid at her octogenarian grandmother's wedding.
At the moment, I don't have other Jane Madison novels in the pipeline, but I know that there are more stories waiting to be told – if my readers ask for them loudly enough that my publisher hears!
Hellion: What is your next project? Anything new and exciting you’re working on now that you’d like to share?
Mindy: The first book in the As You Wish series will be published in October 2009. THERE'S THE RUB is about a stage manager who discovers a magic lantern while she's cleaning out a prop closet. She releases a genie who begins to grant her wishes – only to make her life substantially more complicated than she ever dreamed it could be.
Hellion: *snortal* OMG. Yeah, that would be the luck, wouldn’t it? Wishes are complicated buggers. Okay, changing the topic slightly: I cracked up at your biography. I’m impressed you went on 28 first dates in one year. (I went on this date once with a guy who showed me a video of him shooting a pig….)
Jack: You went on a date? Without me?
Hellion: *bats at Jack* Anyway, I was just curious if you’d share your funniest, worst date story?
Mindy: My worst date stories are folded into the Jane Madison series – every single one of Melissa White's first dates has an element taken from one of my own first dates. And then there's the romance in my life that tracked Jane's encounter with her Imaginary Boyfriend…. Let's just say that the fictional apples don't fall far from the real-life tree!
Hellion: I do the same thing! All right, I haven’t worked the Pig Guy into my fiction yet, but just wait. Okay, back to more writing stuff. What’s your process like? Are you more a pantser, plotser, or plantser? (i.e. do you write without an outline, with an outline, or outline about three or four chapters in advance, then write…)
Mindy: My first six novels (five traditional fantasies published as the Glasswrights Series and one stand-alone fantasy, SEASON OF SACRIFICE) were written entirely as pantser works – I had a three-sentence idea of what would happen in the books, then I rolled up my sleeves and wrote.
The Jane Madison Series and the As You Wish Series are plotser books – I had fairly stable outlines in place before I started writing them. (With the Jane Madison Series, I created spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel. With the As You Wish Series, I'm using software called Scrivener, which runs on Apple computers. Scrivener supports outlining, note-cards, and synopses in easily manipulated files.) I changed to a more outline-based style because my publishing contracts changed – I now get paid a portion of my advance when I submit a working outline of each novel. Having the structure of an outline in place makes me a more confident writer who can complete work faster, so I'm pleased with the transition.
Hellion: What was your Call Story? (We love Call stories on the ship….)
Mindy: Ah, the Call….
On March 31, 1998, I signed a one-year contract with my agent, Richard Curtis. That agreement expired on March 31, 1999, without his having sold my novel, THE GLASSWRIGHTS' APPRENTICE. The day after the contract expired, I was working in my law firm's New York office when I received email from Richard, with the subject "A Bite." The text of the email said that an editor at Roc (a PenguinPutnam imprint) was interested in APPRENTICE, but she wanted a three-book deal. He had told her that I had sequels lined up, and he wanted to discuss those sequels with me.
After screaming, I tried to phone Richard, but he'd already gone home for the day. Trying to distract myself, I decided to attend a Broadway play. Halfway through the first act of a murder mystery, I realized that the date was April 1, and that Richard's email could be an elaborate April Fools' Day joke. I was unable to watch the rest of the play; instead, I stayed up all night, debating whether my agent was the cruelest man in the history of the world.
Fortunately, he got to the office early on April 2, and I learned that he wasn't a sadist. We worked out a couple of paragraphs describing sequels to APPRENTICE, and the deal was done!
Hellion: *laughs* You poor thing—though I can’t imagine an agent being that cruel, well, not about that anyway. Still, I understand the suspicion. *grins* Okay, your Glasswright series. Let’s talk about them some more. While the Jane Madison books are also a sort of fantasy, they do seem to be completely different in setting, tone, and writing style than I imagine the Glasswright series. Am I right? And how hard is it to write in a complete different “voice”? (Or is your voice similar in both series?)
Mindy: My voice is very different between my traditional fantasy novels and the Jane Madison Series. The Glasswrights Series and SEASON OF SACRIFICE are relatively dark novels where bad things happen to good people. The tone is fairly formal, and there's little attempt at humor.
By contrast, the Jane Madison Series is intentionally light-hearted (as is the As You Wish Series.) Each individual volume raises serious questions about the nature of friendship and love and social bonds, but the characters express a sort of wry amusement that would never fit the dark, feudal world of my traditional fantasies.
I enjoy being able to move between settings. While I'm working on the As You Wish series, I'm also toying with a new epic fantasy novel. I'm trying to bring some of the feeling of my contemporary humor writing to a traditional fantasy world, striving to give characters a humorous slant, even as I keep the jokes appropriate for their medieval world.
Hellion: What has been your favorite part of writing this series?
Mindy: I love writing the scenes with Neko, Jane's feline familiar. He gets most of the good sarcastic lines, and his absolute freedom to say whatever he's thinking about Jane's appearance, love life, and magical skills gives me a good chance to sharpen my wit. (Neko knows much more about fashion than I do–I often need to do some online research to perfect his snarkiness!)
Hellion: *laughs* That cat is hysterical. Mindy, I just wanted to thank you again for interviewing with us today. Oh, one last question: what is your favorite part about Halloween?
Mindy: I love seeing kids in homemade costumes, and I adore clever adult costumes (one of my favorites: "Dry Cleaning", wearing a dry cleaner's plastic bag over the shoulders, with the paper tag stapled to the bag, and a hanger cut out as a head-piece.) I also really enjoy the "trick or treat" aspect of the holiday, with surprises coming from nowhere. To that end, I'll gladly give away one copy of one of the Jane Madison books (winner's choice of GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT, SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL, or MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL) to anyone who answers in the comments, stating their favorite thing about Halloween! (The winner will be chosen at random – leave your email address in your comment or check back here to see if you're the winner!)
Hellion: Wooot, free booty! You might as well have said: free rum. Speak up crew: what is your favorite thing about Halloween? And don't forget to run out and buy the latest in the Jane Madison series...it's in stores today!
Books by the Crew
30 comments:
Welcome aboard Mindy!
I think everyone has a hint of magic in their souls so your books with the humour and romance included sound great. I'm dashing off to fictionwise to download one when I finish this post!
I am currently thinking of joining the BSD (British society of dowsers). You find a strange mix of deadly serious scientific types (like me!) and hilarious eccentrics who talk with great enthusiasm about ghosts, faeries and the like. The 'Magic' of the paranormal is gradually becoming respectable I find, so that it can be discussed in public without people edging away as though you are a lunatic.
Do you take an interest in this side of magic perhaps as background for your fiction?
Only two of your books were available as ebooks at fictionwise. Are more in the pipeline?
I live near some hills in the UK and a favourite Halloween event is when local hang glider enthusiasts make themselves look like witches on broom sticks. An impressive sight!
Next time I see them I will be thinking of Jane Madison....has she had flying lessons? *g*
These sound like fun books . . . I'll have to check them out. I love your call story. What I like most about Halloween is the wide and great assortment of candy.
I think these sound like fun books also. I love bumbling witches. :)
My favorite thing about Halloween is pumpkin patch picking. There's a farm here that has hay rides to pick your own pumpkin. I'm so excited about taking my son this year.
I hate being scared though, so all the scary movies, scary stuff is a bit much for me.
Oh, and I love the chocolate.
Nice, lovable witches seem to be the thing these days. Kind of like a throwback to Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie! Two of my favorite shows growing up.
Mindy, your books sound like fun.
I'm not a huge Halloween person. Although, I'm outnumbered in my house. Each one is goofier than the next, starting with my DH! If Halloween falls on a weekday he takes it off - has been doing this ever since the kids were born. My DD just wants the loot. My DS wants to scare the heck out of everyone. My DH wants a little of both. I'm the designated "candy hander outer". I wish I could go up in my sitting room with a good book and hide with the dogs!
We were in the car last week and the subject of Halloween costumes came up. My son said he needs a Jason mask cause his friend is getting a Freddie mask. I tried to talk him into a puppy or tiger costume. Everyone in the car laughed at me! When he looked back and saw I was tearing up he said - "Don't worry, Mom, I'm not really gonna kill anyone!" Just the thing a mother loves to hear from her son!!!!
Mindy, your books sound like a trick AND a treat. My favorite part of Halloween is lighting the pumpkins up and down the steps and waiting for the little pirates to come. I have a pumpkin man that sticks in the ground---he's come out already and is just killing time until the 31st.
LMAO at Irish! I love that re-assurance.
These books sound like great fun. And as I already had a trip to B&N planned for tonight, I'll just add this one to the list. Love the call story. I'm guessing you renewed that contract. ;)
I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. Don't like to be scared. But the free chocolate brings me around. My favorite part has to be the adorable costumes they make for the little ones now. The little lady bug or elephant or pumpkin. They are so adorable. And then the two and three year old princesses and pirates are cute too.
I never get to give out candy because I'm a single mom so I'm always taking my kiddo around. And I haven't dressed up in forever though I have a costume of a serving wench or some such in my closet. Maybe I'll pull it out this year. LOL!
I *LOVE* Halloween, as I said about ten times in my opening paragraph.
I love planning and making my costume (though usually around the 11th hour, I tend to not to like it so much.) I am supposed to be a sexy Robin Hood/Princess of Thieves person, but so far, I have not so much as cut out the pattern yet. Slightly behind schedule.
But my favorite part from last year (and I had a rocking costume last year) was helping my friend and her husband pass out candy last year. (I don't live anywhere where children would come trick or treating--so I haven't had a lot of experience with the fun of this.) Pam and I were watching out the window to see when the kids might be coming and we saw a little Harry Potter--we freaked out in GLEE. OMG, you would have thought Daniel Radcliffe and JK Rowling were coming to meet us in person we were so excited. Squealing and bouncing; Pam's husband was cracking up at us. Harry did stop by the house and he was very adorable.
The best trick-or-treater was the pirate though. This tiny-tiny pirate, who looked like this might be his first or second real time T-or-Ting swaggered up, gave Chris a gimlet stare when Chris said "Just take one", then grinned, took TWO and literally swung down from the porch, screaming like a true-blue pirate: "I got it! I got it!", waving his sword in the air. One of the most fun Halloweens I've ever spent.
*LOL* Irish! I love your Halloween stories! (I think it was funny when your DH was going to lynch you for wanting to not buy "full-size" candy bars to pass out. *LOL* I want to trick or treat at your house, man.... Heck, we all pass out the 'fun-size' bars around here.)
Ah, Marnee, kids among the pumpkins pictures are so cute! You'll have to share when you get them. :) I'm sure your son will have a blast!
My favorite part of Halloween is the conversation with the grands about their costumes. Since late August, one of their favorite activities when they're visiting is to google "children's Halloween costumes" and choose their costumes. The four-year-old, at last count, had chosen 37 costumes he wanted. LOL! My favorite comment came from the eight-year-old, who plans to be the Joker. He looked at the costume to be purchased, checked the price, and declared proudly, "Me and Mom can do better than that." I applaud his conclusion, even as I deplore his grammar. :)
My Kiddo wants to be Marian from the Robin Hood series (to which we are addicted). I'm all for trying to make this work, but as I'm not crafty and can barely sew on a button, not sure how it's going to go. I'm also guessing hardly anyone is going to know who she is supposed to be. LOL!
It doesn't matter as long as she knows, Ter. That's the fun - having a vision in your head and trying to create it. My daughter said last week she wants to be a pirate. She has it all planned out. She is a lot like her father. She gets an idea and runs with it. I just stand on the sidelines and cheer her on. My big worry is that it's going to be a fun pirate and not a "hooker" pirate! She turns 13 today!! As much as I'm not ready for my little boy to turn into Jason, I am definitely not prepared for my baby girl to turn into Emmanuelle! So, I've just got to keep a close watch on the costume design.
We already acquired the full size candy bars last week, Hellion. Was at Sam's Club with the whole family and they all dragged me into the candy isle to pick and choose!
Give her a bow and arrow. They'll figure it out.
Most people wouldn't know she was Harry Potter if she was a copy-cat of him, carrying the books in one arm. *waves hand* Don't worry about it. When you don't go as an OBVIOUS character (i.e. Little Bo Peep or Little Red Riding Hood...Britney Spears), people never figure it out. And when you tell them, they do the "Oh" like that's the dumbest costume I ever heard of. (Or maybe it's the "Oh" of "Why didnt I guess that"--but that's not what it sounds like)
Y'all are making me want a candy bar! LOL!
Good point, Irish. The poor thing already suffers from having me (the unimaginative and non-crafy one) for a mom. She's so excited about this one, I really need to put some effort into it. She's even talking about wearing a wig since Marian's hair is black.
I just thought of a question for Mindy. You say Jane's familiar spends part of his life as a black cat. What is he the other part? Or do I have to read the books to find that out? LOL!
Oh! And I meant to ask Mindy about the programming software (for plotting)--Do you really like it? Would you recommend it?
I'm interested in the software question too. I bought writing software more than a year ago and have never used it. Mostly because I never had the time to sit down and figure out how it worked.
I'm LMAO too, Irish Eyes. Too funny! :-D
My favorite part about Halloween is one full month of scary movies on t.v. Woot! (Love scary movies, although not the gory, gruesome kind as much.)
I think pumpkins lit on a dark porch are the coolest thing ever. Our family used to carve our own pumpkins. The kids actually got really, really good at creating their own designs. But since they've grown, I've settled for the kind I turn on with a switch. Pulling out pumpkin guts is not for me. LOL.
Mindy, your books sound great. I agree with Quantum. Talking about witchcraft is a little easier nowadays. I was researching witchcraft for one of my books, reading the book in public in the bible belt, mind you, and felt a bit insecure. LOL.
Where do you find your research for the magical realm?
What drew you to this genre?
Oh, and I'm incredibly interested in Jane's familiar too. Thanks for boarding the Revenge. Having a guest always means Jack stops by for a dram of rum. Good times!
Hi, Mindy
You book sounds great. I could use a little light hearted fun right about now!
Oooh I LOVE Halloween! Not just the costumes & the pumpkin carving & the parties. I love that strange electric vibe that seems to permeate the air. Every thing seems a little out of wack. So that you feel… believe … that anything could happen … Can happen… on Halloween. Ewwwwww. Creepy & Exciting.
Hellion, I’ve seen some of your costumes. They are gorgeous. I’m rather jealous. Because when it comes to dressing for Halloween, I must be very careful. I can’t wear black or dark colors. Nothing even remotely Holloweenisah. I have to dress “light & happy” or I scare people. I wish that I could say that I’m joking. But I’m not. Last year I made a man… A Grown Man… scream. Like a little girl. Heck, All I said was “excuse me”.
*gimlet stare* Julie, what were you dressed as last year? There is always a key part of your stories missing, like you were posing as a dead body and he didn't realize you were a fake corpse or something. (Okay, considering you're alive, you were technically a fake corpse, but you know what I mean.)
No.
I was just dressed normally.
I had been grocery shopping. And the guy was talking to a friend in the parking lot. He was leaning on my trunk. And all I did was say “Excuse me.” Nicely. Politely even.
But
I had forgotten that it was Halloween.
Picture this in your head:
So I’d worn black jeans and a black Scandinavian sweater with an intricate scrollwork pattern. When I lose my summer tan I am rather pale. One of my sisters calls our natural skin tone “death warmed over. And I have intra ocular lenses. So that when the light hits my eyes just right… they “glow” like a werewolf vampire demon. The man turned around when I asked him to move… got one look at me… ME… and screamed. Then he got all embarrassed.
I'll send you a picture Hellion. Tell me I don't look like a Vampire.
Y'all better share that picture.
Hi Mindy, your books sounds great and like something I would definitely enjoy. I'll check them out. As for Halloween, I can't say I like it or what my favorite part is given that it's not celebrated here (France). Never had a pumpkin in my garden, never been trick or treating dressed up with an homemade costume....Though I'd love to be dressed up as a pirate, or a vampire..or a highway lady.
My favorite thing about Halloween is that *everybody* celebrates one of my holidays (I'm Wiccan).
Two things:
costumes and
chocolate <3
Hello folks! I've been out for most of the day, doing Book Launch Day fun and games, but I was thrilled to come home and find so many fun comments (especially from the many of you who say that chocolate is the best part of Halloween!)
Answering a few questions:
To Quantum: While I am intrigued by witchcraft and Wicca, I don't actively consider myself a witch, a Wiccan, or a pagan. I researched individual rites for the novels, but I never intended to create an *actual* guide to witchcraft with the books! Regarding Fictionwise: I suspect that all three Jane Madison books will be available as ebooks, shortly; however, my publisher controls the release of ebooks. I don't have a say in which books get "tapped" (alas!) (As for flight lessons for Jane - that's *really* scary to contemplate. Jane can, at times, be a bit, um, flighty...)
To Terrio: When Neko isn't a cat, he's an extremely attractive, snarky, gay man.
To Hellion: I am coming to love the Scrivener software - I'm becoming accustomed to moving scenes and chapters around at the blink of an eye, to using the synopsis feature to flesh out my shorter treatments, etc. I'm also experimenting with using Scrivener to re-plot a complicated novel that had 11 point-of-view characters (it will likely end up with "only" five.) It's an inexpensive download and has worked flawlessly - the only drawback is that it is Mac only (no PC version.)
To Kathy: I started writing the Jane Madison series after I'd spent eight straight years writing dark, grim, tortured traditional fantasy. I wanted to try something relatively fluffy and fun - and the rest is history, as they say. (As for my sources for the witchcraft material - some has been Internet based, some has come from speaking with friends who are Wiccans, and some is - horrors! - made up :-) )
Thanks, everyone, for having me as a guest! I'll check back this evening, and then I'll select a winner at random for the book drawing!
Which is better to do, write a stand alone and hope you get a deal for more or plan from the start that it will be at least a 3 book deal?
To Michael: I strongly advise authors to write a stand-alone and to pitch that book as a single entity with (at most) a one-paragraph sketch of additional volumes in the series. While you're pitching that first-in-a-series, write another book in a *different* series.
Best case - publishers fall in love, buy the first book, along with additional ones in the series *and* the new series that you started while pitching.
Worst case - publishers don't warm to your first book, but you haven't wasted your time writing books in an unsellable series *and* you have the second round of submissions ready to go.
(Publishers want the security of knowing that books will sell in a series, but we authors have to protect ourselves!)
AND THE WINNER IS....
KATHY! (From the 10:26 post)
Kathy - send me your street address, and let me know which one of the Jane Madison books you'd like to receive (GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT, SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL, or MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL.) You can reach me at mindy@mindyklasky.com
Everyone else - thanks so much for your fun comments and my great reception on the rollicking Revenge!
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