It’s not often I come across writing that resonates with me in a way that remains in my soul for days after but hers hit that rare sweet spot. Original, troubling, at times unsettling, it’s real in a way only the best fantasy can be. An allegory to our own plain, quiet, dull and unadorned world. Where, if we had the chance to reach the lightning heat of our passion and take it beyond the realm of what we know, we can experience the love and pain of those who are burdened with powers we can only dream of. It’s sexy and cruel in a Donna Tartt’s The Secret History kind of way, but without that generous side of Hamptons frat.
Fascinated by her humility and her cool detachment from just how incredible her talent is, I reached out to her post-breathless-reading of her book for an interview. I wanted to know more about the talented mind behind one of the most original, unique, and in-your-face books I have come across, in well, ever.
And she didn’t disappoint. Her book Masks of Living Bone is a bestseller waiting to happen. Until then, here’s a little more about the woman behind the book that’s got the chops to end up as a series on Netflix.
If you could live in any time period, (past, present, or future for one week), when would you choose to live?
Jazz Age, baby! I don’t actually listen to jazz, but the vibe feels right, especially for only a week. A little bit of bootlegging, a little bit of women’s rights, a little bit of Art Deco — what’s not to love?
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
I have three Pitbulls who are the loves of my life, so most of my non-writing and non-working time is spent walking or training or playing games with them. They’re big fans of hiking and playing hide-and-go-seek, and I just started a basic scent work class with one of them. Other than that, I’m your garden-variety nerd, so I read some books and watch some anime and play some video games. I’m also a nerd-variety gardener, so on summer mornings, you can catch me wandering around outside with my coffee, talking nonsense to my dahlias.
You are stuck in an elevator with your ultimate favorite celebrity or fandom character. Who are they and what would you do with them to pass the time?
I love how open-ended the latter part of this question is. ;) My ultimate favorite celebrity would have to be Tom Hardy — he’s equal parts heartthrob and muse for me. I’ve written characters with him in mind and learned so much from watching him inhabit characters. Assuming I didn’t just crumble into mortified ash as soon as he perceived my existence, I’d probably talk to him about dogs; I know we have that in common.
If you could go back in time and visit your younger self, what would you say to make yourself a better writer, faster?
I would tell myself that writing is a craft, which means it needs to be practiced. Although there is something absolutely alchemical about writing, the gold doesn’t come out of thin air — you have to approach it with no small amount of discipline and willingness to just wade through the suck. I was lacking that when I was younger; I waited for the muse or the mood to strike before I wrote, and I wasn’t active when it came to learning how to structure a story. I assumed that being a reader was enough, and even though that’s a necessary and invaluable part of writing, I would’ve caught on to how stories work a lot faster if I’d gone looking for answers rather than hoping they’d fall in my lap.
What inspires you to write?
I was thinking about this the other day as I was potting up seedlings, wondering why my stories are so dark when I enjoy so many light and beautiful things in real life. I don’t, at this time, feel the need or desire to write about flowers or dogs. I think it’s because they feed me, whereas I write out of a need to vent. I write about things I need to understand more deeply, things that have grown out of opposition to something else that exists in the world. I’m obsessed with godhood and power and trauma, and writing about those things comes more naturally to me. I think writing about wholesome, uncomplicated goodness would be a challenge.
Do you ever wonder if the world and characters you create become real in an alternate universe? If so, how does that make you feel when you put them through the ringer?
I’m not sure I ever considered it in that exact sense, but I do think characters have life beyond their pages. My characters stay with me even once I’ve written “the end” in their particular book, and maybe someday they’ll stay with readers too. I do think the alternate universe idea is fun, but no, I have absolutely no qualms about making my characters suffer. For one thing, conflict is the point; if you couldn’t tell already, I’m not someone who thinks a conflict-free book is some kind of magical evolution of storytelling. Also, my characters always win in the end. My stories are dark, but they’re not tragedies in the traditional sense; they’re villain origin stories, so even if the victory is something of a monkey paw, it’s a victory nonetheless.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
Jason Chessam is going to kill his mother.
After fifteen years honing his bone-splicing ability as a cartel enforcer, he’s returned to his hometown to murder the woman who destroyed his life — and everyone who helped her. To get to her, he’ll have to evade the superhuman peacekeepers of Diamond Heights, including Titan, his lightning-powered childhood friend who’s risen to infamy as a dangerous, unpredictable guardian of the city.
Who he doesn’t count on is Leilah, the manipulative and beautiful fixer assigned to help Titan hunt him down. Her minor psychic power should be too weak to be a threat, but she seems to guess his every move, and Titan is never more than a step behind him.
As Jason’s path to revenge carves through not just his mother’s enablers, but the superpowered criminals who run the city’s underbelly, his burgeoning attraction to Leilah and fraught history with Titan complicate his mission. Jason finds himself drawn into their orbit of sadism and seduction, and with the city’s heroes, cops, and kingpins closing in, he’ll have to decide who’s worth killing for — and who’s worth dying for.
How has your book changed since its first draft?
Almost everything changed between the first and third drafts. For a book that was supposed to be a dark, sexy superhero story, the first draft was a lot about permits and building codes. Jason wasn’t even introduced until after the midpoint, and his goals and personality were completely different. It was a very politics-focused story, and although I do think all stories are political in some respect, I was writing the book I thought I should rather than the one I wanted.
You were part of the last Pitch Wars class, tell us about your experience.
It still feels slightly surreal to know I was part of the last class! The mentorship experience itself was a dream; my mentor was Jackson Ford, who was not just wise and generous and encouraging, but he got the book. His advice was always spot-on, and I never had to fight to defend my vision or felt that the book was becoming something other than mine. Jackson made his suggestions, but the final decision was always mine. I ended up changing the tense completely from present to past, and I rewrote about the first 10% as it was originally somewhat slow and laborious for a superhero thriller.
The thing to remember with any mentorship program, especially one with an agent showcase or pitch element, is that it’s not a silver bullet. The books that did well in the showcase were the books that would’ve gotten snatched up out of the slush pile anyway, and everyone else is doing better or worse in the query trenches just as they would have without Pitch Wars. If you have a weird little off-trend book that’s not so easy to pitch, you can hope that the reputation of your mentorship program is enough to even the playing field, but there’s no guarantee of that. You’re much better off focusing on the actual mentorship and making the book better than hoping you’ll be the one snatched up by an agent within 48 hours
What are your five favorite books, and why?
The Night Circus — every word of that book is so incredibly beautiful, and I read it annually in the fall.
The Song of Achilles — exquisite pain. The first time I read it, I was amazed that I could be so shaken by a story that I ostensibly already knew. I cried on and off for three days when I finished it.
Gideon the Ninth — that book rocked my world so hard I couldn’t even be envious of the writing. So funny, so dark; extremely my shit.
Jade City — the Green Bone Saga is, to me, the coolest series in SFF right now. The fight scenes, the twists, the family drama, I’m here for all of it.
The Hobbit — sentimental value, here; it was my first introduction to fantasy.
What are you reading right now?
I’m lucky enough to have an SFF book club at my local library, and for that I’m currently reading Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor — Nigerian fantasy, very cool. For fun I’m reading Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May, which is full of glamor and magic and women being bad, all of which I love. I’m working on a witchy book right now, so I’ve been reading lots of witchy books for comp research.
If you could have dinner with any author from any era, who would you pick, and why?
I have to say Madeline Miller. I’m obsessed with The Song of Achilles, I loved Circe, and I’m eagerly awaiting whatever she gives us next. I’ve heard her on a couple podcasts (her interview on the Ezra Klein Show is so good, highly recommend), and I could listen to her talk about mythology and research and process forever.
