Hopefully you all had a terrific Thanksgiving holiday and are well-recovered from any associated food comas. We hosted the meal for our families, which is unusual, since we usually host Christmas. Everything turned out well and people seemed to enjoy themselves, so it was an event-filled day. Something else happened on November 23rd: Susan Forest’s latest book, Gathering of Ghosts, was published. Susan recently shared some of her experiences with me, which you can read below. Enjoy the interview!
About the Author
Susan Forest is the author of dual Aurora Award-winners Bursts of Fire (2019) and Flights of Marigold (2020) as well as over 25 internationally-published short stories (Analog, Asimov’s, Beneath Ceaseless Skies). She edits an award-winning anthology series for Laksa Media Groups, was Editor Guest of Honor at Keycon in 2022, and has been invited to coedit Life Beyond Us, coming out from the European Astrobiology Institute in 2023. Gathering of Ghosts, the third novel of her Addicted to Heaven series (forthcoming, 2023) confronts issues of addictions in an epic fantasy world of intrigue and betrayal.
Interview
Who or what inspires you to write?
I love playing with my imaginary friends. I am particularly inspired, these days, by history. My Addicted to Heaven series with Laksa Media Groups is a medieval fantasy, but I have an unpublished book set in 1635 and my current project is set during World War II. I find the true historical stories and people not only fascinating in their own right, but I love putting my characters under the constraints dictated by the conditions of past times and places, and particularly with interweaving my characters’ stories with actual events. My most recently published short story, “The Only Road,” is set in Northern India during the Raj (1890s). I knew what needed to happen with my characters, but the more I researched the settings and political events, the more they dovetailed with what I needed to have happen for my characters. It was a really exciting process!
What is the best thing that has happened because of your writing?
I don’t know where to start! I have met the most amazing, intellectually stimulating, funny, and genuine people through attending writers’ conventions, some of which have led to business connections and publishing opportunities. I belong to (or have belonged to) several writers’ groups that have not only resulted in forging good friendships but that have improved my writing. I have expanded my writerly work to include teaching, speaking, and editing, all of which are creatively stimulating and provide a more predictable income than writing.
What is the most difficult thing you have experienced about writing or publishing?
As a writer, one has to be prepared for rejection. A writing teacher of mine once said, “No one becomes published without papering that entire back wall of the classroom with rejection slips.” With time and experience, the sting of rejection gets easier, but this is a tough business, and rejection is a prominent part of it.
Was there anything you didn’t do during your writing or publishing journey that you wish you had?
It is sometimes hard to have patience. I had a novel in submission with a large press and after a year of non-communication, I pulled the book because I had a small press opportunity to publish it. Six months later, the large press editor told me he hadn’t seen that I pulled the book and he had notes for me, and I had to explain that the book was sold. He said, well, probably the book wasn’t for him anyway, which I think was a nice way to let me down. I don’t actually have regrets, because the small press has treated me excellently, but one always wonders: would the large press have bought the first book? Would they have bought more in the series, or dropped me (my small press publisher has committed to the whole series)? Would it have made a difference in my books’ audience reach? Maybe.
You said you have a publisher, can you tell us more about that, and whether you have an agent?
My wonderful publisher is Laksa Media Groups, and they have really treated me well, with cover consultations, an author-friendly contract, and being good communicators. No agent at this point—for small press this isn’t necessary. However, because the press is small, I can write more books than they have the capacity to put out, so I am actively seeking an agent for my other projects.
In which genre(s) do you like to write, and why?
My first love is fantasy, but I also write science fiction short stories, and may have an SF novel in me as well. However, the books I love most have mystery, crime, or thriller elements, and you don’t write a great fantasy without at least a hint of romance. As a result, I am studying up and learning more in the mystery/crime/thriller and romance genres—which I love too!
Do you outline your books before you write them?
If there was a scale of 1 to 10 where one end was populated by writers who discover as they write, and the other end was populated by uber-planners, you’d find me on the far end of the “planning” scale. I not only outline my books by noting the narrative of every scene, I include the “why now?” (i.e., why do the characters do what they do in that scene—and why do they do it now?), the structure, the reveals—all the nuts and bolts I can think of—usually before I’ve written a word. That process isn’t for everyone, but it works for me. I’ve heard discovery writers say they think planning to that level would take the fun out of writing individual scenes, or prevent the author from following new threads that appear during the writing process, but that isn’t true for me at all. I still find the joy in discovering how a scene accomplishes what it needs to accomplish, and I still find new threads to incorporate that I can follow to enrich the story.
How do you define success as a writer?
I’m fortunate that it is not necessary for me to earn food-on-the-table levels of income from my writing, so I don’t have to crank out a million books, thereby exhausting my creativity, ruining my health, and losing my close relationships. For me, it is enough to find readers who love my stories, reviewers who appreciate my themes, and pick up an award or two. The money I make—for me—is an acknowledgment that people are willing to show with their hard-earned dollars that they find value in my stories. That is success.
If you could have lunch with any author, who would it be?
I am so fortunate to have had lunch with a number of my author heroes, and the best times have come not from being a fan-with-a-hero, but from being part of a community: a group of 5-6 writerly friends having dinner or drinks, with spirited debates over craft points or the business of publishing. Such moments can be immensely satisfying. At my table? I love Michael Cassutt for his insights into television, Gerald Brandt for his humor, Walter Jon Williams to discuss history and travel, Rob Sawyer for his articulate intelligence, Julie Czerneda for her grace and good cheer, and—hey, let’s throw in George RR Martin because I’d love to meet him! Or—why not?—Ursula K. LeGuin as Ghost of Honor!
Tell us about a great adventure you’ve had.
Last fall, I was trying to decide whether to start a near-future science fiction novel or put a second book into my World War II universe, when my husband said, “Let’s take a motorcycle trip through Europe in the spring.” That decided it: I threw in some of my writerly earnings and took 9 days of the trip to hang out in Lyon researching a book set in 1944. I arranged to speak with two historians from resistance museums in Lyon and Grenoble (I hired interpreters!) and because we had a motorcycle we could visit places like Izieu, the village where Klaus Barbie apprehended 44 Jewish children to send to Auschwitz, and the high passes of the Vercours where the Allies dropped parachutes with supplies for the French Resistance. An amazing holiday, fantastic roads for riding a motorcycle, phenomenal scenery, fascinating people, astounding history, and perfect inspiration for my next book!
That sounds like an amazing trip, full of both beauty and history. Susan, thank you for spending time with us!
Readers, you can find out more about Susan and her books on her website, http://speculative-fiction.ca/.
Highborn magiel, Rennika Falkyn, passes for a Worldling peasant, shielding her family from the shame of her past by hiding her magic.
But when Rennika’s Upriser sister, dispossessed of her spellcasting ability, turns up, Rennika fears for the safety of her secrets. Her sister’s plea for Rennika to use her magic to track down a missing child draws her into a tangle of mystifying puzzles. What does a boy who can reveal a universe of light through his skin have to do with a breeding program for mages, or war simmering on a contested borderland?
Is Rennika capable of stopping a king obsessed with subjugating seven realms in his drive to release his family from a cruel curse? And can she overcome the stigma of her past crimes to do so?
Readers, have you ever traveled by motorcycle? Let us know in the comments!
Heidi Eliason 