Writers are an interesting
community. We bicker, compete, support each other and also draw inspiration
from one another. It's my great pleasure here to interview Celina Summers, who
I had the good fortune to meet when I was part of the Musa Publishing family. She's not only a savvy writer;
she takes a scholarly and detailed approach to creating her fiction. Frankly,
if you're not inspired after reading this you need to go and read it
again!
Q1 Tell us about your recent work
and what inspired it.
Right now, I’m playing around
with multiple genre mashups. Probably the best way to describe what I do is
literary fantasy. My recent work has been set in 18th century Europe, Asia, and America,
with time traveling, magic realism, mythology, and swords and sorcery combined
with historical fiction. It’s a lot to keep straight. Greco-Roman mythology is
a huge influence in my writing, having studied classical authors like Ovid and
Vergil since I took Latin in high school. So while I have immortal entities
that are based upon mythology, my main characters are having to confront 18th or 21st century problems, which creates
fascinating conflicts for them.
This kind of multiple genre work
is more difficult than the straight-up epic fantasy I used to write. The historical
aspects of the story requires a lot of research, for one. I have huge
storyboards on Pinterest with images of everything from costumes to knickknacks
to architecture and art. All the details must be correct in order for such a
world to work. So crafting the world is far more difficult. And the
consequence, naturally, of writing something so different is you (or your
agent) finding a publisher who is willing to take on your
literary/historical/time travel/magic realism/mythological/romance/swords and sorcery
fantasy novel. They can’t immediately see how to shelve such a novel in
bookstores, and that makes them hesitant to take on a project that complicated.
So it’s definitely a challenge on
many levels, but I love what I’m doing so I keep plugging away at it.
Q2 What is your take on the
publishing industry at the moment?
The publishing industry is once
again in transition. For indie authors and small presses who rely primarily on
e-publishing, the options are narrowing fast. Amazon’s KDP is convenient and
easy to use, so the market is getting flooding with really bad books. The other
platforms like Barnes and Noble or Smashwords aren’t any e-pubbed writer’s top
selling site. So authors who are self-publishing have one real shot at breaking
through and that’s Amazon.
But not so fast—the Amazon sales
algorithms are skewed. Preferred product placement occurs only if a book has
enough ratings and reviews. Well anyone can get all their friends and
co-workers to run off to Amazon and review their books, and many authors do
just that. So it’s frustrating when you see books that should never have been
published getting so many sales and reviews and popping up on your sales pages
as suggestions.
That being said, the pendulum
between traditional publishing and digital publishing is swinging back to a
more balanced market. While the Big Five are still controlling the lion’s share
of the book market, e-books are here to stay. Many writers (and I include
myself in this) are learning how to use both routes professionally. I am
self-publishing my backlist of small press-published books and adding new
sequels to those stories, while my agent is representing my new work. The
arrangement works well for us both.
Q3 What are you currently working
on?
The primary project I’m currently
working on is a series entitled Danse Macabre. In this world, Death isn’t the
Grim Reaper, but a conglomerate of immortals who each are assigned a specific
group of mortals whose lifespans they monitor. When a civil war breaks out among
the immortals for control of humanity’s future, Morgaine, the Death of Art, is
faced with a series of adversaries that are not only targeting the mortals in
her domain but threaten existence itself. What results is the ultimate Danse Macabre,
and neither the mortal nor immortal realms will ever be the same.
At the moment, I have several
projects on my desk. But I just finished Symphony of Death, the first book in
the Dance Macabre, so it’s uppermost on my mind. In fact, my agent received the
manuscript yesterday.
I’m also working on a sequel to
the two series I self-published in 2016—The Asphodel Cycle and The Black Dream.
(By the way, publishing eight books in eight months looks like a really great
idea on paper. But it’s a lot harder than you think it is and you have to work
your rear end off to make that happen. Trust me.) The new book, which may turn
into a series as well, is the story of the Asphodel heirs. The world of
Asphodel is the retelling of major classical myths like the Trojan War or the
Titanomachy using traditional fantasy characters and settings. So there are
endless possibilities for future stories there. The Asphodel Cycle was my first published series, and
coming back to the world after ten years away was a lot of fun.
I’m tinkering with an idea that’s
a riff from my Harlequin Theater literary fantasy series. That world is
set in contemporary American theatre, and revolves around a company that uses
magic to integrate the audience into the performance. Think The Phantom of the
Opera meets Something Wicked This
Way Comes. That world is a
lot of fun to play in.
And I’m building a couple of
other fantasy worlds, revising my horror series, Red Ink, which is based on
Jack the Ripper, freelance editing and sports writing. Safe to say I’m
extremely busy. But I love it.
Q4 Ebooks or paperback, or both?
I don’t write with a particular
medium in mind except for the Asphodel series. Unless you’re self-publishing or
writing for a specific publisher, this isn’t a question a writer should really
worry about. All my books that are currently published are available in both
digital and paperback formats.
Q5 Name two books that changed
the way you thought about your own writing, or even changed the way you write.
Kushiel’s
Dart by
Jacqueline Carey, and Daughter of the
Empire by Raymond E. Feist
and Janny Wurts. Both books revolve around female protagonists who find a way
to succeed despite their gender.
Carey’s world is lush and
voluptuous and vivid, having based her story in a world where a courtesan who’s
been taught how to be a spy is the key to changing her society. Carey’s
descriptive powers are incredible—probably the most intricate and extravagant
world building I’ve ever seen—and her heroine is unforgettable. She is deeply
flawed and superior at the same time.
Feist and Wurts set their heroine
in a lavish, intense world with Oriental settings, culture, and
traditions—which needs to happen more in fantasy. The story is about a girl who
has always followed traditions having to take the reins of a once powerful
house after her family’s rivals kill both her father and older brother. She
learns that in order for her and her house to survive, she must play the
political game better than any man in the Empire—and she cannot afford to
unquestioningly follow the traditions that usually bind the players.
Both books feature heroines who
don’t need to be saved. They are intelligent, cunning, and strategic. They use
their minds to outplay their foes, and I appreciate the incredible stages those
heroines have been provided as well. Both
books changed the way I looked at my heroines, and how I can give them the same
stage without having to beat the reader over the head with, “She’s a bad ass.
Get over it.” With both books, the writer in me was able to dissect how to
establish a strong, victorious heroine without having to make her unfeminine.
Q6 How do you know when your
characters have 'come to life'?
When they won’t shut up. I’m one
of those writers who ‘sees’ the story in my head and puts it on paper. I never
outline, but I always know where the book is going to end. I just let the story
play out—it’s basically like taking dictation for me, which irritates some of
my writer friends for some reason. And as I’m writing full time now, I’m
working 14-16 hours a day, 7 days a week. If the characters keep talking while
I’m working, then I keep working.
Hate to break the flow. Don’t
want to stop and then face a Samuel Taylor Coleridge “A maid with a dulcimer”
moment and forget where the story was taking me. Of course, I’m not cranked up
on opium so maybe it wouldn’t hit me the same way it did him.
Q7 What are your top tips for
acquiring and then working successfully with an agent?
I’m a believer in going to
conventions and meeting them in person. That’s how I acquired my agent. I went
to World Fantasy Con, and hung out all week with a friend of mine (DAW author
of the Touched By An Alien series, Gini Koch) and her agent (Cherry Weiner).
Cherry asked me to submit my manuscript to her, and upon reading it she signed
me. Never underestimate the possibilities of establishing an acquaintance with
an agent first.
If cons aren’t your thing, then
query. But when you do query, make sure there are no spelling or grammar
errors. Learn how to write a great hook, which is more difficult than it
sounds. Present your work in a professional manner—don’t try to be cute or
clever. Use standard manuscript format. If you want literary representation, you
need to demonstrate your professionalism as much as your work.
Q8 Where can we find out more
about your writing?
The best places to find out more
about me are my website and blog.
I spend a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter,
and for some reason people really like my Pinterest storyboards. You can
keep up with my articles on writing and publishing (like my recent series on
the collapse of All Romance Ebooks and how they absconded with the 4th quarter royalties due every single
author and publisher in 2016) on Blogcritics. I enjoy hearing from
readers and writers both, and am happy to advise young writers who have a
question. So if you catch me between writing blocks, I always appreciate the
interaction.
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