Interview with Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire has published seven books to date — Five in the October Daye series, and two in the NewsFlesh universe under the pen name Mira Grant. In 2010, she won the John W. Campbell award for Best New Writer, and Feed, the first of the NewsFlesh books, was one of Publisher's Weekly's Best Books of 2010. And, as you know if you've poked around this blog, I'm a fan.


On March 6th, her third series hits shelves, starting with Discount Armageddon (my review is here). I emailed her to ask if she might have time in her busy writing schedule to do a brief interview about her new book, and her writing process. This is what I've been all excited about; I hope you all enjoy! I am also doing a giveaway for Discount Armageddon, so read all the way to the bottom to sign up.

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What was the initial seed of inspiration for the InCryptid series?

I wanted to write about cryptids, and about this crazy family that had been kicking around my head for a while, but I didn't know how to put them together.  My friend Kate wanted us to try watching SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, since we like dancing and it looked fun.  The season we started with had this cute blonde ballroom dancer named Chelsea Hightower on it. She could kick higher than her head.  I mean, you looked at this girl, you saw bubbly collateral damage.  And a series was born.

Did you have a favorite part to write in Discount Armageddon?

Yes.  It involved mice.

How much of what you write is outlined from the beginning, and how much do you make up as you go along? Has that changed since you first started writing?

I'd say it's about fifty/fifty, and that ratio has been pretty consistent since I started writing.  No plot has ever survived an encounter with the actual narrative, no matter how good it looked on paper.  The big things tend to stay constant, but everything else shifts and changes.

You write on your blog about the "machete squad," a group of readers who help you with revisions before an editor sees your manuscript. How much do you wind up changing between your first draft and after the machete squad has seen it?

The only thing ONE SALT SEA has in common with its original first draft is the involvement of the Undersea.  It even got a new title.  And a new central bad guy.  And a new location in the overall story arc.  A lot of that happened due to feedback from the Machete Squad.  Without them, my books would be a lot less solid.  I love them so much.

Herc and Risu hang out with Toby Daye

This is your eighth published book, and your third series. Do you ever get used to seeing your name (or your pseudonym) on bookstore shelves?

No.  Really not.  I look for myself in bookstores all the time, and it's not ego, it's disbelief.  It's like...this is what I've always, always wanted, and now I have it.  And that's amazing.






More by Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant:

Buy these books from your local independent
(Links are in the same order as the books appear above)

The Giveaway:

I would like more people to read and enjoy Seanan McGuire's books. Therefore, I will be buying 5 copies of Discount Armageddon to give to five lucky commenters, chosen by random number drawing. If you comment, you will be entered to win. If you have never read anything by Seanan McGuire and comment saying so, you will receive an additional entry, and the chance to also win a copy of Rosemary and Rue. If you link to this page or my review on your Twitter, blog, facebook, Goodreads, or wherever you hang out online, you will receive an additional entry, for a maximum of three entries per person.

I'm going by the honor code on whether you've read Seanan's books before, but I ask for links to where you've posted my link to verify your entry.

I will take entries through 7 AM EST on Tuesday, March 6th, and will draw and contact the winners on the 6th for your mailing address. I will ship internationally.

If more than 100 people enter, I will buy additional copies to increase your chances of winning.

So, leave a comment below with whether you've read anything by Seanan McGuire (or under her pen name, Mira Grant), and, if you've linked to this or to my review, a link to that post. Please do not post only a link; Blogger is likely to mark your comment as spam. If you link me on twitter, instead of putting it in your comment, you can @-mention me (@alicetheowl), and that'll count.


EDIT: the giveaway winners are listed here.