Ask the Author: Anna Sheehan
Answered Questions (15)
Anna Sheehan
I am writing. I haven't given up yet! I had some personal life stuff which got in the way of my pro writing work. I've been writing up a storm, but none of it has been publishable, unfortunately. However, I've been working more towards pro work lately, and it's likely I'll have something I can try and market within a year or so. I will publish again, eventually!
Anna Sheehan
You know, it was one of those muse bites that just don't go away. I think it's because the story of Sleeping Beauty always bugged me. What happened to the country when the king and queen were gone? The world keeps going on. In Long Sleep, I was mostly thinking in terms of the person herself, how she tries to fit herself into the new world. In Spinning Thorns, the idea of what happened to the country was more the focus. But really, they're incredibly different stories; different timelines, different genres, different POV characters, and I think a much different feel. I am VERY pleased with Spinning Thorns, in particular, and I'm so glad you're excited by it! I hope it doesn't disappoint!
Anna Sheehan
I did have plans, for one or possibly two more books in the series, but the execution of said plans may be more difficult. I haven't gotten much interest from publishers about it, though a handful of fans have asked. I will warn you before you read, No Life But This is somewhat different in feel from Long Sleep. Long Sleep was written before my first husband died, and No Life after, and as a result I had a slightly different world view, not to mention having different Point Of View characters. I'm very glad you like the book!
Anna Sheehan
I am ALWAYS writing another book. I don't always finish all of them -- sometimes an idea isn't strong enough to withstand act one of a novel -- but if I don't have a book going, I feel barren and empty. Recently, I have finished a more traditional faerie tale retelling, and a rather subtly dark fantasy pirate novel. I have another sci-fi in the works, though I think it might not get finished, as I suspect I have the right idea, but am telling the wrong person's story. And I also have another UniCorp novel percolating, at least a third of it is written and the rest plotted out, but even though I've recently had a breakthrough for it, it's been on the back-burner for a while now. My next published novel is probably going to be one of those first two I mentioned, as they're completed already. Thanks for asking!
Anna Sheehan
I have a few ideas, and two half finished novels, but nothing publishable as yet. I'd love reader feedback on what people would be interested in seeing -- Facebook is probably the best place for that kind of conversation, but I'm also active here on ϻӮ. Also, I'd probably get lots of feedback in different directions, so I couldn't, of course, guarantee that every idea would be listened to. But I'm always interested in hearing what my readers liked, or didn't like, and what they think about particular characters.
Anna Sheehan
Apparently No Life But This is ALREADY available on Kindle, through Amazon UK, but (since I do not own a kindle I cannot confirm this) I have been told that American users cannot download this. I intend to ask my publishers about this, but I personally have no control over it. You'd have to contact Gollancz if you want an answer for this immediately (and they don't even give ME answers immediately.) I'm working on it, everyone, and I will announce, certainly on Facebook, when this is available. Sorry I don't have a good answer for you, and I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks!
Anna Sheehan
Thanks for asking. Rose's story was told, you are correct, but I had another character who had a story to tell. I'm more fond of books that are finished -- not cliff-hangers demanding that you read the next book. (I leave my cliff-hangers for chapter endings.) But every person you meet has their own story, and every world one enters has multiple stories, and in this instance, it would have been a shame to leave those stories untold, once I'd heard them in my head.
Anna Sheehan
My advice for aspiring writers is just this -- Don't do it if you're not enjoying it. Writing can be difficult (fun things aren't always easy -- see puzzles) but if you're beating your head against it and bemoaning your existence while writing, just don't do it. If you are enjoying it, don't let anything stop you from doing it. The same holds true on the converse -- don't force yourself if you're not having fun. There are a great many published books out there, there are even more unpublished books out there, and the publishing industry is complicated, and isn't the same thing as writing. If you're enjoying writing, more power to you. (Publishing is a different skill set entirely from writing.) But whatever you're doing, as Jane Yolen said, Take Joy!
Anna Sheehan
I do read reviews, though not obsessively. Mostly I consider a review a conversation with a reader -- one sided, perhaps, but I presented them with a story, and they have a response. This means that even critical reviews are not only valuable, but very intriguing, and I welcome them as much as positive reviews, particularly when they're well thought out and cogent.
Another thing that should be made clear is that I don't expect everyone to like my books. I write things that are controversial, that are thought provoking, bittersweet, sometimes disturbing, pushing the boundaries of people's comfort zones. Someone who likes the scene where my characters get all sappy will not like the scene where there's then a major betrayal, and vice versa. This means that I expect to get a lot of luke-warm and mixed reviews, where someone liked one thing and didn't like another. I'm trying to make people think.
I very much believe that if everyone who read my books liked them then I would have done something wrong. If everyone likes it, then there's nothing thought-provoking, and all I've done is write milquetoast claptrap that is only meant to please, not meant to enrich. I hope to make some people uncomfortable, or bored, or annoyed. I expect some people will be unable to handle this or that, and will put the book down. And a good critical reader might point out something that I genuinely should have repaired in the book, and if that's the case, then it's good to know it so I can evolve as a writer.
Give me critical reviews, positive, negative, mixed, and indifferent. I expect people to think, one way or another, about my books. And every reader has the right to hate my books, and say so openly. I'm a big girl. I can take a little criticism.
Another thing that should be made clear is that I don't expect everyone to like my books. I write things that are controversial, that are thought provoking, bittersweet, sometimes disturbing, pushing the boundaries of people's comfort zones. Someone who likes the scene where my characters get all sappy will not like the scene where there's then a major betrayal, and vice versa. This means that I expect to get a lot of luke-warm and mixed reviews, where someone liked one thing and didn't like another. I'm trying to make people think.
I very much believe that if everyone who read my books liked them then I would have done something wrong. If everyone likes it, then there's nothing thought-provoking, and all I've done is write milquetoast claptrap that is only meant to please, not meant to enrich. I hope to make some people uncomfortable, or bored, or annoyed. I expect some people will be unable to handle this or that, and will put the book down. And a good critical reader might point out something that I genuinely should have repaired in the book, and if that's the case, then it's good to know it so I can evolve as a writer.
Give me critical reviews, positive, negative, mixed, and indifferent. I expect people to think, one way or another, about my books. And every reader has the right to hate my books, and say so openly. I'm a big girl. I can take a little criticism.
Anna Sheehan
Those plot holes are easy to fix, actually -- you go back, insert, polish, add some foreshadowing, and usually 'tisn't that difficult to repair... at least for me. I actually tend to have a more polished first draft than most authors, I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm editing in my head, I don't know. Once I got halfway through a book on a ship, got through to the climax, and realized I'd clean FORGOTTEN to put a key character -- who was about to die heroically -- onto the ship in the first place. I'd put him in the first chapter, but forgot to get him on the ship. That was the worst time I ever had rewriting in a hole. Fortunately, he was in the synopses, so I just had to find the places he was supposed to be in, and occasionally have him chirp in a line of dialogue here and there.
The worst editing job I had was on No Life But This, where my editor wanted the book to go in a direction the book didn't want to go into. I tried and tried, but the book died every time I did. It wasn't until I switched editors -- a painful and unpleasant experience, let me tell you -- that I was able to make the book come together again. Which isn't to say that you shouldn't edit your books, or if you think you can make a change you should fight your editor anyway. I always say if you can make the book better, try, and editors usually know what they're about.
The worst editing job I had was on No Life But This, where my editor wanted the book to go in a direction the book didn't want to go into. I tried and tried, but the book died every time I did. It wasn't until I switched editors -- a painful and unpleasant experience, let me tell you -- that I was able to make the book come together again. Which isn't to say that you shouldn't edit your books, or if you think you can make a change you should fight your editor anyway. I always say if you can make the book better, try, and editors usually know what they're about.
Anna Sheehan
Reading through my favorite scenes, when all the best characters can't begin to leave my head. Also when the books seem to write themselves, as if I were simply being dictated to by the book that already exists. I actually love my own books -- they're fun to read.
Anna Sheehan
I'm currently working on a fantasy pirate novel, set in a world of Cromwellian politics, magical intrigue, and fantastical creatures, in a series I call Blood and Gold. I abandoned the book, and the series (there are three books so far) five years ago, when I thought it would never be saleable. I still don't know whether it will be saleable, but I'm enjoying the world. I'm also working with my editor on another faerie tale retelling, but that one's in negotiation, so... we'll leave it there in case of spoilers.
Anna Sheehan
Now, that would be telling! But seriously, Rose's story was done. The only reason I would tell another story from Rose's perspective, was if she had another story to tell. I tell the story from the point of view of whose story it is. There are some authors in YA who use a sympathetic character to tell a story which is really motivated by the actions of some other, less sympathetic, character, but I am not ever likely to do that.
Anna Sheehan
Sorry it took me so long to answer -- somehow I read the author dashboard wrong, so I missed the question. I spent years researching this book, though I didn't always know it. Since "researching" is just part of the writing process, and I enjoy writing, then yes, of course I enjoyed it. I spent a lot of years researching psychological conditions, and several months researching apocalyptic scenarios. I went all the way to India to study the ramifications of genetic modification and global food safety. I researched the symptoms of abuse victims, and institutional disorders. And of course, I studied human nature, and social interaction. I also studied myths and folklore, meter and rhythm, and many many years of writing. I asked those more versed in these matters to help with fight scenes. I did a great deal of research -- and still, if you ask me how stasis works, my answer will always be, "Very well, thank you." There comes a point in SF where one can simply accept a concept and leave it without an explanation.
Anna Sheehan
With an axe. That's the best way. Actually, I tend not to get "writer's block" per se. I get editor block, when I have trouble editing a book down to what it should be to make it sale-able. And actually, an axe tends to work pretty well if I'm having trouble writing -- If I've been inside too long, a little physical activity is useful, and we heat the house with a wood stove.
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