This Monday we have Sci/fi author Linnea Sinclair (later on her pet, cat, Daq makes an appearance) who took the time to enlighten us on the various characters and worlds she has come up with. Plus, we have three sets of books to give away!

You have a sequel to Gabriel's Ghost called Shades of Dark coming out in July. Since this is your first sequel, how did this come about and how is writing a sequel different from writing a stand alone novel?

Linnea: Gabriel’s Ghost was written to be followed by a second book, entitled Chasidah’s Choice. It was plotted out, I had a synopsis, the whole thing. However, when Bantam bought Gabriel’s they didn’t express any interest in the sequel at that time. Only when the second three-book contract with them rolled around did I again talk to my agent and my editor about the second book. This time it clicked and was re-titled Shades of Dark. (A title I felt was just okay but by the time I finished writing Shades I felt it was very very on-point.)

In many ways, writing the sequel was a lot easier than writing the first book. To a great extent, I didn’t have to invent anything. I recently had a conversation with another paranormal author who didn’t realize that five out of six of my current Bantam releases are all stand-alones. She was amazed that I’d invented five completely new worlds, new characters, new systems…the whole kit-n-caboodle. Looking back, yeah, that was a lot of work. It’s much easier to walk into a ‘working’ world having all that already done for you.

So that was the positive of writing Shades. I simply had to find my original Gabriel’s notes (not as easy as it sounds, alas) and work off them.

The difficult part was that it’s been a few years since I wrote Gabriel’s. I’d forgotten a lot of things. I caught some errors. I had to work in plot lines or plot problems raised in book one that didn’t seem as interesting as something I could invent now…but I had to stick with what had been done.

 But I’m really pleased with how it worked out. I’m very pleased with Shades and early feedback I’ve received on the book has been awesomely encouraging (one reader told me she went through the last few chapters clutching her box of Kleenex).  In fact, I’m so pleased with Shades that I’m now working on book three, which Bantam just bought this week. I don’t have a publication date yet for Hope’s Folly but as soon as I do, it’ll be posted on my site.

 What made you decide to write for the sci-fi genre?

 Linnea: I’ve always written SF/paranormal. I wrote ghost stories and Ouija board stories and otherworld stories in grammar school and high school. I wrote Trek fan fic in graduate school and after. It’s quite honestly my poison of choice. I love the expansiveness of it, the ability to create and customize worlds and cultures. I love playing with my characters against the vast and varied backdrops quite unlike anything we’ve seen here (well, at least, not until George Lucas put his dreams on the big screen).  I love the ‘larger than life’ aspect of science fiction. I’m also a Saturday Afternoon at the Movies junkie and science fiction lends itself well to that—high action, high drama, lots of cliffhangers.

You created very complex worlds/universes. What methods did you use to keep track of all of the parts of those worlds?

Linnea: What I used to use and what I use now are two different things. I used to use copious hand drawn maps (or computer generated) and schematics and layouts, and pages of scribbled notes, or hastily typed ideas. That worked well enough when I was doing all stand-alones. I could put my barely-legible scratchings away once the book was sold, and not have to worry about deciphering them at some later date.

Not so, now. I learned that with Shades of Dark and now I used PowerWriter to keep things organized. It’s not a perfect system but—barring a hard drive crash—it works a lot better than scribbled notes on legal pad paper dotted with cat barf stains.

Those little fur balls known as Furzels from Games of Command were very popular with many readers. How did you come up with the idea, and will we see them again in any future books?

 Linnea: Ah, the fur balls in Games of Command. The truth is… Whoa, wait! What’s this? A paw on my keyboard? A paw over my…. ::thud::

Hi. Daq Cat here. My human slave, Linnea, is kinda sorta busy right now. Besides, I’m the one you really want to talk to. Me. Daq Cat. Yes, I thought you’d recognize me. I’m the handsome stud-fluffer on the cover of Games of Command. The original cover. The better cover. Because I’m on it. I’m not only the cover model, I’m the model for Tank the furzel. Yes, it’s true. I know you thought you’d never meet me in fur-son, but here I am. Yes, I’m incredibly handsome. No, I'm not fat. I’m big boned. It’s my Maine Coon heritage. And I have fluffy fur. Honest. I’m not fat.

 So, you see, the idea for the story of Games of Command was all totally mine. My human slave, Linnea, just typed what I told her to. I’m the real creator. My name should be on the cover and on the contract. But would Bantam agree to that? Nooo. They had to have a contract with a human. So here I am, slighted at the very beginning of my feline writing career. Relegated to the acknowledgments.

I would, of course, like an entire ten-book series written about me. And some other felines, of course, just for added interest. But I could take up ten books myself. And it’s not because I’m fat! I told you. I’m big boned. But right now, Bantam hasn’t said they want any more furzel books.

 I made my human slave sneak a cat into Hope’s Folly, though. I have my methods.

 In the meantime, my human slave has a page devoted to me and my friend, Miss Doozy. You can see us here : www.linneasinclair.com/cat.htm . I love receiving fan mail. Sending catnip is even better.

Oh, wait. I hear the can opener. FOOD!

PAUSE… (Kate holds back her laughter)

What was it like to win a RITA Award?  Were you shocked?  Did you have a speech prepared?

Linnea: Oh, hi. I’m back. Daq cat just bolted out of my office. Hmm, wonder why? Anyway, yes, the RITA. Most horribly wonderful horrible great moment of my life. I could say I was totally unprepared but that would lead you to believe I was more prepared than I was. I wasn’t shocked. I was hyperventilating. I kid you not. I hadn’t bothered to do anything with my hair, I even left my glasses on (didn’t go the vanity route with contacts) because…why should I? I wasn’t going to win. I wanted to be comfortable while I watched the ceremony. Hence, hair just tucked back in a bun (all frizzy, too) and glasses.

Then they read my name. I started sucking air, hard. My agent, next to me, started screaming (happy scream—she had no idea I was in respiratory distress). I believe my husband snored through most of it. I was extremely grateful I didn’t trip over my feet and fall off the stage, either going up or coming down.

Let me tell you about the RITA statute. That sucker is heavy. It would make one terrific murder weapon. Just a thought for anyone who writes romantic suspense.

If you could travel to any planet which one would it be? And which hero from one of your books would you take along with you?

Linnea: I’m not that fond of planets. I’d prefer space stations and if I could go anywhere, it would be Dock Five (Gabriel’s Ghost, Shades of Dark). Dock Five is kinda of the butt-end of the Empire. Seedy, dangerous. Fun. I’d definitely take Philip Guthrie. Okay, you all don’t know that much about Philip yet because his book is Hope’s Folly. He had a minor role in Gabriel’s Ghost and a much larger role in Shades of Dark. And though I dearly love Sully because he’s just so intense (and sexy), and I dearly love Branden Kel-Paten because he’s so wounded/tortured (and sexy), Philip is just… oh, he just makes my toes curl. And he can assemble a Val-9 Punisher hand cannon in under fifteen seconds flat. You gotta love a man who can do that and still know exactly the right temperature to serve red wine.  Plus if I took Kel-Paten, Sass would likely hit me in the head with my RITA statute.

What city and state does Linnea reside in?

tags: linnea  sinclair  furzels  and  cats  

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