Author Interview: Luisa M. Perkins
I'm so stinking excited to host my dear friend Luisa on my blog today. She and I met online years ago, when my blog was brand new. We struck up a friendship based on the fact that we're both knitters (that's how we connected originally), writers, and Mormon.
Our friendship has gone way beyond those things. Today, we communicate via email and text almost every day, often several times, as we report our progress with to-do lists and goals and cheer each other on. Everyone needs a Luisa in their lives.
Aside from being a great friend, she's a great writer. As long-time readers know, I don't officially review books here. That said, her new book, Dispirited, is fantastic. It's deliciously creepy (this from someone who doesn't like to be scared), with a fascinating story, complex characters, and lyrical writing (something missing from a lot of fiction).
First, a bit about Luisa. Then her interview. And finally, a giveaway!
Luisa Perkins writes contemporary fantasy. She loves cooking and eating,
all kinds of music, and knitting. She and her husband, Patrick, have
six children and one aging-but-still-insane cat. They are in the process
of moving from the Hudson Highlands to Pasadena, California.
And now our interview about writing and her new book. (Isn't the cover delicious?)
AL: How long have you been writing and how did you get started?
(When did the bug bite you?)
LP: I’ve been writing off and on since I was four
years old. (Note to self: remember to burn those early journals.) I started
writing because reading was my life, and I wanted to give that gift of wonder
and escape to others—kind of a “pay it forward” situation.
AL: Where did the idea for Dispirited come from, and how is
it significant to the book?
LP: A long time ago, I read an article about
astral projection. I immediately wondered—as cool as it sounded to have your
spirit floating free—how would you possibly protect your body while you were
away? That problem wouldn’t leave my imagination alone until I started
exploring it through fiction.
AL: What research did you have to do for it? What was the most
interesting thing you learned?
LP: I read a lot of folklore from around the world
about unembodied or disembodied spirits. (I realize those terms are somewhat
redundant) One of the most compelling myths was that of the wekufe, a Chilean legend about
malevolent beings who envy the bodies of the living.
AL: What is your writing style? Are you an outliner or a
by-the-seat-of-your-pantser? Somewhere in between?
LP: I actually totally changed styles in the midst of writing Dispirited. I started out
knowing how I wanted it to end, but having no idea how to get there. I wrote
the first third of the book that way—in the “discovery” or “pantsy” way.
Then I got horribly stuck and started
researching story structure and outlining methods in my desperation. I made a
spreadsheet and finished the book adhering to a pretty strict outline. I don’t
think I’ll ever go back to pantsing it.
AL: What is your typical writing schedule like?
LP: I wish I had one. I try to write every weekday—or at least every day that my children are in school. I try to get that done sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., so that I can be fully present for my kids when they get home from school. It doesn’t always work that way. I am trying hard to be more consistent and disciplined.
AL: What is one big thing you've learned through the process of
publishing this novel?
LP: That I am not my writing—that there will inevitably be people who do not care for my writing, and that I can’t take that personally.
AL: What's been the biggest surprise?
LP: I love to garden. Every spring, I plant seeds. A few weeks later, I am always astonished and delighted when they actually grow. It’s the same kind of act of faith when you publish a book—and the same fun surprise when people actually buy it and enjoy it.
AL: What’s the greatest challenge?
LP: My greatest challenge has been trying to balance focusing on marketing the currently published book with working on my new work in progress. It’s very hard for me to switch hats like that.
AL: What’s the greatest reward?
LP: I love hearing from readers who were touched by the book—that it frightened them or made them cry or made them think. Books affect
me deeply, and so when my book makes an impression others, I get that “pay it
forward” reward that got me writing in the first place.
AL: Which authors are your biggest literary influences in the
national market?
LP: I’ll stick to people who are alive, or we’ll be here all day.
Susanna Clarke and Neil Gaiman write
the kind of quietly creepy book that I find thrilling and thought-provoking.© 2011 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved
Our friendship has gone way beyond those things. Today, we communicate via email and text almost every day, often several times, as we report our progress with to-do lists and goals and cheer each other on. Everyone needs a Luisa in their lives.
Aside from being a great friend, she's a great writer. As long-time readers know, I don't officially review books here. That said, her new book, Dispirited, is fantastic. It's deliciously creepy (this from someone who doesn't like to be scared), with a fascinating story, complex characters, and lyrical writing (something missing from a lot of fiction).
First, a bit about Luisa. Then her interview. And finally, a giveaway!
Luisa Perkins writes contemporary fantasy. She loves cooking and eating,
all kinds of music, and knitting. She and her husband, Patrick, have
six children and one aging-but-still-insane cat. They are in the process
of moving from the Hudson Highlands to Pasadena, California.
And now our interview about writing and her new book. (Isn't the cover delicious?)
AL: How long have you been writing and how did you get started?
(When did the bug bite you?)
LP: I’ve been writing off and on since I was four
years old. (Note to self: remember to burn those early journals.) I started
writing because reading was my life, and I wanted to give that gift of wonder
and escape to others—kind of a “pay it forward” situation.
AL: Where did the idea for Dispirited come from, and how is
it significant to the book?
LP: A long time ago, I read an article about
astral projection. I immediately wondered—as cool as it sounded to have your
spirit floating free—how would you possibly protect your body while you were
away? That problem wouldn’t leave my imagination alone until I started
exploring it through fiction.
AL: What research did you have to do for it? What was the most
interesting thing you learned?
LP: I read a lot of folklore from around the world
about unembodied or disembodied spirits. (I realize those terms are somewhat
redundant) One of the most compelling myths was that of the wekufe, a Chilean legend about
malevolent beings who envy the bodies of the living.
AL: What is your writing style? Are you an outliner or a
by-the-seat-of-your-pantser? Somewhere in between?
LP: I actually totally changed styles in the midst of writing Dispirited. I started out
knowing how I wanted it to end, but having no idea how to get there. I wrote
the first third of the book that way—in the “discovery” or “pantsy” way.
Then I got horribly stuck and started
researching story structure and outlining methods in my desperation. I made a
spreadsheet and finished the book adhering to a pretty strict outline. I don’t
think I’ll ever go back to pantsing it.
AL: What is your typical writing schedule like?
LP: I wish I had one. I try to write every weekday—or at least every day that my children are in school. I try to get that done sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., so that I can be fully present for my kids when they get home from school. It doesn’t always work that way. I am trying hard to be more consistent and disciplined.
AL: What is one big thing you've learned through the process of
publishing this novel?
LP: That I am not my writing—that there will inevitably be people who do not care for my writing, and that I can’t take that personally.
AL: What's been the biggest surprise?
LP: I love to garden. Every spring, I plant seeds. A few weeks later, I am always astonished and delighted when they actually grow. It’s the same kind of act of faith when you publish a book—and the same fun surprise when people actually buy it and enjoy it.
AL: What’s the greatest challenge?
LP: My greatest challenge has been trying to balance focusing on marketing the currently published book with working on my new work in progress. It’s very hard for me to switch hats like that.
AL: What’s the greatest reward?
LP: I love hearing from readers who were touched by the book—that it frightened them or made them cry or made them think. Books affect
me deeply, and so when my book makes an impression others, I get that “pay it
forward” reward that got me writing in the first place.
AL: Which authors are your biggest literary influences in the
national market?
LP: I’ll stick to people who are alive, or we’ll be here all day.
Susanna Clarke and Neil Gaiman write
the kind of quietly creepy book that I find thrilling and thought-provoking.© 2011 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved
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