Dreamspinner Press discussion

Author K.Z. Snow joins us today at 1 p.m. Eastern time to chat about her books and more! If you have questions for K.Z., you can start leaving them now.

OK.....I've only read 'precious boy' but thoroughly enjoyed it.

How did you begin writing M/M?

Have you written anything else (other genres)?

What gives you the ideas - something you see/hear?? Or is it just a vivid imagination??

Hi, Carole Ann!

It was two characters, Jackson Spey and Adin Swift, who pushed me into m/m romance. Up until the time they insisted on being together, I'd only written some m/m scenes in largely m/f stories (mostly for Ellora's Cave). This genre turned out to be such a good fit for me, I doubt I could ever go back to writing strictly m/f romance.

So, yes, I've written in other genres. My novel Acts of the Saints, published by Samhain, is so far my biggest departure from "genre" fiction.

In answer to your final question: life experience + observation + imagination = story ideas!

Now, let me see if I can do this book-cover trick...

Just got a message from Elisa Rolle informing me that was among the top ten "out- clicks" in her Referrals Program. It never ceases to amaze me how much interest a striking cover can generate. (The title might have helped a little, too, I guess.)

How do you guys feel about the importance of cover art and titles when it comes to catching readers' attention?

I think striking cover art is critical. It needs a story to back it up, of course, but I find myself judging a book by its cover when purchasing. I pretty cover will pull me in every time!

That seems to be the case with a lot of readers, Jase. I hadn't really thought about the importance of artwork until I started getting a string of superb covers, most of which came from Dreamspinner, and people began commenting on them.

What's important to me is that a book's cover somehow reflects its content and does so in a provocative way. Generic arrangements of half-naked bodies don't catch my interest at all.

Oh, I won't thumb my nose at half-naked bodies (LOL), but I agree that a great meaningful cover really helps to sell the book (and of course, a great story to go with it)!

A great cover doesn't make me buy, but sure does catch my eye - that's how I found precious_boy, which I really enjoyed.

I think it is very important. I always try to buy from the authors I already know because my budget isn't big, but a cover can make me curious about a new book and still decide to buy that one :)

Wendy wrote: "Oh, I won't thumb my nose at half-naked bodies (LOL), but I agree that a great meaningful cover really helps to sell the book (and of course, a great story to go with it)!"

:-D I do my share of looking too, Wendy. And, yes, it's ultimately the story that matters.

Finn wrote: "A great cover doesn't make me buy, but sure does catch my eye - that's how I found precious_boy, which I really enjoyed."

I'm glad you found it, Finn. :) Yup, the whole point of cover art is to catch the reader's eye (but in a good way). That's why it's important, I think, to avoid a generic look.

Lucia wrote: "I always try to buy from the authors I already know because my budget isn't big, but a cover can make me curious about a new book and still decide to buy that one :)"

Lucia, you make another good point. A visually arresting cover can persuade us to depart from the tried-and-true. My book-buying decisions are mostly based on excerpts, but it's often a cover that gets me to read those excerpts.

Do you have a favorite cover from among your books?

Hmm. Boy, Wendy, that's a tough one. Really tough. I'm in love with every cover I've had from Dreamspinner -- they all wow me in different ways -- and the artistry that went into Fugly still blows me away. But at the moment, I'm stuck on (oh gosh, no pun intended, given the image!) Anne Cain's cover for .

I agree. That one is very striking! You've been lucky in the cover art department:)

Do you write as a profession or as a hobby? Do you go in cycles, or write a little bit every day?

I've been very lucky. *fingers crossed*

I don't know if I can call writing a profession, since I don't make very much money at it (in fact, I make very little), but I certainly take it seriously. I try to write whatever I can every day. Unlike other writers, though, I don't force it if I'm not "feeling" it. That just doesn't work for me.

How do you mostly come up with a story?

I'm not sure I can explain the process, Lucia. When I finish writing a book, I sort of let my mind go on vacation for a little while. So it just lazily wanders around through different subjects that have caught my interest in recent weeks or months (or even years). Then, at some point, it pulls up short and says, "This. I want to explore this further."

The subject could be something new, or it could be an established world and characters I feel a need to revisit.

Sometimes a title will come to me first. That's always fun, because it's like opening a present. I just know there's a story within that title, and I have to dig into it to find out what that story is. Weird, huh? LOL

Thanks for answering the question :) I always find it facinating how an author comes up with so many different stories.

You're welcome, Lucia. Thanks for asking!

K.Z. wrote: "I don't know if I can call writing a profession, since I don't make very much money at it (in fact, I make very little), but I certainly take it seriously."

Maybe some day things will change on the profitability aspect of writing. I hope so. I think authors deserve it!

I'm not going to hold my breath, Wendy. :) Sometimes it seems there are more writers than readers in the world!

Many thanks to those of you who stopped by. I really love interacting with readers and fellow authors. So keep it coming; I'll continue to be somewhere in this discussion group!

Thanks for taking the time to spend with us and answering our questions!

I just want to gush. I adore "Mongrel" your characters leaped off the page and became so real. The world was simply amazing. I would say I couldn't put it down but in reality it was even better than that it was one of the books that I actually force myself to step away from so its not over to soon.

My other fav is precious_boy I loved it and when the origin's of his screen name were reveled I was in tears. I understand that for some its a hard read but it is one of my top ten mm books to date.

Thank you so much for reading them, Mickie, and for your kind words. You can't imagine how pleased I am when readers are pleased. It makes the poverty worthwhile. ;-)

We're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but if you look at the cover of Bless Us With Content and then the cover of my first book, Friends and Lovers, it's very easy to see why the former is doing so much better than the latter. Also, the Dreamspinner art department *listened* to what I had to say.

So tell me, K.Z., have you ever almost come to blows with how the artist envisioned your cover in comparison to how you saw it?

Hi K.Z.,

Sorry I'm a little late for the chat. It was too beautiful of a day to spend indoors.

I have not read any of your books yet, but have come across them through several friends' excellent reviews.

Which book was your favorite, and which would you recommend to a reader who is new to your work?

Tinnean wrote: "So tell me, K.Z., have you ever almost come to blows with how the artist envisioned your cover in comparison to how you saw it?"

Hiya, Tinnean! Most definitely NOT at Dreamspinner. I can honestly and happily say that DSP not only has remarkable artists available, they're incredibly responsive to authors' wishes. At least that's been my experience.

The idea for the Visible Friend cover was mine -- and, believe me, I didn't know how it would go over. But Anne Cain (who I'm convinced is psychic in addition to being phenomenally talented *g*) got it perfect on the first try, and I was assured by TPTB that they liked the uniqueness of the image.

Now...other publishers have been much more difficult to work with. I won't say which ones, but it's a royal PITA when that happens -- and a PITA that can be quite stressful.

Hi, Nancy. I hear ya about wanting to enjoy a day outdoors. Spring has been slow to arrive in this part of the country, and when it finally does rear its beautiful head, I'm going to have to tie myself to the desk chair. Gah, talk about cabin fever!

My personal favorite from among my books is this one . It's not my most popular book, and "getting it" requires reading the prequel. I just happen to have a deep emotional connection to this novel.

A recommendation is difficult; it would depend on the kind of content you prefer.

I don't do shifters or hardcore BDSM, and my heroes aren't drawn from the ranks of cops, detectives, rock stars, cowboys, spaceship captains, special agents, firefighters, or soldiers. So if you like those kinds of elements, you're out of luck. ;-)

I've written contemporaries, paranormals, contemporaries with a touch of the paranormal (even one with historical sections), urban fantasy, and steampunk. Them's yer choices, m'dear!

K.Z. wrote: "How do you guys feel about the importance of cover art and titles when it comes to catching readers' attention?"

I like pretty and/or striking covers, of course (and you've gotten some great ones, K.Z.), but, honestly, the cover won't make or break my decision to purchase. I know that budgets vary from pub to pub, and so I'd never pass on a book based on the cover alone.

I'm so late to the party, but I do have a question! Have you ever had something really weird/random/unexpected inspire a story idea? If so, what was it?

Harper wrote: "I like pretty and/or striking covers, of course (and you've gotten some great ones, K.Z.), but, honestly, the cover won't make or break my decision to purchase. I know that budgets vary from pub to pub, and so I'd never pass on a book based on the cover alone."

Same here, Harper. I think I mentioned above that the deal-maker (or -breaker) for me is the blurb combined with the excerpt.

Harper wrote: "I'm so late to the party, but I do have a question! Have you ever had something really weird/random/unexpected inspire a story idea? If so, what was it?"

I'm going to have to give this some thought. (It's getting kind of late here and my brain is winding down.)

The first thing that comes to mind, simply because it's recent, is the book Dreamspinner will be publishing later this summer, Abercrombie Zombie. The phrase just popped into my mind one day. I immediately thought, "Now where did that come from? Doesn't matter, 'cause it has a nice ring to it. Better yet, I know there's a story in there somewhere!" And sure enough, there was. :)

Hi K.Z

You always say that you've been "lucky" in cover department for your books. So, do you think BOOK COVERS play an important role in selling a book?

They certainly make a difference in people noticing a book, Ami. Sparking some interest in a work is always the first hurdle most writers face.

Of course, there are those authors who'll invariably sell well based on name recognition alone. They're fortunate enough not to have to worry about cover art (kind of like the Beatles with their "White Album" *g*).