Ask the Author: Jennifer Mugrage
Answered Questions (5)
Jennifer Mugrage
How do algorithms work, and are they really out to get me?
Jennifer Mugrage
Every author will tell you that no book idea comes from just one place. A number of things that have been on the author's mind coalesce, and there's the book.
For The Long Guest, my initial writing prompt came from short fiction piece that I wrote about the Tower of Babel. But I also drew heavily on my long-standing interest in, and experiences with, culture crossing.
For The Strange Land, after I finished The Long Guest I felt that these characters had more to say. One major source for my research was an archaeological book about the first peoples to settle the Americas.
For The Great Snake, it was another case where I first thought I was finished, but the characters were not finished with their journey or with each other. For research, I drew on reading I have done about the Mayans and about the archaeological site Poverty Point.
For The Long Guest, my initial writing prompt came from short fiction piece that I wrote about the Tower of Babel. But I also drew heavily on my long-standing interest in, and experiences with, culture crossing.
For The Strange Land, after I finished The Long Guest I felt that these characters had more to say. One major source for my research was an archaeological book about the first peoples to settle the Americas.
For The Great Snake, it was another case where I first thought I was finished, but the characters were not finished with their journey or with each other. For research, I drew on reading I have done about the Mayans and about the archaeological site Poverty Point.
Jennifer Mugrage
I usually get inspired by reading about ancient history. Even a short article can get me speculating. My steadiest source of inspiration is the Bible.
Jennifer Mugrage
I am working on the third book in the Scattering Trilogy, called The Great Snake. The characters in it are about three generations down from the characters in The Long Guest.
Jennifer Mugrage
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