Ask the Author: Rebecca Chastain
Answered Questions (7)
Rebecca Chastain
Yes! In fact, I just released a new story in the world of the Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles. The story is called Deadlines and Dryads and can be found exclusively inside the Elementals anthology at this time.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
This time, I take Kylie (Mika's best friend, who we met in Magic of the Gargoyles and Curse of the Gargoyles) on a wild adventure, with the winged-lion gargoyle Quinn tagging along. Here's the teaser:
While investigating the unrest of the local dryad population, a young air elemental journalist and her gargoyle companion are swept into a terrifying conflict—one where getting the scoop might cost them their lives.
Early next year, Deadlines and Dryads will be released as a standalone novella, so if you don't want to get 14 stories for the price of one book in Elementals :), you'll want to add this one to your TBR list:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
This time, I take Kylie (Mika's best friend, who we met in Magic of the Gargoyles and Curse of the Gargoyles) on a wild adventure, with the winged-lion gargoyle Quinn tagging along. Here's the teaser:
While investigating the unrest of the local dryad population, a young air elemental journalist and her gargoyle companion are swept into a terrifying conflict—one where getting the scoop might cost them their lives.
Early next year, Deadlines and Dryads will be released as a standalone novella, so if you don't want to get 14 stories for the price of one book in Elementals :), you'll want to add this one to your TBR list:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Rebecca Chastain
I left the date vague in the back of A Fistful of Fire, saying only that the next book would be released in "fall 2016." At the time I published Fire, I'd planned on releasing Tiny Glitches, then go right back into the next Madison novel.
But these wonderful, irresistible story ideas for Mika and her gargoyles unfurled in my imagination as I was finalizing Tiny Glitches. After over a year of zero ideas in this world, I couldn't resist following through on the sudden influx of new material.
Thus, I released Curse of the Gargoyles and Secret of the Gargoyles during the time I was supposed to be writing and editing MF3.
I loved completing the Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles and getting to spend more time with the gargoyles (so much that I wrote an extra novelette!), but those books seriously ate into my Madison time.
Long answer short: The next Madison book will be out as soon as possible! I'm finalizing the outline now, writing will begin shortly thereafter, and I'll do everything I can to get it out this year.
The better news is this: I plan on writing three Madison novels back-to-back, so the wait time between books 3, 4, and 5 will be substantially less than the wait time between books 2 and 3!
But these wonderful, irresistible story ideas for Mika and her gargoyles unfurled in my imagination as I was finalizing Tiny Glitches. After over a year of zero ideas in this world, I couldn't resist following through on the sudden influx of new material.
Thus, I released Curse of the Gargoyles and Secret of the Gargoyles during the time I was supposed to be writing and editing MF3.
I loved completing the Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles and getting to spend more time with the gargoyles (so much that I wrote an extra novelette!), but those books seriously ate into my Madison time.
Long answer short: The next Madison book will be out as soon as possible! I'm finalizing the outline now, writing will begin shortly thereafter, and I'll do everything I can to get it out this year.
The better news is this: I plan on writing three Madison novels back-to-back, so the wait time between books 3, 4, and 5 will be substantially less than the wait time between books 2 and 3!
Rebecca Chastain
After I'd figured out who Madison was--this woman with a big heart, impulsive nature, and limited awareness of her abilities--I spent some time figuring out what sort of man she'd be into. Okay, it actually didn't take that long, because once I had Madison's relationship with Mr. Bond, her cat, I knew that she would have a weakness for a man who saved animals for a living.
Originally, I had plans for Madison to stumble across or hunt down (as the plots warranted) sick and injured animals throughout the series. Maybe it would be a running joke how often she rescued animals. You can really see this in A Fistful of Evil with the various animals she helps. And it would have given her a lot of reasons to interact with Alex.
** Spoilers ahead **
However, I had a bizarre thing happen after I wrote the first book. I started encountering injured animals exactly as I'd written them for Madison.
My cat, for whom Mr. Bond is the literary translation, got sick and I rushed to the vet's along the exact same route Madison had taken, to the exact same building. It was uncanny but I didn't really think about it since cats get sick and I'd made Dr. Love's office the same place as my cat's.
When I came across three nearly dead kittens, and also rushed those to the vet's, I decided to nix the injured animal angle in future novels. For starters, it was heartbreaking (the kittens didn't make it) I didn't want to spend a series with a whole bunch of abused animals.
But mainly, I was superstitious enough to believe by writing the scenes and investing so much of my energy into picturing the injured animals and Madison's emotions, I was attracting the hurt animals or encouraging those situations to occur. (Especially considering these almost prophetic writings were far from isolated incidences--which is an answer for a different question.)
Alex as a vet still works, though. Even if Madison isn't running around saving animals, she's still very impressed by a man who does it for a living. Plus, he's pretty sexy. :)
Originally, I had plans for Madison to stumble across or hunt down (as the plots warranted) sick and injured animals throughout the series. Maybe it would be a running joke how often she rescued animals. You can really see this in A Fistful of Evil with the various animals she helps. And it would have given her a lot of reasons to interact with Alex.
** Spoilers ahead **
However, I had a bizarre thing happen after I wrote the first book. I started encountering injured animals exactly as I'd written them for Madison.
My cat, for whom Mr. Bond is the literary translation, got sick and I rushed to the vet's along the exact same route Madison had taken, to the exact same building. It was uncanny but I didn't really think about it since cats get sick and I'd made Dr. Love's office the same place as my cat's.
When I came across three nearly dead kittens, and also rushed those to the vet's, I decided to nix the injured animal angle in future novels. For starters, it was heartbreaking (the kittens didn't make it) I didn't want to spend a series with a whole bunch of abused animals.
But mainly, I was superstitious enough to believe by writing the scenes and investing so much of my energy into picturing the injured animals and Madison's emotions, I was attracting the hurt animals or encouraging those situations to occur. (Especially considering these almost prophetic writings were far from isolated incidences--which is an answer for a different question.)
Alex as a vet still works, though. Even if Madison isn't running around saving animals, she's still very impressed by a man who does it for a living. Plus, he's pretty sexy. :)
Rebecca Chastain
Give up now.
If you can—if you can stop writing, stop dreaming up stories—then you've saved yourself from a career that would eventually make you miserable.
But.
If you can't stop...if the stories hound you and you'd rather agonize over a troubled plot or a unreliable character than use your free time to visit with family or read someone else's work or perhaps get a full night of sleep, then you're a writer. For you, there's no hope but to keep going.
For you, a career of magic and wonder awaits.
All other advice sounds trite and overused because it's the only true way of becoming a writer: read a lot, write a lot, and keep making progress.
Above all: Finish. A. Book.
Stop rewriting the first act and get the whole book down. You can always go back an edit it once it's done. Or not. Maybe you'll decide it's rubbish and move on to the next book.
Each book finished gets you one step closer to the kind of book you know you can write: the good one, the one you can proudly share with friends and family and strangers around the world.
Now stop surfing the Internet and get back to writing!
If you can—if you can stop writing, stop dreaming up stories—then you've saved yourself from a career that would eventually make you miserable.
But.
If you can't stop...if the stories hound you and you'd rather agonize over a troubled plot or a unreliable character than use your free time to visit with family or read someone else's work or perhaps get a full night of sleep, then you're a writer. For you, there's no hope but to keep going.
For you, a career of magic and wonder awaits.
All other advice sounds trite and overused because it's the only true way of becoming a writer: read a lot, write a lot, and keep making progress.
Above all: Finish. A. Book.
Stop rewriting the first act and get the whole book down. You can always go back an edit it once it's done. Or not. Maybe you'll decide it's rubbish and move on to the next book.
Each book finished gets you one step closer to the kind of book you know you can write: the good one, the one you can proudly share with friends and family and strangers around the world.
Now stop surfing the Internet and get back to writing!
Rebecca Chastain
For me, writer's block means the story isn't going in the right direction and I've been trying to force it anyway. Eventually, everything grinds to a halt, I pout and moan a while, then I start looking for reasons it isn't working.
If it's a simple fix or I'm still outlining, I can usually hop on my elliptical and walk it out until I find the right solution. (Often this is mere seconds after I get going, which is great!)
If it's a more complicated fix, it might need a bit of fresh air to come to the surface. Lounging among the plants in my yard, watching the bees gather pollen off the flowers helps me get into a meditative mindset that allows ideas to flow. Petting a cat helps, too, because everyone knows cats can't abide poorly cobbled-together stories, so they will use their impressive and subtle telepathy to get you back on track—right after you get them a treat or two.
But my most tried-and-true method of getting the story flowing again is to open a new document, phrase the problem in the form of a question (where does this story need to go? how can I make this character's life tougher? etc.), then I start typing out ideas.
The key is to not stop typing during these brainstorming sessions.
Even if I don't have an idea, I keep going. Ask more questions, circle solutions from a dozen different angles. Make lists. Write a dialog with the character who is troubling me. Ask secondary characters to chime in. Get some help from the villain. Whatever it takes.
When I find the right idea, it's like this little electric jolt in my brain and I know I'm back on the right track. I'll outline the new idea, make sure it fits into the novel, and get back to writing.
If it's a simple fix or I'm still outlining, I can usually hop on my elliptical and walk it out until I find the right solution. (Often this is mere seconds after I get going, which is great!)
If it's a more complicated fix, it might need a bit of fresh air to come to the surface. Lounging among the plants in my yard, watching the bees gather pollen off the flowers helps me get into a meditative mindset that allows ideas to flow. Petting a cat helps, too, because everyone knows cats can't abide poorly cobbled-together stories, so they will use their impressive and subtle telepathy to get you back on track—right after you get them a treat or two.
But my most tried-and-true method of getting the story flowing again is to open a new document, phrase the problem in the form of a question (where does this story need to go? how can I make this character's life tougher? etc.), then I start typing out ideas.
The key is to not stop typing during these brainstorming sessions.
Even if I don't have an idea, I keep going. Ask more questions, circle solutions from a dozen different angles. Make lists. Write a dialog with the character who is troubling me. Ask secondary characters to chime in. Get some help from the villain. Whatever it takes.
When I find the right idea, it's like this little electric jolt in my brain and I know I'm back on the right track. I'll outline the new idea, make sure it fits into the novel, and get back to writing.
Rebecca Chastain
It's not that my work uniform is cotton shorts and mismatched soft T-shirts. It's not that my office is always a comfortable temperature. It's not that my coworkers are all sweet, non-judgmental furry friends whose worse offense is sleeping on the document I'm trying to outline/write/edit.
The best thing is that I get to create worlds.
I start with the magic system and build outward, molding and torturing characters to my heart's content. I can make fantastical things ordinary and ordinary things magical. Do I want a talking gargoyle? Yes please! What about sticking my beloved cat into one of my novels? Why not! Should I throw some hidden evil creatures into my hometown? Certainly!
In these worlds, there's always something new to discover, some new place to go, and some new characters to meet. In these worlds, the possibilities are limitless, and I get paid to explore them and share them with you.
What could be better than that?
The best thing is that I get to create worlds.
I start with the magic system and build outward, molding and torturing characters to my heart's content. I can make fantastical things ordinary and ordinary things magical. Do I want a talking gargoyle? Yes please! What about sticking my beloved cat into one of my novels? Why not! Should I throw some hidden evil creatures into my hometown? Certainly!
In these worlds, there's always something new to discover, some new place to go, and some new characters to meet. In these worlds, the possibilities are limitless, and I get paid to explore them and share them with you.
What could be better than that?
Rebecca Chastain
I'm currently working on the third Madison Fox adventure, yet untitled, and I honestly don't know where I got the idea. It came from the same place as all my other ideas, a combination of the ether and life experiences mixed with magic. I try to explain this better in my "Where Novel Ideas Come From" blog post: http://www.rebeccachastain.com/where-...
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more