Welcome, Robin!
1. How do you personally define historical fantasy?
I probably have a little broader definition of historical fancy than other readers; I include fantasy authors whose worlds are based on historical time periods such as Lois McMaster Bujold, Jacqueline Carey, Megan Whalen Turner, and Juliette Marillier. Of course, there are also alternate histories, where the author takes some point in history and diverts from that point and sends society down a different path. Then there is the sort of historical fantasy that takes one or two mythical or fantastical elements and make them real. Naomi Novik’s Temeraire books are a good example of this as is Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Personally, I am interested in the types of historical fantasy that explore the mysteries of that age, whether it was how the people and culture viewed their gods or the unique way they viewed the world around them; those are the things that interest me. The truth is, there isn't a lot of historical fantasy out there. One of the earliest pieces of writing advice I got was to write that which you love to read and cannot find enough of. Which is how I came to write historical fantasy.2. What are your historical fantasy must reads?
Pretty much all the authors I mentioned above, Lois McMaster Bujold, Jacqueline Carey, Megan Whalen Turner, Juliette Marillier. Also Libba Bray and Elizabeth Bunce. Those are my re-read time and time again authors that I just can't get enough of. I wish they wrote faster than they do, but of course then it wouldn't be as good so I try to be patient.3. What's coming up next for you in terms of publication?
After Grave Mercy comes Dark Triumph, the second book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy. This book will focus on poor embattled Sybella. When the convent sends her an order to free a wounded knight, it sets her on a journey to face her dark past and find a way back to hope and forgiveness and redemption. While the book will focus on Sybella and Beast, Ismae and Duval are in it as well, but in a more supporting role. After that will be the third book in the trilogy, Mortal Heart, which will feature Annith's story. They are sequels to each other in that they continue the drama of the duchess trying to hold onto her kingdom, but the different stages of that struggle are seen through the eyes of the three different girls.4. What drew you to historical fantasy?
I have always been fascinated by history, even as a small child. I would stare longingly at all the books on the shelves in the library and just know they contained the secrets and the wisdom of the ages. But so much of the historical fiction available to me as a child was rather dry. American history, which did not feed the hunger or the perception I had of the romance of history. When I got older and began to read a wider variety of nonfiction books about earlier cultures and civilizations and religions, I realized there were lots of fascinating aspects of history to be explored. And as a fiction writer, you want to make things as dramatic as possible so my first and favorite question is always, What If? What if it were real? There are just so many opportunities to ask that question in history that it seemed a natural pairing.5. What's your preference: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or (gulp), white chocolate?
Originally, I had always been a huge fan of milk chocolate. But over the last couple of years is as I read more and more about the benefits of dark chocolate I decided to train myself to prefer dark chocolate. It took about three months, and then I was hooked. Now when I go back and eat milk chocolate, it tastes pale and waxy in comparison. It doesn't work for me at all anymore.6. How did Grave Mercy change from pre-to post-publication?
I would say the biggest change made in Grave Mercy was that I continually worked to simplify the politics and the plot. Because I knew how complicated the real politics were of the situation were (trust me, Desperate Housewives has nothing on late medieval intrigue, collusion, and conspiracies!) I kept getting sidetracked by those and tried to pull that complexity into the story. But of course in fiction, or at least the sort of fiction that I find compelling, the focus is more on the characters and their journeys, so I was constantly trying to strip away the politics and reduce the cast of players. Simplify, simplify, simplify, that was my motto. I wanted to keep the relationships front and center.7. Is there any genre you could never see yourself writing? Why not?
Having said that, I will say that before submitting the story to my publisher, I worked on it for about four years. During that time it went through easily five different permutations and about twelve revisions. It just took me a really long time to decide whose story it was going to be and how I was going to tell it. There were so many aspects of the story to choose from, and so I let myself play around those until I found the one that set my brain on fire. Consequently, the story probably changed less during the publication process than it would have otherwise.
Oh gosh, lots. I would probably never be drawn to writing science fiction because science and technology are not my passions. Straight horror holds no appeal for me. I have tried writing straight, realistic contemporary fiction, but some little whiff of magic or fantasy sneaks always in so that it ends up with a touch of magical realism.8. How did you come up with the idea for assassin nuns?
I suppose saying I went to Catholic school for the first three years of my life is not quite enough of an explanation is it? But truthfully, the seed was planted back then. The nuns seemed so mysterious to me, so powerful, as all adults seem when you’re seven. I was fascinated with wondering what they did behind those cloistered walls—when they weren’t teaching us, that is. Then of course, as I got older the reality didn’t quite match up to how I had originally imagined it, so I decided to create a reality that did. I spent some time pondering the different sacraments and sacred rites involved in religion and began wondering what it would be like if death were a sacrament when administered by those in communication with the gods.9. Can you give us any juicy tidbits about this guy unto whom Ismae is meant to deliver death's vengeance?
Well, if I told you too much about him it would spoil some of the plot twists, but I will say that he is not like anyone Ismae has ever run into before and he is about to set her world on its head. I have been lucky enough in my own life to experience love that opened up the world for me and made it seem a richer, more wonderful place where anything was possible. I wanted Ismae, and thus the reader, to have that same experience.
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