Seanan McGuire is one of the most prolific modern-day science fiction novelists. In the past two years, she’s published six (full-length) novels, written a few others and composed many short stories. Last year, she was nominated for five Hugo awards.  Most impressively, she did it all while holding down a full-time office job.

Earlier this year, a friend gave me Feed, the first book in the Newflesh trilogy. Published under McGuire’s pseudonym/darker alter ego Mira Grant, this novel focuses on a team of bloggers chosen to cover a presidential election. In a world where zombies are a fact of life, this assignment could – and does – go wrong pretty quickly. I read the entire trilogy in less than a week.

I recently spoke with McGuire via email. Her newest novel, Half Off Ragnarok, was just released on March 3.

Clair McLafferty for See Jane Write: I heard you quit your day job! When did that happen? How awesome is it to be out?

Seanan McGuire: My last day at the day job was January 15th, 2014, and it has been so awesome. So, so awesome. I’m actually sleeping again, which is a miracle, and I now feel like I can sustain my current pace for a lot longer, and with a lot less damage to my psyche.

SJW: I’ve read that you’re a horror movie and epidemiology nerd. How did these subjects first catch your attention?”

SM: I’ve been watching horror movies for as long as I can remember–literally.  One of my first memories is of watching Alien with my uncle, who had a very curious idea of what as appropriate for toddlers.  I was sick a lot as a kid, and I got extremely interested in viruses.  I could either be scared of them, or I could love them completely.  I went with the latter.

SJW: Which is more likely: end of the world by massive power grid or zombie virus?

SM: Neither.  Economic collapse leading to social unrest, coupled with the dawn of the post-antibiotic era.

SJW: What personal guides to surviving the zombie apocalypse would you recommend?

SM: I don’t really have any personal guides to recommend.  I mean, I love reading them, but I haven’t tested them, and everyone has a different starting point.  Just prepare for your local area and the challenges it’s likely to face.  Earthquake/zombie kits are never a bad idea.

SJW: What skills would you add to a survivor group during the initial outbreak?

SM: I own a lot of machetes, can identify most edible plants in North America, and I’m really good at dealing with snake bite.

SJW: Your works as your given name, Seanan McGuire, have a lighter and slightly more supernatural bent. What mythological, fictional and historical references have you used to write works like the InCryptid series?

SM: All.  Of.  Them.  I don’t discriminate when it comes to my cryptids.

SJW: What are some of your personal fandoms?

SM: Right now, Haven, Sleepy Hollow, Elementary, Monster High, Doctor Who, and So You Think You Can Dance.

SJW: What advice would you give to writers and bloggers looking to pursue their passions full-time?

SM: Don’t quit your day job until you can pay your bills with your royalties, after deducting the appropriate amount to pay your annual taxes.

Clair McLafferty is the author of our geek girl culture column Talk Nerdy To Me. When she isn’t writing, Clair can usually be found nerding out on programming, cocktails, physics, comics and movies. Some of these interests spill over into her writing at clairmclafferty.com and on to her Twitter feed @see_clair_write.

Birmingham writers, mark your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 1. On this day the Birmingham Public Library will present its annual Local Authors Expo. This expo gives local authors an opportunity to sell their books, network with other writers, and attend free workshops. This year, See Jane Write will present a workshop on how authors can use social media to reach readers and promote their work.

The See Jane Write social media workshop, set for 1 p.m., will be led by yours truly and authors Stephanie Naman and Kathryn Lang. Naman, author of the novel Murder on the First Day of Christmas, has not only had great success with social media networks such as Twitter and Pinterest but she also blogs as the main character of her book at Chloe Gets a Clue. Naman will discuss best practices for blogging and using social media. Lang, who has published ten books, has a knack for helping people develop self-marketing plans that get to the heart of their writing goals. She will share her writing wisdom at the session too.

I’m also quite excited about the morning workshop “How to Write While Having a Life.” This session is set for 10 a.m. and will be led by young adult author and full-time teacher Anne Riley. Riley will explain how to make writing a book a manageable task when you also have a job and a family.

The Birmingham Public Library Local Authors Expo will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Central branch of the Birmingham Public Library, located at 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham. This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit bplonline.org.

By Chanda Temple

New York Times best-selling author Omar Tyree, who’s 44 and has been writing books for the last 21 years, recently visited Birmingham, Ala. to make public appearances and promote his latest book The Traveler, a fictional story about an American’s visit to Dubai. Several of his past fictional books have focused on relationships.

During his visit, the Philadelphia native stopped at the Smithfield Library to meet fans and give a lecture on his writing journey. Afterward, I asked him to provide a few writing tips for the new year. When the conversation was over, his frank answers left me ready to dive, head first, into writing the first chapter of a novel. I hope his tips will motivate you in 2014.

Writers write. You’ve been wanting to write a book but you haven’t because you are trying to “figure it out.’‘ Stop procrastinating and start writing. Just write down what you are thinking. You can revise it later.

Finish what you start.  Once you start writing, don’t let getting stuck on Chapter 3 stop you. Remember that writer’s block is only fear of what you are trying to write. Just put it out there. You have to have confidence and faith in your own words.

Think about subjects that will be meaningful for your readers. There are too many topics that you know people will already read or like. However, consider writing about something that’s out the box, a subject that will make people say, “Oh! Wow!’’ Challenge yourself and challenged your readers.

Keep going. Don’t stop at writing one, two or three books. If you want to be a writer, keep it going. “I’m up to book Number 27, 28, 29, 30. And I’ve still got a whole lot left in me and a whole lot of different ideas I can write about,’’ Tyree says.

Tyree’s tips and the library lecture were so good, I couldn’t let the conversation just end there. So I asked him a few more questions to help writers.

You talked about growing up in Philadelphia and overhearing teenage girls give detailed information about their love lives as you all rode buses to school. Such colorful details can give a writer something to draw from during the writing process. But what do you do if you have plain thoughts, lead a plain life and you don’t think your stories will move readers? 

“You write plain thoughts,’’ Tyree says. “To say that plain thoughts can’t move, is wrong. You have other people who are in plain places as well and they’ll connect to those same things. They will be able to relate to that. You still have to write it down and you have to put it out there anyway because you have to see if people will be able to enjoy it. And you’ll surprise yourself.’’

“And that (surprise) will give you confidence to write the next one,’’ he says. “I hear what you are saying, but write it first and let’s see where it goes first. You can’t make that assumption before you do it.’’

What should an author do when his or her book is not moving and selling? Are they a failure? Should they just move on and keep writing?

“When I was first coming through, they said the third book was the charm. You’ve got to keep writing. The first book — (readers) may not like that one. It may be too hard,’’ he says.

“John Grisham’s A Time to Kill dealt with a very racially-charged issue. A lot of people didn’t read that book. The Firm was his third book — that took off. Then he came back to what was his favorite, A Time to Kill. So yeah, keep doing what you are doing. Sometimes, the audience will come around. Sometimes, you will come around to figure out how to do it better.”

(Side note: When Tyree released his third book, Flyy Girl, in 1993, readers snapped up the coming-of-age story about a young woman in the late 1980s. Hollywood is now looking at turning the book into a movie. He received the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature in Fiction and a 2006 Phillis Wheatley Literary Award for Body of Work in Fiction.)

How do you decide if you should write fiction or nonfiction? 

“It’s easier to write fiction than nonfiction. With nonfiction, there’s more research involved and checking the facts,’’ he says. He adds that although you still have to check facts for fictional stories, fiction offers more freedom. You can create what you want to create and go on your own story with fiction.

For more information about Tyree, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., visit www.omartyree.com. He says he offers consultations and does speaking engagements on a variety of topics. Follow him on Twitter at @omartyree.

 

 

Chanda Temple is director of public relations for the Birmingham Public Library. Before joining the library in 2012, she worked as a reporter for 19 years. Her last reporting job was as a features reporter at The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Ala., where she covered everything from cops and courts to fashion and elections. She’s received several  awards for her stories and enjoys coaching students and adults on their writing, social media and networking skills. Follow her on Twitter @chandatemple.