On the nightstand: THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL by John le Carré, PRICE OF HONOR by Jan Goodwin, THE HUNDEFRÄULEIN PAPERS by Kathy Mac, THE MAGIC THIEF by Sarah Prineas Favorite bookstores: Books of Wonder in NYC
Pets: 2 parakeets, 8 cats in general population, 1 cat in my office, 1 in the mud room for winter, 1 in the basement for winter, 3 feral kittens in the garage for the winter and 1 cat in my husband's office
Writer buddies: Bruce Coville, Esther Friesner, Nancy Werlin, Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Holly Black, Maureen Johnson, Cassandra Clare, Josepha Sherman, and I'd like to think Sherwood Smith and Kristin Cashore (we did a conference recently and they were great!)
Cure for writer's block: Talking it out with my spouse-creature, Bruce (Coville), or my editor, making something happen, introducing a new character, taking a walk, washing the dishes, thinking in the shower or during a medical test (one where you just have to lay there), changing point of view, changing voice from first person to third or vice versa.
Stilettos or Uggs? Gah! Sneakers. Comfortable flats for such dressing up as I do.
Next up: MASTIFF (last of Beka Cooper trilogy), a short story collection, and the next CIRCLE OF MAGIC book. Also, I'm helping to produce a Tortall companion book.
Find out more--including Tamora's author idols and her dream book tour--in this month's issue of readergirlz.
14 comments:
Gosh, I love Tamora! SUCH an amazingly generous writer and SUCH talent. Her books are the first ones I recommend to teen girls, because they're so empowering for young women.
Great interview!
P.S. I would like a spouse-partner with whom I can talk about writing (and reading!), please.
:D
While I struggle with two kittens, Tamora's list of pets makes me hopeful I can take care of them AND write. Love the ideas for writer's block too!
Can I be Tamora's writing buddy if I still stutter with awe when I see her?
Nancy Werlin
I'm in the middle of Bloodhound and I'm loving it so much! So far I haven't read a single Tamora Peirce book that I haven't loved, and I've read a few of her series. I put TRICKSTER'S CHOICE and TRICKSTER'S QUEEN on my Christmas wish list. Hopefully I'll get them! I want to see what happens with Alanna's kids.
@Melissa I know! I only have one cat and he drives me crazy half of the time. I wouldn't be able to handle that many pets. It's impressive. (oh, and you did decide to get a friend for Swayze, awesome!)
Michelle, thanks! My Spouse-Creature is quite splendid for feedback, and he cooks!
Melissa, two kittens will make you feel like you have eight grown cats, believe me! When we were raising the litter that gave us Theodore, I was hard put to have any writing time, particularly when they discovered I was in the other half of the room. That was when we moved them to my assistant's office, so I could work again!
Nancy, you do NOT stutter when you see me! I don't know how we'd work out writing buddies with our schedules, though. Bruce and I have a hard enough time!
Genevieve, I'm glad you're enjoying BLOODHOUND. I'm working on MASTIFF now, with Beka & Co. on the trail of really big game, and some severely bad Rats!
I have loved all of Tamora's books and have been reading them since I was 12. I love to re-read them every so often and find great joy in visiting her characters over and over.
I have a big cat named, Kitty and two kittens, Mittens and Shiva. And I must say kittens are def a lot more work. I live in the hope that one day they will behave more like Kitty than puppies with really sharp nails.
I wish I had gotten to see Tamora this year, because I though she was going to be in Miami but I guess that particular stop got cancelled. Please add us back to your touring list for your next book tour!
These are such fun facts. Thanks for taking the time to share, Tamora!
My two cats are fat and lazy. but they do pee on the carpets.
anyway...
I love you Tammy, I really do. I'm working on a novel right now that is inspired by your writing. I think that many authors try to awe and impress but I feel that you just try to tell the story that the characters want to tell.
your latest books are amazing but the older ones are wonderful as well. I am re-reading Wild Magic right now and thinking about The Song of the Lioness quartet which I've read more times than I can count. there is really something simple and charming about those books that I loved when I was 10.
Thanks for being awesome.
Karina, kittens do calm down, eventually. . . . Though we're still waiting for Theodore, who's 19 months old now.
I am sorry about Miami. I don't know why I didn't go there. My publisher is the one who sets my tour schedule, you see. I just go where they tell me. You might ask your school librarian or your local bookstore to get in touch with my publisher about sending me your way.
Miku, I share your space on cats who whiddle where they're not supposed to, only we've got four of them doing it now! We think it's because one is sick and attacking all of the others, but we're not sure, so we spend a lot of time cleaning up messes and using pheromone spray to calm everyone down.
Thanks for your compliments. I do consider myself a storyteller rather than a more literary type of writer, and I do prefer to let the characters dictate the direction of the story whenever possible. The tricky part is learning what is fun but unnecessary and what is fun and necessary. Sometimes it takes me two or three drafts to figure out the difference.
Good luck with your own writing!
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