Joining me today is the wonderful Dawn Metcalf, author of the highly anticipated, upcoming fantasy, Luminous (June 30th)! Be sure to follow the link at the bottom of the post to Dawn’s blog, where she’s giving away tons of goodies( Please note: I’m not hosting a giveaway with Dawn, you’ll have to visit her blog for the giveaway. Thanks!)
Please welcome Dawn to the blog!
Dawn, first off, I’m dying to know how a Chicago girl became a rural New England girl!
And what have we learned from this? a) Never listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t shoot for the moon, b) Choose your friends-of-friends carefully–they can change your life in ways you can’t imagine, & c) If you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to! (No, wait, that’s Lord of the Rings…nevermind.)
Now that that’s out of the way…can you tell us a bit about your first book, Luminous?
Actually, Consuela Chavez was born out of questions like: “Why aren’t there more minority superheroes?” and “Why do superheroines all wear skimpy, wedgie-inducing costumes while saving the world?” and “Why can’t there be some sort of mash-up between my favorite TV shows like Quantum Leap and Buffy the Vampire Slayer?” Naturally, it was inevitable I’d come up with a gorgeous Mexican-American guardian-angel-type pearlescent skeleton traveling via a parallel universe.
Um…Blame the husband?
What made you decide to write YA?
I happen to love the fact that I write YA because the feelings are real, the consequences are meaningful, and you’ve got to bring your A-Game to the page because these folks aren’t willing to waste their time being bored. Maybe some adults can talk themselves into slogging through a book in their off-time, but YA readers are gourmets and gourmands — they know what they want and it’s high quality, high action, and high stakes. I love it!
Is there anything you absolutely need in order to write? Anything that gets the creative juices flowing? I read that you’re a chocoholic…
How do you balance having a family and writing?
Honestly, I try to only write when my kids are in school or sleeping and my husband is at work, but sometimes they know that Mommy has to be locked in her office for a bit and “one more minute” is a bald-faced lie. Fortunately, they love me and are very forgiving (as long as I grovel with hugs, cuddles, and chocolate desserts).
Your bio says you’re a fringe geek. What’s the “geekiest” thing you own?
Can you tell us a bit about your current project, Indelible Ink?
If Consuela came out of geeky conversations about the stereotypical superheroine trope, then INK was in response to the ol’ immortal guy who falls for a sixteen-year old girl and “shows her the way to love.” Yyyyeah. So my first literary crush was Peter Pan and I happen to think there’s something terribly alluring about a powerful guy with an innocent streak paired up with a girl who knows what it’s like to feel and be human. So imagine this as “a teenage Meet Joe Black with knives.” The expression on people’s faces is like an American Express card: priceless!
Anything else you’d like to share with us about upcoming projects? Any teasers?
I also love taking the road less traveled so mixing cultural histories with modern myths and turning “What If?” questions on their heads is my kind of storytelling. The best is when I push my own envelope, get uncomfortable, and notice that I’d rather be doing the laundry/the dishes/scrubbing the floors rather than write a scene; that means I’m really avoiding something that I have to overcome. And it’s worth it every time! The project I’m working on right now is just that sort of story, one that gets people talking, possibly in raised voices or self-conscious whispers, and that feeling is absolutely amazing!But alas, alack, I cannot reveal specifics. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out more!
Visit Dawn at her website!
Follow Dawn on Twitter!
Enter to win the MEGA GIVEAWAY Dawn has going on over at her BLOG!
Awesome interview! Dawn is a billion kinds of awesome, and I loved Luminous. Indelible Ink sounds so out-there and cool. I'm not entering to win, by the way, but I'll definitely be checking out that mega giveaway. 🙂
Great interview! I've been really looking forward to reading Luminous so it was cool to learn a little more about Dawn and her books. 🙂
This has got to be one of the funniest interviews ever! What an amazing woman. I agree wholeheartedly about the usual superheroes and superheroines? Why the skimpy outfits? You see, Anita got it right. Jeans and Nikes, that is proper badass attire LOL! Love the idea of mixing Quantum Leap and Buffy together (favorites!). As for the geekiest things, I know what all of them are, so I think we are both screwed LMAO! I can't wait to start this. It is obvious you have quite the quirky voice, definitely next on the list. Thank you guys for the great interview 🙂
Wonderful interview – thank you for sharing today.