1. What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
Bits and pieces of the story have come to me over the past several years, but what inspired me to create a fantasy setting based on the American Southwest (where I grew up and still live) was my best friend’s PhD dissertation. It was on recent language shift for the Navajo – and yes, my friend and I are both geeks who talk about this kind of thing. Or… she puts up with me trying to talk about it. She’s very patient.
The heart of her dissertation was about some of the ways the Navajo have changed since the arrival of Europeans. That made me decide to set my book in a world with a Native American-esque culture and a European Medieval culture living side-by-side – to begin with at least. Once some catastrophes happen, they’ll need to figure out how to work together. I plan for this to go a little more smoothly than it did in American history, but only a little.
2. Who is your favorite character in the book?
I tried to have two, equally balanced main characters, but my writers group, and everyone else who’s read the manuscripts, has latched onto Kasha. She’s a Tanoa (based on the Tanoan-speaking tribes here in New Mexico) girl of only fifteen. In this world, women and Tanoa are not permitted to be apprentices, but she is a child prodigy engineer.
The City Engineer of Wingmount, where she lives, took her on, trained her up, and got her all the way to a Master Engineer without letting the Guild know either her gender or her race, so if they find out who she is, she’ll be executed.
When the City Engineer dies, he puts in her name as his replacement, so here she is, working this important job while living in hiding. Every day she worries about her cover being blown, and every day she does fantastic work, better than people can get anywhere else.
3. Which came first, the title or the novel?
The novel. That’s always how it is with me. Titles I usually get help with after the novel is done!
4. What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
There’s a scene where Kasha teaches all the young Tanoa children how to make fire balloons. That one was fun to right. After that point in the book, the skies over the city are full of fire balloons every night. It’s a visual illustration of way Kasha is changing her world.
5. Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you've learned as a writer from then to now?
You have to understand that Restless Earth is my tenth published novel, so the lessons were smaller than they might have been with my earlier works. I learned again how essential description and effective exposition are to fantasy. People often read it to be immersed in a whole other world.
6. What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Everything! It was designed and illustrated by Raya Golden and she just nailed it. I love how these covers convey that these are fantasy novels (what with the flying horses on them and all) but at the same time, not the typical Tolkeinian fantasy. The people have dark skin, and the colors are that of the deserts of the Southwest
7. What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2015?
I’m releasing five books this year, so I can’t really pick one. I love them all!
8. What was your favorite book in 2014?
That is a very hard choice to make, but I’ll say Something More than Night by Ian Tregillis. I’m not sure it was my favorite, but it was a favorite. I highly recommend it. Ian’s just brilliant.
9. What’s up next for you?
The third Sky Chariots novel will be out in September and then my next chick lit novel (written as E.M. Tippetts) should be out in October.
10. Is there anything that you would like to add?
Just a thank you for having me! I appreciate it ☺
