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Lilith Saintcrow was
born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as an Air Force
brat, and fell in love with writing when she was ten years
old. Lili lives in Vancouver, WA with her children, a
houseful of cats, and assorted other strays.
Was it
difficult for you to switch from your normal adult audience
to writing a YA series?
No. I made the commitment very early that I wasn't going to
dumb anything down. I actually had to call the editor and
make sure she'd read some of my stuff, so she knew she
wasn't going to get rainbows and ponies from me. I write
very dark tales with cusswords in them, and I don't see that
changing anytime soon. I was actually kind of shocked to be
asked to write YA--I thought my subject matter and my style
would preclude any move of that nature.
What
kind of changes did you have to make for that?
I actually haven't "changed" anything. I point-blank refuse
to pull back or "dumb down" a story because someone thinks
kids have to be protected from fiction. I am capable of many
things as a writer, but not that. I'd rather not have a
project than take a project where I'm expected to betray my
readers like that. My job is to tell the truth, whether my
reader is fourteen or fifty.
 The biggest thing for me has been actually going back in
time, so to speak, to remember what high school felt like
for me. To remember what things seemed important back then.
to put myself back in that situation. Which was really
something I never wanted to do, but I had to if I wanted to
draw on that to create what I think is a reasonable teenage
character.
Kids cuss, and kids have to face dangerous situations all
the time--just like adults. I had more trouble consistently
remembering the limitations of teen life--your time is not
your own, you can't just get in a car and drive away, you
also can't get away from the fact that you're not legally a
"real person" yet. People have control over you, and that's
uncomfortable. (And then there's the hormones, oy vey.)
It makes teens see things a little differently than a
30-year-old mother of two, which is what I am now. So the
biggest thing for me was uncovering the memories of a time
in my life when I was extraordinarily helpless and
uncomfortable.
In the
Valentine and Kismet books you use your own settings, but
you’re using the real world in Strange Angels. Why?
Actually, the Kismet and Strange Angels worlds are like our
own, just with different things going on under the surface.
For both Jill and Dru, the question of relating to the
"normal" world is far more fraught than for Dante Valentine,
who basically sees no need to do so. Part of the tension in
Dru and Jill's characters is that they ARE different, they
know things that "normal" people don't and yet they still
have to interact with the "normal" world. How they choose
(or are forced) to makes up a part of who they are. The
settings are, insofar as that, dictated by the characters.
I
adored Strange Angels, and I’m recommending it to any of my
friends who are Buffy/Supernatural fans. Are you worried
someone will complain about the similarities with the John
Winchester and Dean relationship and Dru and her dad’s?
Dru isn't Dean. She's a helper, not a hunter in her own
right. Plus, she's female--she doesn't have the male-bonding
thing going on, she's more Daddy's girl than Daddy's bro.
She also has no little brother to protect. I don't worry
about that at all, actually.
How
many books are in Strange Angels series? I hope there are
tons because it’s so very good.
Thank you! I've just finished the zero draft of the third
book in the series, and there are plans for two more. Always
assuming, of course, that the fans and the publisher want
them.
Did
you
read any YA to prepare? What are some of your favorites in
the genre?
I actually didn't. I tend not to read much in whatever genre
I'm writing in, because, well, when I'm writing fantasy or
urban fantasy the LAST thing I want is more of that in my
head. I've been reading a lot of classics and nonfiction
while writing YA, actually, just to keep my head clear.
But I do have favorites in the genre--Robin McKinley and
Patricia McKillip, Sarah Dessen, LJ Smith, SE Hinton, and
Anne McCaffrey's YA works, to name a few. When I was in that
YA age bracket, I couldn't find a lot of books that I
considered "honest." They all seemed to have some lesson or
moral that the adults around me violated daily. The vast
majority of YA books were not true to my experience. That
has changed in the last five to ten years--I mean, books
like Andrea Siegal's Like The Red Panda or Sarah
Dessen's Dreamland would NEVER have gotten published
as a YA when I was younger. It just wouldn't have happened.
You
give a lot of great writing advice on your blogs and the
Deadline Dames. Care to give a little bit of wisdom here for
the readers?
Pretty much all my writing advice boils down to two things:
treat it like a job, and don't stop. Writing will be as
important a priority as you make it. And as hard as
success is to achieve while you're working on it, it is many
times as hard--indeed, impossible--if you stop.
Any
other
news you’d like to share with us?
I suppose I should mention that the third Jill Kismet book
is due out in August, and the second Strange Angels
book is due out in November. That's about all the news I
have. I'm really a terribly boring person.
And
finally – the Lipton Questions – because I love ‘em…
What
is your favorite word?
You mean I have to choose one? I love so many words. I feel
about words the way some women feel about shoes or some men
feel about sports. The English language is my fandom.
What
is your least favorite word?
I have to admit I hate the word "that." Nine times out of
ten it isn't necessary on the page, and it's just filler. I
tend to flinch whenever I read a "that."
What
turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music. Film. Books. Kindness and redemption. People being
decent to each other on a day to day basis. Laughter, and
intellectual horseplay.
What
turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Cruelty. Stupidity. Avarice. Television's canned giggles and
objectifying advertisements. People on their cell phones not
paying attention while they're driving. People being nasty
or cruel just because they can. Hypocritical
fundamentalists.
What
sound or noise do you love?
Rain on the roof while I'm warm and dry in bed.
What
sound or noise do you hate?
Probably the screeching clunking sound that means my car has
given up again. I have the worst car luck.Or a child
crying--the mum in me sits up and takes notice fast.
What
is your favorite curse word?
It would have to be the F-bomb. But I'm not proud--I love
them all. Swearing can be an art form, and the study of how
people really talk fascinates me. The blue words are
part of our rich heritage as speaking creatures.
What
profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I think I must be crazy, because there is nothing else I
would rather do than write. I get to experience everything,
either vicariously or while doing research. So I get many
professions rolled into one.
What
profession would you not like to do?
Oh, Lord. Retail. I've worked retail before. I never want to
do that again. Retail clerks are saints. They have to put up
with so much.
If
Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you
arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Oh, good. There you are. I need some help in the
Library. Come with me..." |
