Please welcome J. Kathleen Cheney to The Qwillery as part of the 2013 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. The Golden City is published today by Roc. Please join The Qwillery in wishing Ms. Cheney a Happy Publication Day!
TQ: Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?
J.K.C.: I've written since I was a child, but I didn't start writing for publication until late 2005, which is a totally different thing.
TQ: What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
J.K.C.: I'd have to say that I try to take Sundays off. It's not that I don't write on Sunday, but instead if I have time to write, I usually work on something else. It's often something I'm not even planning on publishing. It's just a chance to do some writing that's purely fun.
TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
J.K.C.: About 50/50, I'd say. I like to do an outline at the outset, but I often deviate from it and have to re-outline later. And sometimes I do the outline when I'm about halfway through.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
J.K.C.: My dogs. I have two Airedale terriers who are just three years old. They're still pretty puppyish and are quite demanding of my time, which makes it hard for me to find uninterrupted writing time.
TQ: Describe The Golden City in 140 characters or less.
J.K.C.: A sereia and a half-selkie must work together to stop a killer in a city where neither is allowed to live. (Sereia is the Portuguese word for a siren, BTW.)
TQ: What inspired you to write The Golden City?
J.K.C.: I wanted to write a story about a woman who's trying to catch a murderer, but can't go to the police because she's not legal herself. That's how I ended up with the ban that made non-humans illegal in the Golden City.
TQ: What sort of research did you do for The Golden City?
J.K.C.: So much research! I've written historical fantasy in that time period before, but that was set in the US. When I started looking into Portugal, I discovered that I knew almost nothing about the country, so I pretty much started with a basic history of the country and then worked from there. I had to learn to read Portuguese too, because a lot of things I needed have never been translated into English. (I used Portuguese Wikipedia a great deal.)
TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
J.K.C.: In this story, it was easier for me to write Oriana because she's constantly hiding herself. She's less self-confident, so it's easier for me to relate to her. I'd say that Silva is the hardest to write because he's so self-serving. Not quite a sociopath, but definitely a narcissist.
TQ: Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in The Golden City?
J.K.C.: Oh…the bathroom scene. That's the one I often do when I'm reading at a convention. But I usually love any scene where the characters are getting to know each other.
TQ: What's next?
J.K.C.: The second book in this series, The Seat of Magic, comes out next July, and the cover is also amazing…but I can't share it with anyone yet. Drat.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
J.K.C.: You're welcome!
The Golden City
The Golden City
Roc, November 5, 2013
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages
For two years, Oriana Paredes has been a spy among the social elite of the Golden City, reporting back to her people, the sereia, sea folk banned from the city’s shores....
When her employer and only confidante decides to elope, Oriana agrees to accompany her to Paris. But before they can depart, the two women are abducted and left to drown. Trapped beneath the waves, Oriana’s heritage allows her to survive while she is forced to watch her only friend die.
Vowing vengeance, Oriana crosses paths with Duilio Ferreira—a police consultant who has been investigating the disappearance of a string of servants from the city’s wealthiest homes. Duilio also has a secret: He is a seer and his gifts have led him to Oriana.
Bound by their secrets, not trusting each other completely yet having no choice but to work together, Oriana and Duilio must expose a twisted plot of magic so dark that it could cause the very fabric of history to come undone....
About J. Kathleen Cheney
Her website can be found at www.jkathleencheney.com
Twitter @jkcheney ~ Facebook ~ Tumblr
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