 Susan Kaye Quinn grew up in California, where she wrote snippets of stories and passed them to her friends during class. She pursued a bunch of engineering degrees and worked a lot of geeky jobs, including turns at GE Aircraft Engines, NASA, and NCAR. Now that she writes novels, her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist" and she doesn't have to sneak her notes anymore. Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle. Welcome, Susan! Katie: Having the ability to jack into people’s minds is a very interesting concept. Where did you come up with the idea for Open Minds? Susan: I wanted to enter an online 1st paragraph contest, but none of my current novels had a particularly zippy first paragraph. So I decided to make one up for a novel that hadn’t even been written! I had been playing around with the idea of a boy who was a touch-empath (and thus very isolated because he could know your deepest feelings with a touch) – I wasn’t sure if it was enough for a novel, but I thought it might make a great 1st paragraph. As I was mulling this while drifting off to sleep, an image popped into my head of a girl sitting in a classroom full of mindreaders – only she couldn't read minds. She was painfully isolated (like the boy) in a room that was dead silent, because no one used spoken words any more. I immediately got up, wrote the paragraph … and lost the contest! But a month later, I couldn’t get this girl out of my head. I had to write her story, and that became Open Minds.Katie: Kira has a hard time dealing with her new found powers at first. If you could jack into people’s minds and control them, what’s the first thing you would do? Susan: Freak out. Seriously, I think I would have a much bigger meltdown than Kira does. There’s a saying: We do not fear that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. This is certainly an idea that’s explored throughout the Mindjack Trilogy. Katie: I see you write a blog and various other forms of social media. What is your take on the amount of time an author should spend honing craft versus creating a platform? Susan: An author should spend the vast majority of their time on craft. Platforms are great, and I love social media, but it can easily sap away all of your time. It’s easy. It’s rewarding. It’s fun! But it’s not writing, and the most important thing you can do is create the intellectual property that will sustain your writing career. I’ve posted about this a couple times (ironic, I know!) - Writers Must Write First and Making The Donuts– and I don’t always practice what I preach. But I try. Mindjack#3 is siren-calling me from my plotting cork board right now, and after I finish typing this interview I will immerse myself in that.
 Hailing all the way from the shores of Cypress, the Underground is proud to welcome science fiction and fantasty writer Chrystalla Thoma. Welcome, Chrystalla! Katie: Rex Rising has such a unique premise: parasites have infected humanity with some interesting and disturbing results. How much research into the nature of parasites did you do to write Rex? Chrystalla: Parasites have interested me for a long time. I always mention Parasite Rex, by Carl Zimmer, as one of my inspirations and sources of information. It’s a great scientific book for the lay public. I read all the scientific articles I could find, and I was especially intrigued by two parasites which influenced the story of Rex Rising. The first one is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite we humans often get from cats, and which can influence our behavior in startling ways, ways we are often not even aware of. The second one is Wollbachia, a parasite which transfers parts of its genes to its host and can completely change a population (of insects in this case), transforming all of them into females and only allowing the birth of females. In fact, the parasite takes over its host so completely (and its whole generation of hosts) that it cannot reproduce if it is not infected with Wolbachia – or in some cases it starts reproducing asexually – like the race of the Gultur in Rex Rising. Katie: The cover art for Rex is fantastic. Where did you get such an intriguing and highly professional cover? Chrystalla: Oh, thank you! I made this cover. I bought a stock image, cut it in half, added blue to the eye and the effect of scales on the cheek (with the help of my wonderful husband Carlos). A friend, Marion, taught me how to use Photoshop and I used it to create the titles. I am very glad you like it. Katie: The world you create for Elei is vast and robust. Algae ponds, giant mushrooms and the seven islands all draw us in to a new and exciting world. What did you use to help you envision the place where Elei lives? Chrystalla: I live in Cyprus – an island with almost no drinking water. It rarely rains and I know what a precious commodity drinking water is. That meant in my world water wouldn’t be used for cultivating edible plants. But the sea was around the islands, and I knew that certain algae are very nutritious. Spirulina, for instance, which is a blue-colored algae, was cultivated by certain African kingdoms but also by the Aztecs in ponds and lakes for food. As for the Seven Islands... Their existence and the nature of this isolated world in the ocean will be explored in the two sequels. Katie: The sequel to Rex Rising (Rex Cresting) is already out. This is a fast turnover for a sequel. While so many of us struggle with finding time for writing, what is your secret? How do you find time in a busy schedule to make writing a priority? Chrystalla: There are a couple of reasons for this quicker turnout, none of which are secret. One reason is that Rex Cresting is book two in the series, therefore the world-building, the characters and the idea for the story were already in place since book one. Another reason is that last summer I quit my full-time job due to health reasons and have been working as a free-lance translator ever since. This is a mixed blessing: in theory I can take a month off to write. In reality, if I have work, I may have to work day and night for a month to finish before the deadline the customers set and not have time to write a word of fiction. But, yes, in general I do have more time to write now.
 As a long time subscriber to the FundsforWriters newsletter, I had heard all about Hope Clark and her life as a writer. It was when I heard she had her debut novel released that I knew I had to contact her. Please welcome Hope Clark to the Underground. KATIE: First of all, for those few who don't know, you are the editor of the very successful newsletter and website FundsforWriters, one of Writer's Digest's best websites for writers. Where did you get the idea for FundsforWriters? HOPE: FundsforWriters was happenstance. At a ladies' writing group in Atlanta, in 1998, I was asked to speak about online writing, and how it differed from print. At the time I was working for the federal government, for an agency that handled grants and loans, but I wanted to write for myself, so I started pitching essays and book reviews to various sites. One of the editors I wrote for asked me to speak in her stead at this meeting, since she was afraid of crowds. Sometime during the presentation, the topic strayed to concern about being unable to afford computers, printers, toner, etc. I started advising them financially, mentioning contests and grants and such, and the emails started flooding in once I returned home. I asked a journalist I knew about how to start a newsletter, which was new territory back then, so I could consolidate my responses to questions, leaving me more time to write for myself. Unbeknownst to me, that was the snowball catalyst needed to start an avalanche, and FundsforWriters took on a life of its own, overtaking my fiction writing with this sudden interest by writers everywhere. After a couple of months, I had almost a thousand writers on board. I accepted fate's nudge, embraced it and went full speed forward. KATIE: Between the contests, ads, job postings and writing advice, FundsforWriters is full of information. How many hours a week do you dedicate to the upkeep of the information you send out weekly? How do you manage it with your busy schedule? HOPE: FundsforWriters is a daily effort. I work fulltime as a writer, probably half the time with FundsforWriters, a quarter with promotional efforts and freelance pieces, and a quarter on the novels. My children are grown, but I started this exercise when they were teens. I laid down the law at the time that writing was as important to me as anything on their social agenda. Today they are quite proud of what I've done. I'm also a night owl, so I'm in bed around 2-3 AM each night, and up around 10 AM. That's the clock that works best for me, and now that I'm full-time as a writer, I can manipulate my personal schedule. I put in about 50-60 hours per week, but when I need a day off, I take it. The only glitch is when I'm speaking at conferences and they ask me to speak early in the morning. KATIE: Agents and publishers are always looking for a writer's platform. You seem to be the epitome of the platform builder. What advice do you have for new writer's trying to build a platform?
 As a writer, teacher, blogger, husband, parent and much more, Andrew Cotto offers his insights into education, publishing and the role of authors today. Please welcome Andrew Cotto, author of The Domino Effect, to the Underground. Katie: The Domino Effect is a coming-of-age tail akin to Catcher in the Rye or A Separate Peace. Where did you get the idea for the story? Andrew: I've always loved coming-of-age stories, and those two you mention happen to be among my favorites. Oddly, the idea for Domino came to me not after reading such stories but after seeing the Spike Lee film, Do the Right Thing. Something about the effect that movie had on me made me want to tell a story that involved racial or ethnic strife, and I really jumbled a lot of my experiences into something that included both types of conflict. Putting an adolescent in the main role made the transformation a coming-of-age experience. Katie: The main character Danny has such a unique and realistic voice in this novel. Did that voice exist within or did you research to create realistic teenage interaction? Andrew: Thanks. Danny's voice really is the key to the narrative because he'd probably be too easy to abandon without that connection he establishes with the reader. I sort of conjured Danny's voice by tapping an array of voices I know intimately, including a certain amount of my own. Katie: You describe boarding school life so well. Have you attended boarding school or is this the result of in-depth research? Andrew: I'm not much of a research guy, so I tend to write about things I know already. I spent one year at a boarding school, Blair Academy in western New Jersey, and it was all I needed to create the setting, which really is Blair Academy in its physicality. Katie: You mention in your bio an MFA degree. Some authors think the MFA is the way to go if you want to publish. Others think authors can do just as well on their own. What made you seek out an advanced degree? Would you recommend it to those who want to be a published writer? Andrew: I'm a believer in an MFA if you are truly dedicated to growing as a writer. Being in school, with deadlines to meet, is important. It really tests your mettle. You also must endure criticism and learn how to use it. I don't think most writers can grow as much on their own. It also helps one find a community, as well as adding some credibility and focus to the pursuit. In the publishing industry, I believe it opens doors that may not be opened otherwise.
 Please welcome Coral Moore, author of Broods of Fenrir, an urban fantasy adventure.
Katie: On your website you call Broods of Fenrir an urban fantasy adventure. Can you define that genre for us? What about your novel settles it in that category?
Coral: I've never been asked that, what a great question! Well, I had a lot of trouble figuring out where Broods belonged after I wrote it. I was trying to decide if I wanted to put it in Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance. I thought there was a case to be made for either, and I still do. While I was discussing the options with one of my beta readers, she said she thought it was more like a fantasy adventure because of the action and the fast pace. I decided she was right and started calling Broods an Urban Fantasy Adventure from that day on. Adding the word adventure puts the emphasis on the action of the book rather than angst-ridden navel-gazing that a lot of UF gets into. Brand really doesn’t wonder why he gets into the situation he finds himself in, he just takes action to resolve it.
Katie: In the wake of Twilight and similar books, how do you keep paranormal romance fresh while still satisfying the mandatory troupes readers come to expect?
Coral: It’s really tough. There are a few staples that paranormal readers look for and I think you’ve got to stay true to those. You have to have a hero that kicks butt in some way. You have to have a love interest, possibly more than one. You have to have some sort of magical something that defies explanation in our modern world. Those aspects are like the framework of a house. What you put on the outside and inside can make your house look completely different, but at its heart the house is still going to be a Ranch or a Colonial. From that frame you can go whatever direction you like, and I think it’s important to put your own spin on it so that the house—or story—is yours. Are there aspects of my werewolves that are similar to others? Sure, they are humanoids that turn into wolves. That’s why I didn’t make up some other name for them. I’ve departed from the traditional werewolf lore quite a bit though and I think I ended up somewhere completely different.
Katie: Some say the paranormal market is saturated, that the very mention of werewolves and vampires sends audiences running for the hills. What’s your take on the future for paranormal literature?
Coral: I’m sure you’re expecting this response since I write paranormal, but I don’t think it’s saturated at all! Like anything that becomes popular or fashionable, there are a lot of derivative works of the new hotness, but I don’t think that means there isn’t any room for more any more than I think the horror market is full because of Stephen King and Clive Barker. There will always be room for good stories. I think paranormal will continue to grow. What readers of UF and PNR love is that small parts of the fantastic bleed into a world they can recognize as their own. The allure is that magic exists, but we just can’t see it. I don’t think the desire to read about paranormal creatures is going anywhere. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more diversification in terms of what kinds of creatures we see and twists on the usual tropes.
 Katie: The premise of your story is so original and immediately engaging with Sarah growing up with her fundamentalist and separatist father and his ties to the Aryan order. What research did you do to bring depth to this story?
Peggy: Thank you. I love doing research. I spent many hours in the library digging through periodicals, reading newspaper articles and magazine stories about the Waco Siege, Ruby Ridge, and the Montana Freemen, which were incidents in the 90s where the FBI surrounded and/or invaded anti-government, fundamental religious extremist cults and groups. The up-to-the-minute reports of the drama as it unfolded helped me transform some of that reality into the story.
To learn more about the Aryan Nation I turned to the internet, because they are a secretive organization.
Katie: Is Sarah based on any true life stories you’ve uncovered in your research? How did you construct the character of Sarah?
Peggy: Yes, Sarah is based on a true story, but if I tell you the story, I’ll give away the ending. So I’ll just say Sarah’s story is based on a true story I saw on 48 Hours about two brothers, ages 8 and 10, who were found living in a fundamental religious extremist cult.
My main characters always come to me as a voice in my head. Through my extensive research I was able to flesh out Sarah’s character. It’s sort of like, I heard her voice telling me her story, which was interesting. So I asked, who is this person? Like most writers, when I create a character I use character sketches, bios, and interviews. But in the research process I always find the little hints here and there that tell me who this person really is.
Katie: I see on your website that you conducted interviews with women who had left extremist groups. What did you learn about life in these extremist cults?
 Please welcome Tom Kepler, author of The Stone Dragon, to the Underground. Tom is an avid writer, also penning a book of poetry and a YA novel, Love Ya Like a Sister. Tom is an educator by day and an avid blogger and writer. He practices consciousness-based writing and transcendental meditation. Below he offers insights in the world of young adult fantasy, self-publishing and promotion.
Katie: The world your novel inhabits in is very lush and inviting. Where do you draw your inspiration from when you are world building? Any advice for those wanting to improve their fantasy world building?
Tom: To be honest, I started out with a vague idea one Thanksgiving vacation. I was thinking that dragons were embodiments of the fabric of creation, and I was also thinking that gnomes had an undeserved reputation--pudgy, long beards, and those pointy hats. I wanted to write a more real story. Suddenly, I was seven thousand words into the novel, and the whole idea was just there. My advice is open the doors of possibility--you can always close them later.
Katie: Tell us more about Glimmer, the main character. Where did he originate from? What did you do to get into a young dream mage's head?
Tom: I have no idea where Glimmer came from. Honest! He has some aspects of my son, some aspects of me, but mostly, he's just himself. I'm also not sure how I came up with the idea of a dream mage. I think Glimmer is a kind of Everyman for me. He is brave yet vulnerable, insightful yet impulsive. He's a lot like all of us, if we're honest about it. As a career classroom teacher, I am surrounded by inspiration daily for the heroic task that we call "growing up."
Katie: One of my favorite characters is Cabbage-pants, the cabbage gnome. He is funny, wise and charming. How do you keep characters original when so many of the fantasy characters have been done before?
Tom: I had a very clear vision of Cabbage-pants from the start. I'm an avid gardener and find the garden to be a magical, spiritual place. I really wanted to create a sense of the gnomes being spiritual extensions of the plants. It helped, too, that he provided humor for the story.
Katie: Who are your contemporaries in literature? To which authors would you compare your work?
Tom: Well, I have to approach this with honesty about who inspired me for The Stone Dragon. Science fiction/fantasy writer Roger Zelazny was an incredible writer who didn't let the genre limit his style. He was a very creative stylist. Also, for this particular novel, William Faulkner poked me with a stick. I needed something to move me to take chances with the dream sequences, and Faulkner's style provided me with a place to start.
Katie: Tell us about your path to self-publishing. What made you decide on that route versus traipsing around to all the publishers in New York?
 The Underground is happy to welcome Jaclyn Dolamore, author of young adult fantasy novel, Magic Under Glass. Welcome, Jaclyn. Thank you for taking the time to respond to some questions.
The concept for your novel is very original- a fairy prince trapped inside the body of a clockwork man. Where did you get the idea for Magic Under Glass?
I'm a history buff, and I tend to begin with the time and place as far as a book's inspiration. Part of my reason for writing anything is as an excuse to research a lot about a particular time period! Magic Under Glass is everything that fascinates me about the Victorian era thrown in a blender, with a strong dose of Gothic romance a la Jane Eyre and Rebecca.
The plot for your novel is very reminiscent of the classic Jane Eyre.
Please explain the connection to Jane Eyre and how you took liberties with a classic plot.
At first I just knew I wanted to do a riff on the Gothic romance (see above) but as I began to write I decided to use Jane Eyre as a frame work. I used to struggle with plotting until I began to start with another story and start twisting it around, so now I do it every time. It's almost like remodeling a house--sometimes you leave an exposed beam from the original (like the "mad wife in the attic" bit from Jane Eyre appearing in Magic Under Glass) and other times I cover the original up entirely (Magic Under Stone started originally as a riff on the Secret Garden but it changed so much that I don't think it's obvious anymore).
Your website, www.jaclyndolamore.com, mentions that you were “…home schooled in a hippie sort of way.” How did your upbringing and non-traditional education help you develop as a writer?
I was unschooled, which means, in short, that I pursued whatever interest or project I wanted and my mom helped me follow those passions rather than told me what to learn. Oftentimes that passion was writing, and I also read loads of books, always with a focus on history and cultures around the world. For my entire childhood, I went to the library once a week and combed the entire nonfiction section until I had a stack so tall I could barely carry it. (And of course I read a ton of fiction too.) I was pretty old before I realized this wasn't a thing most kids do! So all that really gave me a solid background for world building and writing.
Your website also mentions you chose a non-traditional route for post-secondary education and elected not to go to college. How did you go about learning the writing craft without formal instruction? What advice would you give budding writers about how to learn the craft?
Growing up my writing talent was always noticed. It was something I always did. I think the best thing any budding writer can do is just to read a lot, and read diversely. Nonfiction will take you inspiring places you might never go in real life, and fiction will teach you the rhythms of language. The hardest part, for me, was to learn the discipline to write a long work from beginning to end. And then to edit it. But if you're young you don't have to worry too much about it YET. When you hit the point when you're ready to pursue publication, make friends in the writing community that are treating writing seriously--it helps to surround yourself with serious, whether published or unpublished, writers--exchange critiques, and be humble and open to getting better even if you're already good.
 While most seventeen year olds spend their time on Facebook or texting friends, there are a few that put their time to more productive use. Seventeen year old Allyson Richards is one such teen. While completing high school, planning for college and riding horses, Allyson has penned not one, but two novels. Her first published title, Enlightened, has already been published and the sequel is on its way. Her debut novel, a supernatural teen romance, is available for purchase at www.allysonrichards.com. She took the time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions about herself, her work and the publishing world. It says on your website that you began writing your novel when you were fifteen. What experiences did you have when you were younger that helped you decide you wanted to be a writer? When I was little, before I knew how to write, I remember scribbling lines on blank printer paper. I would do that to a few pages and when I was done, I would "read" what I had "written" back to myself. But, even though the scribbles didn’t really mean anything, I still pulled a story from it, as if the random squiggly lines were actual words. I never thought in a million years that I would one day be a writer, let alone a published author, but I think it's safe to say I was born a story teller. What really drove me to write Enlightened was the desperate need to find an outlet to sort all of my confusing thoughts and feelings and also the inner story-teller I had unknowingly smothered for so long wanting to break free. Only five to ten percent of people who start novels actually finish them. What advice would you give aspiring novelists about how to complete a novel? I get that question a lot, and when I give people my answer, they almost seem disappointed by it--like they're expecting some ground-breaking equation that solves all of their problems. Well, here's the magic formula everyone expects (warning, it's not magic, and it's not a formula): Work hard. If it's something you truly want to do, your passion will drive you to finish. If not, well then, that might just be laziness. Ha-ha! Your character, Alexis, goes through much emotional turmoil. How much of Alexis is drawn from yourself? To make a long story short, Alexis is me. I never intended to base a character off of myself when I first started the book, but the more I wrote about Alexis' adventures and troubles, the more of myself I saw in her. We've both been through a lot, we've both had to carry many burdens on our small shoulders (some of those burdens self-inflicted), and we've both felt helpless. Really, Alexis isn't just me. She's also the representation of everything teens have felt at least once or twice in their life. Being a published writer at seventeen is quite a feat. There are a lot of authors out there dying to be published. Please describe to us the publishing process you went through. Any advice to those trying to be published?
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