Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back. My husband had this thing about getting the taxes finished.... Priorities?!

FYI, the other panelists were: Tomi Adeyemi, Melissa Albert, Zoraida Cordova, and Tessa Gratton. I only tried to write down the gist of each question and the gist what MWT said. You may accurately assume MWT was much more eloquent that what I type.

That said, both MWT and Bookish Babe were there, so they can chime in to correct me. Or, perhaps, if we leave really good gifts on the alter, MWT will expand on some of her answers for us.

Hopefully I can still read and understand the notes I took.

Q: Magic is too big to be it's own genre. How would you describe the genre of magic in your books?
MWT: Rather than magic, my books have divine intervention. Gods and goddesses are real and interact with the "normal" world.

There was some panel discussion about "magical realism" and the fact that it's a specific term for a very specific genre that's generally considered to "transcend" young adult fantasy. A few panelists said they work in a "genre without a name."

Q: How do you decide what part of mythology you keep and what part you make up on your own?
MWT: I was interested in the evolution of religious sensiblity: people say they believe, but don't expect god to show up at the door. After visiting Greece, I knew I wanted a Greece-like setting, but I also wanted 3-dimensional characters, not the 5th/6th grade 1-sentence summary "everyone" knows about the gods in the Greek pantheon. I knew I wanted a female head of the pantheon. I wanted to create a sense of Greek mythology without breaking it, but also for it to feel natural, not forced.

Q: What fantasy trope do you detest?
MWT: Love triangles where 2 hot guys are in love with the main character. That said, it's not the trope, it's what you do with it.

Lightning Round Questions:

Q: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Sabrina, Teenage Witch
MWT: original comic book

Q: Harry Potter House - sort yourself
MWT: Lev Grossman's The Magicians - wants desperately to get into a magic college

Q: Wake up early or stay up late to write?
MWT: I prefer to write than spend time thinking, "I have not written." It's not what I prefer, but when writing The Thief, I wrote between 4:30 and 7:30am because that's when my husband took the baby. Having specific writing times helps provide "lanes to stay in" so you focus and know that's what you're "supposed" to be doing at that time.

Q: What book would you recommend to someone who just finished your book?
MWT: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Q: What book made you want to be a writer?
MWT: Not What You Expected by Joan Aiken. For a time in childhood, I did what I had learned Roald Dahl did, and carried a pencil and pocket notebook everywhere so I could write down any ideas for a story that same to me. None did.

I din't write down audience questions, but these are things MWT said in response to them:

Writers use writing to process things in real life.

I've never gotten the same buzz from writing a book as from reading one.

Always on deadline. [looking up and all around]

One of the most dangerous things for a writer is self-indulgence -- even with "writer's block." You need to be prepared and open-minded about doing whatever you need to do to write. (Even if that means keeping a box of Entenmann's donuts in the freezer so you can have a power donut everyday before you start writing.)

Don't be surprised if it doesn't come quickly or if you don't know what you're doing. Even after your first book has been published.

People come to a text with certain expectations and you have to work with those expectations. [in context of the Greek pantheon]

When you're dealing with a living religion, you're dealing with people's peace of mind.