Blog Hop, aka the Literary Pyramid Scheme

Brian Francis (author of Natural Order and a renowned Caker Cooker—yes, look that up) recently asked me to participate in the Author Blog Hop. I said yes because I adored his last two novels and well, I never miss an opportunity for silly self-promotion.

Here’s how this literary pyramid scheme works. I answer 4 questions about myself (probably truthfully) and then tag two other authors. Brian also asked Vivek Shraya (most recently author of She of the Mountains) and a renowned rock star. 

What am I working on?

I’ve just completed another revision of Novel #3. I don’t yet have a title but it might as well be named The Novel That Kicked My Ass for Three Years. I think (dah dah dah dah!) it’s ready to send to my agent.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I write literary fiction, with a hint of magical realism (I like it when my characters talk to dead people). There is also a lot of brownness and queerness in my stories, settings and characters.

Why do I write what I do?

I write stories that obsess me. You have to when you’ve been foolish enough to commit to a project that might take 3 or more years to complete. Novel #3 (yeah, still no title) is about a young woman who stumbles into the swinger scene while working at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. In the process, she finds her backbone and the father she’s never known. The book explores identity, sex and ghosts, my current everyday obsessions.

How does my writing process work?

I haven’t ever outlined. I might outline Novel #4 with the hope that it kicks my ass less enthusiastically. I write daily (usually), but because I have a part-time psychotherapy practice (yes, click that link), I split my days between my two jobs. I edit as I write and when I have readable drafts, I seek feedback from writer friends. I also write poetry to escape novel-writing and to experience the feeling of finishing something.

There! I think most of that was the truth!

I’ve tagged Carrianne Leung (author of The Wondrous Woo and my lovely Brockton neighbour) and Terry Fallis (most recently the author of No Relation and the guy who inspired me to consider outlining).

They’ll post their answers to these same 4 questions on September 1^st.  They’ll tag two others. And so on, until whoever started this pyramid gets filthy rich.