GCC presents Shanna Swendson

Today I'm touring Shanna Swendson and her latest Katie Chandler book, Don't Hex with Texas, but before I begin, I've just got to say that I seem to have fallen into some weird time rift, because I swear it was just yesterday that I was impatiently waiting for Enchanted Inc to come out and yet now we're up to book four. How did that happen? Not that I'm complaining of course since I'm a huge Shanna fan. Also, don't forget to check her blog out because it's full of great craft posts and even better television posts!!

Anyway, enough from me, here is Shanna to tell you more about her latest book and have me turning green with envy all at the same time!!!!!

Tell me a bit about your book.

Don’t Hex with Texas is the fourth book in my series about Katie Chandler, a small-town girl from Texas who went to New York and ended up working for a magical corporation when she discovered that she was a rare person who was immune to magic. In this book, she’s back in her hometown, trying to stay out of the magical war that’s brewing in New York. It’s supposed to be one of the least magical places on the planet, but then she starts noticing odd things happening and realizes her town now has a local wizard who’s up to no good. She gets some of her magical friends in New York to help track down the wizard and find out where he gets his power.

What was the inspiration for writing it?

I was traveling around Texas promoting the first book in the series, and as I took back roads that went through small towns, I started thinking that it might be fun to have a book take place in Katie’s hometown. Then I had to think of a reason for that to happen, so that’s where the plot in the third book came from. I used to live in a small town, so I’m familiar with all the quirks.

I'm a sucker for a sale story, so I'd love to hear how you sold your first book.

My very first sale was in the Dark Ages, but then I had a long career gap. The first sale after that gap was Enchanted, Inc., the first book in this series. I got the idea more than two years before I sold the book, and it was more than a year after I first had the idea before I wrote it because I didn’t think there was a market for it and I was getting pretty desperate to sell something. Then I went to a conference and at one of the mixer-type events, I found myself chatting with an editor at a fantasy imprint. Soon I mentioned this wacky “Bridget Jones meets Harry Potter” idea I had, and she said she wanted to see it. I hadn’t written so much as a word. So, I had to go home and write it. When I had three chapters and a synopsis, I sent them off to her, but I was having too much fun to stop, so I just finished the book. When I finished the book, I felt like I had something special, so I decided to find an agent. The first agent I queried wanted to see it, and she eventually took me on. While the book was out on submission all over New York, that initial editor rejected it. Actually, a lot of editors rejected it. There was supposed to be an auction because an editor said he was going to make an offer. That was when the rejections started really coming in. Then during the auction, another publisher made an offer, but the initial editor who’d triggered the auction couldn’t make an offer because he couldn’t reach the executive who had to sign off on it, so it was a one-publisher auction. I guess all it takes is one!

It’s funny, but once the book was published and out in bookstores, my agent heard from an editor who had bought the book at a store and loved it, and she was complaining about not having been given a chance to buy the manuscript. My agent had to tell her that she had, and she’d rejected it. She really hadn’t liked the manuscript, and it was one of the meaner rejections. But the book had gone to press without revisions from the editor, so the book she loved was practically identical (other than copy edits) to the manuscript she’d hated. Go figure.

Since you've been a published writer, what's been the coolest thing that's happened to you? (though be> warned if it somehow involves meeting David Boreanaz, there will be jealousy issues to deal with).

How about meeting Alexis Denisof and Nathan Fillion? Well, not actually meeting, but being in the same room with them and having a massive shyness attack so I didn’t speak to anyone famous. But that had nothing to do with being a writer.I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of my author idols as professional peers, since I’ve been invited to speak at a lot of science fiction conventions. It’s been kind of eerie moderating panels including authors I grew up reading. Now I can look at my bookcase and have people I actually know to go with the names on the book covers, and I know that they actually know me. That’s rather thrilling. (okay so it's lucky no one can see me here because the jealousy bug has most definitely raised its ugly little head. Nathan and Alexis in the same room? Be still my beating heart)

What authors inspire you and why?

I think I’m inspired by everything I read, but a few of my author inspirations include:J.K. Rowling — Very soon after I first had the initial idea for the book that became Enchanted, Inc., I got laid off from my job. I’d just gotten into the Harry Potter books, and I saw a TV show about her (I think on Biography). I found myself really relating to her, since she was unemployed when she wrote that first book, and she got a fairly low advance after a lot of rejections, and look where she is now! Whenever I had a career setback, I’d remind myself of her story. Those setbacks don’t have to be the end of the world. You can get a lot of rejections and still go on to be the most popular author on the planet.

Connie Willis — She has this way of writing books I want to crawl inside, and I’m not quite sure how she does it. I also love how she manages to incorporate her faith into her work, not in a heavy-handed “Hey! I’m writing something inspirational here!” way, but in a subtle way that’s just part of the world view. She’s one of those writer idols I’ve since had a chance to get to know as a person, and meeting her the first time at a conference was a big boost for me when I was at a career low point.

Neil Gaiman — He uses language so beautifully, even while telling compelling stories. I’m more of a story person, and the language is just something I use to tell the story, but reading his books and his poetry makes me more conscious of language, and I aspire to maybe someday being able to write something that lovely.

Jane Austen — because being an unmarried woman writer who can be funny and romantic can be pretty cool.

Finally, what's the best movie you've seen in the last six months?

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. That may be the only movie I’ve seen other than on HBO in the past six months, but it may be one of my favorite ever. I came out of the theater with my face aching from smiling so much and my eyes a little red and puffy from crying, which I think is the perfect way to come out of a movie. The day this movie comes out on DVD, I’m taking the day off to go buy it and then come straight home and watch it. It’s like someone discovered a classic screwball comedy from the 1930s in a film vault somewhere and decided to release it, and I want to be Amy Adams’ best friend. (yay, the Juno bug has definitely been broken and now I totally want to see this movie. I haven't even heard of it before)