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An Interview with Author S.S. Bazinet

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After years of writer’s block, S.S. Bazinet gave in to her creative muse and has been passionately writing ever since. She is the author of the visionary fantasy series The Vampire Reclamation Project. She has also published two other fantasy books, a children’s book, and a self-help book. Stop by her website at ssbazinet.com to see what she’s up to and read interviews she’s posted with authors like Anne Hillerman, Joseph Badal, Slim Randles, Sarah Baker, and Steve Brewer. Better yet, stop by the snack table at the next SouthWest Writers meeting. She’ll be the bright light at the back of the room encouraging everyone to pursue their dreams.

Arel's_Blood_200When readers turn the last page of one of your books, what do you hope they’ll say about it? I hope that they feel entertained, satisfied and uplifted. One of my readers expressed my desire best in her review when she wrote, “If you’ve ever had nightmares about unspeakable horrors, and you know inexplicably that man’s inhumanity to man is part of your personal history, this book will ultimately give you courage to carry on.”

Give us your elevator pitch for your book series, The Vampire Reclamation Project. This series is a grand journey of the spirit with angels, vampires and everyday people coming together to reclaim lost lives. Resolving issues surrounding love, hate, trust and betrayal, they struggle to find ways to reach for the stars while grounding themselves in brotherhood.

How was writing this series different from your other projects? From the moment I started writing it, I was possessed with a need to tell the story. I wrote for ten and twelve hours a day, sometimes more. I barely slept. Most nights I got maybe four hours of sleep, but I wasn’t tired. I’d get up around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., write for a while, then take three mile walks. The creative fount I tapped into gave me everything I needed to complete not only the first book, but five more in the series in the year that followed. I’ve since completed a seventh book and have the eighth one waiting to take form.

Where did the inspiration for the story come from? I never planned to write a book about vampires or angels. Instead, I got fed up with having writer’s block. One day I decided to just have fun and not care about writing for anyone but me. That decision seemed to be the permission slip I needed to open the doors to my creativity. When I sat down with pad and pencil, the story flowed out on its own. Yet it contained all the things I felt passionate about. Soon I needed a keyboard to keep up with the torrent of words and feelings that poured forth from my heart and soul. The first book was completed in a little over a month. However, I did about nine edits on the novel before I felt I’d done it justice.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing Michael’s Blood, the first book in the series? Writing the series gave me an opportunity to purge many deep down, sometimes hidden, fears–the ones I didn’t have the courage to face head on. At times, I doubted my ability to plunge into the depths of pain the story required me to understand and then to give it a voice. When I completed the first six books in the series, I felt a little like my character, Arel. We had both reclaimed large portions of our lives.

What are the challenges in writing a series? The characters keep evolving with each successive book. As they gradually reveal more of their complex natures, it impacts the overall story. That poses a problem when it comes to editing. I usually have to scrap large portions of the original manuscripts.

Which of your books did you enjoy writing the most? I didn’t think I could write a thriller, but my novel In the Care of Wolves surprised me. It started off rather innocently, but quickly demanded that I find a way to express the non-stop action and emotional upheaval that drives the story. When I finished the book, I felt a wonderful sense of pride and achievement.

What first inspired you to become a writer? The inspiration has always come from within, from the “greater” me that doesn’t seem to know anything but possibility and the joy of creation. However, to truly access that part of myself, I have to let go of all my expectations about writing and the story I’m telling. I have to allow whatever wants to come forth, whether it is dark or light, to have a voice. When I do, when I put aside my judgments and criticisms, I experience a true lightness of being.

What do you struggle with most in your writing? One of the fears I still entertain is that I’ve purged so much of my angst–and I’m generally so happy with my life–that I won’t have the ability to write passionate stories anymore. However, I recently started a new novel that soothed my fear. All the depths of feeling within are not only available, but my ability to express emotion is better than ever. What a thrill that is.

Why do you write in the fantasy genre? I love fantasy because I love to create worlds that go beyond the boundaries of the reality we live in. These worlds allow my characters to do whatever they need to do to free themselves from situations and belief systems that have kept them shackled. More than anything, I’d like to be thought of as a writer who helps people to strip away the barriers that keep them from connecting with who they are on a heart and soul level.

Do you have unfinished projects keeping you busy? I’m in the final stages of editing book three of the vampire series. I have another novel, The Madonna Diaries, that’s nearly finished. It’s written with a first person POV. It wasn’t something I planned, but once I realized I’d slipped into first person, I enjoyed it and decided it was right for the story. I recommend that every writer give first person POV a try. It can provide an opportunity to delve deeper into the main character’s view of life.

Which has been more challenging for you—writing or promoting? Promoting has been more of a challenge, but maybe that’s a good thing. I’m overcoming more fears as I learn how to get my creations out in the world. SouthWest Writers has been a blessing in that regard. The organization provides a great environment for writers to grow in knowledge and self-confidence. With these attributes under one’s belt, promoting becomes easier.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know? Writing can be a box with rigid structures that are demanding and restrictive to one’s creative nature. On the other hand, writing can be as fluid as the ink that flows onto the paper. It can become a vehicle that opens up doors to new worlds of possibility and to dreams that have never been expressed. My hope is that every writer who feels the need for more freedom chooses the latter.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. KL has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Steven T. Murray and Tiina Nunnally: On Translating and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

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by Joanne Matzenbacher

Steven T. Murray and Tiina Nunnally are a husband and wife team who make their living as literary translators of Scandinavian languages into English. Steven (using the pseudonym Reg Keeland) is well known for translating the Millennium series, beginning with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Tiina has translated over forty books, including works by Vidar Sundstøl (Minnesota Trilogy), Sigrid Undset, and three novels by Klas Östergren. Both Steven and Tiina have translated Henning Mankell and Camilla Läckberg, as well as other crime fiction authors.

How did you become translators? How did you find a publisher?
Steven: I studied German in high school and college and then attended Stanford’s program abroad at the campus in Germany. I was disappointed that the American students didn’t have an opportunity to speak more German, so I was impressed when I met students staying in Denmark and Sweden who had really learned the language. I ended up joining the Scandinavian Seminar program and studying at a Folk High School north of Copenhagen. That’s how I learned to speak fluent Danish. Eventually I started my own publishing house, Fjiord Press, which Tiina and I ran for 20 years. We published mostly German and Danish titles in English translation, and our books got lots of reviews in the major newspapers, including The New York Times. That was how we established our reputations as translators of Nordic literature.

Tiina: I spent a year in Denmark as an exchange student, and no one spoke any English with me, so I had to learn to speak Danish! I fell in love with the country and the literature and wanted to share the books I was reading with my English speaking friends. The first book I translated was a wonderful memoir called Early Spring by Tove Ditlevsen – the story of a working-class girl growing up in Copenhagen in the 1930s and yearning to become a poet. I was lucky enough to meet the publisher of Seal Press at a party in Seattle, and she asked to see the translation. I was thrilled when she decided to publish the book!

What are some of the most difficult parts of a book to translate?
Steven: – Slang is always difficult, but the Internet is a big help. If I can’t find a word in my dictionaries, I Google the word on teenagers’ blogs in Scandinavia, to see how the kids are using it.

Tiina: Humor is always difficult to translate, because something that’s funny in one language may not be funny at all in another language. And swear words always present a problem. For example, in the Scandinavian languages, the worst epithets have to do with the devil. But in English, a curse about the devil wouldn’t have much impact. Most of our swear words have to do with God or sex. I once translated a Danish author’s novel that was filled with swear words. When he looked at my translation, he sent me an email saying: “How did all these Gods get into my text?!”

How long does it take to translate a novel?
Steven: The Millennium trilogy took about 11 months, but that was fast work on my part, because each book was more than 900 pages in manuscript! So that was actually equivalent to translating six regular sized novels. Generally, we each try to do about four or five books a year. We’re both full-time literary translators.

Do the authors you translate know enough English to read the translation? Does anyone ever say to you that the nuance or feeling isn’t exactly right?
Steven: I agree. Sometimes authors think that just because they have the ability to speak English (however fluently) they also have the ability to capture all the nuances in writing. Two very different skills.

Tiina: Some authors get more involved than others. Most Scandinavians speak good English, but writing English is a whole different matter, especially when it comes to writing fiction. We’re always happy to work with an author on the final version of a translation. It’s especially helpful if we can email him or her questions. But authors have to trust the translator. And our first loyalty is always to the author and the text – we realize that we have a big responsibility, because we are the author’s voice in English. Accuracy and artistry are both essential.

In any language there are certain words that just don’t translate well. How often do you encounter the dilemma of “just how do I say that?”
Tiina: A word-for-word translation will never convey the nuances or depth of a literary text. It takes more than linguistic knowledge of two languages to be a good translator. We often say that we’re like musicians who have to “play” the text for the reader. We’re also like actors, who have to give up our own identity and inhabit the voice of the author. Every translator brings his or her own experience and talent to a text, but it’s important not to insert too much of yourself into the translation. We want the translation to read as if the book had originally been written in English. Translation is an art, not a science.

In Swedish and other languages, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is titled Men Who Hate Women. Who changed the title for the English market, and why?
Steven: The British publisher acquired the world English rights to the trilogy, and I guess he thought the books needed titles that would have greater commercial appeal. So he changed the titles of books 1 and 3 and created what some people are calling the “Girl” trilogy.

Why did you choose to use a translator pseudonym?
Steven: We strongly believe that translators should get credit for their work, which means having their names on the cover and/or title page and getting mentioned in PR for the book. But if the editor or publisher makes major changes to the text without the translator’s permission, so that the final English version no longer reflects our work, then we sometimes (reluctantly) choose to use a pseudonym. In the case of the Millennium books, I wasn’t given enough time to go over the final editing, and I also didn’t agree with many of the changes that had been made. For example, in one scene where Blomkvist is at his sister’s house, she asks him how he’s doing. Larsson wrote, “I feel like a sack of shit,” but this was arbitrarily changed to “He told her he felt as low as he had in life.” These kinds of changes alter the tone and flow of the writing, and I didn’t want to be blamed for such things.

Do you read the book cover to cover before starting the translation?
Steven: We usually don’t read the book before we start translating, especially if it’s a crime fiction novel. We like to be as surprised by the story as the reader will be, and it helps to keep the translation as “fresh” and exciting as possible. But of course we go back and revise many times after finishing the first draft.

Tiina: I was interested to read that Gregory Rabassa, who has translated so many amazing novels from Spanish, doesn’t read the text in advance either. And by the way, he has written a fascinating memoir about his life as a translator called If This Be Treason.

Did you like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo from the start?
Steven: As soon as Lisbeth Salander appeared on the scene, I knew it was going to be a great book.

JoanneMatzenbacherJoanne Matzenbacher does email marketing for independent bookstore Bookworks. She also reviews books that she’s currently reading plus those new to the marketplace in a monthly column titled “It’s About Books.” Joanne retired from Dex Media as a trainer/sales manager and now lives in Denver where she keeps in constant communication via computer with the Bookworks store in Albuquerque. Books are her best friends and companions for life, so she considers this to be her dream job.

This interview was originally published on the Bookworks blog and in the October 2010 issue of SouthWest Sage. It is reprinted here by permission of the author.

Related Article:
“Tiina Nunnally Receives Knighthood” by Gayle Lauradunn
October 2013, page 1, SouthWest Sage



An Interview with Author RJ Mirabal

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RJ Mirabal is a New Mexico native and former high school English teacher whose debut novel The Tower of Il Serrohe was published in 2012 by Black Rose Writing. The Tower was a finalist in the science fiction/fantasy category of the 2013 New Mexico/Arizona book awards. Visit RJ’s website to read a synopsis and sample chapters of his novel, along with updates on the sequel, Extreme Dust Storms May Exist, scheduled for release in the spring.

Tell us about your debut novel. Wrenched from a deteriorating lifestyle when his promiscuous wife kicks him out, anti-hero Don Vargas rents a dilapidated casita which, unknown to him, is actually a portal to another world. Vargas takes readers through a dusty portal on a Southwest contemporary fantasy quest into a larger-than-life alternate Rio Grande Valley where local clanspeople are at war with the Soreyes who terrorize them on a regular basis. The clanspeople need Don to save them from the wily Soreyes’ mysterious Tower, but he only wants to drink his troubles away.

What do you hope readers will take away from The Tower of Il Serrohe? This book explores how perception governs our relationship with the universe. All of what we perceive to be reality is a function of our perception, which is informed by our normal senses and our emotional and philosophical states of being. And, as in most literature, I hope readers will see that evil is bad, kindness is good, and love is essential to life. But, honestly, my main focus is entertaining and enlightening my readers who can share in my imagination as they read the book.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you? I had to put myself into the skin of a character who shares little with me in terms of values and lifestyle. And I wanted readers to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the New Mexico setting. We who live here find it second nature to enjoy our landscape and interesting lifestyles, but to capture it in a novel that isn’t entirely realistic was a fascinating challenge. Finally, I wanted to take readers on a great adventure. Keeping it all interesting was a constant challenge, and only readers can judge whether I succeeded.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing The Tower? To see my characters become a reality on the printed page, with their lives and unexpected problems taking place on the New Mexico landscape, has been the most rewarding for me. To talk with people about how these characters and their lives came alive for them is a writer’s dream.

How did this project come together? The story idea was inspired by the old adage: “Write what you know.” I knew New Mexico and I have enjoyed fantasy stories since childhood, so I combined the two and placed my fantasy in New Mexico instead of the typical Medieval European setting. The other spark that started the fire of my story was taking on the challenge of writing about someone with personal problems I didn’t share. From initial idea and a couple of short stories that gave birth to the much more complex novel, it took 30 years to complete this story. Of course, I wasn’t working on it that whole time. I actually spent the last three years on the majority of the writing, editing, and getting it published by 2012. But the story ideas and my writing style improved over those years. I read continually, taking inspiration and tips from every author I read.

Are you a pantser or a planner? I start out as a pantser once I have an idea that intrigues me. I usually write one or two chapters (not always the first chapters) off the cuff, usually in a torrent. Then I step back and start mulling and plotting in such detail I can copy my notes to the draft and flesh out additional details. Strangely enough, when I’m plotting, I’m still being a pantser because I seldom go back and make drastic plot changes unless I’ve discovered a logic gap or have a revelation that energizes the story.

Why do you write in the particular genre you’ve chosen? I have always been more fascinated by stories beyond “reality.” In junior high, I got hooked on science fiction and I still admire the icons of that genre: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, Jack Williamson, Kurt Vonnegut, and dozens more. Then along came J. R. R. Tolkien and fantasy was added to my list, along with great mystery writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, and many new writers such as Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander series). Two of my favorite writers are fellow New Mexicans: Tony Hillerman, the famous writer of Navajo detective mysteries, and Rudolfo Anaya, well-known author of the Hispanic experience. Both writers have evoked the New Mexico landscape, culture, and lifestyle. I have tried to bring together these diverse elements in my writing.

What has been the most challenging so far—writing or promoting? At first, I thought writing was difficult. But now that I am learning and struggling to promote my book, I find the writing to be fun and the promoting to be drudgery. If I could afford it and found someone who could do a great job of it, I’d turn over the promotion to someone else. Maybe once I have a bestseller! Having to talk up my own work is not in character for me, in addition to the realization many contacts have to be made before one pans out. When I write, I can knock out as many pages, etc. as is needed to tell the story—much easier to me in comparison.

What are you working on now? My editor, Peggy Herrington, and I are putting the finishing touches on the final draft of the sequel to The Tower of Il Serrohe entitled Extreme Dust Storms May Exist. This story centers on Esther Jiron, a sixteen-year-old honor student, who is drawn into the alternate valley of the first book, the Valle Abajo. Once again the clanspeople of the Valle are under the cruel siege of the Soreyes who terrorize and dominate the Valle. Esther is called to the Valle to help the clanspeople fight off this continuing threat just as they had called Don Vargas. Of course, there will be many surprises as the story develops. I’ve already mapped out the basic plot and am writing the first few chapter drafts to conclude the saga in a third installment entitled Zero Visibility Possible.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. KL has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Interview With Author Sarah H. Baker

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Sarah H. Baker is the author of more than 20 novels, with publishers ranging from Kensington to Harlequin to small presses. She holds an MS in engineering and works full time, but also writes fiction under three pen names: S. H. Baker, Sarah Storme, and Lydia Parks. The first book in her Dassas Cormier Mystery series, Murder in Marshall’s Bayou (Zumaya Publications, 2009), was recommended for an Edgar Award. Return to Marshall’s Bayou (Siren Audio Studios, 2010) is the full-cast audio version of this first mystery and was a finalist in the Audie Awards. Sarah enjoys sharing her experience with other writers and teaches courses through University of New Mexico’s Continuing Education Department. Visit her on Facebook and her Amazon author page.

Tell us about your newest work.
Angel in My Arms is a full-cast audio romance set in 1920s Louisiana. Captain Joshua Wakefield lost his wife and child seven years ago in a Gulf storm. Lydia Wakefield, a young woman wise beyond her years, offers the love and joy he never expected to find again.

What do you hope readers will take away from Angel in My Arms?
I hope readers will be reminded that there is always hope for a better tomorrow, no matter how bad things are, and that love is the one thing we must give away in order to find.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
This was the first piece I’d written specifically for full-cast audio. The producer — Linda of Siren Audio Studios — and I shared a vision of what audio could be, and worked hard to fulfill that vision with this book. We’ve done things in here never done before. For example, as Joshua and Lydia grow more intimate, their internal dialogues weave together, and when they move apart, their internals move apart. The effect is breathtaking! But there was quite a bit of trial and error involved before we were both happy. And, since there are a dozen actors in the book, the post-production took quite a while. I think readers will be happy with the result, too.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing Angel in My Arms?
The most rewarding aspect of this project was working closely with Linda and the actors. Everyone participated in bringing the book to life. And having the opportunity to actually hear the characters’ voices has to be one of the most amazing things a writer can experience.

What are you most happy with, and what do you struggle with most, in your writing?
My struggles have evolved with my writing, as everyone’s do. At this point, I’m most happy with my dialogue, and tend to struggle with getting enough detail and use of senses into descriptions.

Of all the novels you’ve written, which one did you enjoy writing the most?
Beside the audio books, the book I most enjoyed writing was Death of a Dancer, part of the Dassas Cormier Mystery Series. The story takes place in New Orleans in 1925. Although I grew up there, I had no idea what the city was like in 1925. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed researching a book so much. I found amazing information including a city map from 1919 and a menu from Antoine’s in the early 1900s, and I even located an officer in the New Orleans Police Department who answered all my questions. I had a blast visiting the original police station in the French Quarter, long ago turned into an office building. When the book was released, I sent a signed copy to the officer who had helped me. Best I can tell, it ended up on his desk the day before Hurricane Katrina hit.

What is the hardest part of writing a series?
The only series I’ve written is the Dassas Cormier Mystery Series, but the hardest part for me is remembering details. It would be easier if I wrote all the books straight through (or if I had a younger brain), but, instead, I’ve written several books between each of those in the series. I did discover early on that I needed a map of Marshall’s Bayou and a list of all the secondary characters. If I were going for another dozen books in the series, I’d probably need to keep a detailed summary of each book. At this point, I just keep basic relationship notes. Before I get back to work on the next book (the last in the series), I plan to reread the other four.

You write under three pen names — what is your advice to writers considering the use of multiple pseudonyms?
I admit, I’ve signed the wrong name to a book at least twice! My advice is to be sure you need different names. In my case, I write in three genres and don’t want my romance readers picking up a mystery by mistake, or my mystery readers picking up erotica. Genre fiction is about reader expectation, so I want my readers to know what they’re getting. If you don’t write multiple genres and don’t need to write under other names, I wouldn’t advise it. Life is confusing enough!

Why do you write in the genres you’ve chosen?
I started out writing romance because I enjoyed writing about relationships, and I’m an optimist. With romance, the goal is to have the reader smile and sigh after reading the last page. What can be better? I also write mystery because I grew up reading everything from the Hardy Boys to Agatha Christie to James Lee Burke. I love the genre for the same reason I love romance: it’s full of optimism. The good guy or gal wins out in the end, and the evil-doer is punished. Erotica is a different situation in that I was asked to write it. I found out, however, that I really enjoyed it, too. The genre gave me a chance to write paranormal again (vampires and shape shifters), and to expand my boundaries as a writer.

What first inspired you to become a writer?
I’m one of those lucky people who stumbled onto writing. Although I’ve always been an avid reader, when I was young I didn’t know someone could just become a writer. I guess I thought people like Dickens and Mark Twain emerged into the world as writers. While living in Alaska, I discovered a fan fiction site on the still-new Internet for my favorite TV show and started writing short stories to share with others. It turned out one of those “others” was a NY editor who encouraged me to write a book. She said I had potential as a writer and should try my hand at writing romance. I had no idea what I was getting into!

Who do you wish you were more like in your own writing?
I would love to be more poetic like James Lee Burke, better at characterization like David L. Robbins, funnier like Carl Hiaasen, and better at writing outside the lines like Elmore Leonard. My goal is always to learn from every writer I enjoy reading.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on two pieces set in the distant future, one post-apocalyptic, and one not. This is a strange time in my life, however, as I’ve been away from writing for a while and am just getting back into the habit, so I also have several other ongoing projects including the last Dassas Cormier mystery and a mystery told by a ghost. Oh, and then there’s the YA mystery series I’m outlining. (Maybe I really need to work on focusing.)

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
The best encouragement I received from outside my family was from an editor who read my first manuscript and actually called me. She wanted me to know that she wasn’t going to buy my book, but that she thought I had potential as a writer. She gave me a list of writing books to read and told me to get started on my next book right away. Without that call, I doubt I would be published today.

Advice? Never give up, never surrender! (Yes, I stole that from Galaxy Quest.) But I don’t know anything for which persistence is more important than with writing. As soon as you finish one book, start on the next. Keep the creativity rolling. Another good piece of advice I received was to let a book rest before editing. Otherwise, you’ll still be inside the story and unable to read the words you’ve written.

Anything else you’d like to share?
The publishing world is competitive, but writing shouldn’t be. No two writers will ever tell a story exactly the same way. Don’t be afraid to help those around you, or to learn from others. If you’re not improving and having fun as a writer, you may as well move on to something else. One of my characters once told me, “If you ain’t havin’ fun, you’re just wastin’ space.” That has become my motto.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. KL has a new speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.

 



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