Vampire Books, Vampire Romance Books, Paranormal Romance Books, Werewolves Books, Shapeshifter Books



     


My Interview with Dark Fantasy Author Sylvia Shults


1
Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, what is your background?

A: I grew up in Chicago, in a highly literate family. My dad says I taught myself how to read when I was two years old. I must have, because I cannot remember a time when I didn't know how to read. I remember learning how to count up past one hundred, and what a thrill of discovery that was. But I have absolutely no recollection of being pre-literate -- as far as I'm concerned, I have always known how to read.

As I said, I grew up in a very reading-oriented household. There were books all over the place, literally in every room in the house. And my grandmother helped, too; she had an astounding vocabulary, and she was the one, I think, that gave me my addiction to words. I remember her using college-level words in everyday conversation, which I found very exciting as a kid. She routinely used words like "perspicacious", "obstreporous", and "persnickety". I remember one evening she told me not to give my chicken bones to the dog, because "they will perforate her gut". What writer-to-be wouldn't be fascinated by language like that?
2
Q: When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer, and What was it that inspired you to start writing?

A: I think it was always somewhere in the back of my mind that I would do something with words, given my addiction to them. I love reading them, so it was always kind of a given that someday, I would write them too. It was in college, though, that I seriously started thinking about what I would write, and how. I had a professor who required that his students write a paper a week for his classes. And since I was a Classics major, and had him for most of my classes, those papers really started to add up. I started writing fiction instead of scholarly papers, just to give him and myself a bit of variety. He's the one who pointed out that I could actually make a name for myself writing. And he was right! :)
3
Q: When did you write your first book?

A: I wrote my very, very first book (a children's novel called The Midsummer Knight, which is at present unpublished) when I was in college. Also in college, I put together a collection of stories from mythology that I had written for various classes, took it to Kinko's, and produced a very small booklet called The Golden Apples. In graduate school, I wrote what would become my first published novel, Golden Horus, which was finally published in 2000.
4
Q: How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?

A: Ghosts of the Illinois River is book number eight for me. My favorite? Hmm. My favorite depends on my mood. If work's going well, my favorite is the one I'm currently working on. If it's tough going at the moment, my favorite is the one that's been most recently finished!
5
Q: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: Oh, the usual -- veterinarian, doctor, ribbon-winning horseback rider, things like that. For me, it was less what I wanted to be than what I wanted to do. I wanted to hike to the East Coast, get on a little boat, and sail across the Atlantic to England. (Mostly to meet Paul McCartney. I was a big Beatles fan when I was a kid.)
6
Q: How long does it typically take you to write a book?

A: Oh, probably about a year. That's counting the time I actually sit down and start banging out text. I'm turning ideas over and over in my mind for months before I start writing.
7
Q: Where do the ideas for your books come from?

A: A lot of my very good ideas come from dreams that I've had (which should give you a notion of the quality of sleep I enjoy. My husband has gotten very good at calming me down after particularly frightful nightmares). I also do a lot of the "what if" game.
8
Q: Where is your favortie place to write, where do you feel most creative?

A: I love sitting on my porch swing to write. (I write longhand, then type it into the computer later, revising as I go.) Also, I'm very fortunate to work at a library, and when I have time off in the middle of an afternoon, I hide out in a small office at the library and work there. The building used to be a bank, and this little office is where the drive-up window used to be. So it's not like I can sit in there and catnap or anything -- I'm virtually on display! That's okay, though, because I like the idea of people looking in and catching a glimpse of the library's "pet author" at work.
9
Q: Do you have any role models? Have there been any other writers that have inspired you?

A: There have been loads of writers who've inspired me! I write both horror and romance, and I'm first and foremost a reader, so I read quite a lot of both, too. Jay Bonansinga, a writer from Chicago, is my mentor in the business. I've learned so much from him, both from what he's told me, and from example. I'm a big fan of Stephen King, Joe Hill, Bentley Little, Christopher Golden, Richard Laymon, Gary Braver, Chloe Neill, Rachel Vincent, Tamara Thorne ... my list of favorite horror authors is long and varied.

As far as romance authors go, I'm a fan of humorous romance, and if there's some paranormal thrown in there, so much the better. I like Katie MacAlister, Mindy Klasky, MaryJanice Davidson, Heidi Betts ... my list of favorite romance authors is quickly reaching the size of my list of favorite horror authors.
10
Q: When you're not writing, what do you like to do for fun?

A: Well, I've already mentioned my addiction to reading. I also love hanging out in the kitchen, I bake, I make wines and cordials, I make cheese. I love wandering in the woods, and I love foraging for wild foods. (Sometimes these hobbies intersect. I make a mean elderflower cordial!) My small yard is nearly entirely garden, and I grow much of our food, and can it. I have A LOT of hobbies. I don't watch much TV, and I hate to be bored. :D
11
Q: Do you have anything that you'd like to say to your readers?

A: Oh my God, yes! I want to say thank you! Thank you for following me into the darkness, and thank you for trusting me to lead you back out. Thanks for sticking with me.
12
Q: What kind of advice would you give to new writers?

A: Keep at it. Don't ever, ever give up. Even if you don't get published your first time out of the gate (and you probably won't), keep at it. Somewhere out there is a publisher you can work with. And somewhere out there is a reader, or two, or forty, or four hundred, who will want to read what you write. So don't give up. :)




Attention Authors! Would like to have your fans learn a little bit more about you and your writing?, Send me an e-mail and I will be happy to send you an interview.