1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Brother and sister monster hunters in pre-WWI America set out to discover who – or what – killed a distant relative, only to discover much of their life was based on a lie.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I knew that my protags were going to live in the Northeast, and I wanted somewhere that was more rural than not, so it was natural to look north. I have friends who live in Upstate NY, and I know the area a little, so when I was scouting locations, it felt like the right place to send Rosemary and Aaron. The proximity to the Great Lakes became a definite advantage, plot-wise!
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
They’re not very comfortable people to hang out with – a little too intense for my taste. But I’d love to buy them a drink and let them tell me stories about what they’ve seen!
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Loyal, thoughtful, pragmatic.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
The echoes of history between the 1910s and 2020s are fascinating, and more than a little worrying. Which I sort of knew beforehand, but doing the research now really drove it home. New tech coming into play, worldwide unrest, labor strikes/union growth, and women’s rights are being argued in the streets…
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I try to go all the way through on Draft 0, but sometimes I need to backtrack my way out of a dead end. And – here’s a secret – I never write the final scene until I’ve done at least two passes of the full book.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Pecan pie. It hurts me, so I can’t have it often, but when I do, I savor every bite. Also, a really good “greasy spoon” grilled cheese sammie. There’s something just soul-satisfying about grilled cheese!
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I tend to write wherever I can find space to settle down, but my home office is a room off the kitchen, one wall of bookcases, and one wall is a sliding glass door to the balcony. I gave up on a traditional desk during the Pandemic, and now write on an amazingly comfortable blue velvet chaise lounge I found in a resale store. It looks decadent, but it’s actually really good for my back and shoulders!
10–Who is an author you admire?
Madeleine Robins. She’s an incredibly entertaining writer who has never gotten the audience I think she deserves, partially because she decided to ignore standard categories and write the books she wanted to read – which in this case was a series of noir Regency mysteries – historically accurate but wildly improbable. Bookstores threw up their hands and didn’t know where to shelve them, but Robins was “this is what I’m gonna write, deal with it.” That kind of determination is inspiring.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
Dorothy L. Sayers’ BUSMAN’S HONEYMOON. I’d never really read mysteries OR romance before, being an SF/F girl, but I was ill with mono for several months when I was a teenager, and my aunt gave me an omnibus of Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey books. And I fell, hard, for this war-damaged aristocrat and the hardheaded commoner woman who squabbled with honest respect, and loved with awkward passion, and solved the crime! And the idea of a character-driven mystery has absolutely informed all my writing, because of that.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
The very first Call I got was actually an email. My agent had been trying to reach me, but I was on vacation with my family, and we didn’t have a cell signal. So she sent me an email (this was back before email was the first choice for communication!) and I just happened to be checking in and saw it. My family was down by the pool and heard me yell and everyone thought something bad had happened except my mom, who said, “the book sold.”
(my mom was also a writer, she knew That Yell)
The stories since then are all good – there is no bad “the book sold and stayed sold” story – but that’s the first and best one.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Oh man. It depends on the day? I love historical mysteries, but sometimes I just want to wallow in character interactions, so that’s when I turn to contemporary romances. And horror makes my heart think. But fantasy – urban, contemporary, historical, or second world – is my comfort jam.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
The Sting. It is one of the very few perfectly perfect movies, and I’ll fight anyone who says differently.
15–What is your favorite season?
Autumn. When the mornings have a bite to them, the afternoons are just warm enough to be comfortable, the sky is blue but the leaves are scarlet and orange, and you’re happy to cuddle under blankets when you go to sleep. (I may live in the PNW now, but I’m a New England girl at heart)
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Going out for dinner somewhere nice, ideally in a city not-my-own. I like parties, but even at my own, about two hours in and I’m looking for a quiet place to hide….
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
It’s not recent (2021) but I loved Bridgewater, which is serial suspense/horror set in New England. I’d listen to it while walking the dog and a few times it had me jumping out of my skin. The second season was delayed, so I keep going back to listen to the first season!
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Thai. Although Ashkenazi comfort food is a close second!
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Go hiking with my dog. Or nap with the cat.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
The next Huntsmen book, which I’m working on now – look for it in 2023! Also, Something Real, the next paranormal romance novella after Something Perfect – they’re romances featuring non-traditional romantic partnerships, which I’d never have gotten away with when I was writing for Harlequin Nocturne!
UNCANNY TIMES by Laura Anne Gilman
Huntsmen, according to the Church, were damned, their blood unclean, unholy. Yet for Rosemary and Aaron Harker the Church was less important than being ready to stand against the Uncanny as not being prepared could lead to being dead.
The year is 1913. America—and the world—trembles on the edge of a modern age. Political and social unrest shift the foundations; technology is beginning to make its mark.
But in the shadows, things from the past still move. Things inhuman, uncanny.
And the Uncanny are no friend to humanity.
But when Aaron and Rosemary Harker go to investigate the suspicious death of a distant relative, what they discover could turn their world upside down—and change the Huntsmen forever
Fantasy Historical | Romance [Gallery / Saga Press, On Sale: October 18, 2022, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781534415928 / eISBN: 9781534415935]
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About Laura Anne Gilman
Laura Anne Gilman is the author of more than twenty novels, including the Nebula award-nominated The Vineart War trilogy. Her newest project is the Devil’s West series from Saga Press/ Simon & Schuster, beginning with 2015’s Endeavor award-nominated Locus-bestseller SILVER ON THE ROAD, and continuing with 2017’s THE COLD EYE.
She has also dipped her pen into the mystery field as well, writing as L.A. Kornetsky.
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