Jennifer Crusie's Blog: Argh Ink

You asked Lucy March questions about writing A Little Night Magic, and she answered. Then I lost the e-mail. And now here she is: Lucy March!

Mary Stella: I’d like to know what was the inciting factor that triggered Lucy to write ALNM. Was it a character, the story premise, a life circumstance, or something else that spoke to her? What led her to know that she needed to write this book?

Lucy: Wow. The history of A Little Night Magic is a long one, and to be honest, I started out with a story and characters that had absolutely nothing in common with the final story. The only thing that stayed the same was the main character’s name, Liv, so my memory is kind of fuzzy on the details of how, exactly, Nodaway Falls and the current incarnation of A Little Night Magic started. I know that what I originally wanted to do was write a long series with one protagonist, Liv, at the center of all the books, like a Sookie Stackhouse or Stephanie Plum. I wanted to write long-form episodic, slowly challenging and arcing one character through a series of adventures. That wasn’t what the publisher wanted, though, so we compromised on a series of related books within the same world, which has also been amazingly fun. This story morphed so much in the process, and it was timed perfectly with the collapse of my marriage so quite honestly, it was a book of survival more than ambition. I wrote it that way because that was what my life demanded. In the end, I loved it, but it was a harrowing process getting there.

Karen B: was that a quote from Buckaroo Banzai slipped in there or was it serendipity?

Lucy: I can say, without hesitation, serendipity. What quote? LOL. I probably quoted some memory of someone who quoted Buckaroo Banzai, without realizing it. What’d I say? ☺

Robena: Lucy you wrote a lot of tension filled, frightening scenes in ALNM, you captured the emotions well and drew the reader in with a gasp. Have you ever experienced a really frightening event in your life?

Lucy: Oh, wow. Great question! I’ve been terrified a lot in my life, but never because of anything really real. Mostly just my imagination. I spent a lot of years battling with panic attacks, and so I think I understand fear on that level. It’s like Mrs. Bennet’s nerves, my constant companion these twenty years. Has anything really scary ever happened to me? Not really. I spent some time in the hospital with a kid who couldn’t breathe because of asthma; that’s as bad as it’s gotten for me, and in the moment, I was concentrating on being strong for her, so I didn’t actually get scared until we were back home safe. In short, I’ve lived a very lucky, very blessed life.

Kate George: I’d like to know how Lucy managed to get so much emotion packed into the first few pages. I couldn’t read the entire book in one sitting but I was dying to read it so I started it in a spare minute. GWW the angst in the first few pages almost did me in. And then I read until 1 am last night and finally HAD to go to sleep before finishing. Was that difficult, really making us feel what Liv was going through? Or was it organic to who Liv is?

Lucy: I think that’s just the way I write, because I hadn’t thought of the first scene being terribly angsty, although now that I think about it, you’re right. Liv is really suffering in that scene, because she loves a man she believes will never love her back. I think exploring those emotional struggles is just fun for me in fiction, so it’s usually where I go. Right for the jugular.

Deb Blake: Lucy blogged about how much she struggled with writing this particular book. I wondered if there was a point where things finally started to fall into place, or if she just kept slogging through until the end.

Lucy: A little bit of both. As I mentioned, this book was birthed over three years in which my marriage disintegrated. So while I was trying to write this funny book about a waffle house waitress who discovers she has magical powers and must save her town, I was going through the most difficult and harrowing transition of my life. My head was not exactly, as they say, in the game. Whereas I have written books in as little as twenty-eight days, and as much as nine months, I have never, ever taken three years. What I handed in to my editor on the first round was pretty weak; imagine someone hiring you to build a house and you put up the studs and most of the walls and say, “Okay. Here you go.” Luckily, my editor was amazing, and she kept pushing for me to make it better, and finally, I was able to do it. I wouldn’t ever say it ‘fell into place’ because I worked my ass off for every brick, but nor would I say I slogged. I just worked, and made it the best book I could make it.

Jennifer: What magical things have happened in your life?

Lucy: Wow. Love that question. I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything overtly paranormal, if that’s what you’re asking. I saw a double-rainbow once. Mostly, for me, the magic happens underneath things that appear normal. About eight years ago, I was out shopping and picked up a book called Faking It, read it, and became a huge fan of that author. Eventually, because of that fandom, we became friends and when my life fell apart, she gave me her attic apartment, and is now someone I consider a sister. She also connected me to another sister, Anne Stuart, and the three of us are just… sisters. We even fight like sisters, laughing and crying together by the end of every conflict. One spur-of-the-moment decision, in a Costco of all places, and my life is exactly what it was meant to be. How is that possible? Can that be anything but magic?

Another example: When I hit the lowest point of my life, right after I asked my first husband for a divorce, I got a sudden bee in my bonnet to start a daily blog, every day for 516 days until I turned forty, telling the absolute truth about everything, no matter how bad it made me look. That could have been a really bad idea, but it ended up being a touchstone for a huge community of amazing people, and it became the place where my current husband found me from halfway across the world. I can give you so many seemingly whimsical decisions that ended up bringing me to a place that I was so obviously meant to be; I think there’s magic there. I think there’s something planned, harmonious and solid underneath those seemingly meaningless moments when you hear that voice in your head saying, Yes, this. I learned to heed that voice at a young age, and I’m so glad I did. That voice has served me well.

Lily C: If there was one magical premise you could have be true (invisibility, unicorns whatever), what would it be and why?

Lucy: Oh! Wow, you guys are amazing interviewers, you know that? Fabulous questions!

Time travel. Hands down. Does that count as magic or science fiction? Well, magical time travel, then. ☺

Micki: What is your favorite diner? And how did it work into the book? (And it would be Very Interesting to find out that you don’t care much for diners in real life . . . which would make the diner in the book not a diner, but some sort of meta-Diner, maybe?)

Lucy: My favorite diner is a place called the Historic Red Hook Diner, in Red Hook, NY (Upstate, not Brooklyn.) I grew up in Red Hook, and this place was where I learned that diners are the best places on earth for breakfast. It was repurposed out of an old train car, and it was cramped and a little greasy inside, but it had character, and the people there were always really nice. I haven’t been there in better than twenty years, but I remember it all the time and try to find a place like it everywhere I go. I’ve come close, but never close enough. I love that place.

http://www.historic-village-diner.com/

Kelly S: I’m wondering why she changed her name to Lucy March instead of continue writing under Lani Diane Rich, although I’m thinking the divorce had a impact on her name. Also, I never know which name to use when referring to her now. Can I use “L” or El like the “subway” in Chicago?

Lucy: The divorce had no impact on the name change; that was decided because I was writing a new genre, and it’s much cleaner to launch a new author than to resurrect an old one with a dead career. And my career was dead. As Lani, I wrote a lot of really great books, but they didn’t really catch on, as a lot of good authors don’t. It happens. I hopped between houses a bit, and so I was never properly branded; with every book, the publisher tried something new, and my name got a little muddied. St. Martin’s has a very clear idea of how they like to publish an author, and what I brought with Lani wasn’t a match. They could do better for me with a fresh start, so we started over. I threw a bunch of ideas at them, and they chose Lucy March, which I’m grateful for, because when I lose chance of who I am, I can just sign my e-mails “L” and let it go. ☺

And then Jennifer said: I want to second this question to. Am I supposed to pretend “Lani” doesn’t exist? Or just in some places? I know she’s switched back and forth a lot on Story Wonk and the like, but…argh, yeah, I don’t know how to refer to her any more, and I’m not sure which one to recommend to other people, if I’m supposed to pretend the aliases don’t exist, or what?

And then Skye said: I have to third this one. I get confused as to when — if ever — to refer to her as Lani.

Lucy: Well, that’s my fault, and I apologize. I’m just not good at being anyone other than Lani, and I got confused myself. A few months ago, it finally became clear to me how this should work. I run my business as Lani, I teach writing and talk about writing as Lani, and I write as Lucy March. The problem with that was that I didn’t understand that demarcation for a few years, and early on I tried to switch everything over to Lucy March. So I started out as Lani everywhere, then I was Lucy everywhere, then I was Lani in half the places and Lucy in the others. It’s horribly confusing for me, I don’t expect you guys to keep it straight. Do what I do; just call me L.

Katy L: My questions relate to editorial feedback–both from betas & editors. How does she know when to make changes to a story based on feedback she receives?

Lucy: I’m gonna take these one at a time. ☺ First, I have to be confident in the work before I show it to anyone. Otherwise, whatever the feedback is, I’ll try to fix it, and that’s bad. So I try really hard not to show anything to anyone until it’s done. Once I get there, I usually have a strong sense of the book, and when feedback comes in, I can usually tell if it’s something I need to fix or not. To be honest, 99.9% of the feedback, I address it, but I do it in a way that doesn’t break the rest of the book. But there’s something fun and kind of challenging, like a puzzle, that appeals to me. However, if someone reads it and just doesn’t ‘get’ the book, I let that feedback go. “Hey, put in aliens!” No.

Katy L: (cont’d) And has she ever made changes to a book that she later regretted?

Lucy: I can’t think of one. There were many, many times I made changes that were wrong for the book because I shared it too early in the process, but I’ve never gone to print with changes I later regretted. The bad calls made me crazy way earlier than that.

Katy L: (cont’d) Also, some writers say they control the story completely and others feel once the characters take shape, the characters themselves have a say. What’s her take?

Lucy: Oooh, another great one. I think that the characters are you, but they’re the instinctive part of you that needs the “smart” part of you to get the hell out of the way and let them tell the story. So I’m always in charge, but sometimes I’m in my own way, and I have to learn to trust that instinct, even if it seems to contradict with all that story theory I love so much.

Katy L: (cont’d) Was a title of any of her books ever changed by the publisher to something she didn’t like or didn’t think fit?

Lucy: Oh, yeah. Time Off for Good Behavior. I hated that title. I didn’t think I had any power, though; I was a debut author and I figured cover and title went to the house. Plus, I didn’t really know anything about what would work in the market, and I trusted my editor, because she was really smart and good. But yeah, I hate that title and cover. They’re just bad. Luckily, I just got the rights back, so it’ll have a new cover soon, but I can’t change the title or people who already own it will buy it again and I’d feel bad. But damn. Yeah. Bad title. The original title was Boom, and I wish I’d fought harder for that. I probably would have lost, but still.

Eileen: Just how did she get so awesome?

Lucy: Awwww. Multi-vitamins. ☺

Eileen: (cont’d) Also, Lani was a great mentor to me when I first published, what advice would she give a new writer now in the ever changing world of publishing?

Lucy: Thanks, babe. The advice I would give is not to lose touch with your magic. It’s important to learn craft, to push yourself, to write the best damn book you can write and then make the next one even better. I teach craft, and I believe in it, but I think that sometimes we let craft crowd out the magic—the way you see things, your take on tragedy, humor, romance and the world that makes it a book only you could write—and then we’re left with a technically perfect book that’s dead, dead, dead inside. Even the best wax figure, you can tell it’s a wax figure. I’d take a beautiful, real, flawed and vibrant human person over a perfect wax figure any day. Learn your craft, but feed the magic.

Jen: With her “Lucy March” persona, Lani is starting all over again with her audience. (I’ve seen the book described as being a debut.) What has the experience been like, trying to connect to new readers? What lessons is she taking from her initial writing debut into this one?

Lucy: When a publisher launches an author with a new name, they get to claim “debut” even though I’m an old goat. It’s one of the perks to being a writer. ☺ As you can probably tell from my answers above, it’s been a shaky experience, and not without stumbles. I’m not good at being anything other than me, and so whether I’m technically Lucy or Lani, I’m still just me. The way Anne Stuart is always Krissie; it’s just who she is, and Lani is just who I am. I think the experience of connecting to new readers, as a new author or not, is always the same. It’s exciting and fun and harrowing if they hate you, but mostly exciting and fun. I don’t know that I learned anything from my experience as Lani that I can transfer to Lucy; it’s all part of the same long path for me, and I don’t feel as much that I’m starting over as that I’m just continuing on the same yellow brick road. The Emerald City’s still out there, I just took a left instead of going straight.

Judy: I’ve heard rumors of a sequel. Are they true? If not, what are you working on?

Lucy: They are true! The next book in the series takes Liv’s best friend, Stacy Easter, on magical adventures of her own. It should be out in early 2013, but that means I need to get it to my editor. Back to work with me! Thanks so much for the fabulous questions; I had a lot of fun!