#Interview: Seanan McGuire & Night and Silence

I am excited to welcome author Seanan McGuire, and we’re talking about her twelfth October Daye novel, Night and Silence, which releases on September 4th!


Have you always had an idea as to where the series/novel is going? Do you know where it is going or is the storyline evolving as you write?
Both!  I’ve always known where the series was going—I have an end game, and we move a little closer to it with every volume—but much like a good trip to Disneyland, I try to leave myself room to explore and play, which means that some new avenues have opened as I meandered my way through the narrative.  I’m having a really lovely time.

What kind of reading experience are you hoping to create for your readers? What do you want them to come away from your books saying, thinking, and feeling?
Sticking with the amusement park metaphor, I want them to have a fun, safe series of scares and thrills, leaving them anxious for more, but comfortable in the knowledge that I will always do my best not to do them any actual harm.

Does your mood ever affect the direction that your stories take? Has any of your stories began one way, but by the time you wrote The End, had the mood drastically changed and how did it affect the story?
No, thankfully—and no, again.

Is there any particular legend or mythology that you came across that was the root of inspiration for you that was used more than others or was there a wide source?
Yes!

For my readers unfamiliar with your work, what would you say to convince them to pick up a copy of your book?
Well, honestly, with this book, what I would say is ‘please don’t pick up this book if you’re unfamiliar with my work, please pick up a copy of book one, Rosemary and Rue, because this is book twelve, and you’re going to be awfully confused.’  And then I would say ‘but hey, enough people like this series that I’m already twelve books in, so you know you’ll probably enjoy it.’

What are you working on?  What do readers have to look forward to?
I just started The Unkindest Tide, which is going to be the thirteenth book in the October Daye series.  Toby is going to have a very, very bad day.

When you’re not writing, what are you reading?
All sorts of things.  I mostly read genre—science fiction, fantasy, and horror—and I’ve most recently really loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.

Do you have a geek side? Explain with examples.
I…I don’t know what you want here, I’m sorry.  I write geeky books for geeky people, I write comics for Marvel, I collect My Little Ponies, I play way too much Overwatch.  Are those the sort of examples that you wanted me to provide?

Do you have a process of how you start to write one of your novels?  Is it the same or different with each novel you write?
I sit down, I open a Word file, and I start writing.  It’s always the same, and it’s never the same, and I love it every time.

How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book out in print?
I cried.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you have to have with you?
My Maine Coon kitten, who gets anxious without me, my best friend, and a TARDIS.  We’re going to see the universe.

If you could be one urban fantasy creature/person/magical thing, what would you be and why?
I would be a Dóchas Sidhe.  They have Wolverine-level healing factors, and I could get into so much lovely trouble.”

Things are not okay.

In the aftermath of Amandine’s latest betrayal, October “Toby” Daye’s fragile self-made family is on the verge of coming apart at the seams. Jazz can’t sleep, Sylvester doesn’t want to see her, and worst of all, Tybalt has withdrawn from her entirely, retreating into the Court of Cats as he tries to recover from his abduction. Toby is floundering, unable to help the people she loves most heal. She needs a distraction. She needs a quest.

What she doesn’t need is the abduction of her estranged human daughter, Gillian. What she doesn’t need is to be accused of kidnapping her own child by her ex-boyfriend and his new wife, who seems to be harboring secrets of her own. There’s no question of whether she’ll take the case. The only question is whether she’s emotionally prepared to survive it.

Signs of Faerie’s involvement are everywhere, and it’s going to take all Toby’s nerve and all her allies to get her through this web of old secrets, older hatreds, and new deceits. If she can’t find Gillian before time runs out, her own child will pay the price. One question remains:

Who in Faerie remembered Gillian existed? And what do they stand to gain? No matter how this ends, Toby’s life will never be the same.


Meet Seanan McGuire!

Seanan McGuire is a native Californian, which has resulted in her being exceedingly laid-back about venomous wildlife, and terrified of weather. When not writing urban fantasy (as herself) and science fiction thrillers (as Mira Grant), she likes to watch way too many horror movies, wander around in swamps, record albums of original music, and harass her cats. Seanan’s favorite things include the X-Men, folklore, and the Black Death. No, seriously. She writes all biographies in the third person, because it’s easier that way.

Seanan can be found on: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Amazon

If you haven’t read Seanan McGuire before, here’s what you’ve been missing:
Night and Silence (October Daye #12)
The Girl in the Green Silk Gown
Tricks for Free (InCryptid #7)
That Ain’t Witchcraft (InCryptid #8) – Mar 05, 2019
Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1)
Discount Armageddon (InCryptid #1)
Velveteen vs. The Junior Super-Patriots (Velveteen #1)
Indexing (Indexing #1)
Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Road #1)
Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1)
Indigo

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.