For the fourth interview in the Writers on the Rise series, please welcome Julia Karr and check out her blog here!
Hello, Julia! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi Karen, First, thanks so much for interviewing me! A little bit about me – I have two grown daughters who both live within five miles of me, which I like a lot. I currently live with four cats and three dogs in a little house that is over one hundred years old.
What are you currently writing?
My current work in progress is a young adult fairy tale, but it’s not about fairies.
A fairy tale without fairies? Intriguing. Can you tell us more?
Certainly! It is a fairy tale along the lines of “Once upon a time…” about Princess Sierra of Plains, who refuses to marry until she’s gone on a quest to The Mountain of the Seven Stars. Two young men want to marry her – the boorish Lord Rufus Waverly and Prince Ingloff of Ocean Walls. Another boy, Waverly’s penurious stepbrother, Artie, just wants to make sure she and her Lady-In-Waiting, Felicity. reach the mountain unharmed by highwaymen, ruffians and suspicious innkeepers. Of course – there are magical horses, gypsy potions and tokens that Sierra’s mysterious great-uncle Tonkin left for her to take on her journey.
What else have you written?
I have a young adult speculative fiction book that my agent, Kate Schafer Testerman is currently submitting. I also have a completed middle grade book about a house that was a stop on the Underground Railroad. And my last year’s NaNo novel that is a young adult contemporary story about witches.
What was your path to signing with a literary agent? What would you recommend to a writer looking for an agent?
I did a lot of research before send out to agents. I used Agent Query, QueryTracker and also did a lot of exploring on Verla Kay’s Children’s Writers and Illustrators website’s discussion board – paying attention to who was buying what and how responsive certain agents were. I also got help from people on Verla’s in tweaking my query letter. I can’t emphasize enough how important a spot-on query letter is! I did most of my querying via email (I’m definitely an instant-gratification junkie!) I first sent out around 10 query letters and whenever I’d get a rejection – I’d send out another couple of queries. All total – my stats on querying were something like: 35 queries – 12 form rejections – 7 personal rejections – 8 requests for partials – 8 no responses (ever!) and from those 8 partials I got 4 requests for fulls. All of those were agents I would’ve loved to have signed with. However, you only get one! And, after talking with her and doing some revisions – I signed with Kate!
My recommendation to writers looking for agents… research, research, research! Be sure that the agents you are querying want what you’re writing. It’s a waste of time (and paper & stamps if you send snail mail) to query agents who do not represent the kind of work you are writing.
Also, when you get the call, be prepared with some written-down questions that you want to ask your prospective agent. I say “written-down” because I guarantee that in the middle of your internal squee-ing about talking with a real-live agent you will forget that you actually have questions to ask someone who is essential becoming a partner with you on the road to publication. Also – your agent-to-be will in all likelihood ask if you want to contact a few of their clients for references – which, of course, you should! Have some questions prepared for those clients, too. (I’d be more than willing to share my list of questions with anyone who’d like them.)
Where are you at on your path to publication?
I signed with my agent, Kate, last February (almost a year ago) and she is working on finding a home for my first novel, XVI.
Is XVI the title of your first novel? What is it about, and what inspired you to write it?
Yes – XVI is my first novel. It’s speculative fiction – and the logline is “In the year 2150, turning sixteen is anything but sweet.” It’s a dystopian novel set in Chicago in the mid-2100’s, about a girl on the verge of her sixteenth birthday. When her mother is brutally murdered, Nina sets out to find the father she’d always been told was dead. Along the way, she has to keep from being selected as a FeLS (Federal Liaison Specialist – which is the only way for low-tier girls like Nina to better themselves – but, so many of them disappear…never to be heard from again.) She also has to keep her little sister, Dee, out of the clutches of Dee’s murderous father and keep from falling in love with a boy who is not at all what he seems to be.
XVI was my first NaNoWriMo novel – and it was inspired by an image that popped into my head one day of a punk rock girl, headphones on, walking down the streets of a big city (originally New York, but I know Chicago better, having lived there for five years) trying to ignore everything going on around her – blaring advertisements, homeless people, traffic, etc. From that beginning on Nov. 1st, 2006 – came the entire story.
What advice do you have for writers?
I would say first off, read, read, read. Writers learn so much about writing by reading. I mean, how many times have those of us who write read something and known “I can do that” – maybe even “I can do that better!”? We learn what works and what doesn’t work by reading what is already out there. Secondly, after all that reading – write, write, write! Practice makes perfect! Well… I don’t think as writers we would ever say, “Oh, I’ve written the perfect story!” Maybe we write the perfect phrase or paragraph, find the perfect word to express what we’re trying to say – but, as writers, we must always strive to do better. And, we do better by first doing!
Do you read differently now that you are a novelist yourself? For example, do you dissect a story and study the technique of a particular author, or do you listen purely to your reactions as a reader?
I do read differently, but not consciously so. For sure, I have a reaction when I read something either really good (most recently, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie – what a great voice that Junior has!) Or, something really bad (no, I will not name names here, but…) My main purpose in reading is to be entertained (or, with non-fiction, to learn something new) – but, I do find that since I’ve been writing I am much more aware of what works (or doesn’t) in what I’m reading. And, for the first time in my life – ever – I am willing to put a book down if it’s not good. In the past – I would read anything, but not any more.
What are your inspirations?
I get inspired by the oddest things – a sentence of dialogue will pop into my head, or I’ll wake up with a snippet of my last dream still roiling around in my brain. My latest NaNo novel was inspired by a local news story. Inspiration is all around – the key for me is to grab it and hang on like it’s a bucking bronco! I don’t like to let go until the first draft is done (although, in all honesty, I have a computer file full of partial first drafts! Lots of stories waiting to be written!)
What has been the best part of writing?
Oooo…there are a few “bests.” Like, finishing a first draft – woot! Hearing my critique partners say they like what I’ve written, but… and then helping me to see where I can make my story better. Yeah – that’s nice. Also, revising. I love to make things even better than I thought they could be.
And what has been the worst part?
All of the above! Ha! Really though – when I finish a first draft, after the elation comes the “oh, no… it’s over!” And, I put it away to let it sit and I miss those characters who have become my steadfast companions for however long it took to write the first draft. And – when my crit partners let me know something isn’t working – sometimes it’s something I loved (the ‘kill your darlings’ part of writing.) And, revising – can be like giving a cat a bath.
Where do you hope do be in a year?
In a year I hope to have at least one book under contract and two others for submitting.
How do you stay on track and accomplish your goals? I know it can seem daunting to summit the mountain of publication for writers just starting to climb.
Daunting to say the least! When I am working on something new (like The Mountain of the Seven Stars), I set up a calendar and work toward the goal of 1667 words a day (for a first draft.) Those are NaNo numbers – you’ll have over 50K in 30 days if you write that much. I track my writing daily & do my best to exceed word count. This past NaNo (2008), I reached 50K in 30 days, but continued writing for another five days in order to finish the story (Remembrance – a contemporary YA novel about witches.) That story is waiting in the wings for revision.
My biggest challenge is working a regular job in Human Resources from 9-5 and then coming home to take care of my dogs, cats & house. Often I will get up at 4:30 a.m. and write before I get ready for work. I guess if a person has stories inside that need to come out – they will find time to write, no matter what!
And here’s a teaser from Julia’s The Mountain of the Seven Stars:
“But I don’t want to get married, Father.” Princess Sierra’s eyes flashed as she set down the silver hairbrush. “That’s so old-fashioned, to be married by the time you’re sixteen. Besides, I have to go on a quest. It says so, right here.” She picked up a book from the table and held it out in front of the King. “Page one hundred five says that the heir to the monarchy must complete his quest prior to marriage or his ascension to the throne.” She dropped the book onto the table. “You went on a quest, didn’t you?”
The King sighed. “Of course. I have told you the story many times. But, girl heirs are not expected to–”
“Didn’t Mother have a quest? She would’ve been queen of Shifting Sands if you hadn’t married her. Right?”
“Yes, my dear, but those are the rules of her country.” He shook his head.
“If something happened to Prince Goric, I’m the heir to that throne, too, aren’t I?”
“Enough, daughter!” The King strode to the window, leaning his hands on the sill.
Sierra watched his shoulders rise and fall. She knew she was right and her father was struggling to control his temper; but she was determined not to give up her plan to go on a quest.
Without turning around, the King said, “Ocean Walls has imposed a heavy tariff on exporting grain. We must use their ports, since Plains is land-locked and our largest buyers are across the sea.”
“What does that have to do with my quest?” Sierra joined her father. Knowing that sweetness usually worked better than arguing with him, she tucked her arm through his and snuggled close. “We have gold enough to pay any tariffs that stuffy old King Vongus charges.”
The King was silent.
“We do have enough gold, don’t we?” Sierra had never given money a thought. If she wanted something, it was hers. She was generous with gifts to her servants and showered presents on her lady-in-waiting, Felicity Arbogast, who was like a sister to her. She never imagined there could be a problem with money.
“When that strange blight hit the wheat last summer,” the King said, “our shipments were greatly reduced. Smaller exports combined with higher tariffs means less gold coming in. If King Vongus had a reason to look more kindly on Plains…”
“What?” The Princess pulled away from her father. “You aren’t thinking…” She shook her head so vehemently that her hair swirled around like a tornado. “Not Ingloff. Never!” When she saw the King’s expression, she knew that was exactly what he had in mind.
