Jane Lindskold is the New York Times bestselling author of over thirty novels and eighty some short stories.  (Those are the published ones.)  She’s probably best known for the eight volume Firekeeper Saga, about a young woman raised by wolves—who persists in knowing herself a wolf despite evidence to the contrary.  Lindskold’s works are often intertwined with myth and legend from around the world.  She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from Fordham University, but has been a full-time writer since 1994.  She lives in New Mexico, with her husband, archeologist Jim Moore, and a variety of bossy small animals.

Welcome to the Hive, Jane. Can you tell us about your books Library of the Sapphire Wind, and its sequel, Aurora Borealis Bridge? What can readers expect?

First thing to expect…  This is really one story told in two books.  I wrote it as one book, but it was just too huge, so I broke it into two.

It’s a portal fantasy in which three women past the first bloom or youth (or even second or third) find themselves summoned to a world by three young people how all have serious issues that are making them unable to move on in their lives.

Meg, Peg, and Teg are pretty startled, not only because they’ve just been hauled out of book club into another world, but because the three young people who summoned them aren’t human—and seem to view them as the monsters.  But as Meg puts it, she’s spent most of her life helping people find what they need, and she’s not ready to stop now.

I’m terrible about talking about my own books so, if you’ll let me, I’d like to finish off by quoting my friend, Alan Robson, in a piece he wrote for Phoenixzine in New Zealand:

“But in this story absolutely nothing adheres to the formula. The rules have been thrown away and the story never goes in the direction that the reader expects it to go. The quests turn out to be nowhere near as superficial as they initially appeared to be and every problem that confronts the group is far more complex than it seems. The ramifications of this are profound. That’s the cleverness of the story, and that’s what kept me turning the pages. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the first book because I absolutely had to know how it ended. And as soon as I got up the following day, I started reading the second book because I needed to know what happened next. That’s how addictive and immersing I found the world that Jane Lindskold has created in which to set her complex and utterly fascinating story.”

Let’s talk about the writing process; do you have a process? Tell us a little something about how your story comes together.

I’m an intuitive plotter, on the far end of the intuitive scale.  I lay a foundation based on various ideas, impulses, and characters, then go on an adventure.  I rarely plan too far ahead, because otherwise I get bored and the story gets stale.

My work routine is Monday through Friday, with weekends off, unless the Muse is jumping up and down with excitement.  Then I go and write, because one should always listen when the Muse is excited.

I do research, sometimes before (such as in my “Breaking the Wall” novels, for which I immersed myself in All Things Chinese), often during.  I also read widely and undirectedly because one never knows when something will prove useful or inspirational.

Speaking of worlds, what inspires your worldbuilding? Do you have a magic system/s? If so, can you tell us a bit about it? 

Worldbuilding for the Over Where novels was inspired by a desire to pull out all the stops and create the sort of Fantasy setting I’ve always enjoyed reading about, but haven’t usually written.  Therefore, there are flying ships, wizards with staffs, amulets, mystic artifacts…  

Despite the common misbelief that “real” magic is “woo” and vague and spiritual, most magic as found in anthropological and mythological sources is actually very heavily systematized.  Spells were not created for gaming (and, yes, I’m a gamer, so I’m not slamming gaming) nor were magical items.  Egyptian tombs are loaded with systematic spells, for example.  Magic items abound.  Mummies were wrapped up with amulets and talismans.  Take a look at Norse material for a mythology where just about every deity and hero has, if not one magic item, at least three or six or….

That’s a roundabout way of saying “Yes, I have magical systems.”  One of the plot elements in the Over Where novels has to do with learning how to use magic effectively, rather than letting it use you.

My worldbuilding varies with the demands of the books, but I have an alarming habit of building cultures from the foundations up, rather than using existing cultures and filing off the serial numbers.

Can you tell us more about your characters, Meg, Peg and Teg? Had you always planned to write them as older protagonists, or did this evolve as you began writing their narratives? And do you have a favourite type of female character you enjoy writing?

Yes, I always planned to have Meg, Peg, and Teg to be older.  One of the impulses behind these books was a desire to write a portal fantasy in which those who come through the portal aren’t kids or teenagers.  Even when I myself was a kid, I didn’t think this was the wisest way for a world to get help from beyond.

Those stories that dealt with adults using a portal framework were often dystopian or alternate history.  As I mentioned above, I wanted to do a full-blown fantasy.

My other two self-imposed rules were that Meg, Peg, and Teg would be volunteers and not miserably trying to get home.  I wanted these to be joyous books. 

In the ordinary way of things, these three ladies would not have met, much less become friends, but they share a passion for reading and belong to the same book club.

Meg is a retired librarian, somewhere in her seventies.  She’s a widow with two grown kids, neither of whom live close.  She’s discovered that retirement is not as much fun as she hoped, so is eager to try something new.

Peg is in her sixties (best as anyone can guess; she’s not telling).  She is a former flower child, did a turn as singer, but basically has spent her life getting married, acquiring kids (her own, step, whatever), and throwing herself into the new challenge of the moment.  She’s currently divorced.

Teg (actually Tessa) is in her fifties.  She’s still employed as a professor of anthropology (concentration archeology), but is on sabbatical.  She’s never been married, and is actually seriously commitment shy.  Of the three, Teg has the most scars from a very unhappy childhood.  Finding people who don’t care what her heritage is Over Where makes her very committed to the three young people they have been summoned to mentor.

Teg is the point of view character, but I never thought of these as “her” adventure.  It’s the joint adventure of the three mentors from our world, and their three young “inquisitors” Over Where.

Oh…  And, as to “favorite type of female character,” sorry…  There aren’t female characters or male characters or alien characters.  There are characters.  Anything less, and you’re in danger of pushing cardboard cutouts around your scenes.

What (or who) are your most significant female fantasy influences? Are there any creators whom you dream of working with someday?

I never really thought about writers as male, female or otherwise.  It just wasn’t important to me.  It was all about the books.  In fact, I was probably in my mid-twenties before I even realized some of my favorite books were written by the same people.  This was especially the case when the writers wrote a wide variety of stories.

That said, I read a lot of Andre Norton when I was young.  I adore the works of Patricia A. McKillip.  There’s no one I ever wanted to work with as a collaborator, but I would have loved to work with Terri Windling back when she was an editor.

We see such varying opinions from authors when it comes to the time of editing their books. How have you found the editing process? Enjoyable, stressful or satisfying?

For me, editing isn’t separate from the writing; it’s part of it.  So, it’s no more or less enjoyable, stressful, or satisfying than any other part.

“Editors” is a completely different matter.  I’ve had brilliant ones who brought out the best in me, and ones who didn’t read the manuscript very carefully, then came back with comments that ticked me off because I could show where I’d already done what was being requested.  Dealing with editor notes has been a joy and a trauma, depending on the project.

We always appreciate a beautiful book cover, and yours are wonderfully whimsical! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped they’d portray?

I was not involved except that the editor, Toni Weisskopf said: “I’m thinking Tom Kidd would be great for the covers.”  And I went and looked up his work, realized I knew and admired it, especially from his Terry Pratchett covers, and agreed with her suggestion.

A bonus for me was seeing that Tom Kidd could do therianthropic figures that were neither cute nor monstrous.  That was really important to me since my Over Where characters are, mostly, therianthropic, and none are human.

The world shifts, and you find yourself with an extra day on your hands during which you’re not allowed to write. How do you choose to spend the day?

Not allowed to write, huh?  Much of what I do is actually tied up in storytelling.  As I mentioned, I’m a gamer.  I have been since I was not quite eighteen.  To me, gaming is collaborative storytelling.

I do a variety of crafts, often involved with beads.  Currently, I’m doing a lot of kumihimo with beads.  However, I also do work with polymer clay, and various upcycling projects.  I’m messing about a bit with ink brush painting.  I garden, which in New Mexico is a serious challenge.

Thing is, when I’m doing something with my hands, I’m often listening to an audiobook.  Story in some form is usually a part of what I do.

One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why?

If keeping the mount safe is not an issue, I’d probably pick a giant cat or wolf, because that’s just cool.  There was a winged flying pantherish cat with very blue eyes I remember from a long-ago comic strip in Dragon Magazine long ago, sometime in the last century.  <grin>  That would be pretty terrific.

However, if the mount needs to be protected, then let the beastie have some natural armor.  I’d take a dragon then.

Aside, but related to the Over Where novels…  There’s a reason my characters travel on a flying ship.  Taking care of mounts is a lot of work!  Horses are lovely, but they’re easily hurt, and they have such hinky stomachs.

Tell us about a book that’s excellent, but underappreciated or obscure.

Rewind by Terry England is a terrific tale about aliens, adults finding themselves back to being children.  It manages to have a lot to say about a lot of serious things without ever stopping being a really good adventure.

Can you tell us anything about any upcoming projects? Or can you tell us a few teasers for your third instalment in the Over Where series? 

There will indeed be a third book in the Over Where series.  However, I haven’t given it a title.  In fact, it isn’t even under contract, although there is interest on the publisher’s side.  Since I’m an intuitive plotter, I prefer not to talk about works in progress in detail, because they tend to morph as I’m writing them, and if I’ve talked about it, then I feel I need to stick to something.

Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing? 

I’ve been a full-time writer since 1994, and have over thirty published novels and well over eighty short stories.  What I’ve learned over that time is that readers will take away what they want or need.

I’ve been happy and proud to learn my characters have inspired readers to courage or a new way of thinking or any number of wonderful things.

So, I write from my heart, and hope that the readers will find something worth taking away, even if it’s just peace and rest after a busy or stressful day.

Thank you so much for joining us today!