The Big Questions

I graduated from college two years ago, and like many of my fellow graduates, proceeded to get myself a nice, full-time job and integrate right in with corporate adult society.

This week I'm leaving my job and my country for a two-month trip to England.

FAQ

Why?

I've always wanted to be a writer (well, since I got over the ballerina phase), and I've been writing a book since about the sixth grade. It's been several different books through the years, mind you, and I never actually finished one, but I filled a lot of notebooks and it was always my intention to go for publication one day.

I started working on this particular book back in high school; I wrote a preface and a rough draft of the first chapter or two. I was in the middle of something else then, so I didn't do much on this particular story until I needed a project for a creative writing class (geared specifically toward sci-fi and fantasy, which is what I write) near the end of college. (For other fantasy geeks out there, Brandon Sanderson taught the class. Aren't you jealous?) The class required ten pages of writing per week, so I got a substantial amount of writing done for this story, and it evolved in a really fascinating way. Since I graduated, though, I really haven't worked on it like I should. Frankly, it's hard to come home from a full-time job and then work some more on the book. I know that if I really want to be an author, I need to write every day.

Well, going to England has been another life-long goal of mine. British lit to 1500 was my favorite college class, and I'm interested in medieval history generally, because most fantasy works are set in a medieval-England-ish setting. So voila, going to England becomes an opportunity for inspiration and research for my writing.

I decided that I needed to take some time to finally finish this story and to see England, and this fall seemed the best time to do it.

What's your story about?

Um, it's a fantasy, so it involves fantasy-type things, like a quest, a hero (heroine in this case), good vs. evil, monsters, kingdoms, prophecies and chosen ones, etc. I like a character focus, so it's more of a heroic fantasy, a bildungsroman of sorts. The story is complicated (like most epics are) but most importantly, it's unfinished, so I won't do a comprehensive synopsis here. You'll just have to buy it when it comes out (wink wink)!

Can I read your drafts?

I appreciate the interest, and I love getting feedback on my work, but I've learned to keep my group of readers as small as possible, and I already have a few people who are threatening murder if I don't send them more of this story soon. I think you would really rather read the wonderful, polished-up, published version of the story anyway, right?

Where are you staying?

In East Anglia, in a tiny village in the middle of the country, fairly close to Ipswich. I'm staying in a "self-catering flat," which is UK lingo for a fully furnished apartment (with dishes and linens and such included).

Isn't it expensive over there?

Yeah. I've done research on costs for things and worked it all out, and I've been saving for a very long time.

So . . . no London?

My plane will arrive and depart from London, and I'll spend some time there before and after a quick trip to Paris, but I'm not really interested much in London. I'm not a big city kind of girl; I'm much more interested in rolling, green hills and old castles, etc. It's funny to me, though, how often people make this mental connection that I'm staying in London.

What will you do once you get back?

Nothing settled on that score, no idea, really. I'll be staying at home with the fam until I figure that out. It will become important very quickly to find a job. We'll see how everything rolls once I've survived this trip.

Can I come with you?

Sure, why not.

Are you excited?

Yes.