This week our featured readier is Sharon Shinn. Sharon started writing when she was 8, but it took a few years for her to perfect the craft, and she sold her first novel in her thirties. She has a Journalism degree from Northwestern, and her day jobs in writing for trade magazines paid the rent while she put out over a dozen books in two major series, as well as Young Adult material, novellas, short stories and some stand-alone novels as well. She is a Certified Picture Framer, and has taken the test to prove it. At the moment she works in management education, and gets to interview smart people from all over. She mostly writes on the weekends and in the evenings-but once in a while gets to see the Cardinals play some ball. She reads a lot too, and across all genres. You can find out more at her website: http://www.sharonshinn.net/HTML/index_HTML.html
Here are the answers to her interview questions.

You are a well respected author and have quite a following, does it get harder or easier to come up with ideas for your books?

Sharon: It’s not the coming up with ideas that’s the hard part, it’s the sitting down and actually writing the stories. I always say the best part of any novel-writing experience is the excitement you feel when the story really starts to come together in your head. But the writing can sometimes feel like drudgery…and THAT part never seems to get any easier, which I still find astonishing.

Does attending conventions like Capri-con give you any insight intro what the fans want or where you should your characters next?

Sharon: Mmmm, I wouldn’t say that meeting with fans gives me a clear idea of what to write next…I usually have so many ideas I’m considering at any one time that I don’t much look for input for an upcoming project. It DOES help me get a sense of what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t, which is one of the reasons I followed the same group of characters through the first four books of the Twelve Houses series. A lot of fans didn’t like the fact that different people were the stars of each of the Samaria books. So with the new series, I invented a storyline that could be stretched over multiple books and feature the same characters.
But, mostly, what meeting fans does for me is convince me I’m not alone, writing in the darkness. Someone has read the books and liked them. That’s a huge relief.

Any hints about what you’ll be reading for us? Once the word gets out that you’ll be doing a reading for us, your fans may want a preview.

Sharon: I keep trying to decide! So I’m bringing a selection and I’ll see if anyone in the audience has a preference. I’m thinking about either one long short story that’s very traditional but can be read in a little less than an hour. Or two shorter stories that have more modern settings and aren’t quite typical for me. Together they take a little over an hour to read, which might be too long. All three of those have been published in some format or another. I might also bring excerpts from upcoming novellas that have NOT been published yet…but they’re not self-contained and can’t be finished in an hour. So if anyone reading this has any strong preferences, speak up when I arrive at the tavern!

When wandering the local bookstore, what books do you find yourself being attracted to? Chain store, independent, or both?

Sharon: I’m usually wandering the sf/f aisles or the romance aisles, though sometimes I read mysteries and sometimes I read contemporary fiction. I tend to be at chain stores more often, because those are the ones in my immediate vicinity. For years I collected used-book stores…every time I was in a new city, particularly on a work trip that I didn’t want to be on, I would find a used-book store and browse. There’s just something marvelous about the smell and feel of old books. Now, since I know so many authors personally, I try to buy my books new to support them! But I’m never offended when people tell me they bought MY books used, because I’ve always enjoyed that experience so much myself.

Any advice you’ve ever been given that was so great or so wrong you’d like to share (no names necessary)?

Sharon: Ellen Kushner once gave me the best advice ever when I confessed I was really nervous about doing a reading. She said, first, imagine that when you do a reading, you’re inviting someone into your home. You want them to be comfortable and at ease…if you’re nervous, they’re nervous for you. Second, imagine that you’re — well, she specified a well-known, charismatic sf writer but I guess I won’t name names! But imagine you’re him, and every word you’ve ever written is pure gold. I must say, both of these bits of advice really worked well for me, and I pass them on whenever I get a chance.

Finally, anything else you’d like to tell us before your featured reading?

Sharon: Can’t think of anything else! Looking forward to being there next week.

We hope you’ll join us on Monday February 16th at Mystic Celt (3443 N. Southport) to hear Sharon’s fiction and perhaps more discussion!