Author Interview: SM Reine

 

1. You say you wanted to be a writer your whole life. What made you make that decision and what would you be if you weren't an author?

I just loved to read books so much as a child that I knew I needed to make my own. Since everyone in my family writes (my mom, my sibling, my great-grandma), it was a natural leap. My main backup plan was to become a velociraptor, though, which would have really been forging a new path for my family.

 

2. Did your childhood moving around being an army brat and living overseas influence your writing at all?

Getting to experience other cultures at a young age definitely made me see the world differently. When you have early exposure to somewhere like Japan, which is fairly different from America, your eyes get opened to all the wonderful diversity of peoples and cultures. But I also learned that people are the same at their core - no matter where we come from or how we look, we all want the same things: love, shelter, security...

 

3. You penned your first manuscript at age twelve, a big feat for one so young. Was that ever or will it ever be published?

Oh man. That was Journey to Utopia, which was a high fantasy book about girls who could control the four elements, and were using it to influence wars between nations. Except it was a lot more Sailor Moon than it sounds. Ha! I don't think that book will ever see the light of day.

 

4. When did your fascination with paranormal/urban fantasy themes begin or have you been interested in the culture of the supernatural your whole life?

I've loved paranormal/UF my entire life. I grew up on TV shows like Gargoyles, read a lot of Robert Jordan and Tamora Pierce as a kid, and then got into Buffy and Christopher Pike as a teen. It's never occurred to me to write anything else.

 

5. You have already written twenty books, and you have another coming out around August of this year! That's quite a lot for anyone, but especially a mom. How do you juggle being a mother, wife and writer?

It helps to forget gender roles. I don't cook or clean. Running the house is my husband's job. He also does most of the day-to-day work of taking care of a toddler, like bath time, educational activities, and tickling him until he barfs. It frees up my time to do nothing but write - if I hadn't written twenty books by now, it would be pretty pathetic!

 

 

6. Out of your many books, do you have a favorite one and a favorite character?

I think Of Wings and Wolves is my favorite, even though it's a book not many people have read. It's a new adult paranormal romance, and it introduced my favorite character: Sir Lumpy, a fat black cat with a squashed face. I'm owned by three kitties in reality, so writing a cat companion is awesome.

 

7. How did you feel when your first novel was published and is that feeling still apparent within you even after book 20?

I felt terrified, and that terror never abates. But it was initially fear that nobody would ever read my books. Now it's fear that everyone will hate them.

 

8. The Descent series is set in Nevada, where you live. Why did you choose there instead of one of the other numerous places you resided growing up?

The desert in Nevada is beautiful and stark. Since I write urban fantasy mysteries, kind of like detective noir, the gritty background was perfect for a gritty investigation. Also, I hadn't read any other books that took place in Reno, so I thought readers might find it interesting. (Although I've since discovered "Viral Nation" by Shaunta Grimes, which also takes place in Reno.)

 

9. You write about many paranormal creatures, do you have a particular favorite?

Werewolves! Who wouldn't want to be part of the pack?

 

10. What authors influenced you growing up? What authors do you love today?

Growing up, I loved Christopher Pike, Tamora Pierce, and KA Applegate. Now I'm more into Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires) and Karen Marie Moning (Fever series). 

 

11. Do you have any hobbies you like to partake in when you are taking a break from writing amazing books?

Hobbies? What are hobbies? KIDDING! Kidding. I'm actually a huge gamer. I love violent video games - shooting things is very cathartic when I'm crabby. I also love movies.

 

12. Seasons Of The Moon and The Cain Chronicles series blend into each other, and you say that readers do not need to read the former to enjoy the latter. Were these moves strategic or did they come about accidentally?

"Strategic" implies some kind of organization. I just have lots of stories in my head, and that's how they come out. If I was smart, I would have made all my books one big series.

 

13. What made you change from demons and angels (The Descent) to werewolves (Seasons Of The Moon)?

I loved the idea of writing a teenage girl becoming a werewolf - someone utterly normal, already dealing with the craphood of being a teenager, who gets super powers shoved on her. Elise, in The Descent Series, is prepared her whole life to be a hero. Rylie's just some kid. It's very different and very fun.

 

14. Where do you see yourself and your career in ten years?

On a beach, getting fanned by muscular guys all slathered up in baby oil, while Bob Marley plays in the background. And, um, hopefully still writing books.

 

15. Thank you, again, for doing this interview! Can you leave readers with three surprising facts about yourself?

1.) Everything I've written this year has been done on a treadmill desk, walking at two miles per hour.
2.) I one day aspire to own a black cat plantation, where hundreds of kitties will live forevah. (My husband, who changes the litter box, is very distressed by this aspiration.)

3.) I WILL marry Ian Somerhalder someday, as soon as polyandry becomes legal, and he realizes that I exist.

 

Thanks for having me!!

 

-- 
Sara (SM Reine)

Author of Six Moon Summer and Death's Hand, and professional shenanigans-maker

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