Hi, guys! Welcome to a special edition blog tour to help spread the word about the Miss Snark's First Victim blog contests and do a little publicity for the winners.
J. Anderson Coats (link) is another writer who credits MSFV with giving her publishing career a boost. (My story was on David Kazzie's blog yesterday, link.)
Coats's debut novel The Wicked and the Just was published in April 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The MSFV Secret Agent contests are free and open to all writers (link). We hope you'll visit, participate, and we we wish you much success on your path to publication.
Now for the interview!
J. Anderson Coats has dug for crystals, held Lewis and Clark’s original hand-written journal and been a mile underground. She writes historical fiction set in the middle ages that routinely includes too much violence, name-calling and petty vandalism perpetrated by badly behaved young people. Her work is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. The Wicked and the Just (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) is her first book.
How did participating with MSFV blog get you where you are now?
For the longest time, I admired the Erin Murphy Literary Agency from afar, but since they’re closed to unsolicited queries, I never got the chance to approach them. However, my stalking of MSFV paid off one day when Ammi-Joan Paquette opened submissions just for readers of Authoress’s blog for a two-week window at the end of February 2010. I leaped at the chance and emailed her a query within ten minutes.
What followed was a nine-month courtship of sorts in which I made revisions with the full expectation that it would end in the “thanks but no thanks” email. But that “no” never came, and the ink wasn’t quite dry on my agency contract when W/J sold to Harcourt. It was something like ten days between being unagented and my first sale--quite a whirlwind!
Now I’m part of this rapidly-growing and friendly cohort of other MSFV success stories, and I’m sure glad to have the company as we all move forward in our careers.
Who are your biggest literary influences, and/or what are a couple of your favorite reads?
I love Margaret Atwood’s world-building and Terry Pratchett’s playful, clever voice. I love Toni Morrison’s intense, rhythmic prose and Umberto Eco’s eye for detail. I’m in awe of Laurie Halse Anderson’s ability to tap into the lived experience of young people.
Some awesome things I’ve read lately are AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE by Kat Rosenfield, THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex, and PREGNANT PAUSE by Han Nolan. I read like a buzz saw, and I’ll stick with just about anything that can surprise me.
Your book, The Wicked and the Just, came out Spring 2012. Congratulations! Tell us about it!
The Wicked and the Just takes place in 1293-1294 in north Wales, ten years into English rule. Cecily is an unwilling transplant to the English walled town of Caernarvon, and she’d like nothing better than to go home. Gwenhwyfar, a Welsh servant in Cecily’s new house, would like nothing better than to see all the English go home. The ruling English impose harsh restrictions and taxation on the Welsh, and conditions in the countryside are growing desperate. The rumors of rebellion might be Gwenhwyfar’s only salvation--and the last thing Cecily ever hears.
The book is set in 13th-century Wales. What attracted you to this time and place?
Medieval Wales doesn’t get a lot of attention despite the fact that it was a complicated, dynamic place. The native rulers managed to resist outright conquest by their English neighbors until 1283, but then the victorious English fast-tracked a series of castles and walled towns to maintain control of the area and the people.
What interested me was this question: Even when granted a lot of special privileges--including significant tax breaks--how did English settlers live in a place where they were outnumbered twenty to one by a hostile, recently subjugated population, and how did the Welsh live so close to people who’d done the subjugating, especially given the burdens placed on them by their new masters?
What's next for you? Do you have another book in the works or coming soon?
I’m working on several projects right now. One is a companion novel to The Wicked and the Just, which follows Maredydd ap Madog, whose father is the ringleader of the rebellion of 1294, as he negotiates the future his father wants for him and the future he wants for himself. Then there’s a standalone book that’s set in twelfth-century Wales about a girl con-artist, a warband, an abduction, a badly-timed war, and a charismatic but mercurial king’s son.
I don't know about you guys, but I think the 13th Century has never sounded so cool! Thanks, Jillian! And here's where you can buy The Wicked and the Just:
Tomorrow, Jillian will interview J.M. Frey, author of The Dark Side of the Glass (which I read and loved), on her blog (link). We hope you'll join us, and catch the whole tour!
Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! <3
J. Anderson Coats (link) is another writer who credits MSFV with giving her publishing career a boost. (My story was on David Kazzie's blog yesterday, link.)
Coats's debut novel The Wicked and the Just was published in April 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The MSFV Secret Agent contests are free and open to all writers (link). We hope you'll visit, participate, and we we wish you much success on your path to publication.
Now for the interview!
 |
| Coats |
How did participating with MSFV blog get you where you are now?
For the longest time, I admired the Erin Murphy Literary Agency from afar, but since they’re closed to unsolicited queries, I never got the chance to approach them. However, my stalking of MSFV paid off one day when Ammi-Joan Paquette opened submissions just for readers of Authoress’s blog for a two-week window at the end of February 2010. I leaped at the chance and emailed her a query within ten minutes.
What followed was a nine-month courtship of sorts in which I made revisions with the full expectation that it would end in the “thanks but no thanks” email. But that “no” never came, and the ink wasn’t quite dry on my agency contract when W/J sold to Harcourt. It was something like ten days between being unagented and my first sale--quite a whirlwind!
Now I’m part of this rapidly-growing and friendly cohort of other MSFV success stories, and I’m sure glad to have the company as we all move forward in our careers.
Who are your biggest literary influences, and/or what are a couple of your favorite reads?
I love Margaret Atwood’s world-building and Terry Pratchett’s playful, clever voice. I love Toni Morrison’s intense, rhythmic prose and Umberto Eco’s eye for detail. I’m in awe of Laurie Halse Anderson’s ability to tap into the lived experience of young people.
Some awesome things I’ve read lately are AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE by Kat Rosenfield, THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex, and PREGNANT PAUSE by Han Nolan. I read like a buzz saw, and I’ll stick with just about anything that can surprise me.
Your book, The Wicked and the Just, came out Spring 2012. Congratulations! Tell us about it!
The book is set in 13th-century Wales. What attracted you to this time and place?
Medieval Wales doesn’t get a lot of attention despite the fact that it was a complicated, dynamic place. The native rulers managed to resist outright conquest by their English neighbors until 1283, but then the victorious English fast-tracked a series of castles and walled towns to maintain control of the area and the people.
What interested me was this question: Even when granted a lot of special privileges--including significant tax breaks--how did English settlers live in a place where they were outnumbered twenty to one by a hostile, recently subjugated population, and how did the Welsh live so close to people who’d done the subjugating, especially given the burdens placed on them by their new masters?
What's next for you? Do you have another book in the works or coming soon?
I’m working on several projects right now. One is a companion novel to The Wicked and the Just, which follows Maredydd ap Madog, whose father is the ringleader of the rebellion of 1294, as he negotiates the future his father wants for him and the future he wants for himself. Then there’s a standalone book that’s set in twelfth-century Wales about a girl con-artist, a warband, an abduction, a badly-timed war, and a charismatic but mercurial king’s son.
I don't know about you guys, but I think the 13th Century has never sounded so cool! Thanks, Jillian! And here's where you can buy The Wicked and the Just:
Tomorrow, Jillian will interview J.M. Frey, author of The Dark Side of the Glass (which I read and loved), on her blog (link). We hope you'll join us, and catch the whole tour!
@davidkazzie
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1-Aug
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@leightmoore
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2-Aug
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@jandersoncoats
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3-Aug
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@scifrey
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4-Aug
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@elissacruz
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5-Aug
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@Amanda_Sun
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6-Aug
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@KristiHelvig
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7-Aug
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@Leahpetersen
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8-Aug
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@Monica_BW
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9-Aug
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@emkokie
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10-Aug
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@MonicaGoulet
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11-Aug
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@petersalomon
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12-Aug
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@sarahbbrand
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13-Aug
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@angelaackerman & @writerthesaurus
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14-Aug
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@TaraDairman
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15-Aug
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Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! <3
