I won't precisely say I'm jealous, but I do admire and wish I were more like those folks who can churn out story after story in a short period of time. On the other hand, I don't believe in rushing, but prefer to make the story the best that it can be.

 

I have two stages of considering the reader. The first is when I'm designing premises and testing out pieces of ideas that may fit together. I'll tend to think about how compelling the audience will find one idea or another, like when I thought it would be fun to combine steampunk and cosplay (that story is still in the design stage!). While drafting I tend to want to submerge in the story as much as possible. Then I'll return to audience questions as I edit, trying to make sure that I've been both comprehensible and compelling.

 

First off, I've got a story coming out in Analog this summer (I anticipate that it should be out in July or August), so I'm really looking forward to seeing that one. I've just completed a novel and I hope to sell it, ideally in the short term - but of course, there are no guarantees! I've also been cultivating my ability to get short story ideas, so I'm hoping to ramp up my short story production in the next little while here. As far as the five-year goal goes, I definitely plan to get a novel out on the market so I can be asked to write another one! I have lots of novels on the drafting board for the long term. Writing novels is my grand ambition.

 

Writing short fiction didn't come naturally to me. I started doing it on the recommendation of some friends after I'd already been writing at novel length for a while. I suppose you could say that I've had two difficulties with it. The first is getting ideas that are small enough to handle in short story format. Many story ideas can be handled at more than one length, but I tend to like to dig in, which is why I have written so many pieces at novelette length. The second is structuring the story so that it can be handled in a short format without being overwhelming. This was very difficult for me at the beginning, but as I learned how to do it, I found that my improvements in the story structure arena were an enormous help to my novel writing as well. I highly recommend writing shorter stories as an exercise to improve one's writing craft. Whether or not you feel like you can write a publishable story at the shorter length, it's certainly worth giving it a shot and seeing what you can learn from the experience.

 

I'd say that my experience has been positive overall. The submissions and querying processes can be very drawn out and it doesn't often feel very rewarding. I've found that when I can be in personal contact with editors and agents the experience becomes much better. My editor at Analog, Dr. Stanley Schmidt, has been wonderful and has advocated for me and my work in some really amazing ways. I'm exceedingly grateful to him for his support. My agent, Ashley Grayson, really understands my work and is keeping on top of the changes in the industry, so I feel like he's doing a good job for me during some difficult times. Knowing he's on my side takes a huge weight off my shoulders.

 

The best moment I've had as a writer was getting my first cover art at Analog, for my novelette At Cross Purposes (Jan/Feb 2011). Some family members ganged up with artist Bob Eggleton and bought me the original painting for Christmas. I cried shamelessly, and the painting now has a place of honor on my wall. I look at it whenever I'm feeling demoralized by the whole process. The worst would have to be when I got my agent and he and I put my first novel out on the market just as the entire publishing market crashed. The timing couldn't really have been worse, even though I don't think either of us had any control over it. So we're hanging onto that novel and putting a new one out there this year. Hope springs eternal!

 

I love worldbuilding and character design. I think plotting is probably the part that I have the most difficulty with. The other thing that's tricky is making sure that everything a reader needs to understand the story is actually appearing on the page and not just existing in my head. That's why I find critique partners to be so incredibly valuable. They'll look at me and say "huh?" and give me suggestions that will allow me to get those things straightened out.

 

I love to read fantasy and science fiction, and I always have, but for years I thought I had no ideas for writing. Now I do! I write both science fiction and fantasy, and though most of my publications to this point have been in science fiction, I hope that I can branch out as this year progresses.

 

I don't believe in writer's block (as such). I do suffer from lack of ability to continue writing at times, but that generally happens either because of extreme fatigue, or because there is some problem with the story I'm writing that I need to go back and fix before it can continue. Sometimes those fixes can be difficult to find, so I like to have multiple projects available to work on - usually at different stages of completion - so I can mix it up a little if I'm feeling stuck on one thing or another. I'd say the biggest difficulty comes from the state of extreme distraction that I can get into if my life is too hectic or I try to work on too many different projects all at once.

 

Inspiration.

 

Juliette's academic background and fascination with various cultures brings an extra edge to her writing, and allows her to explore the essence of communication into her fiction in interesting ways. She has published several stories in Analog, and her blog --TalkToYoUniverse-- is a great place for writers to find competent, well-researched and useful writing advice. Go check it out!

 

Thank you for taking the time to give us this interview, Juliette. We wish you good luck and success in the future.