UFI welcomes M.L. Brennan Author of Generation V. Thanks for Joining us!!
What can you tell my
readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or
reading in another interview?
Well, firstly that I’m a
Cancer. And secondly that I think astrology is probably the most ridiculous
(barring phrenology) of the pseudosciences.
What do you enjoy doing on
your down time?
I love to read, and I’m also
a big fan of tabletop gaming – Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, and Puerto Rico are all great ways to spend an afternoon.
What is your favorite part
of writing?
The
planning and discovery part. I love when I’m thinking about a character or a
story, and it’s just sitting in the back of my brain for weeks or months at a
time, and then periodically – during a commute, talking to a friend, dozing,
eating pie – suddenly some wires cross and you figure out what you want to do
with it. Those kind of “eureka!” moments always excite me, and that’s when I
really feel at my most writerly.
Do you have any certain
routines you must follow as you write?
In
terms of the physical process of writing – not as much anymore. I used to be
extremely picky about how I would write – usually in the evening, and only when
I was really in the “right” frame of mind. A lot of that has fallen away,
partially because of learning how to write to a deadline, and I think that was
really a great thing for me, because now I can sit down and write even when I’m
not particularly in the mood to do so.
In
a larger sense of routine, yes, I never start writing a book unless I’ve
completed all the major planning and I know where I’m going. I have a fairly
methodical personality, so this is the style that suits me the best. I also
like the ability to start working on a manuscript and not have to worry about
getting tangled in timing snafus, since I’ve already worked those out in the
planning phase.
What are some of your
favorite books or authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal genres?
I’m
a huge fan of Patricia Briggs, and I really love the Mercedes Thompson series.
Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros series, and the wholly underappreciated Trixa books,
were also big influences for me. Anne Bishop’s Written In Red is a huge entry into the genre, and I think it’s one
of the most amazing books I’ve read this year. I’ve also been just hugely
impressed by Cassie Alexander’s Edie Spence books, and I waiting with bated
breath for Shapeshifted to come out.
How would you pitch Generation
V to someone who has not heard of it before?
Here’s
the elevator pitch: Fortitude Scott has a
useless degree, a minimum-wage job, a cheating girlfriend, and a roommate who
stiffs him on the rent. And he’s a vampire… mostly. But when a little girl is
kidnapped, suddenly he’s the only one who is willing to try and do something
about it, so he teams up with a wise-cracking fox shifter and heads off for a
rescue mission that will very likely kill him.
Can you tell us a little
bit about the world that Generation V is set in?
It’s
our recognizable, contemporary world, but with a whole shadowy, hidden side,
and in that part are all kinds of supernatural creatures. I use a variety of
creatures, notably vampires, but I spend a lot of time rethinking and
reconstructing each kind of creature trope to make it work in the world that
I’ve set up.
For
instance, one of the major changes I made to my vampires is that instead of
undead humans, these are a completely separate species with their own
biological lifecycle. So no more immortal vampires wafting around the castle –
these are creatures with a set number of years to live, and over that time they
will be growing older and pursing various goals. One of those goals is basic
biology – they want to reproduce. But vampire reproduction is exceedingly
difficult in this world, and one of the results of this is that vampires as a
species are actually teetering on the brink of extinction.
My
biggest motivation in making this pretty major change was that I wanted my
vampires to have stresses and motivations. A species facing extinction? That’s
a pressure on both the social and the individual level. My vampires don’t have
the out of just biting humans and making more of themselves, they have to
actually reproduce. And as for that – well, I took a few inspiration points
from a few parasites for how that takes place. J
Do you have a favorite
scene in Generation V?
Any
scene where Fortitude is interacting with the kitsune (fox shifter) Suzume was
just a pleasure to write. They came from such different backgrounds, had
completely dissimilar viewpoints and goals, their moral compasses point in
opposite directions, and yet these were two characters who just had fun on the
page together. I loved it.
Which character was your
favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?
Suzume was always easy to
write. She had a very distinct voice and a very strong personality, so any
scene where I inserted her I knew that interesting things would happen. The
hardest character actually gave me such issues that I just threw up my hands
and decided that I was not going to include her in this book. She shows up in
the next book, Iron Night, and she
was always a nightmare to work with on the page.
What other projects can we
look forward to reading from you?
The
second Fortitude Scott book, Iron Night,
is going to be published in January 2014, and I’m contracted for a third book
after that, so hopefully I’ll be very busy for the foreseeable future!
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My first novel, Generation V, is coming out in May 2013 from ROC Books, and is a work of urban fantasy.
I cut my baby bibliophile teeth on my older brother’s collection of
Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert, but it was a chance encounter with Emma
Bull’s War For The Oaks as a teenager that led to genre true
love. Today, I’ll read everything from Mary Roach’s non-fiction to
Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasies, but I’ll still drop everything for
vampires and werewolves in the big city.
I hold an advanced degree in the humanities, and I am work as an
adjunct professor, teaching composition to first-year college students. I
am currently hard at work on the second Fortitude Scott book, Iron Night, which will be published by Roc in January 2014.
Find M.L. and his books
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Generation V
American Vampire #1
Reality Bites
Fortitude
Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero
marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate
hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of.
He’s still mostly human.
But when a new vampire comes into his
family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t
ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings
think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to
take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy
shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly
vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how.
But without having matured
into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too
risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him.…
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