Lace and Blade 5 Author Interview: Doranna Durgin

From lands distant or nearby, familiar or utterly strange, historical or imaginary, from ancient times to the Belle Époque comes a treasury of luscious, elegant, romantic fantasy. Come with us on a journey through time and across boundaries, inspired by the longings of the heart and the courage residing in even the meekest person.

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2PBzyj6
Print: here (Amazon) or here (Barnes & Noble)

ePub: https://www.books2read.com/u/bwYJwP

A lifelong horse lover, I fell in love with Doranna Durgin's early novel, Dun Lady's Jess and have been a fan ever since. So I was particularly delighted to edit her stories for Lace and Blade 4 and 5.

Deborah J. Ross: Tell us a little about yourself.  How did you come to be a writer?

Doranna Durgin: I was always a writer.  I think I started in at the typewriter in early grade school, writing horse stories that didn’t know where to go with themselves.  I finally wrote (and illustrated and bound!) my first complete book when I was twelve, and never stopped writing from that point.

DJR: What inspired your story in Lace and Blade 5?

DD:  I wanted to do something new—not based in a previous world, but something intense and complete unto itself.  I woke up one morning thinking, “Clockwork Unicorn.”  So the story grew from there.  Why was it clockwork?  Why was that element important?  How would the story center around it?  And what did the story want to say?So rather than being inspired, it was more a matter of making space for what wanted to grow.

DJR: What authors have most influenced your writing?

DD: More than anything?  Will James, who wrote a whole lot more than Smoky.  Ernest Haycox.  A spate of men’s adventure books that I got into when I was too young to be reading them.  We’re talking grade school and middle school here.  In high school, Anne McCaffery & Katherine Kurtz made an impression that carried forward, mixed up with some Mary Stewart and some of the early SF masters.  In my mid-20s I found now-friend Jennifer Roberson’s books, and those made an impact.  At that point, I think, I started to develop enough of my own self that although I continued to find authors I adore, they weren’t as influential in what I was doing. 

DJR: How does your writing process work?

DD: I don’t actually know. 

I mean, I used to know, and then a certain element of NY publishing chewed me up and spat me out in pieces, and now I’m slowly re-inventing myself.  The only thing I know for sure is that it can’t be like it was before.  At the moment, because the traditional production phases became so grim and destructive, I find that second draft (my former favorite part) is now too overwhelming in anything but small pieces, so I’m doing first and second draft pretty much at the same time.  It feels entirely alien, but my first new novel since my muse imploded is finally building itself so I’m gonna go with it.

DJR: What have you written recently? What lies ahead?

DD: I’m mostly working on a sequel to Wolverine’s Daughter.  I’ve got more planned for that series, but also have a contemporary, gritty, slightly alternate world shapeshifter trilogy in development—a very Southwest approach to the matter.  There’s no dearth of ideas in the project list.  I’m just putting myself back into gear as I can, without any real notion whether the new stuff will be independently or traditionally presented.

DJR: What advice would you give an aspiring writer?

DD: To investigate the market options thoroughly, decide what will complete you as a writerand then take the steps on that specific path.  There are a lot of decisions to make that go beyond learning the craft, and they aren’t all interchangeable.

DJR: Any thoughts on the Lace and Blade series or this being its final volume?

DD: Whut!  I didn’t even know!  Totally bummed.  I’ve only participated in two volumes, and I’ve found them wonderful opportunities to stretch my writing mind—circumstances that do, I think, make for the best of story collections.

Totally bummed.

Doranna Durgin is an award-winning author (the Compton Crook for Best First SF/F/H novel) whose quirky spirit has led to an extensive publishing journey across genres, publishers, and publishing lines.  Beyond that, she hangs around outside her Southwest mountain home with horse and accomplished competition dogs. She doesn't believe in mastering the beast within, but in channeling its power--for good or bad has yet to be decided!  She says, “My books are SF/F, mystery, paranormal romance, & romantic suspense. My world is the Southwest, and my dogs are Beagles!”  She's best known for the Changespell Saga, and her most recent book completed the Reckoners trilogy.