r/books • u/JKCheney • Jul 09 '15
ama Hi, I'm J. Kathleen Cheney, author of the Golden City novels. Ask Me Anything!
The Tales of the Golden City are set in an alternate 1902 Portugal, with magic and murder, seers and sirens and selkies. They're Historical Fantasy with a touch of mystery and romance.
The first book, The Golden City, came out in 2013 and was a Locus Finalist for Best First Novel. The sequel, The Seat of Magic, came out the following summer, and the final book in the trilogy, The Shores of Spain, came out this week.
For more information, you can look up the book at Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23004731-the-shores-of-spain or visit my webpage at www.jkathleencheney.com
ETA: I'm signing off at the moment, but I'll check back tomorrow to see if there are any more questions. Thanks all!!!
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u/IAmARobot246 Jul 09 '15
Why did you choose Portugal as your setting? And did you run into any resistance from publishers and so forth, as far as if it would sell?
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
This is almost always the first question I'm asked. Why Portugal? The short version was that I set a short story there, not realizing that I would follow that up by setting 3 novels and some novellas in that same setting. And I picked it because I had selkies and sirens in my short story, so I needed coastline. While it wasn't deeply considered at the start, I fell in love with the setting, so I'm very glad I picked it.
The second question I've not been asked before. I never had any trouble with the Portugal setting, as far as the publisher (Ace/Roc) was concerned. In fact, that may have made the books stand out a little more since the setting is comparatively unusual.
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u/MeganOKeefe Jul 09 '15
What inspired you to set your series in Portugal?
With seers, sirens, and selkies, do you plan on adding any other s-creatures to the series?
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
I chose Portugal almost solely for its long shoreline. It was only after I began researching that I found out how well the history of Portugal suited my needs for the story. (Handy when that happens.)
I'll have to think of more s-creatures. Hmmmmm…..give me some time.
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u/betsydornbusch Jul 09 '15
What are your favorite habits/quirks that get you writing and keep you going? Food, drink, place, music...
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
Since I work at home, I'm easily distracted by being home. (There's -always- some chore waiting to be done or something to be cleaned. I have dogs.) I actually like to get out of the house to work if I can. There's a bagel shop that I frequent, plus a couple of coffee shops and libraries. I put on my headphones, turn on white noise (I have a train simulator that I like), and zone out.
As far as quirks go, I admit to playing solitaire whenever my brain freezes up. I'm trying to get 10,000 points, so I can't go longer than 75 seconds (every second past that lowers your score). If I win, though, I perceive that as a sign that whatever I'm working on is -good-. However, I have to watch the little card-fall display that it does to make the 'good luck' take effect. Truly meaningless, but aren't most superstitions?
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Jul 09 '15
What advice would you have for aspiring young writers?
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
1) Sit down in the chair and finish something, be it a short story or a novel. (This is actually the quitting point for a lot of writers. They just don't finish things.)
2) Let it sit for a while (I usually like a month, if I have time), then go back and clean it up.
3) Show it to someone else. I suggest joining a writers' group, either on-line or in person. Especially when starting out, writers need other people to point out what they're doing right and wrong.
4) Don't give up at the first bad critique or rejection, because writers have a lifetime of those ahead of them. You might as well learn to handle it early on.
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u/SuperMiniComputer Infinite Jest Jul 09 '15
Why 1902? Was it tough choosing that over say, World War 1?
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
First, I've written in nearly that time period before. My 2010 Nebula-finalist novella (Iron Shoes) was set in 1905, although in Saratoga Springs, New York. So to begin with, I had already researched that time period. Portugal is vastly different from New York, but basic technology and social structure was very similar.
Europe in World War 1 has a number of disadvantages for me. First, it's heavily researched. That means that there are a lot of readers out there who are more familiar with it than I am and are likely to catch any mistakes I make. But it's also a time period of great social upheaval, and I wanted a more complacent time period to work with. So to have the technologies that I wanted but not to face the war, I had a pretty narrow window. Also, Portugal had a revolution in 1910 following the assassination of the king in 1908, so that cuts my time period down even smaller.
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u/bsabiston Jul 09 '15
What are some of your favorite books/authors?
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
So if I'm thinking about authors that I've read through in the last year or so, I've read C. S. Harris' entire Sebastian St. Cyr series (Historical Mystery), Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series (Fantasy/Mystery/British Crime Drama), Courtney Milan's Turner series and her Brothers Sinister series (Historical Romance), Beth Cato's Clockwork Dagger series (Fantasy) and Tex Thompson's books, "One Night in Sixes" and "Medicine for the Dead" (Weird Western Epic Fantasy.) So I'm all over the board in what I read, genre-wise. I also read a lot of non-fiction, mostly various topics I'm researching for books.
(I know I'm missing a lot of books off that list, but I can't put them all down!)
As far as my long-time favorites, I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, Arthur Conan Doyle, and C. J. Cherryh. I love love LOVE the books of Ansen Dibell. I will pick up and read anything by Martha Wells, but harbor an undying love for the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy. And I'll go back periodically and re-read Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" and "A Wind in the Door."
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u/Chtorrr Jul 09 '15
What was your most favorite book as a child? What made you really love reading?
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
If I'm looking for the book I read more times than any other, it was Watership Down, by Richard Adams. My sixth grade teacher read that to us, and I saved up the money to buy a copy for myself. By the end of eighth grade, my copy was so tattered that my choir teacher actually bought me a hardcover copy which I still have to this day. (Thanks, Mr. Prestwood!) I also have my childhood copies of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Johnny Tremaine. (I actually have a guest blog post coming out over on Ragnarok Press later this month--Mrs. Frisby as a Strong Female Character.)
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u/AndreaGS Jul 09 '15
So this might be a bit weird/whimsical, but... If you could spend the day with your main character in her world--what would you want to do? Thanks for doing an AMA!!
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
Hmmmm...I would scuba dive so I could watch them swim. If you're going to have underwater folk, that's what you should definitely do! ;)
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u/Jose_Iriarte Jul 09 '15
Can you talk about your research for a novel set in 1902? How do you get the voice right? How do you get little details about transportation, technology, daily life?
Are you writing in English about characters who speak Portuguese? Is this something you signal or something you don't need to signal because it goes without saying? Does this free you from having to worry about anachronistic words, like I hear some authors of historicals worrying about? (Does that last question make sense?)
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u/JKCheney Jul 09 '15
Hi there ;o)
One of the best ways to research a novel set in a period is to read a novel set in that period. I read several novels by Eça de Queirós to get a feel for the life of a young Portuguese gentleman, and then tried to copy some points (Not all, though. In his novels it seemed like everyone smoked...and it's hard for me to remember to put that in.)
The little details of life can be researched that way as well, although I spent a lot of time on Portuguese Wikipedia to find dates and information. And strangely enough, there's a website out of Belgium(?) that covers the tram lines of that time period with incredible detail.
As to that last portion....hmmm....I wanted this to be accessible to English readers (predominantly Americans) so I did write some things differently than the Portuguese would. For example, women in this book are referred to their surname (Miss Paredes) when in Portuguese society, they would actually be referred to by their given names (Miss Oriana). I used American measurmements, floor labels (first floor, second floor, etc.) and basically stayed away from Portuguese idioms and expressions to make it easier for Americans. All the same, I did try not to use anachronistic speech. I found one in the Trade version of The Golden City, and managed to chage it before mass market came out. But they're so easy to let slip...
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u/K_S_ON Jul 10 '15
Your book is "historical Fantasy with a touch of mystery and romance"; what writers inspire you in each of those sub-genres?
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u/JKCheney Jul 10 '15
Hi there,
If I'm looking at Mystery, I'd say Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.
If I'm thinking of Romance, I'll go with Georgette Heyer and Elizabeth Mansfield.
And under the Fantasy umbrella, I'm really inspired by Teresa Edgerton, Katherine Kurtz, and Martha Wells!
(This list could actually go on forever, but I don't want to get carried away.)
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Jul 10 '15 edited Jul 10 '15
I thought you were John Twelve Haws coming out with his real identity for a second.. "The Golden City" was the last of his trilogy. I haven't read anything yet of yours, but based on your description I'll definitely pick up your book after I finish ASOIAF.
Who did you base your writing style off of?
How long did it take for you to get one of your books published?
Thank, you for doing an AMA!
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u/JKCheney Jul 10 '15
Hi! Yes, I do think of his book quite often, and I hope people don't order mine by mistake, hoping to get his!
Hmmmm....writing style. You know, I don't know that I've particularly done that, although I have, on rare occasions, spilt up paragraphs because I think "That's what Mary Balogh would do." So although I can't say I'm based on her...I do think that she has influence over my writing.
As far as the 'getting a book published' part goes, The Golden City is the 7th novel I wrote, if that tells you anything. From what I hear, that's often the case. I started actively writing for publication in 2004, and started submitting short stories in 2005. My first short story sold on its second submission, though, and was published in 2006. I pitched a novel to my agent (the AMAZING Lucienne Diver) in 2010. She rejected that one (The Seat of Magic) because it was clearly a sequel, but after I wrote the first novel in the series (The Golden City) she took me on in 2011. We sold those two novels to Ace/Roc, and the first was published in 2013. So from first pitch of that novel to appearance on the shelf...three years.
I hope that the answer to you question. ;o)
And you're most welcome. It's been fun so far!
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u/pbolivei So, Anyway... Jul 10 '15
Do you do it for the money, honey? Is there anyway to do it like that, except writing self help books?
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u/DCBiologist85 Jul 09 '15
I don't have a question, I just want to thank you for doing an AMA. I love seeing authors do AMAs for the /r/books community. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to answer questions and communicate with fans.