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Author Introduction: Maria V. Snyder
May. 20th, 2009 08:13 amAnother Author Introduction! This time it's for Maria V. Snyder's Storm Glass, the first book in a new series. And in addition to some words from Maria about storms and writing, I'm also going to give away one SIGNED copy of Storm Glass! This will be a random draw from the commenters on this post, and I'll pick the winner in about a week. Since I'll be seeing Maria at Balticon this weekend (in fact, we're doing a signing together), I'll get the book signed, although it won't be personalized. Here's the catch: if you win the book, once you read it, you have to do a review of it either on your blog, post it on amazon.com or bn.com, or do all three. In the meantime, check out what Maria has to say about the writing life, the inspiration for the book, and an excerpt from the novel!
Storms & Magic: Controlling the Forces of . . . Fiction?
I’ve been fascinated with storms ever since I got over my fear of thunderstorms (nothing like getting caught in a storm and having your fears soak your shirt and puddle in your shoes). When I was in 6th grade, I learned a meteorologist studied the weather and I also realized that, at that time, most adults didn’t know what a meteorologist was. As a precocious . . . okay, let’s be honest . . . bratty kid, I delighted in telling adults I was going to be a meteorologist when I grew up. After they stumbled and incorrectly mentioned meteoroids, I would smugly say, "Not meteors from space, but hydrometeors." This caused more confusion. (I did admit to being bratty as a child. ;) Does anyone know what hydrometeors are? (I didn’t say I grew out of it *grin*).
Having found no other career that interested me enough, I went to Penn State and earned a BS in Meteorology. Now what? I wasn’t very good at forecasting and tornados don’t like being caught (trust me on this one) so I went into environmental meteorology, which involved air pollution studies and getting permits. Or in another word . . . BORING!
So naturally, I turned to writing fiction to counter the boredom (what? You would do something else?? Pish!). When I was writing my latest release, Storm Glass I actually used my meteorology degree (thanks Mom & Dad). And I realized that storms and magic have much in common.
Weather systems have to follow the forces of nature. Gravity, topography, temperature, air density, and even the spin of the Earth all affect the path and severity of a storm.
Magical systems have to follow the forces of fiction. Only I know the forces of fiction . . . for my magic. Each author develops their own rules for their magic systems. Rules you ask? Yes. Rules. Writers can’t go hog wild and have magic be a free for all. Nope. Won’t work. Where’s the fun in that? If Superman didn’t have kryptonite, we’d all be bored.
How do writers develop these rules? First lots of research. Not into magic per say, but in reading other Fantasy books to see what other authors have done and have done to death. And they’re looking for something different for their magic. For example, my Stormdancers in Storm Glass use magic to harvest energy from big storms and bottle it in glass orbs. They turn the storms into wimps, and use the energy to fuel their factories.
Magic needs boundaries. Hurricanes can only get so big and they're slow. If there’s high pressure giving a part of the country sunshine, there’s always a low pressure system, bringing rain somewhere else. Stormdancers can only fill 3 to 4 orbs.
Magic should also have consequences. There should be a price to pay for using it. When the Stormdancers finish "dancing" they’re exhausted. And if one of those full orbs breaks, they die.
Magic can have loopholes. As I say before with the kryptonite, there needs to be a way to bypass or counter the magic. It creates conflict and makes for a more interesting story. If another magician surrounds a Stormdance with a null shield, he can’t access his magic. Hurricanes lose strength when they hit land.
Magic needs consistency. Can’t change skills in mid-book or mid-series. The Stormdancers can’t suddenly light fires or read minds. And if they can – I better have a good explanation for it.
Which brings me to surprises. With a magic system all planned out, how can you have surprises without breaking the rules?? You can’t. That’s when the writer needs to be creative. A surprise is just like a storm that does something unpredictable – it is unpredictable at the time, but when you examine/study it later – all the right factors/elements were in place, but they went unnoticed or were deemed not important at the time.
I’m often asked what sparked the idea for the Stormdancers. It was during the 2005 hurricane season. A record season for hurricanes with four Category 5 hurricanes (Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma). The 2005 season caused $180 billion in damage and killed approximately 2,280 people. Hurricanes release a ton of energy in one day. Enough energy to meet the electrical generating needs of the entire world for 200 days.
The 2005 season had me asking, What if? What if we could harvest that storm energy and use it? Turn big and nasty Katrina into a mild soaking rainstorm? The answers lead me to another boatload of potential conflicts. Who decides what the energy is used for? Do they sell the energy? Share it or just use if for their factories?
Ahhh . . . stormy weather is brewing on the horizon! Make sure you bring an umbrella with you to keep those hydrometeors from falling on your head! *grin*
*******************************
Excerpt from Storm Glass:
“I’ll need to examine Kade’s orb,” I said.
“You’ll have to ask him,” Nodin said.
“Me? I thought . . .”
His brown eyes sparked with glee. “Yes, you. I’m beginning to like you, Opal. But not that much.” He grabbed the sphere and returned it to the back of the cave. “If you want to see Kade’s orb before dark, you better hurry. Once the sun dips below the sea, it turns black fast.”
I followed Nodin down to the beach. The sun hovered near the edge of the horizon, casting shadows along the water’s rippled surface.
“Good luck.” Nodin waved.
The wind whipped hair into my eyes when I stepped out on to the black rocks. I pulled the leather tie from my messy ponytail and tried to recapture all the strands into a neater knot. Funny how I hadn’t noticed the wind on the beach. Calling to Kade had proven futile. My shouts drowned by the sea’s song.
I hadn’t noticed how uneven and jagged the rocks were either. Waves crashed into them, sending spray high into the air. Water soon coated my skin and soaked my clothes. The rocks became slicker with each wave. I was glad I wore my brown boots, even though my boots were filled with water, their thick soles helped me navigate the slippery and rutted outcrop. At one point I climbed over a few sharp boulders, and at another I leapt over a gap. The tight knocking of my heart warned my body to turn around and go back to the beach, but I was determined. Stupid?
No. Determined. Until I reached a space too big to cross. Too big for me. Kade was three rocks farther out. Each separated by a large opening. Had he swam or jumped? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was he heard my shout.
He spun around. And I wished I had waited on the beach. With an angry scowl, Kade moved. I would have marveled at his speed and grace as he flew over the gaps, except he aimed toward me.
An errant wave knocked into me and I grabbed a rough edge to keep from falling. Pain laced my palm and blood welled.
Kade stopped before spanning the space between our rocks. His mouth moved, but the wind snatched half of his words. “…idiot…dangerous…go back!”
I understood his intent and turned to retrace my steps. The waves grew in size and frequency. They hunted me, attacking when I was vulnerable.
“Opal,” shouted Kade.
I looked back in time to see a giant blue-green wall of water rushing toward me.
The roar of the wind and sea ceased the moment the monster wave engulfed me. For one heartbeat, my world filled with gurgling sounds and foamy green light. Then the force of the crashing water slammed me into an unyielding object. The sea grabbed my limp body and tossed it about. Confusion dulled the pain until my forehead smacked into a jagged rock.
My vision clouded with blood and saltwater. Kade and the outcrop grew smaller as the sea sucked me into her liquid embrace.
*****************************
And now buy Maria's books! If you haven't read her Study series--Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study--then here's your chance to catch up!
Storms & Magic: Controlling the Forces of . . . Fiction?
I’ve been fascinated with storms ever since I got over my fear of thunderstorms (nothing like getting caught in a storm and having your fears soak your shirt and puddle in your shoes). When I was in 6th grade, I learned a meteorologist studied the weather and I also realized that, at that time, most adults didn’t know what a meteorologist was. As a precocious . . . okay, let’s be honest . . . bratty kid, I delighted in telling adults I was going to be a meteorologist when I grew up. After they stumbled and incorrectly mentioned meteoroids, I would smugly say, "Not meteors from space, but hydrometeors." This caused more confusion. (I did admit to being bratty as a child. ;) Does anyone know what hydrometeors are? (I didn’t say I grew out of it *grin*).
Having found no other career that interested me enough, I went to Penn State and earned a BS in Meteorology. Now what? I wasn’t very good at forecasting and tornados don’t like being caught (trust me on this one) so I went into environmental meteorology, which involved air pollution studies and getting permits. Or in another word . . . BORING!
So naturally, I turned to writing fiction to counter the boredom (what? You would do something else?? Pish!). When I was writing my latest release, Storm Glass I actually used my meteorology degree (thanks Mom & Dad). And I realized that storms and magic have much in common.
Weather systems have to follow the forces of nature. Gravity, topography, temperature, air density, and even the spin of the Earth all affect the path and severity of a storm.
Magical systems have to follow the forces of fiction. Only I know the forces of fiction . . . for my magic. Each author develops their own rules for their magic systems. Rules you ask? Yes. Rules. Writers can’t go hog wild and have magic be a free for all. Nope. Won’t work. Where’s the fun in that? If Superman didn’t have kryptonite, we’d all be bored.
How do writers develop these rules? First lots of research. Not into magic per say, but in reading other Fantasy books to see what other authors have done and have done to death. And they’re looking for something different for their magic. For example, my Stormdancers in Storm Glass use magic to harvest energy from big storms and bottle it in glass orbs. They turn the storms into wimps, and use the energy to fuel their factories.
Magic needs boundaries. Hurricanes can only get so big and they're slow. If there’s high pressure giving a part of the country sunshine, there’s always a low pressure system, bringing rain somewhere else. Stormdancers can only fill 3 to 4 orbs.
Magic should also have consequences. There should be a price to pay for using it. When the Stormdancers finish "dancing" they’re exhausted. And if one of those full orbs breaks, they die.
Magic can have loopholes. As I say before with the kryptonite, there needs to be a way to bypass or counter the magic. It creates conflict and makes for a more interesting story. If another magician surrounds a Stormdance with a null shield, he can’t access his magic. Hurricanes lose strength when they hit land.
Magic needs consistency. Can’t change skills in mid-book or mid-series. The Stormdancers can’t suddenly light fires or read minds. And if they can – I better have a good explanation for it.
Which brings me to surprises. With a magic system all planned out, how can you have surprises without breaking the rules?? You can’t. That’s when the writer needs to be creative. A surprise is just like a storm that does something unpredictable – it is unpredictable at the time, but when you examine/study it later – all the right factors/elements were in place, but they went unnoticed or were deemed not important at the time.
I’m often asked what sparked the idea for the Stormdancers. It was during the 2005 hurricane season. A record season for hurricanes with four Category 5 hurricanes (Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma). The 2005 season caused $180 billion in damage and killed approximately 2,280 people. Hurricanes release a ton of energy in one day. Enough energy to meet the electrical generating needs of the entire world for 200 days.
The 2005 season had me asking, What if? What if we could harvest that storm energy and use it? Turn big and nasty Katrina into a mild soaking rainstorm? The answers lead me to another boatload of potential conflicts. Who decides what the energy is used for? Do they sell the energy? Share it or just use if for their factories?
Ahhh . . . stormy weather is brewing on the horizon! Make sure you bring an umbrella with you to keep those hydrometeors from falling on your head! *grin*
*******************************
Excerpt from Storm Glass:
“I’ll need to examine Kade’s orb,” I said.
“You’ll have to ask him,” Nodin said.
“Me? I thought . . .”
His brown eyes sparked with glee. “Yes, you. I’m beginning to like you, Opal. But not that much.” He grabbed the sphere and returned it to the back of the cave. “If you want to see Kade’s orb before dark, you better hurry. Once the sun dips below the sea, it turns black fast.”
I followed Nodin down to the beach. The sun hovered near the edge of the horizon, casting shadows along the water’s rippled surface.
“Good luck.” Nodin waved.
The wind whipped hair into my eyes when I stepped out on to the black rocks. I pulled the leather tie from my messy ponytail and tried to recapture all the strands into a neater knot. Funny how I hadn’t noticed the wind on the beach. Calling to Kade had proven futile. My shouts drowned by the sea’s song.
I hadn’t noticed how uneven and jagged the rocks were either. Waves crashed into them, sending spray high into the air. Water soon coated my skin and soaked my clothes. The rocks became slicker with each wave. I was glad I wore my brown boots, even though my boots were filled with water, their thick soles helped me navigate the slippery and rutted outcrop. At one point I climbed over a few sharp boulders, and at another I leapt over a gap. The tight knocking of my heart warned my body to turn around and go back to the beach, but I was determined. Stupid?
No. Determined. Until I reached a space too big to cross. Too big for me. Kade was three rocks farther out. Each separated by a large opening. Had he swam or jumped? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was he heard my shout.
He spun around. And I wished I had waited on the beach. With an angry scowl, Kade moved. I would have marveled at his speed and grace as he flew over the gaps, except he aimed toward me.
An errant wave knocked into me and I grabbed a rough edge to keep from falling. Pain laced my palm and blood welled.
Kade stopped before spanning the space between our rocks. His mouth moved, but the wind snatched half of his words. “…idiot…dangerous…go back!”
I understood his intent and turned to retrace my steps. The waves grew in size and frequency. They hunted me, attacking when I was vulnerable.
“Opal,” shouted Kade.
I looked back in time to see a giant blue-green wall of water rushing toward me.
The roar of the wind and sea ceased the moment the monster wave engulfed me. For one heartbeat, my world filled with gurgling sounds and foamy green light. Then the force of the crashing water slammed me into an unyielding object. The sea grabbed my limp body and tossed it about. Confusion dulled the pain until my forehead smacked into a jagged rock.
My vision clouded with blood and saltwater. Kade and the outcrop grew smaller as the sea sucked me into her liquid embrace.
*****************************
And now buy Maria's books! If you haven't read her Study series--Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study--then here's your chance to catch up!
