Hi everyone - today we have PI Barrington's muse, Jinx, visiting at the Desert Breeze blog. Patti's book, "Crucifying Angel," has gotten fantastic reviews. I just started reading it now, and I love how it moves, fast, effortlessly, and the characters are intriguing. The crime? Death by crucification - at least that's how it appears. It takes place in the not so distant future in Las Vegas, NV, sin city capital of the world. Kudos to Patti & Jinx on a great story! Now, onto the questions....
****
STEPH; Jinx, tell me what you look like - are you a pixie muse? A blonde bombshell? Curly brown hair?
JINX: I'm definitely the mini-blonde bombshell pixie type. Not like Patti at all! But definitely not Tinker Bell either.
STEPH: How long have you worked with Patti?
JINX: Her entire life; she just didn't know it. She just now is giving me the recognition I deserve! I've always been hovering around, whispering in her ear (well, okay screaming at times), pointing out ideas or causing her to look up at just the right moment to see or hear or smell something that leads to an idea. Scents can do it too.
STEPH: Is Patti an easy or hard writer to inspire - or somewhere in between?
JINX: Easy, way easy! She can be walking around a store and I can find something to trigger an idea; a paisley design will bring back a memory to build upon; something visual will trigger it: a poster, a skyline, someone dressed unusually or very chic or in a uniform; a nature vista can do it too.
STEPH: What tricks of the trade did you use to help Patti with Crucifying Angel?
I dredged up a few old tricks I've used in the distant past that fit nicely into this novel. For instance I reminded her to pay attention to something tiny but pivotal about a person or a place or a thing that could create the concept of the story. Tiny things about people or places or things that might go unnoticed by everyone else can be an unbelievable ignition for characterization, setting, even plot. For Crucifying Angel, Las Vegas became the setting for several reasons: the first being that the desert landscape appears already strangely and seemingly destroyed although there is a huge living eco structure there; also she and I know that area fairly well and it was easily described as a setting; and last the visuals of the city, the casino lights on the Strip at night and the oddly drab of the casinos in the daylight were familiar too. I also forced her to actually do a little research on the ecology of the place, things that in reality are threatening the environment of the area which happened to be from extreme mining. It all kind of tied the story details and location together coherently and gave Crucifying Angel the correct atmosphere for the novel.
STEPH: Where do you go on vacation?
JINX: Las Vegas of course, lol! It's a four hour drive away, you don’t stay forever, and I love the moonscape look of the desert in the day. It's easy to picture an alien planetscape there. Also the beach, anywhere with nature, though I have been known to traipse through big cities on occasion! There's also a secret place that Patti and I share and we've sworn a pact never to reveal it!
STEPH: Do you plan on reading the Desert Breeze Anthology, Be Mused, about muses?
JINX: Planning? I'm so excited I'm hopping up and down! It's about time we got some recognition and appreciation! Muses are people too!
STEPH: Tell us about the latest project you and Patti have been working on.
JINX: Miraculous Deception, Book Two of the Future Imperfect series, in fact was just completed and will be released in June! I gave Patti several of the ideas and twists for that one, but its part of a series that we both love, so working on Future Imperfect is and has been a joy for us! Upcoming next is the Borealis novelette for a DBP anthology our Editor Gail R. Delaney conceived and is assembling right now. That's the current WIP. The concept is great and writing it is fun as well!
STEPH: Tell us a little known fact about Patti.
JINX: Deep down she's a pathetically incurable romantic. If a man gave her a hand-picked bouquet of flowers, she'd swoon. No joke. Oh, yeah today's her birthday hence the name Patti!
STEPH: What were the most satisfying projects you've worked on? Why?
JINX: So far, Future Imperfect. Each book is more fun to write and a little more intricate than the one before it. I've given her the opening for Book Three, untitled as of now as well as the ending scene I developed during Crucifying Angel! Hopefully people will enjoy it!
***
Thanks for popping in today, Jinx! Good luck on books 2 & 3 of the Future Imperfect series.
Smiles
Steph
Posts
A creative and fun interview.
ReplyDeleteToni
Jinx,
ReplyDeleteYou do have your hands full, what with keeping Patti both busy and in line. Keep up the good work.
Barri
Thanks everyone! Just don't tell Patti, she thinks she does it all by herself...
ReplyDeleteJinx
Thank you for the interview, Patti and Steph. Very a-muse-ing!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, you've got me thinking about the question of whether it helps writers and other creative types if they well and truly know their muses. That is, are they more creative when they understand the source of their creativity? Are they more sensitive to their readers' wants and needs? Or should they just write and leave it to the individual and/or collective unconscious to lead the way? Does it ultimately make any difference?
Well, those are my questions. Wish I could provide some answers. Can anyone?
Keep up the good work!
I can speak for myself only... and my muse, I guess. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy muse's name is Alabaster, by the way. Her name represents the pure white joy of filling a page with words... or the pure white page when the words refuse to come. :-)
My Alabaster is a muse of intense emotion - all emotions - from joy to sorrow. And that reflects in my writing. Whether I am working on a contemporary novel or a science fiction setting -- my stories are character driven and every emotion is real and raw and intense. This, I guess, is what I consider my signature -- no matter the genre.
I understand that about my muse -- and thus, about me. I can't write to the masses, because not every book is going to appeal to everyone. Certain things appeal to certain people. Some like character driven books - so they aren't going to enjoy a book driven by the plot. And visa versa.
All I can do is write the story I feel -- the story I hear -- the story in my head -- and hope that enough people are like minded with me to enjoy it.
Gail Delaney
Marie, what great questions! Like Gail, I can only answer for me.
ReplyDeleteThat is, are they more creative when they understand the source of their creativity?
For creativity comes from inspiration of something that I've read or something that I watched that intrigued me. I'm not just a paranormal writer, I've been intrigued by various things. I've writen horror, fantasy, young adult, children's, thriller/suspense and all those genres have been received well.
Are they more sensitive to their readers' wants and needs?
I'm still finding my audience, I think. I certainlly have a core group of fans who know me from my work place, and they know I write a variety of things. Surprisingly, it's not the genre I write, but how well I write it.
Or should they just write and leave it to the individual and/or collective unconscious to lead the way? Does it ultimately make any difference?
Ultimately, I don't think it makes it a difference. As long as the story is well written, that's what counts, I think. My muse is always there, whispering in the back of mind directing my projects.
*smiles*
Steph
Fun interview - Jinx is a great muse!
ReplyDelete