Interview with Carolyn Crane Author of Dissillusionist Series

Posted by Nicole on Jun 26, 2011 in A-C Authors, Author Interviews | 2 comments

Hey everyone, its time for another interview, this time with Carolyn Crane, author of the best selling Disillusionist series, which, at the end of the latest novel Double Cross, had me SCREAMING in frustration.

What is the one song you can’t help singing out loud no matter where you are?

Boston, More than a Feeling.

Your books are so very different but they seem like they were a natural plot line, like something you’d bandy about with friends over coffee and you created this amazing world with them. How did you get the idea for the disillusionists?

Like so many books, mine started with a ‘what if.’ I had just read a hugely depressing sort of philosophical book that takes a dark view of humanity. It made me feel really awful, and I thought, if I had an enemy, I would give them this book as a gift, so that they could feel as disillusioned as I did.  Then I thought, Hey! What if there were people who did this? Instead of a hit squad that murders people, it was a hit squad that disillusions people?

I was reading a ton of UF at the time and my mind naturally went to special powers and villains and things. I like things to seem sort of plausible (LOL) so I went with powers being caused by brain-strengthening mutations – that could happen, right?

I love that you think of it as seeming natural and linear. Really, the trilogy is a kind of collage of stuff I’m interested in: psychology, noirish, run-down landscapes, misfits, and I’ve always loved fairy tales where people are trapped somewhere.

If you were an evil villain, what would be your signature accessory?

I think it would have to be something I wear every day…maybe sweat pants! Yes, because nobody thinks an evil villain wears sweat pants. They would totally disguise me, and also be roomy enough for me to fight in. And maybe I would keep things in them, too. I think there has never been a sweat-pants wearing villain. It would be awesome. Well, sort of.

What’s easier to write, novella’s or series? Do you have plans for any single stand alone titles?

I actually just wrote my first ever novella (for Wild & Steamy, coming out in June) and it really is easier to write a novella. In a series, if you set something up in book #1, you’re stuck with it out in book #5. So, you really have to think hard—do you want this person to have this ability, this limitation. The place, the rules, everything has to be seaworthy for a long haul. Even in a stand-alone, you’re dealing with 90-100K words, and so you need things to work on a large canvas.

In a novella, you can play and take risks. My novella was a Disillusionists spin off, so some of the rules were set up, but I still felt free to do things with characters that I might not do in a longer work. To experiment.

I don’t have plans for a stand-alone, but I am working on a paranormal series where the books should be relatively more stand-alone than in Disillusionists, because the hero and heroine change in each book.

If you were an evil villain, what would be your signature accessory?

I think it would have to be something I wear every day…maybe sweat pants! Yes, because nobody thinks an evil villain wears sweat pants. They would totally disguise me, and also be roomy enough for me to fight in. And maybe I would keep things in them, too. I think there has never been a sweat-pants wearing villain. It would be awesome. Well, sort of.

You’ve recently changed publisher’s. Does that make it harder or easier to continue with a set series line? Will this spell changes you’ve wanted to make for the disillusionist series, and can you share any of that info?

Well, the Disillusionists was always planned to be a trilogy, and I changed publishers on the final leg with book #3 largely written already, so nothing is different from my end. I’ll be working with my new editor soon, though, and I don’t know her style or sense of story. I know she loves the series, so I’d imagine she’d be interested in keeping the same tone and spirit. Editors tend to be really good readers and feedback-givers, so I’m excited to see what she brings to this final book.

If you were a super secret spy, would you rather be lasered in half or nibbled by sharks? (Or any other suitable James Bond-y death? )

You know you are a girl after my own heart with these questions. I would prefer anything non-mechanical, because you’d have a better chance of escape. Or, do you mean, if there was no hope of getting out? Then I’d have to go with something that would cause me to freeze. I understand that is the most un-horrible way to die.

If you could have complete immunity for 24 hours what would you do?

I would vandalize billboards. For sure. Change them to be funny and snarky, or more in line with my angry personal opinion on certain products and issues, or just to let my inner 14 year old out. I used to live across the street from a billboard that would have really obnoxious ads on it, and fantasize about doing that all the time. I have actually contemplated getting some sort of small remote control helicopter, and putting on a paint arm, or a thing that can glue stuff onto the billboard.

If the romance mafia actually existed what would be your code name and title?

The CLAW!

You are extremely active with your readers, especially on Twitter. Do you think the increased reader feedback in the form of social media connectivity is helping authors or making it harder to keep a line between a professional, as you are a and reacting as an artist?

This is such an interesting issue! Such a good question. Sometimes I wonder, am I not out there enough? Not interactive enough like some of the really funny and friendly authors on twitter? Other times, I wonder, am I authorly enough? Am I too interactive? I guess in the end, you just have to be you.

I think authors being so in the mix of things must make it weird for reviewers. I try not to seek out reviews – I sort of let them come to me,  leaving it up to the reviewer to alert me or not, because I want to respect that space.

All this increased feedback, all these instant opinions, I think it can be helpful to writers, or harmful to writers – it just depends on what the writer makes of it. Most seasoned writers know how to learn from what is useful and let the rest pass by. I mean, if everybody is reacting in a way you didn’t expect to a character, or misunderstanding a choice you made, that can be valuable information on how readers read, or how well you are managing your scenes, but it can be very harmful if you let it get you down, or go freaking out.

That really is the minority of writers who freak out – it’s like a plane crash. Planes don’t crash that much, but it’s huge news when they do. I actually get paranoid sometimes that I’ll be having a bad day coughPMScough and say something messed up and idiotic (not so much with a review, but hey, on the Internet, there are lots of opportunities to say something dumb!) and go down in flames. To me, that’s the real danger of all this connectivity, that you get known for your one bad day.

What’s the most insane file name on your computer?

I was just looking at them, and many sound insane. I do have a file named “comeforme.doc” which is, of course, a blog post on heroes who say that, and if it would work in real life. It actually led to a sort of interesting discussion on my blog.

I’ve loved reading your blog and seeing that you’re just as much of a romance and book fan as the rest of us are, I especially appreciate your fascination with Jamie Fraser and Megan Hart. I read Set the Dark on Fire because of you. (Thanks) Does your being a romance fan help? Or does it make writing harder? Who is the one writerly fan you have that when you read that they liked your work, you fell to the ground and did a breakdance move of happy?

A breakdance move of happy? LOL. Well, this isn’t a writerly fan, but Felicia Day is a one fan who made me do the breakdance of HAPPY. She writes and stars in the Guild, and was also in Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse and Buffy, and Dr. Horrible. I was so thrilled to find she was a fan, because I love her stuff.

On your romance question: sometimes I wonder if, when people go on my blog or goodreads page, it weirds them out to see so much fangirlishness about romance, and especially historicals. But…oh well! Much as I love reading UF, it can be a little like work, because it’s my genre. And, I’m also hyper-critical of it. So my pure pleasure reading comes out of romance. Oh, I’ll just call it cross-fertilization. LOL.

What is your most recent blonde moment?

I lost my glasses and my address book both at the same time. Two totally crucial items! I mean, my glasses and address book! I feel so lost without them.

What’s the one thing you haven’t been able to do yet in your publishing career, or the one person you haven’t met, what’s the next big YES!!!! moment for you?

I dream dream dream of quitting my marketing writer job and being a full-time novelist. Oh, I so dream of that. My husband is a writer with a side job like me, so it’s not like he’s going to support me be a full-time writer—he wants to be a full-time writer too. So anyway, that would be my yes moment. To have a series or career that’s successful enough that I could feel secure enough to turn my full attention to fiction. (And, if I could support Mr. Crane to quit his job, even more awesome!)

What is the first thing you would do if you woke up in a body of the opposite sex?

Are you trying to get me to say dirty things in this interview? Is that what you are trying to do? I think you are! You want me to say that I would @#$*% myself and *&$**# and then @^%&*$# off while @&$*%$%$ing? And then $5#@!! my $X@& or (gasp) even #%%&!?

What woman or man in this situation, after the initial shock wore off, wouldn’t explore the new parts? Plus, as a writer, it’s the one thing I really can’t adequately describe. I’m working on a paranormal with a 3rd person pov (rotates between a male and female perspective) and honestly, I would love to have a man’s body for a while for the information gathering. But, I get to go back to being a girl, right? Please? Also, while spending time in the man body, I’d definitely chow down. Curly fries and pizza, please!

Alix, thanks so much for having me! This has been such a great interview, and these questions are so meaty and good.

AND I thank Carolyn for being So freaking awesome. As you can see by her answers to my insane questions her books are amazing, reality twisted, with a dash of WTF, added to some snark and viola!

You can visit Carolyn at her website HERE or on Twitter @carolyncrane Find all of her books on Amazon and support this amazing writer.