SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS – Spirit Warrior

What initially got you interested in writing?

 

I didn’t write any fiction until three years ago. Making up stories, however, has been part of my life since I was a kid. I didn’t just forget my homework. No, wild dogs attacked me on my way to school and tore it up. My teachers knew me as “that kid that always lies.” Of course, I wasn’t lying—I was making my boring world more colorful by inventing exciting things that only I could see.

 

This all changed when three years ago, I listened to Joanna Penn’s podcast at www.thecreativepenn.com. I’d always thought that successful authors were born with an innate talent I didn’t have. Joanna talked about how writing was primarily a craft that could be learned. That was a revelation.

 

It took me another year of doing online workshops to learn techniques until I published my first book. But this new insight was the spark that set off my creativity and made me believe that yes, I could do this.

 

What genres do you prefer to write in?

 

I love Urban Fantasy. To me, that means stories set in our modern world, with normal characters, people like you and me, but with a little magical twist added.

 

That’s probably the reason why Harry Potter spoke to me so strongly. I love the idea of creating ordinary human beings who have some powers that set them apart from everyone else, and then explore how this changes them and their environment.  Add a pinch or a bucket of romance, depending on the story, and I’m hooked.

 

As an indie author, I have the luxury to explore a mix of genres. Urban fantasy, romance, crime and thriller—they all inspire me in different ways. My notebook is full of ideas for future stories, incorporating elements of other genres into my urban fantasy novels.

 

Are there any authors you prefer to read and why?

 

There are too many to list them all. JRR Tolkien blew my mind when I first read “Lord of the Rings” as a teenager. That was my first exposure to world-building on an epic scale. I still re-read all three books every decade or so.

 

Later followed Terry Pratchett, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and a lot of the early scifi classics like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. I don’t read them anymore because I haven’t got the patience (or time). But even now, decades later, their storytelling and worldbuilding influence the way I see the world.

 

For character development and voice, I love Stephen King. He’s one of my go-tos when it comes to young characters’ voices. “Stand by Me” is a masterpiece of exploring the way teenagers see the world and express themselves.

Over the last few years, I’ve picked up many modern urban fantasy writers like Darynda Jones or Laurell K. Hamilton. I also greatly enjoy lesser known authors like Julie Kagawa and Anna Mcilwraith. So much to read and so little time!

 

How did you make the move into being a published author?

 

After I decided to try my hand at writing, I researched how best to get my work out there. I very quickly decided that with electronic access to the buying and reading public, I would be foolish not to try self-publishing.

 

As a self-published author, I don’t need to negotiate gatekeepers, stick to what traditional publishers consider might sell, and I keep a far larger percentage of the royalties.

 

The trade-off is that I’m entirely responsible for my own editing, cover design, and marketing efforts and costs. Nobody chases me for deadlines which is also a drawback. I work much better under pressure!

 

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

 

I love losing myself in worlds that are just the way I want them to be. My characters become my best friends. I get to play with them, do terrible things to them, and then make sure they get their happy end.

 

Where I live, we have a vibrant creative writing community. Every weekend we meet up and do writing exercises, exchange ideas, hang out and just be with each other. Writers are awesome people, creative, challenging, smart. Even if I never earned a penny selling books, I’d still do it just for the people I get to hang out with!

 

What do you find most challenging about writing?

 

The most challenging thing about writing is that you never know if you’re any good. Especially at the beginning, you write into the void. Eventually, people will tell you they enjoyed reading your books (or not), but right at the start, you need a lot of determination to carry on and finish your story.

 

Impostor syndrome is a real thing, and all creatives suffer from it. Google it—its insidious! Every writer has that moment when they publish a new book, “Is this the one where readers realize I have no clue what I’m doing?” Realizing that literally everybody suffers from it helped me a lot!

 

Do you have any tips for writers who find themselves experiencing writer’s block?

Honestly? I’m sure some writers will kill me for this, but I don’t think writer’s block exists. It usually hides another issue: not being sure what comes next, i.e. lack of outlining. Falling out of love with your characters (it happens). The fear of not being a good enough writer.

Whenever I don’t know what to write, I type something. Anything. I literally sit down and write, “I have no idea what to write. I thought I’d pen the next Great American Novel but that’s not happening. Etc etc.” Do a stream of consciousness. It’s amazing how that rattles loose something in our brains.

The other tip is to stop writing for a few days and do something completely different, as long as it still has to do with your project. Draw your characters. Create a pinterest board with worldbuilding or casting inspiration. Sometimes our brains need to be engaged slightly differently to regain enthusiasm for the story.

What advice would you give to people that want to enter the field?

 

I assume you already read a lot. Narrow down what you REALLY enjoy about the stories you read. For me, it’s the “fish out of water” trope. That’s why my characters live in a country they don’t fully understand or gain powers that give them access to a brand-new world.

 

Join organizations like the Romance Writers of America. Even as a non-member you can take their online courses. They are more helpful than I can say. As mentioned above, writing is a craft and can be learned. Study techniques like writing in Deep Point of View. You wouldn’t jump into any other profession without training, so why should writing be any different?

 

And lastly, if you don’t have a creative writing group in your area, go to www.meetup.com and set one up yourself! It’s the single most important motivating factor for me to continue with my career (other than my awesome readers, of course!).

 

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

 

I love writing about strong women and non-toxic men. I want my readers to be entertained and fall in love with my characters. The stories are exciting, sure, but modeling how people are so much stronger when they interact respectfully, is important to me.

 

That sounded a bit sappy… But I feel there is so much toxicity in our world today, such lack of empathy and attempts to dehumanize “the other”, that I want my books to be an antidote. I want my readers to be able to lose themselves in my world and feel better when they finish my books.

 

Is there anything else about you that you think readers might find interesting?

 

Not sure if it’s interesting, but I now live in Germany, a country in which I grew up until I was twenty years old. Then I moved to London, met my Irish husband, and lived in an English-speaking environment for the next twenty years. As a result, I speak English with a strong Irish accent and I can barely communicate in my mother tongue anymore. Which is weird.