Interview with Author Rachel Caine

Rachel Caine is the fabulous author of the Weather Warden series--a thrilling fantasy series about a group of people (called "Wardens") who can control the weather. With the help of Dijnn (genies), Wardens secretly work to keep Mother Nature at bay.

In Ill Wind--the first in the Warden series--Caine introduces a a magical world filled with sacrifice, corruption, love and a feisty, shoe-loving herione named Joanne Baldwin.

In addition to her Weather Warden series, Caine has written for novels Bombshell as well as various novels under the the name Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

What inspired the character of Joanne Baldwin?

Funny story ... the first book, ILL WIND, started life as a non-fantasy novel called LOOKING FOR LEWIS, which was really more about a woman trying to find her brother (Lewis) to get a bone marrow transplant -- she had cancer -- all the while running from hired killers and coping with bad weather.Um ... that book didn't sell. But I liked the characters, and I kept poking at it until the cancer became a demon mark, and the coping with bad weather became a job, and Lewis became her hot long-lost friend.And luckily, that book sold.

What made you chose the weather as the center focus of your series? Is meteorology a personal interest of yours?

I've been living in Tornado Alley most of my adult life, and I'm frankly fascinated by storms, lightning, wind, all that. I think the fact that the tornado that ripped through Fort Worth a few years ago only missed my house by half a mile might have had something to do with it, too. That was exciting.

In your books, you get pretty detailed about the various mechanics involved in creating different types of weather. How much research did you have to do on weather and how weather is created before you started this series?

I read a lot of nonfiction about weather, everything from disaster accounts like books about the Galveston Flood to "Weather for Dummies." There are a ton of good references. I don't really specifically research so much as read, stumble across something and think, wow, that's fascinating, and note it for use. For instance, although this isn't strictly speaking weather, the phenomenon of lake overturn in volcanic areas is going to find its way into the next book, I think.

One thing I really like about the Weather Warden series is the sexy djinn and the interdependent relationship they have with the Wardens. With vampires, shape shifters and other supernatural creatures in the forefront right now, you don't hear too much about djinn. What made you choose to include them in your series?

I wanted something different. I've written vampires extensively, and while I wanted something supernatural I didn't want anything with a lot of known baggage to deal with -- untangling preconceptions takes time. The Djinn just sort of fit right in, because they are (traditionally) very much like people, with the same sorts of flaws and strengths, only a lot more powerful and a lot more vulnerable. All of which appealed. If you haven't read it, by the way, I highly recommend Judith Tarr's "Hound and Falcon" trilogy, which also has Djinn, but in a period fantasy setting.

Thank you for the book recommendation! I'm always seeking new, interesting books and so I will definitely check it out.

Before you started writing, did you already have an image in your mind of how you wanted them to be? i.e. their powers, their rules, their world, etc. After all, they're not your traditional djinn or at least not how mainstream thinks of them.

I had a framework set up for them, but they definitely did continue to grow as I worked with them. And of course, I started out with David and who he was, and then extrapolated from there.

I've noticed that the short story you submitted for the MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURL WEDDING anthology will be a pirate story. What made you choose to write a pirate story? Are you a pirate lover?

Arrrrrrrr. From WAYYYYY back. I'm a high-seas-storyteller fan, and love the Horatio Hornblower books, the Master & Commander series, and if a book has pirates in it, well, I'm there. Of course, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN just reignited my smoldering Pirate Love into a bonfire.Oh, also, PETER PAN. Jason Isaacs. Whoa.And again ... arrrrrrrr.

Fellow pirate lover right here!

Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean 2 yet? What'd you think of it? Are you a Johnny Depp fan? *g*

Johnny owns my soul. But then, he has for years, so that's not anything new. But yes, I have seen it, and were it not for three book deadlines looming in a row in three months, I would have seen it many more times. But it will be joining the well-used DVD of the first movie in my video collection as soon as it's available.And I'm totally dressing up in my pirate lass gear for the third movie. Because I am 12.

Oooh I love Johnny! Totally with you there.

Do you have any authors that you'd say inspire you?

Many. Too many to name, probably, but I'll give it a cross-genre shot: Joe Lansdale, Charlaine Harris, Judith Tarr, Guy Gavriel Kay, George R.R. Martin, Jim Butcher, P.N. Elrod, Shirley Jackson, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs (together or separately), Janet Evanovich ... too many to name, like I said. I read all over the place. One of my favorite genres is historical mysteries, where I love books by Lindsay Davis and Lynda Robinson, as well as Victorian-era stuff by Anne Perry.

You work full-time in addition to maintaining to a full-time writing schedule. I must know: how do you do it? How do you find the time to juggle both careers without going completely crazy?

I don't. Not without going completely crazy, anyway ... but I'll tell you that it's all about discipline, and commitment. Everybody's got the same number of hours in the day, and it's just the choices we make on how we use those hours. My choice is to get up very early (pre-dawn, around 5 or 5:30) to write before I go off to work, and to sacrifice about 8 to 12 hours per day on the weekends on the altar of writing. It's the only way I can get my books done.However, that means I have to make choices. I don't see my friends as much as I'd like; I don't spend time around my house with my husband. I hire people to do things for me to free up time, like lawn services and housekeepers. And if I had kids, I'd be a terrible mother. Which is why I don't have kids. Stephen King wrote a line in NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES ("Umney's Last Case") that was to the effect that writers are horrible, selfish people, and he's absolutely right. We really have to be, on some level, to hold on to that time we need for our creativity.So that's how I do it.Also: I drink a lot of cafe mocha. And I've taught myself to enter a kind of meditative state quickly when I write ... I just drop in and out pretty much at will, which allows me to write very quickly. (Rewriting is still mandatory, however, and my prose is far from deathless.)I hope that makes some kind of sense! But then again ... completely crazy. Everyone agrees.

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU! And oh, yeah, obligatory sales announcements: FIRESTORM is out in September, and MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL WEDDING and GLASS HOUSES (the new YA vampire series) are out in October. And then I have a new Silhouette Bombshell book, TRUST, out in (I think) November.Now, I must ... have ... mocha .......

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Wow, isn't she fab?

Ms. Caine has graciously agreed to drop by the blog today to answer any lingering questions so please do say hello and feel free to post any questions you may have.

You can visit her website at: http://www.rachelcaine.com/

And because I'm feeling gracious myself *wink wink* I will give away one free--brand new--copy of Ill Wind to anyone who wants it. All you have to do is comment by Friday, August 19th 11:59 p.m. EST. I'll do a random drawing for the winner or better yet, I'll let my little brother pull a name. *g* So if you want a free copy of Ill Wind, just leave a comment!