A Little Bit of Q&A

Have you ever written fan-fiction?

I haven’t. When I started my writing career, it was 1999 and I think that fan fiction didn’t really exist back then in the way it does now. And now I don’t have time! But I love fan fiction and when I’m teaching writing classes, I always recommend it to my students as a way of flexing their fiction-writing muscle using pre-existing settings and characters. And I love to read it.  

Do you read the fan-fiction your fans write online? And do you enjoy it?

As far as I know, no fan-fiction exists online for any of my books, but if I ever stumble onto any, I’m sure I would love it!  

How liberal are you in term of expressing ideas in your books?

Do you mean politically liberal? I’m Canadian, and a politically liberal Canadian at that, and I’m sure that comes through in my books. I am also a feminist and I hope my feminist ideals are reflected in what I write.   

Is there a particular kind of attire you like to write in?

A perfect writing day is one like today: Foggy, the fire is lit, and I’m in my pyjamas with a long cotton cardigan over the top. Warm socks. I think warm socks always help. 

Do you enjoy discussing upcoming ideas with your partner? If yes, how much do you value their inputs?

I’m single, but I’m also not one to discuss my ideas until they feel fully formed in my own mind, which is often not until the first draft is done. The ideas stay in the vault!

Do you often meet with younger writers and discuss their ideas to help polish them?

I teach creative writing at the University of Victoria – my class spends an entire term creating an idea for a MG or YA novel and putting together an outline and the first thirty pages of their book. We spend the whole term polishing their idea until, at the end, they have a project with publication potential! I love working with the students. I really feel it makes me a better writer, too.