 An interview... In the spring of '02, I participated in an interview for one of my readers. Once she'd written it up, I thought it would be a fun thing to have here on the web site, and since she was agreeable...here it is! I've left out a question or two that I just didn't feel right having up here, so if there are any obvious gaps you may blame them entirely on me. Interviewer: Tara Benest OAC Westmount Secondary School student Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Former cat owner, lover of dogs and horses, Doranna Durgin has quickly made a name for herself in the fantasy / fiction and sci-fi genre since her first novel, Dun Lady's Jess, was published and became the winner of the 1995 Compton Crook award for best first F/SF/H novel. Currently living in Arizona, surrounded by her dogs and horses, Doranna works in the relative quite of her office writing and drafting wondrous fantasy and science fiction novels for her fans. To date she has written eleven novels, as well as several short stories and anthologies, and is currently working on another entitled Impressions. Doranna spends what spare time she has with her dogs, horses, and attending conventions. Even though her calendar seems to be booked solid, she has graciously taken time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions. TB: What was your childhood like? DD: Tail end of the baby boomers, just old enough to absorb adult fears when the Cuban Missile crisis came along. I practiced Duck 'n Cover and thought every little plane flying overhead might be a bomber coming to kill us. Grew up with Viet Nam in the background, not old enough to understand the politics, just that people were dying. Ditto the loss of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. But I was old enough to wear bell-bottoms and flower patches and grow up green; not quite old enough to hit the great whoosh of early drug experimentation. In other words I was entirely clueless about a lot of things because I was too young and yet old enough to absorb the impact and fears and driving forces of the times. A very strange "between" generation. TB: What childhood adventure(s) stands out most in your mind? DD: Ranging far and wide in the neighborhood woods when my folks had no idea and playing with horses in summer camp. TB: What made you study Wildlife Illustration and Environmental Education? DD: It's where I finally fit in after opting out of an intensive pre-vet course load (calculus. As if a vet has to know calculus--I know they don't, 'cause I ask 'em all!) and heading for medical illustration (very stuffy community at that point in time, not for me). I'd ended up in the ag (agricultural) dorms at Ohio State U (it's where they slotted me when I transferred in for medical illustration) and got taste of the natural resources offerings. Decided to combine the art and the natural resources, and was able to do it because my grades were good enough to get me into a "make your own" honors program. TB: What happened there that made you decide to become an author? DD: Keep in mind that I've been writing fiction forever and ever, and wrote my first book at 12yo. So I was never not writing. But once I was in the mountains--way back in the head of a creek near Shelbiana, on a hundred acres and in a log cabin co-habitated by snakes and way too many mice--it quickly became clear thatwhatever I had planned for my wildlife illustration/environmental ed career, it was dead. The nearest grocery store was 40 minutes away, the nearest appropriate job...maybe five hours. But I'm not the sort of person who can just sit around without goals and purpose, so I decided I'd take my writing and do something with it. In retrospect, I simply should have gotten a degree related to writing in the first place. But my childhood writing was always treated as impractical and strange--something that I did in spite of the feedback I got for it, including poor grades in English when I used words the teacher didn't know. It never even occurred to me that some people would look at it as a skill. TB: Do you write to entertain others, yourself, or to teach? DD: A combination. I write because I have these worlds/stories within me, and through the stories I can explore human nature. At the same time, I remember what it was like to discover a new author who drew me completely into his/her characters and their stories, and how wonderful it was. I want to be able to do that for other people, too. TB: How were you able to get published? DD: Persistence. TB: For new writer, what would be the best way to get published? DD: Learn the market. Understand the business. Persist. Don't take the easy way--small presses and e-publishers are a dime a dozen in this technological age and because they exist doesn't automatically mean they know how to conduct themselves. Aim high--or if you decide to aim elsewhere, understand the business well enough to know where it fits in and what the experience will be like. TB: Have you used any of your animals as inspiration for the animals in your books? DD: I've used aspects of them, though as with any character they all take on their own characteristics. Druid in _A Feral Darkness_ was inspired by Jag, a troubled but wonderful dog I never had the chance to rehab because someone let him out of my yard a few months after I got him; he was almost instantly hit by a car. (The gate was locked after that, you betcha). Sunny in that same book was based on a rescue dog I had for several months. Sky in Touched By Magic is based on a horse I worked with briefly. Every small feisty black pony mare is based on a friend's small feisty black pony mare. She's kind of a running character--she shows up throughout my work. But I don't tend to base major animal characters on long-term family member pets. Jag would be the closest I came to that...though it would be awful fun to use Duncan if I can find an excuse to do it. TB: What advice do you have for new authors just starting out? What should they do? What shouldn't they do? DD: They should treat it as a business, and behave professionally when approaching those who work in the field. Do as much homework as possible on your own--ie, visit one of the many professional website resources (as opposed to sites that claim to know what they're talking about but have no professional affiliation) such as SFWA's at www.sfwa.org and read up. Attend conventions for your chosen genre, and if you have the chance to ask questions of a pro (editor, writer, publisher...), ask targeted and specific questions such as, "Which SF publishing house do you think would be more interested in military space opera?" not, "What do the different SF publishing houses tend to like in a manuscript?" The former is easy to answer (Baen), and the latter would be asking for too much of the pro's time and shows you haven't done your homework. Aspiring writers should read endlessly, and take note of who's publishing what as they do so. But above all they should writewritewritewrite and find a way to interact with the writing community of their interest--mystery, romance, SF--they all have cons and groups and gatherings. TB: I've read that you are very fond of horses and dogs. What is your favorite breed of each? DD: Zoicks. I can only have one favorite of each? My favorite breed is the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, but I also love hounds. Two entirely different critters with different strengths, physically and mentally. Horse-wise, I most enjoy Lipizzans...but I also really like playing with an easy-going grade horse now and then. TB: What breeds do you currently have at home? DD: Cardigans and a Lipizzan. TB: What is the funniest thing you and/or any of your animals have done? DD: Hmmm. Strider the hound mix used to climb trees. But the utmost single funniest incident was committed by Kacey (Xtacy's Carbon Unit) in her first (and only, so far) obedience match. She had a terribly Bad Attitude that day. For one part of the test, the dogs have to sit in a row for several minutes while the owners stand in front of them, waiting. The other dogs were perfect and attentive while Kacey--being a short-legged thing--noted a really good smell on the ground. So she dropped down and rolled in it with obvious ecstasy, taking her time to do a really thorough job and groaning with delight while the other dogs continued their perfect attentiveness. Then she got up, shook off, and put herself back on sit-stay. Really hard to keep a straight face during that one. TB: Are you fond of any other animals? If so, what are your favorite breeds? (I ask these because I love animals myself) DD: I enjoy cats and had them for years, but fell out of the habit. TB: What do you do to unwind when deadlines (or anything else for that matter) start to stress you out? DD: Chocolate and bad B action movies. TB: You written fantasy/fiction novels, science fiction novels, anthologies, as well as short stories. Which do you prefer writing the most? DD: Novels over short stories, but that's just because I get more novel ideas than short story ideas. As far as SF and Fantasy goes...if I've had the idea, I enjoy writing it... No real favorite. I have more fantasy books out there because the first book I sold was fantasy and Baen wanted to keep that focus. I have plenty of SF ideas I hope I have the chance to write some day. Not hard SF, though--biologically themed. Or sociologically. TB: How did you feel when Dun Lady's Jess won the 1995 Compton Crook/Stephen Tall award for Best 1st Novel? DD: Like a big helium balloon. TB: Which authors inspired you to write? DD: Will James, Jim Kjelgaard and Walter Farley, probably, given when I started writing. In F/SF, the earlier works of Katherine Kurtz and Anne McCaffery TB: Which authors influenced your writing the most? (Style, theme, etc.) DD: I'm not sure this is one I can answer. I think what I like to write about comes directly from me. Any influence that shows in my style or storytelling approach is so natural to me that I think it would take an outside eye to see it. But it would be a mistake to limit that to looking at the influence of SF/F authors...I devoured books like a fiend as a child and aside from Narnia, didn't start reading F/SF until I had already written a couple of books. Mostly I didn't know it was there, except in my own head. TB: Do you have any ideas for upcoming novels? DD: I have notebooks, geologically stratified piles of notes, and file folders full of ideas for novels.... TB: What does it feel like when you get a story idea in your head? DD: Let me out! Let me out! (lots of kicking against mental walls) TB: Do you have a set routine when you write a new novel? DD: I have general patterns. I create a directory for the book and set up a master document and label back up disks. I usually set up a few cartridges of CDs--music that suits the book for one reason or another (almost always soundtracks). I try not to have a strict routine because I think it's important to be able to go with whatever feels right for that book. The last one I plunged into without setting up the master document or the CD cartridges, for instance--a first, but I wasn't about to stop myself from writing first draft just because the niceties hadn't been observed! TB: Where do you go to write? Do you work in your den at home with pencil and paper/on your computer, or do you go out with a laptop/pad of paper and a pen and work in a coffee shop? DD: I'm definitely office-bound. I have different places in the office that I work--a standing station, a recliner, and a couch-bed--but the office it is, with music cued up and the dogs hanging around. The only thing I do off-site is the hardcopy work like initial proposal notes or proofreading, and that only comes up when I'm traveling. I generally write initial notes with pen and paper, and work drafts on my laptop. If I'm on a long trip I do bring the laptop, but it goes against my muse's grain to write under those circumstances. She's very opinionated. TB: Thank you, Doranna, for taking the time to answer my questions. (There, wasn't that kind of fun? Thanks, Tara!) 
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