Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables, teas, and herbs, when she’s not playing games with a cat named Chives. She’s fond of activities from the past, including canning and preserving, crocheting, reading in the dark, and cooking from scratch.
Her lifelong fascination with the Victorian era dovetailed nicely with articles written for The Primgraph, a magazine which focused on historical eras in virtual worlds, as well as music and book reviews for Steampunk Magazine.
Thanks so much, Lori, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: If you could sit down with one other writer, living or dead, who would you choose, and what would you ask them?
Lori Alden Holuta: I’m still adjusting to life in a world without Tom Robbins, so he sprang to mind immediately. I would probably just give him some gentle prompts to see where his mind would naturally take him. The thought processes that led to his astounding novels, especially Jitterbug Perfume, would be fascinating to watch in action.
JSC: How would you describe your writing style/genre?
I tend to write in big bursts, and then when I’ve calmed down, I edit the word salad into something coherent. My genre is “Victorian Steampunkish Carnivalesque Bohemian Urban Fantasy Sitcom Comedy, frosted with HopePunk.” As you might guess, I have trouble niching myself into a BISAC industry classification.
JSC: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
LAH: “Someday, you’ll be able to use your typing skills on a easy to use personal computer, with no need for typewriter, paper, or white-out. You will have the power to publish your work yourself at a reasonable cost. Your research tools will blow your mind. So keep brainstorming. Write outlines. Write short stories. Fill up journals with your ideas. Start thinking like an author right now and I promise you it will happen.”
JSC: What is the most heartfelt thing a reader has said to you?
LAH: Regarding The Flight To Brassbright, a mother once said, “This is one of my ten-year-old daughter’s “bedstand books.” She keeps it by her bed, and I find her reading it over and over. When she accidentally left her hard copy at home when she went to her grandparents’, we had to get her a soft copy for her tablet. She loves Constance!”
JSC: What advice do you wish you’d had before releasing your first story?
LAH: Put more effort into good cover art. My first attempt was passable, but just barely. I’m a terrible graphic designer and should not be allowed to create my own book covers.
JSC: If you had a grant to write any book you wanted as a freebie without worrying about sales, what kind of story would you like to tell?
LAH: I’d love to write a mashup, like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, or Android Karenina. I have a couple of concepts in mind (which I will not name as I don’t want anyone else to run off with them!) but I need to develop a compelling storyline.
JSC: What book is currently on your bedside table?
LAH: I tend to read multiple books at once – I bounce around between them depending on my energy level and mood. Right now, I’m reading:
- Immortal Consequences: The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1, by I.V. Marie
- Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes: A Mystery, by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
- Not Quite by the Book, by Julie Hatcher
- Grimsworld Tales, by David Hankins
JSC: What’s your writer cave like? Photos?
LAH: My girlcave is a slice of the Victorian era, nestled in a corner of a mid-century modern ranch-style farmhouse. It features a lot of octopi (The Victorians loved them!) My desk is modern: dual monitors, a neon-lit soundbar and a gamer-quality computer. I limit ‘new’ stuff to the desk area only. The rest of the room is a happy jumble of Victorian-style curios, books, art, and objects that defy classification. I have a divan for reading breaks or a sudden onset of the vapors. Additional atmosphere comes from a corner curio cabinet, a stuffed and cluttered bookshelf, and a Russian Blue cat named Chives.
JSC: Who has been your favorite character to write and why?
LAH: An absurd little (and I do mean little, she’s very short) lady named Letitica Liddle. She has a problem with malaprops. She often says one thing but means a mother (see what I did there). Thinking up crazy sayings for her is so fun, it’s addictive! She first appeared in The Flight To Brassbright. I enjoyed writing her so much that she was given a starring role in my short story, The Legend of the Engineer. I’ll be revisiting her again in the future. I just can’t resist Letitica!
JSC: What are you working on now, and what’s coming out next? Tell us about it!
LAH: I’m getting ready to publish Parlor Poetry: A Victorian Versification Abecedary. I’m writing the last few needful poems and writing introductions to each concept. This will be my first book published with a color interior, and I’m excited about it!
After that, I’ll be continuing work on Down the Tubes, the long-overdue sequel to The Flight To Brassbright. It’s a complicated story. I’ve pulled it apart and reassembled it in different ways more than once. I’ve finally settled on what feels like the best way to tell the story. It’s actually six novellas in one book. There’s a prequel that sets up the inciting incident and a sequel that ties everything together in a fun, celebratory setting. Between those are four separate stories. They all take place in the same city during the same time frame and are all launched by the same inciting event. It’s honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever written. It’s also the story I’m the most passionate about.
And now for Lori’s upcoming book (August 18th): Parlor Poetry:
Parlor Poetry: A Victorian Versification Abecedary
A verse-filled romp featuring highlights of the Victorian era, presented in alphabetical order, accompanied by historical tidbits and fine illustrations.
From simple haikus to the intricate and challenging octo, enjoy a creative journey back in time, exploring everything from Ada Lovelace to Zoetropes.
Amazon
Excerpt
