Quincie Morris is devastated at the loss of her restaurateur parents, but she and her uncle know that they would have wanted the restaurant to keep going. Like many mom-and-pop operations, though, this one needs a major makeover if it's going to be competitive in the hot Austin foodie circuit. They need a gimmick - a hook - and thus, Austin's premier Vampire-themed restaurant is born.... SANGUINI'S.
Since Vampires haven't been seen around Austin for decades, this seems like harmless enough idea - until there's a brutal murder just before the grand opening and Quincie's own hybrid-werewolf first love might be a suspect. Now the restaurant is ground zero for a battle between humans, vamps and werewolves, and Quincie is caught in the middle of a very dangerous triangle.
Tantalize is so delicious, I was thrilled to chat with author Cynthia Leitich Smith... particularly since she's usually the one doing the interviewing!
Tantalize seems like such a departure for you. Was gave you the inspiration for it?
Beginning writers always are told "write what you know." But there's another bit of golden advice: write what you love to read.
Coming out of the coffin here: my name is Cynthia Leitich Smith, and I'm in the thrall of the dark master. A huge fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897).
As for inspiration... Van Helsing's vampire hunters include a Texan. His name is Quincey P. Morris, described as "a gallant gentleman," and along with Jonathan Harker, the bowie-knife-wielding Morris helps to destroy the master vampire. Though Morris dies, too, Harker and his wife later name their infant son in his honor.
There was something in that. An Irish author picking a Texas hero. Morris' name living on beyond the last page.
As an Austinite, those were the forces that tempted me to update the mythology and bring it "home" to Texas. My Quincie, though pretty gallant herself, is a seventeen-year-old girl facing off against the fanged ones, and it's hinted that her family included a many-generations-back uncle by the same name, described only as a Texas war hero.
Careful readers of both novels will notice the occasional nods and thematic extensions/reinventions. They can look forward to a far more direct re-entry into the Dracul tradition--and more global insights into its vampyric society--in Eternal, a book set in the same universe as Tantalize, which will follow next.
I loved this vision of Austin -- normal, but with some seriously crazy stuff happening just below the surface. Of course there are no such things as vampires or werewolves... but other than that, how like Austin is this really?
Austinites will recognize it as their home town, but I added some fictional businesses, homes, and streets. Anyone longing for rice pudding blood cakes will have to look elsewhere than Sanguini's, the fictional vampire restaurant, because it exists only in my imagination and the pages of Tantalize. Likewise, if they're in the market for a werewolf wedding planner or just wanting to drop by Quincie's house to say "howdy," they're out of luck.
That said, the novel pays tribute to the city's eclectic flavor--its diverse, artsy, youthful, counterculture, political, activist, high-tech, eco-friendly population. I also highlight a few popular sites, some with a gothic fantasy twist. The real-life Congress Avenue Bridge, for example is home to the world's largest, most beloved urban bat population. They're Mexican free-tails, and locals (as well as tourists) gather beneath the bridge to watch them fly out to feed at sunset.
Juxtaposing that reality against the vampire-inclusive fantasy world and Austin's personality, I invented a minor player in the Tantalize backdrop--BADL (the Bat Anti-Defamation League), whose mission it is to make sure real bats, natural bats, don't suffer any negative PR fallout from vamp activity and imagery. Actually, that seems a lot like real Austin to me (and I'm likewise a bat fan!).
Sanguinis may be a vampire themed restaurant potentially infested with murderous vampires and werewolves -- but in a lot of ways it's just like any other restaurant. Did you ever work in the service industry, or was it all invention?
I spent two latter teen summers working at restaurants--one in the oh-so-attractive polyester and off-the shoulder peasant-style top o' late 1980s Chi-Chi's and another at an athletic club restaurant. I loved the theater of them--the staged atmosphere, carefully crafted menus, the marketing and interpersonal connections between the customers and staff and within the staff itself. I learned a lot that way that informed my writing of the novel, though I also interviewed some more serious restaurant pros.
Are you a big urban fantasy fan yourself? What have been some of your fave books in that genre?
Absolutely! As for faves, this falls under the too-many-to-name category, but I especially enjoyed Annette Curtis Klause's The Silver Kiss and Blood and Chocolate, Tobin Anderson's Thirsty, and Holly Black's Valiant. For historicals, sign me up for Libba Bray.
How long did Tantalize take to write?
The short answer is--with some angst, breaks, pre-and-post-contract revisions, and other manuscripts in between--five years.
As for the long answer... It hardly seems possible, but I first began looking through magazines for photos to inspire characters and asking them to write letters to me in late 2001. I don't know though that I did more than just flirt with the story in that first year. I was essentially gathering courage. In the couple of years that followed, I wrote short stories for a number of anthologies, taking full advantage of the opportunity to stretch my skills. Write stronger. Braver. Fangs out. Eventually, I sank in with a vengeance.
My agent sent the manuscript to Deborah Wayshak at Candlewick Press (editor of the creepy fantastic anthologies Gothic! and The Restless Dead), who was the perfect match, in 2004. I gladly did one major revision prior to contract, another after, and then a clean-up sweep. Candlewick is a tremendous house to work with. The editors get every last drop of blood out of their writers, and we're thrilled to serve it up. Along the way, I also worked on Santa Knows (Dutton, 2006) with my husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, and another picture book, Holler Loudly, which just sold to Dutton.
How much of your early work changes with revision?
Jeepers. Every time I say this out loud, I hear millions of writers screaming in the distance (and a few in front of me in workshop). But it is a regular part of my process to write a full novel draft, print it to read once, and then I throw it away and delete the file. Really. It's my way of just getting to know the characters and their world. If I were to build on those first, fumbling efforts, my stories would have pretty shaky foundations. I'm not saying this is for everyone. Some folks can fully envision their work right out of the chute. But me, I figure whatever survives when I open the new document deserves a fair shot. Whatever doesn't...doesn't.
To the extent, I can recall, Tantalize was originally told from Kieran's point of view, although he was called Killian back then, and it was about his quest to connect with a Wolf pack. Much of the story was set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is where I went to law school. Put mildly, it's wildly different than the final book.
Do you have any weird writing habits?
I am full of weirdness. I write first drafts only between midnight and four a.m. (though I can revise any time). I always write to music (Tantalize was written to the soundtrack from "Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula," played about a million times). I also am known to dress as my characters and make my author friends do the same (though I always throw a fabulous party as their reward).
If you could sit down for dinner (Vampire themed or otherwise!) with three literary characters, who would you choose?
Scarilicious as it sounds, I'd go with Hannibal Lecter, Blood and Chocolate's she-wolf Vivian, and my own Brad, the Impaler.
The only catch? I might end up being dinner.
What advice do you have for teenagers who want to be authors?
Read like fiends and write until your fingernails claw through the keyboard. Then get a new keyboard and write some more.
You have one of the most well-respected children's book blogs out there. It seems that there is a real proliferation of new children's book bloggers -- any words of wisdom for them?
Thank you! I always think of our bloggers as a community--like-minded and good-hearted folks who care a lot about reading, writing, publishing, connecting books to young readers, those readers themselves, and each other. All things being equal, err on the side of graciousness and good cheer.
What's next for you? More fantasy - or something completely different?
As I mentioned, I'm right now battling a monster deadline on a gothic fantasy YA manuscript, Eternal, which is set in the same universe as Tantalize. I suspect it will come out before my next picture book. I also look forward to the release of a contemporary Native American YA short story, "Mooning Over Broken Stars," which is a companion to a short story by Joseph Bruchac, and will appear in Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Boy (Roaring Brook, 2008).
What book (besides your own) do you think NYMBC members would love?
Ah! So many to choose from! Two recent reads though that I just adored were Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr (Little Brown, 2007) and Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers (Harcourt, 2007).
LIGHTNING ROUND! *spoooky edition*
Mummy vs. Dracula? Drac forever!
Pack of Werewolves vs. Pack of Zombies? Wolves--grrrr.
Count Chocula vs. Booberry? Chocolate in any and all forms, Count or otherwise.
Austinite Kinky Friedman vs. a Radioactive Werearmadillo? Wait. I thought Kinky was a radioactive werearmadillo.
And for the Sanguini enthusiasts: Mario Batali vs. Giada diLaurentiis AND Rachael Ray? I'm going with the ladies. A little loyalty don'tcha know!
FINALLY ... is there anything you WISH I had asked that I didn't?
You could've asked if I'm predator or prey. But I'm not telling.
Thanks so much, Cynthia... I'm a little afraid of you now, but that's OK!
Get your very own copy of Tantalize.
Visit Cynthia Leitich Smith on the Web.
Read the legendary CYNSATIONS blog.
And for those of you with an LJ, add![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
cynleitichsmith to your f'list!
Since Vampires haven't been seen around Austin for decades, this seems like harmless enough idea - until there's a brutal murder just before the grand opening and Quincie's own hybrid-werewolf first love might be a suspect. Now the restaurant is ground zero for a battle between humans, vamps and werewolves, and Quincie is caught in the middle of a very dangerous triangle.
Tantalize is so delicious, I was thrilled to chat with author Cynthia Leitich Smith... particularly since she's usually the one doing the interviewing!
Tantalize seems like such a departure for you. Was gave you the inspiration for it?
Beginning writers always are told "write what you know." But there's another bit of golden advice: write what you love to read.
Coming out of the coffin here: my name is Cynthia Leitich Smith, and I'm in the thrall of the dark master. A huge fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897).
As for inspiration... Van Helsing's vampire hunters include a Texan. His name is Quincey P. Morris, described as "a gallant gentleman," and along with Jonathan Harker, the bowie-knife-wielding Morris helps to destroy the master vampire. Though Morris dies, too, Harker and his wife later name their infant son in his honor.
There was something in that. An Irish author picking a Texas hero. Morris' name living on beyond the last page.
As an Austinite, those were the forces that tempted me to update the mythology and bring it "home" to Texas. My Quincie, though pretty gallant herself, is a seventeen-year-old girl facing off against the fanged ones, and it's hinted that her family included a many-generations-back uncle by the same name, described only as a Texas war hero.
Careful readers of both novels will notice the occasional nods and thematic extensions/reinventions. They can look forward to a far more direct re-entry into the Dracul tradition--and more global insights into its vampyric society--in Eternal, a book set in the same universe as Tantalize, which will follow next.
I loved this vision of Austin -- normal, but with some seriously crazy stuff happening just below the surface. Of course there are no such things as vampires or werewolves... but other than that, how like Austin is this really?
Austinites will recognize it as their home town, but I added some fictional businesses, homes, and streets. Anyone longing for rice pudding blood cakes will have to look elsewhere than Sanguini's, the fictional vampire restaurant, because it exists only in my imagination and the pages of Tantalize. Likewise, if they're in the market for a werewolf wedding planner or just wanting to drop by Quincie's house to say "howdy," they're out of luck.
That said, the novel pays tribute to the city's eclectic flavor--its diverse, artsy, youthful, counterculture, political, activist, high-tech, eco-friendly population. I also highlight a few popular sites, some with a gothic fantasy twist. The real-life Congress Avenue Bridge, for example is home to the world's largest, most beloved urban bat population. They're Mexican free-tails, and locals (as well as tourists) gather beneath the bridge to watch them fly out to feed at sunset.
Juxtaposing that reality against the vampire-inclusive fantasy world and Austin's personality, I invented a minor player in the Tantalize backdrop--BADL (the Bat Anti-Defamation League), whose mission it is to make sure real bats, natural bats, don't suffer any negative PR fallout from vamp activity and imagery. Actually, that seems a lot like real Austin to me (and I'm likewise a bat fan!).
Sanguinis may be a vampire themed restaurant potentially infested with murderous vampires and werewolves -- but in a lot of ways it's just like any other restaurant. Did you ever work in the service industry, or was it all invention?
I spent two latter teen summers working at restaurants--one in the oh-so-attractive polyester and off-the shoulder peasant-style top o' late 1980s Chi-Chi's and another at an athletic club restaurant. I loved the theater of them--the staged atmosphere, carefully crafted menus, the marketing and interpersonal connections between the customers and staff and within the staff itself. I learned a lot that way that informed my writing of the novel, though I also interviewed some more serious restaurant pros.
Are you a big urban fantasy fan yourself? What have been some of your fave books in that genre?
Absolutely! As for faves, this falls under the too-many-to-name category, but I especially enjoyed Annette Curtis Klause's The Silver Kiss and Blood and Chocolate, Tobin Anderson's Thirsty, and Holly Black's Valiant. For historicals, sign me up for Libba Bray.
How long did Tantalize take to write?
The short answer is--with some angst, breaks, pre-and-post-contract revisions, and other manuscripts in between--five years.
As for the long answer... It hardly seems possible, but I first began looking through magazines for photos to inspire characters and asking them to write letters to me in late 2001. I don't know though that I did more than just flirt with the story in that first year. I was essentially gathering courage. In the couple of years that followed, I wrote short stories for a number of anthologies, taking full advantage of the opportunity to stretch my skills. Write stronger. Braver. Fangs out. Eventually, I sank in with a vengeance.
My agent sent the manuscript to Deborah Wayshak at Candlewick Press (editor of the creepy fantastic anthologies Gothic! and The Restless Dead), who was the perfect match, in 2004. I gladly did one major revision prior to contract, another after, and then a clean-up sweep. Candlewick is a tremendous house to work with. The editors get every last drop of blood out of their writers, and we're thrilled to serve it up. Along the way, I also worked on Santa Knows (Dutton, 2006) with my husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, and another picture book, Holler Loudly, which just sold to Dutton.
How much of your early work changes with revision?
Jeepers. Every time I say this out loud, I hear millions of writers screaming in the distance (and a few in front of me in workshop). But it is a regular part of my process to write a full novel draft, print it to read once, and then I throw it away and delete the file. Really. It's my way of just getting to know the characters and their world. If I were to build on those first, fumbling efforts, my stories would have pretty shaky foundations. I'm not saying this is for everyone. Some folks can fully envision their work right out of the chute. But me, I figure whatever survives when I open the new document deserves a fair shot. Whatever doesn't...doesn't.
To the extent, I can recall, Tantalize was originally told from Kieran's point of view, although he was called Killian back then, and it was about his quest to connect with a Wolf pack. Much of the story was set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is where I went to law school. Put mildly, it's wildly different than the final book.
Do you have any weird writing habits?
I am full of weirdness. I write first drafts only between midnight and four a.m. (though I can revise any time). I always write to music (Tantalize was written to the soundtrack from "Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula," played about a million times). I also am known to dress as my characters and make my author friends do the same (though I always throw a fabulous party as their reward).
If you could sit down for dinner (Vampire themed or otherwise!) with three literary characters, who would you choose?
Scarilicious as it sounds, I'd go with Hannibal Lecter, Blood and Chocolate's she-wolf Vivian, and my own Brad, the Impaler.
The only catch? I might end up being dinner.
What advice do you have for teenagers who want to be authors?
Read like fiends and write until your fingernails claw through the keyboard. Then get a new keyboard and write some more.
You have one of the most well-respected children's book blogs out there. It seems that there is a real proliferation of new children's book bloggers -- any words of wisdom for them?
Thank you! I always think of our bloggers as a community--like-minded and good-hearted folks who care a lot about reading, writing, publishing, connecting books to young readers, those readers themselves, and each other. All things being equal, err on the side of graciousness and good cheer.
What's next for you? More fantasy - or something completely different?
As I mentioned, I'm right now battling a monster deadline on a gothic fantasy YA manuscript, Eternal, which is set in the same universe as Tantalize. I suspect it will come out before my next picture book. I also look forward to the release of a contemporary Native American YA short story, "Mooning Over Broken Stars," which is a companion to a short story by Joseph Bruchac, and will appear in Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Boy (Roaring Brook, 2008).
What book (besides your own) do you think NYMBC members would love?
Ah! So many to choose from! Two recent reads though that I just adored were Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr (Little Brown, 2007) and Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers (Harcourt, 2007).
LIGHTNING ROUND! *spoooky edition*
Mummy vs. Dracula? Drac forever!
Pack of Werewolves vs. Pack of Zombies? Wolves--grrrr.
Count Chocula vs. Booberry? Chocolate in any and all forms, Count or otherwise.
Austinite Kinky Friedman vs. a Radioactive Werearmadillo? Wait. I thought Kinky was a radioactive werearmadillo.
And for the Sanguini enthusiasts: Mario Batali vs. Giada diLaurentiis AND Rachael Ray? I'm going with the ladies. A little loyalty don'tcha know!
FINALLY ... is there anything you WISH I had asked that I didn't?
You could've asked if I'm predator or prey. But I'm not telling.
Thanks so much, Cynthia... I'm a little afraid of you now, but that's OK!
Get your very own copy of Tantalize.
Visit Cynthia Leitich Smith on the Web.
Read the legendary CYNSATIONS blog.
And for those of you with an LJ, add
cynleitichsmith to your f'list!
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Comments
As another huge fan of Dracula, I can't wait to read Tantalize!
Aiiyeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Honestly, this is so brave, and probably works. I do sometimes NOT LOOK at the first draft for the most part, but I couldn't bear to toss it. I feel like I need it.)