05 October 2010

Interview: Cat Adams “Siren Song”

We have not one but two urban fantasy authors on ATUF today who have combined their considerable writing talents into the pseudonym Cat Adams (aka C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp). Earlier this year, they launched the new The Blood Singer series (which includes Blood Song and the recently released SIREN SONG) about a bodyguard turned unwilling vampire with a fun, twisted mythological heritage. They’re hear to talk about vampires, sirens, and…goats? Check it out.

jointphoto CAT ADAMS—C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp—is the author of the Tales of the Sazi, including Hunter’s Moon, Howling Moon, and the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee, Cold Moon Rising. Siren Song is the second in the Blood Singer series, which began with Blood Song. Adams lives in Denver, Colorado; Clamp lives in Texas.

Interview

ATUF: You said that what really motivates you is 'a really good romance with a splash of the creeping dread.' How does that describe SIREN SONG?

Siren Song (Bloodsinger, #2) CA: Well, SIREN SONG isn't a romance, but there's plenty of creeping dread. There's romance in it, naturally (because love happens in life to everyone eventually) but Celia Graves really doesn't have much time in her schedule for romance. When things are chasing you and intend to cut you to bits, nookie is not in the cards. LOL!

ATUF: I have been so impressed the the artful plotting of both Blood Song and SIREN SONG when it comes to laying the foundation with little details that come together for a big payoff at the end of the book. Do you outline extensively to pull this off?

CA: I (Cathy) do. Cie does not. A lot of stories come into Cie's head fully formed so often she writes the book and goes back to lay the foundations afterward. I do plot, so yes, I lay the foundation as the book progresses. Both styles work, so no aspiring writer should be afraid they can't produce a well plotted book just because of the way they write.

ATUF: You both have answered this question before, so I won't ask how you manage to produce a cohesive novel with two authors. What I want to know is what is the biggest disagreement you've had and how did you resolve it?

CA: Hmm... I'd say there are two big disagreements we've had. One dealt with whether to continue a series. The other involved a major change to a character's life and whether we should "turn back the clock" to give the character new options. In both cases we literally flipped a coin. The series stopped and the character's life remained the same. Naturally one of us was disappointed when we lost, but the nature of compromise means that next time there's a disagreement, the person who lost this time has a 50/50 chance of winning next time. It's all good.

ATUF: I'm always curious about how much say authors have regarding the covers of their books (The Blood Singer covers have been excellent so far). How involved do you get to be?

CA: Really, we don't get to be involved all that much. We're very fortunate on The Blood Singer because the artist's work is what inspired the character. So when we turned in the manuscript, we likewise turned in the picture so our editor could get the flavor of what we were writing. She liked the photo so much she told the art department to contact the artis to see if something could be worked out to do the covers. They did, she did, and we're THRILLED that the same artist will be doing the cover on book 3, DEMON SONG, and hopefully many more to come.

ATUF: What are some of your favorite books outside your genres that might surprise your fans?

CA: I think our fans know us pretty well. We both like urban fantasy, science fiction, thrillers and mysteries. What might surprise readers is how many magazines I (Cathy) reads per month. I subscribe to about fifteen different scientific, outdoor and political mags. My favorites are Archeology, Discovery, US News & World Report, Texas Monthly, WWII History and Rocky Mountain Game & Fish (but there are plenty of second tier favorites. These are just the ones I open the minute they arrive.) I also peruse the magazine racks at my favorite bookstore and pick up individual issues if the stories interest me.

ATUF: If SIREN SONG were ever made into a movie, who would your dream or, to keep things interesting, nightmare cast be?

CA: We talked about this recently, and we think Celia would be well played by a young Rebecca de Mornay (played opposite Tom Cruise in Risky Business) or Kristen Bell. Tough call on the other characters. I don't really have an imagine in my mind of either Bruno or Creede or even Kevin. We must mull on this. :)

ATUF: What other projects can we look forwarding to reading from you soon?

CA: Well, I'm working on the fourth book of this reality right now. As soon as I turn it in later this month, I'm going to be starting on a YA proposal that would expand a free short story I did for Tor.com (http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/07/fare-thee-well ) Cie is likewise working on a YA proposal as well as a traditional murder mystery. But we have various anthology stories coming out. Readers can watch our website for a list of them, because there are several!

ATUF: Can you explain the world building in The Blood Singer series? Bats, nulls, abominations, werewolves, demons, clairvoyants, mages, psychics, and of course sirens populate these books. How are your versions of these supernatural beings unique?

CA: We like to blend our real world with our creatures, and impose the same rules that would be logical if they existed in the here and now. For example, if vampires existed and they were evil undead, the various religions of the world would get involved. They just would. So we created "warrior clerics" who not only keep the faith, but take up the sword to dispatch the lesser demons vampires are. We also thought logically and since it's California--the home of regulation of industry, if a magic user wanted to practice, they'd need a license and would have to abide by rules of conduct and probably continuing education. And if clairvoyants were real, they would be hugely regulated in what services they could offer to the public so as not to create widespread panic (the "you can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater concept.) It's just logic and we make our people play by a variation of our current rules.

ATUF: Finish this statement with as much/little detail as you like: You'll like SIREN SONG if you like...

CA: Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, Rachel Caine's The Weather Wardens, and about a thousand others out there, but these are our favorites for keeping the fantastical bound by physics and real life. :)

ATUF: And I just have to ask, did I read this correctly in your bio, Cathy, that you own 24 goats? How did that come about?

CA: I do! They actually came with the property my husband and I bought in Texas and we had to learn how to raise them. We produce Boer/Spanish cross meat goats. About half of the world eats goat as a primary protein source and America has to import more than 72 MILLION pounds of goat meat to keep up with demand. (Most goat meat comes from Australia, in case you wondered.) It's got the texture of pork with a sweet bison sort of taste. But because we only have 24, they're more pets than anything. We really do need to rotate them out and start to take it more seriously. :)