Lady Notorious: JL Gribble

This week I am lucky to be hosting the wickedly talented J.L. Gribble on my blog! Gribble is the author of the urban fantasy Steel Empires series. The third book in the series, Steel Blood, just released this week, and of course I already have my autographed copy.

If you’re a fan of the series, go get your copy of the third book now, what are you waiting for?? If you’re new to the series, start with book one, Steel Victory.

J.L. Gribble and I were talking about the now almost cliché staple of the urban fantasy genre—the Strong Female Character. It’s asinine to me that this has to be a *thing.* Can’t we just have female leads with strengths, without them being called out as something unique?

Here, Gribble offers her thoughts on the Strong Female Character issue, and discusses how her lead, a vampire named Victory, differs from the stereotypical lead of modern urban fantasy. Take it away, J.L.!

“I’ve only been participating in programing at conventions for a handful of years, but I’ve already lost track of how many times I’ve been asked to be on the “Strong Female Characters” panel. I guess the theory is that, as a female urban fantasy author who writes female protagonists, I can easily contribute to the discussion. Though not every hero of urban fantasy stories is female, it’s interesting how they’re automatically assumed to be part of that trope.

Male heroes, I guess, are supposed to be strong as a given.

I read an excellent blog post recently: “On Urban Fantasy” by Lucy A. Snyder, who has a history in writing urban fantasy herself. Much of her definition of the genre is pulled from expectations set by major publishing companies, which is certainly useful for those looking to be published by one of the “Big Five” (or Four, or Three, or whatever the number has shrunk to by this point). Since I write for a small press that specifically embraces books that break the mold, it was interesting from an academic standpoint to see where my books diverge in terms of protagonist.

According to Snyder, urban fantasy stories will often “feature a strong female protagonist who is a loner (but has friends),” “be written from a first-person point of view (“I woke up…”),” and “contain a love story or romantic subplot” (presumably involving the main protagonist.”

And I do…absolutely none of that. Sort of. I consider my leading lady Victory to be strong, and she’s cisgender female, but as for the rest of it? The cool thing about writing for a small press is that rules are meant to be broken.

Because interesting stories revolve around interesting characters, the first thing I did to flesh out the world Victory lives in was create even more interesting characters to surround her with. Instead of the expected burgeoning romance subplot, conflict develops through Victory’s long-term relationship with her daywalker Mikelos. “Meet-cutes” are, well, cute, but it can also be fun to the explore the drama that can arise when two characters have been together for nearly a century. They have an adopted daughter, acquired a foster son, and Victory’s sire keeps hanging around the place. Victory is many things—mother, politician, retired mercenary—but “loner” is definitely not one of them.

All that, and I write in third-person rather than first.

I certainly don’t hate “traditional” urban fantasy. Two of my favorite series are much more faithful to the criteria listed above, and it certainly doesn’t cause detriment to the stories in any way. Kitty Norville, written by Carrie Vaughn (first book: Kitty and the Midnight Hour), and Kate Daniels, written by Ilona Andrews (first book: Magic Bites), are inspirations to me personally, just like their creators are inspirations to me professionally.

Despite their differences, I bet Kitty, Kate, and Victory would have a great time sitting down with a beer together. And despite the differences in my books, I think urban fantasy readers will still find interesting characters and fascinating, exciting plots—the most important parts of urban fantasy, regardless of rules set forth by industry standards.”

To get more insights from J.L. Gribble and to learn more about her Steel Empires series, check out her website and her follow her on her current blog tour: www.jlgribble.com

About the author:

By day, J. L. Gribble is a professional medical editor. By night, she does freelance fiction editing in all genres, along with reading, playing video games, and occasionally even writing. She is currently working on the Steel Empires series for Dog Star Books, the science-fiction/adventure imprint of Raw Dog Screaming Press. Previously, she was an editor for the Far Worlds anthology.

Gribble studied English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She received her Master’s degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where her debut novel Steel Victory was her thesis for the program.

She lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her husband and three vocal Siamese cats. Find her online (www.jlgribble.com), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jlgribblewriter), and on Twitter and Instagram (@hannaedits).

Interested in Steel Blood? Here’s the rundown:

About the book:

As her children begin lives of their own, Victory struggles with the loneliness of an empty nest. Just when the city of Limani could not seem smaller, an old friend requests that she come out of retirement for one final mercenary contract—to bodyguard his granddaughter, a princess of the Qin Empire.

For the first time in a century, the Qin and British Empires are reopening diplomatic relations. Alongside the British delegation, Victory and her daywalker Mikelos arrive in the Qin colony city of Jiang Yi Yue. As the Qin weredragons and British werewolves take careful steps toward a lasting peace between their people, a connection between the Qin princess and a British nobleman throw everyone’s plans in disarray.

Meanwhile, a third faction stalks the city under the cover of darkness.

This is not a typical romance. It’s a good thing Victory is not a typical vampire.

Buy links:

*From the publisher*: http://rawdogscreaming.com/books/steel-blood/
(Support Small Presses!)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pPShZH

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/steel-blood-jl-gribble/1126268372

Thank you for visiting, J.L.!

I’ve been tagged by the famously talented J.L. Gribble to participate in the “Confessions of a Writer” game of tag. J.L. Gribble is a fellow graduate of Seton HillUniversity’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program and a great speculative fiction writer. Her debut novel, Steel Victory was released earlier this year by Dog Star Books.

The “Confessions of a Writer” tag is a game of great fun! Especially if you want to know a little bit more about your favorite authors.

To read the original rules of the Tag, go here.

Here are my answers to the questions:

The Questions:

When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?Nope! I wanted to be a scientist. I have always loved animals and the outdoors. I got my B.S. in Geology and Environmental Science at UMass Lowell. I had never written a thing until my senior year in college, and then I discovered that I had a fantasy novel that I HAD to write. When I was looking at grad schools for Geology, I realized that my “true path” (if you will) was writing genre fiction (I have always been an avid reader) and I got my M.A. and Writing and I haven’t looked back since.

Although, I still love rocks and mineralogy. Igneous petrology will always have a place in my heart. J

What genre do you write?

I write speculative fiction (SF), meaning I write across the entire science fiction-fantasy genre. (I am afraid of the dark, so I tend not to write horror, which is part of SF) J I am currently writing Space Opera, but my first love (and next planned series) is High Fantasy.

Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?

I am writing the second book in TheEmpress Game trilogy, published by TitanBooks. It is tentatively titled Cloak of War, but don’t quote me on that. It’s Space Opera in the vein of Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, with a kick-ass female protagonist and an empire on the line.

What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?

An easy one for me, because it wasn’t until my senior year of college. I had zero training in writing. I had always believed English to be my worst subject, b/c I received C’s in middle school, so I never took AP courses or Honors courses in English in high school, only the sciences, and avoided it in college.

Once I realized that after a lifetime of reading fantasy novels, I wanted to write one, I had to train myself to be a writer, but there is a TON to know about craft. An amazing amount. I had the fantasy story that I wanted to write in my head, but I didn’t want to “waste” the “Book of My Heart” on the process of learning how to write, so the first thing I wrote was actually a Historical Romance. (Regency, if you know the genre)

I enjoy reading them for their clever dialogue and they have a predictable structure, so I was able to focus on the craft of writing while working within a set structure/plot. That way I didn’t have to learn everything at once. Once I learned a lot about the craft of writing (and had been critiqued) and finished that novel, I applied for the SHU Masters program and wrote the Book of My Heart, an unpublished High Fantasy novel titled Sworn Sword.

Side note: The historical romance did get published with a small press. As a starter book, I’m still proud of it, since I learned so much while writing it.

What’s the best part about writing?

Rewriting. I absolutely HATE writing first drafts. But rewriting? That’s where the magic happens, the rough sketch becomes something beautiful and the language can be refined. Ideally, I’d like to do 3 passes on a manuscript (with time in between) as a revision process. Sadly, the publishing schedule (and my slow writing speed) doesn’t allow for this.

What’s the worst part about writing?

Lack of oversight keeping you on task. I have a lot of experience working from home and keeping myself on task, and I still prefer working on a clock to being in charge of my own time. Sometimes it’s hard to force your butt in the chair when no one else is watching you or keeping track of your efforts.

What’s the name of your favorite character and why?

My fave character of all time is Tae, the protagonist of Sworn Sword, the high fantasy Book of My Heart. The entire reason I gave up my career in Geology and became a writer was to tell Tae’s story. She is amazingly tough, driven and focused. But she is tortured, haunted, driven by demons. She has risen to the top of her profession as a swordfighter but it will never be enough for her. She can never be good enough to make up for what she failed to protect in the past. I loved exploring her drive versus her prejudices versus her trust issues versus her warped self-image. She’s an amazingly pained character that I’d like to get back to some day.

How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?

I prefer to write from the moment I wake up until I run out of steam in the afternoon. I mean I directly roll out of bed, get dressed, grab my bowl of cereal and eat it while starting writing. I can be at the desk and writing in less than 5 minutes after waking up.

I worked full-time as an editor while writing full-time as well for 4 years. It was killing me slowly. Or, perhaps, not so slowly.

Once I got my 3 book contract with Titan Books and needed to be writing a complete novel in one year (I had been taking 2 years per book before that) I realized that I couldn’t do both. Luckily for me, I have the most supportive husband in the world, who has been encouraging me to quit my job and write full time for the last 3 years. I finally made the leap and as of a month ago, I now write full time (all day). I tend to be useless as the evening rolls around.

That’s what Netflix is for, right??

Did you go to college for writing? Or if you haven’t been to college yet, do you plan to?

My undergraduate degree is a B.S. in Geology and my masters degree is an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction. Before I went to grad school, I had no formal training in writing. I highly recommend Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction program (now an MFA program) for anyone who writes genre fiction and wants to take their writing/career to the next level.

What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?

Couldn’t care less about any of them. Only bad writing and ridiculous/unbelievable motivation bother me.

What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?

“Writers write.” It’s that simple and that hard. If you’re creating stories and characters, putting words on the page, you’re a writer. Doesn’t matter if you’re getting paid or recognized or any of that. If you’re writing, you’re a writer.

If you’re just talking about being a writer but not actually putting stories and words to paper, you’re not a writer. If you published years ago, have 5 doctorates in the subject, but never intend to put pen to paper again? You’re not a writer. You were a writer.

What advice would you give to another writer?

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block.” I believe this wholeheartedly. If you’re sitting at your desk, fingers poised over the keyboard, waiting for words to come and nothing happens, you don’t have writer’s block, you have “only trying one method” block. Writing is not a one-process affair.

People talk about “plotters” and “pantsers” and the truth is, there’s no pure thing. Every writer, whether they realize it or not, is using an amalgam of techniques to push their way through. If you’re staring at that blank page and thinking “I have writer’s block,” what you need to do is try another technique.

When the words won’t come for me, I switch to a different arena for working on the story. First, I try to outline the scene instead of writing it. I ask myself, “what am I trying to accomplish in this scene?” “what does this scene need to do?” “Where am I headed?” and I start to rough out an idea of where I want to go and what I want to happen.

If that doesn’t come to me, I look at character goals. Where are they headed? What does the character want? I will work on Goal-Motivation-Character sheets, learned from Debra Dixon’s excellent book called Goal, Motivation, Conflict. (Not surprisingly).

If filling out and re-evaluating those sheets doesn’t help, I turn to my whiteboard. There I outline the major plot points I’m carrying through the novel. Where am I trying to get to? How do all of these plot threads relate?

If that doesn’t work I go for a power-walk. While walking (yay Vitamin-D and exercise!) I open my mind to anything. I work on a different subplot, I go over a new character’s backstory. I get away from my current block and just let the creativity flow. When I get back home, I write down whatever I’ve learned, planning to use it later. Often, that’ll direct me to where I want to go with my current scene.

If that doesn’t work, I take a break and read a book on the craft of writing. I actually rarely finish these b/c as soon as I start reading, I get ideas for how to apply their teachings to my current problem.

If that doesn’t work I talk to my critique partners (who read my rough draft as I go along). Jen Brooks and Diana Botsford. If I’m stuck I ask them where they see the novel going. What they envision, what they expect from what I’ve written so far. Usually I disagree with all of it, but it gets me thinking on what I DO what to write.

Jen Brooks, Author of In a World Just Right

Diana Botsford, Author of Four Dragons and The Drift

So, in summary, when you say “I have writer’s block” what you’re really saying is, “Sitting at my desk and staring at a blank page isn’t getting it done.” Writers have to be flexible. You have to be willing to try ANYTHING to move forward.

If none of that works? Maybe you need a break. Take a nap. Have a glass of wine. A brownie. Clean your house. Spend time with your family. Just remember that that book is there, waiting for you, and it’s up to YOU to figure out how to tap into it and get it written.

Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?

Not surprisingly, I read a great deal. Perhaps surprisingly, I read almost entirely outside of my genre. A lot of famous minds will tell you that if you’re not reading everything current and historic in your genre, then you’re not doing your job as a writer. Me? I think that’s crap. I have a lifelong love of SF and grew up devouring it. Once I started writing in the genre, however, I reduced my reading of it.

Oh, I still read the biggies that everyone is talking about, but more often than not you can find me reading suspense, thrillers, historical novels and even romance. Reading is my escape and writing SF is my love/job. When I read, I want to take a break from work.

Beyond that I love to spoil my rescue bulldog, Grace.

We live in Florida and I love to go to the beach and snorkel every chance I get, especially if we can escape to the Florida Keys for the weekend. I’m also a big-time gamer, getting hooked with Neverwinter Nights and Elder Scrolls back in the day. I never played Everquest, but I am a horrible WoW junkie.

What is the best book you’ve read this year?

Heidi Ruby Miller’s yet to be released STARRIE.

It’s a fantastic Science Fiction Romance with the most amazing pacing. The action kicks in on page 1 and never lets up. I was asked to review and ARC of it and very happy for the chance to do so!

Here is the blurb I wrote for it:

"With explosive action, kick-ass heroes and romance that hits all the right notes, STARRIE gives fans of science fiction romance everything they want—at a breakneck pace. Plan to stay up all night finishing this one, it’s impossible to put down!"

What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?

I’ve seen ExMachina and you’d think that would be my fave. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that I enjoyed the lower budget The Machine better than Ex Machina. (Don’t tell anyone!)

However.

The best movie I saw this year was just after Christmas, when I was home with my mum and family, and my husband James was horribly ill. We watched Maleficent with Angelina Jolie and I was blown away. I cried. My heart hurt after watching it. For me, that is a moving tale, and heroine worth cheering for.

Side note: I am a life-long Disney AND Angelina Jolie fan, so, it might as well have been Rhonda-crack.

What is your favorite book or series of all time?

No brainer. Melanie Rawn’s TheDragon Prince trilogy, every time.

Who is your favorite author?

This is almost impossible to answer. I honestly enjoy the work of my two crit partners, Jen Brooks and Diana Botsford so much, that I am one of those lucky author/fans who gets to work with her fave authors on a daily basis.

Beyond that?

Melanie Rawn will forever hold that place in my heart. No matter who writes something “better,” her works of “The Dragon Prince” trilogy and the unfinished “Exiles” trilogy hit me in my formative years, and the deep emotion and ties of loyalty in those books helped me to become the person, sister, daughter, wife and writer that I am today.

If I could say one thing to Melanie Rawn it would be “thank you.”

If I could say two things it would be “OMG finish the Exiles trilogy!!!”

What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?

I just, as of today, finished the rough draft of the second book in my space opera trilogy The Empress Game. From here, I want to do as much revision as I can before the book is due to my editor on November 1^st. Then I’ll get right to work on book 3 in the trilogy.