We’re breaking up our releases posts a little now to bring you another interview, this time with Jae Waller, author of the fantasy series The Call of the Rift. As ever, we spoke about a number of things, so read on to find out more about Jae and her series!
And don’t forget to follow her on twitter!
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first get into writing?
I’ve been writing pretty much my whole life. Around when I turned thirteen, an online friend invited me to join a huge collaborative project – a series of interconnected fantasy stories co-written by something like twenty to thirty people from around the world. I adapted a few of those stories into my current series, The Call of the Rift.
What are your favourite genres to read and write, and are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
Fantasy has always been my favourite; contemporary YA is second; historical fiction is third. (It’d be higher except I’m picky about which historical period it is. The Age of Sail? Sign me up. 1920s? Only if it’s Downton Abbey.) The one genre I avoid wholesale is horror because I’m a huge wuss.
I don’t think I’d rule out writing any trope in particular. They can all be fun to play with, e.g. I’m ambivalent about fake dating, but did I write a fake engagement into my current manuscript? You bet I did. (We’ll see if it survives to the final draft!)
How do you get inspiration for your books and what’s your writing process? At what point do you let other people read your drafts and who are they?
CotR is set in northwest Canada, where I’m originally from, and I draw tons of inspiration from there: the landscape, history, culture, politics, and people I grew up with. The bizarre part is I didn’t start the series in earnest until after I moved to Australia, so I have to rely a lot on memory. It’s weird to hole up in a dark room writing about a blizzard, then step outside into searing Australian sunshine.
Process-wise, I always start with a skeleton outline of the entire plot. From there I plan out a few chapters at a time, draft them, lightly edit them, and move onto the next few chapters. I research whatever I need to as I go. It’s methodical, which keeps me sane, but there’s still lots of room for making things up on the fly. Some of my favourite characters just sort of wrote themselves in!
Early in my career, I shared my drafts with a few writer friends, but their thoughts tended to clutter up my own and hinder the creative process. These days I only show my drafts to my editors. Feedback is crucial for any author, but too many voices can be overwhelming.
Which three authors would you say influenced your writing the most?
– Philip Pullman. His Dark Materials inspired me to be ambitious with the scope of my work, especially in regards to world-building.
– Eden Robinson, a Haisla/Heiltsuk First Nations author from my home province. I read her novel Monkey Beach in university, and it was the first time I’d ever read a book set where I lived. It was the start of my shift toward writing stories that are close to home both literally and thematically.
– Erín Moure. Which might sound odd since she’s a poet, but her deconstructive style taught me a looser approach to prose, breaking apart things like grammar in favour of mood or image.
I wish I could cite an LGBT+ author here, but I grew up in a conservative region, and I’m not sure I’d ever read a book by an LGBT+ author until a few years ago – after I realized I was bisexual and decided I’d better do some reading. Which leads into the next question…
And for something that is also very important to us & what we put a lot of emphasis on when blogging. What does ownvoices LGBT representation mean to you?
That’s a tough question, not least because #OwnVoices has become a gatekeeping tool. In principle, I believe it’s important to publish and promote #OV work for all marginalizations. In practice, not all LGBT+ authors are ready to come out – and being ‘out’ can take different forms. Not everyone is out in every aspect of their life.
I know what an ideal world of LGBT+ rep would’ve been for teenage me. It’d be walking into a library and picking up a book about a queer girl without having to look for it, without yet knowing I needed it. Would I have cared if the author was bi? Not necessarily. Would I have seen more of my own reflection if the author was a bi woman? Almost certainly.
That said, we need better rep at every stage at publishing. The best way to ensure LGBT+ authors can speak in their own voice and be heard is to have LGBT+ people in editing, marketing, art design, bookselling, reviewing – everywhere. Maybe we should shift towards #OV as a community approach rather than putting the onus on individual authors? I wonder what that would look like.
What’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?
Have faith in yourself. It won’t be easy, but you can do it.
Summarise your most recent/next book in up to 5 words and a meme.
Honestly, you could sum up the entire CotR series and its protagonist Kateiko as “disaster bi takes on colonialism.” As for a meme, I’ll steal one from @starwarsposting, a glorious source of incorrect Star Wars quotes:
If (when!) your books were to be made into movies, who would you like to direct them?
Sera-Lys McArthur! She’s the audiobook narrator for CotR, so she knows the characters inside and out – and she’s a talented film actress and producer, so I’m sure she’d be a great director too. Moreover, she and my protagonist are both First Nations (Sera-Lys is Nakoda; Kateiko is Indigenous within the series’ fantasy world) while I’m a white settler, so I value Sera-Lys’ opinion on how to adapt the story respectfully and authentically. There’s no one I’d trust more to adapt my work.
If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?
Ooh, maybe Stephanie Beatriz? I’d probably spend the whole time starstruck and speechless at how pretty she is, but I’d love to tell her how special it was to see her character on Brooklyn-99 come out as bi.
Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Definitely Tiernan, the badass swordsman and fire mage. I don’t watch zombie movies, but fire works on them, right? Right?
Is there a famous franchise or simply a movie/TV show you’d like to be able to write for?
Hmm. Maybe the current adaptation of His Dark Materials, but the last season is already in production, so… an adaptation of the sequel trilogy, the Book of Dust? I’ve written lots of canoeing scenes. I could totally write Malcolm careening through an epic supernatural flood in his little boat.
Do you have any secret non canon ships in your books you wish people would write fics for?
I’m all for throwing my little disaster bi Kateiko into unlikely relationships. (Some actually are canon!) One non-canon ship I’m totally here for is Kateiko and her uptight rival at her apothecary job, Nicoletta. They have so much in common, if only they could stop bickering… I’d love to see what fanfic writers could do with them.
Rec us some great LGBT books you’ve read recently!
Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales – a cute YA romance about another disaster bi which made me feel incredibly seen.
Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones – a powerful story by a Cree/Métis author about two gay teen boys navigating life on a First Nations reserve in Canada.
Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place by Jackson Bird – a memoir by a trans man. I read this in support of my brother, who recently came out as trans. Not only is the book educational, it’s also really funny. I’m all about puns on memories/mammaries!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jae Waller was born and raised in a lumber town in northern British Columbia, Canada. She was involved in local punk music and didn’t plan to attend university. Inexplicably, she now has a BFA in creative writing and fine art from UNBC and Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
She also studied Japanese and French, and briefly attended UBC to study linguistics. Her life goal is to be quintilingual. Most interesting past job: streetside florist with a charity for homeless citizens in Vancouver.
Currently, she lives in Melbourne and works as a novelist and freelance artist.
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