KidReviewer: What would be the most satisfying result to come from your writing?

Arconna: To be published and have someone come up to me and say that my writing changed their life or had some great impact on them (perhaps it made them want to write, or they became a huge fan). I'm not so much interested in money as I am in just being able to do it. But if I can do it for a living it would be the greatest job in the world.


KidReviewer: What are three of your most enjoyed writers/books in the field you wish to write about?

Arconna: Probably my favorite writers are Poul Anderson, Richard A. Knaak (because he got me into fantasy when I was a kid), and Orson Scott Card (because he really inspired me to start writing). However, my role models right now are Tobias S. Buckell and John Scalzi, but neither of them inspired me to start writing, they are just people I really look up to.

As far as books that have really influence me:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card
The entire DragonRealm series by Richard A. Knaak and just about anything by Poul Anderson. That's more than three, but so be it.


KidReviewer: Your profile mentions Science Fiction writing. Have you already started or completed a story? Do you have a particular story inside that you can't wait to write? Can you give us a hint of it?

Arconna: Well, my blog novel was fantasy simply because I wanted to experiment with a young adult/adult level epic fantasy story. I never expected the novel to take off, or even to finish it, but a few people really enjoyed the story and they compelled me to take it to the end. I only found out halfway through the book that I couldn't finish it in one book, so now I'm working on ideas for the sequel. Mostly the Satin Bag series is an online endeavor and I don't think I'll ever sell it.
As for my science fiction. Most of my science fiction is in short stories. I love short stories, though I have to admit I am not very good at keeping them under 5,000 words. I have a short story out to Writers of the Future right now, which is fantasy, and a science fiction short I'm hoping to get out to Analog soon. The SF one is about what life might be like if Earth were decimated and mankind was forced to move into space stations. It deals with issues of population control because in a society that is dwindling (perhaps 1,000,000 humans left) the idea of killing someone because they are mentally deranged or too violent is almost shunned. Life, basically, is too valuable. So people are instead 'rehabilitated'. The story revolves around children and how adults manipulate children to deal with the harsh realities of the 'world' they live in.
I'm also working on a novel right now called "The White" or "The Lies of Venicia", though both titles are sort of just temporary. There is a post about the story that has a synopsis, but I think that is a little inaccurate now as things have changed. Basically it's a story about a backwater planet in a human empire that has basically been exiled from the empire because of a mysterious entity called the White that terrorizes the people who venture outside the cities on the planet. They spread an infection which causes people to either go insane or become comatose carriers whose eyes transmit the infection. The story goes beyond simple horror though as one of the other plot lines deals with the history of the planet itself and the threat of the people who used to live there, and who are directly linked to the White, coming back and reclaiming what was once theirs. Hard to describe I imagine.
I also have been thinking of writing a science fiction story that involves a love story that transcends reality. I don't want to give more than that, but think about it and see what you come up with.


KidReviewer: What place, real or imagined, would make a terrific geography/setting for you to write? Peaceful? Chaotic? Bizarre?

Arconna: New Zealand or western Washington. New Zealand because it is one of the most amazing and beautiful countries in the world with almost every environment imaginable in that one little place. Washington because I used to live there and I absolutely love the northwest coastlines, the green, the trees, and nature. I'd love to be in a small little coastal town along a cliff face overlooking the ocean--slightly isolated. I find a sense of peace in nature for some reason. I'm not a 'hippy' or super environmentalist or anything bizarre like that, I just happen to love this planet. It's a remarkable place that never ceases to surprise me.

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