Winterview with Author Dianna L. Gunn

To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Hàlön Chronicles will be conducting one interview a week for 13 weeks. Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or check out our right-side blog hop to sneak a peek at all the wonderful authors and artists I’ll be interviewing in the coming weeks.

Hosted by: K. J. Harrowick

Without further ado, Fantasy Author: Dianna L. Gunn.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Oh boy, what do I say? I’m a freelance writer by day, a fantasy author by night, and a massive nerd all the time. I play lots of RPGs—mostly video games, although I am hoping to do more tabletop role playing this year—and read less books than I should, but more books than a lot of people I know.

What types of books do you write, and why?

I write alternate world fantasy, both YA and adult books, usually with a darker bent. Why I write these books is a bit more complicated. First and foremost, fantasy is the genre I’ve spent the most time in and these are the stories that pop into my head, often in my dreams. But when I’m building my world, fleshing out my characters and adding details to these stories I am also focusing on something bigger: challenging fantasy stereotypes.

To challenge these stereotypes I write strong female characters with true agency. I create worlds where strong women are accepted, not an anomaly. Many of these worlds also have very different attitudes towards sexuality, gender and relationships. Most importantly, I show my characters having a wide range of relationships, both sexual and otherwise.

What were your early influences, and how does this manifest in your work today?

As a rather young adult, I’m sure it won’t surprise you that I’m listing JK Rowling first. Many other authors have had a more dramatic influence on my writing style—Garth Nix, I’m looking at you—but JK Rowling is the one who inspired me to write in the first place. My mother read the first Harry Potter book to me out loud and it was the first series of novels I actually got into. And JK Rowling was the author who made me realize that yes, people do actually get paid to write books and maybe someday I could too.

Are there aspects of the craft that excite you more than others?

Doesn’t every writer get more excited about certain parts of the process than others? I find for me it varies somewhat based on the project, but I’m most enchanted by the worldbuilding and drafting phases of writing.

What books or websites are your go-to places while editing?

I use Grammar Girl when I forget grammar rules and make the occasional visit to Thesaurus.com, but otherwise the writing sites I go to are the same when I’m editing as when I’m drafting. Some of my favourite writers’ blogs are DIY MFA and The Creative Penn.

Tell us about your writing space (music/snacks/interruptions/etc).

Right now my writing space is a tiny cluttered desk in my bedroom. I’m usually listening to some kind of metal or a movie soundtrack (Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit being my favourite soundtracks).

Tell us about your current WIP or your latest book release.

I actually have about half a dozen projects on the go, but the most exciting one is my YA fantasy novella Keeper of the Dawn, which is being released by The Book Smugglers this spring (exact date pending). I’ve been working on this book on and off for around ten years, and I can’t even begin to express how grateful and excited I am to finally seeing it be released to the world.

You can find me at http://www.thedabbler.ca or on Twitter @DiannaLGunn. You can also subscribe to my newsletter to keep up with my blog and publishing updates.