Posted by Shea Berkley Oct 1 2010, 12:01 am in author interview, butterfly swords, jeannie lin, Ruby Release
Celebrate with us as we feature one of our own Ruby sisters, Jeannie Lin. Her debut, full length novel, BUTTERFLY SWORDS hits the bookshelves today! We’re thrilled she has the time to talk with us about her book and the process of writing.
Here’s a brief overview of Jeannie’s debut novel.
Butterfly Swords is set in 8th century Tang Dynasty. It’s a historical fantasy or alternative history that brings medieval swordsmen across the Silk Road into the Chinese empire. The heroine, Ai Li, is a sword-wielding princess who escapes from a pre-arranged marriage when she believes her warlord husband-to-be is a traitor. She meets up with a western barbarian and they team up to try to get her safely back to the capital.
The hero is a reluctant one. He’s dealing with the guilt of leading his men into an ambush. Stranded in a strange land, he takes on the task of protecting Ai Li as a way to redeem himself. And of course they start falling for each other.
Here are a few reviews for BUTTERFLY SWORDS :
The Season: 9.5 Top pick
This story is a must-buy, so immediately grab or download a copy of Jeannie Lin’s outstanding debut. By the way, it won the 2009 Golden Heart for Historical Romance. Can’t wait to see what this talented new author will serve up next.
Mrs. Giggles: 80
… for a quick breezy read, this one will do just fine. And as a debut effort, this one is actually an impressive show of hand. I’m intrigued about discovering what the author will do from here onward.
Jeannie Lin
SB: I’m sure this isn’t the first interview you’ve done regarding BUTTERFLY SWORDS. What’s been your process leading up to this moment?
JL: “Accept all requests” seems to be my mode of operation. I’m so stunned that so many people want to help spread the word that I’m game for anything. Each one seems to take on a slightly different angle so it’s been fun. Plus the interviews make me reflect on the whole process, and I’ve got a lot of reflecting to do!
SB: You’ve gotten amazing reviews already. What was it like, waiting to hear from the reviewers and those who are waiting to pick up your book?
JL: I’m going to be completely honest: I have filters on Twitter and check GoodReads and Amazon several times a day. And then I Google, just for good measure. Yes, I’m a bit antsy. I imagine more experienced writer buddies are laughing and saying, “Oh there’s Jeannie, with the first book jitters.”
The first reviews were the hardest. I knew that the ARC was getting requested because of NetGalley and because some reviewers are quite twitterific when they’re reading something. It’s like when I used to hand something over to Little Sis to critique and I’d sit there and try not to watch while she pored over it, but take that anxiety and multiply by a hundred. There’s so many weird little angles in the story, I had no idea what readers would latch onto.
At the same time, I was deliriously happy. “People are reading, people are reading!” I’d chant to myself.
SB: BUTTERFLY SWORDS is set in 8th century Tang Dynasty, a real setting challenge in today’s historical market. When you thought of the idea for your book, did the thought that you were stepping outside the typical setting worry you?
JL: I knew nothing about the market when I started. I actually didn’t even know there was something called RWA. My writing mentor Barbara Ankrum was the one who told me all of that. She told me the setting was going to be a challenge, but at that point writing a complete chapter was a challenge! I was too clueless to be worried. And then when I wasn’t so clueless, I was still more worried about the writing than the setting.
SB: So is BUTTERFLY SWORDS the first book you ever wrote?
JL: It’s the second manuscript. 
The first was finally contracted after a complete rewrite.
SB: That’s great! I know you wrote the novella, THE TAMING OF MEI LIN, sort of as a prequel to BUTTERFLY SWORDS, and it’s fantastic all on its own.
How much research did you do for your books? But more importantly, did the research lead you to unexpected twists in your story?
JL: Let’s just say, I am waiting for someone to challenge me on Tang Dynasty history. Bring it. *grins*
I like how you phrased the second part of the question. I like to do just a little research at the beginning of the manuscript before writing the first draft. Between the first and second draft, I research again. I find then that the story is the story. It’s about conflict and character arc, not about history. Then the research enhances what’s already there as I layer in details.
The discovery of the Jade Gate fortress, which figures prominently in the story, was actually done in a later round of research. In my follow-up story, The Dragon and the Pearl, I researched The Art of War between drafts to enhance the strategies employed by the warlords. The Art of War research subsequently got into Butterfly Swords as well, in a scene where Ryam fights on ‘death ground’.
SB: Your Heroine, Ai Li is a sword-wielding princess. I love that she can give as good as she gets. Would you have wanted to live in her time?
JL: If I had to pick an ancient dynasty to live in as a woman, I would have chosen the Tang Dynasty. There was wealth and beauty and a high standard of living, but the answer would have to be no. It was still very, very hard for women. You had to be fortunate enough to be born with power and influence to really have freedom.
SB: I’m with you there. History is nice to read, but I like living in the present, thank you very much. I have to say, the mixing of cultures in your story is a great idea. What kinds of issues did you have in dealing with their respective world views, or did that not present a problem?
JL: I think it took a lot of soul searching to find how to resolve issues with the manuscript. Sometimes I couldn’t quite take every critique at face value. They would point out things that were wrong and confusing, which is very good to know, but the solutions they’d suggest didn’t quite fit with the world or the culture I was trying to portray. That’s why I value CPs who have a strong understanding of story structure, character, and execution – regardless of the external window dressing of plot and setting. At the end of the day, you have to execute. You can’t confuse the reader.
On the other hand (this is going to sound egotistical, but I don’t mean it to be), I sometimes feel that my background makes me particularly suited to write this story. I don’t mean that I’m the only person with this background. Just that being Asian American and always having to think two ways gives me this Venn diagram sort of brain: Western circle, Asian circle, overlapping middle. I’d be very interested in how someone with a similar background to me reacts to the story.
SB: Can you take us through a day in the life of Jeannie Lin before she sold and compare it to your life after you sold?
JL: Nothing much changed until about three or four months ago when I started concentrating on promotion.
I wake up, hit the computer, and have about two-three hours of time before the day job starts. During that time I can write, blog, surf, etc. In the last month the first thing I do when I wake up is check for all those things I mentioned earlier. Before selling, the first thing I’d do was check my e-mail to see if any agent or editor requested. LOL.
I used to write every day, but now I don’t anymore. It does scare me. I’ve allowed myself to go into promo mode for the last several months, so my writing time is much more project oriented. I’ll block out specific things to do like a week for revisions or a week for a short story.
SB: Wow, you’re life sounds chaotic. It leads me to wonder if finaling in the Golden Heart Contest was instrumental in your publishing journey?
JL: Absolutely!!! I was getting a couple of requests here and there before finaling, but after the nomination, agents started reading. I signed my agent and then signed with Harlequin directly because of the Golden Heart.
SB: Tell us a little about your experience with the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood.
JL: Being part of the RSS has been one of the best experiences of finaling. It’s hard to find a more caring, talented, diverse and FUNNY group of individuals. And we’re classy dressers too. Whenever anyone needs anything, there’s such an outpouring of support and offers to help that it just fills your heart full up.
Barbara, aka Shea
SB: Here’s my Barbara Walter’s question, cause every interview should have something odd thrown in.
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why? (I know, it makes no sense and it’s totally random, but it’s my interview so I get to ask the questions.)
JL: A ginkgo tree. It’s the first thing that came to mind. The leaves are fan shaped and they grow in temples. They’re ancient and unchanged since prehistoric times. A living fossil. They’re supposed to clean the air. You were asking about how much research I did earlier….
And it’s a healing tree. That’s how I view romance. It’s the oldest type of story – a story that has always had the capacity to heal the heart and soul of its reader.
Thank you, Jeannie, for letting us celebrate with you! This book is so special, and I just love the setting … and this is a celebration, one where we’re Jeannie is giving away the party favors. Yay! I love party favors! For those of you who leave a comment today, Jeannie is giving away a copy of BUTTERFLY SWORDS and a Tang Dynasty themed gift set!
So let the party begin. What does everyone else think? Is it wise to buck the trends and branch out into subjects and settings that others say are no go areas? What kind of stories are you dying to read these days?
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Buy BUTTERFLY SWORDS from Amazon
Posted by Jeannie Lin Sep 1 2010, 12:10 am in giveaway, jeannie lin, release day, the taming of mei lin
Today is the release day for The Taming of Mei Lin, a short historical romance from Harlequin Historical Undone. It’s my first release day (YAY!) so I wanted to take some time to reflect on what I learned writing this project and also celebrate with a giveaway.
The day after I accepted the offer from Harlequin Mills & Boon for Butterfly Swords, I had the opportunity to meet with the editorial director who casually mentioned I might want to write an Undone to go along with Butterfly Swords. I had heard about the Undone series. It was relatively new and had just opened up for submissions.
The market for shorter lengths is expanding rapidly and I think we’ll see many more shorts in the future in the form of free reads, prequels, linked stories, as well as a stronger short story/novella market in its own right. I was really excited about trying it out.
My first concern was that the Undone line was a lot hotter than I was comfortable with writing. They had described their stories as sexy with a higher heat level than the Harlequin Historical full lengths. Did this mean they wanted erotic romance? I didn’t know if I could do that.
Tip #1: Research the line
Read examples of the line that you’re targeting, whether it be Harlequin, Samhain, or any other publisher.
The HH Undone program was relatively new, so I bought several of the most popular ones from e-Harlequin. I was pleasantly surprised! These weren’t erotic romances — they were very sensual, sexy, and emotional stories, much like I had read from Harlequin Historical. The stories featured well-developed characters and a strong emotional core romance.
The heat level wasn’t too far off from HH. The key was that the overall story was a sexy vs. sexual scenario, with emphasis on the emotional tension and conflict.
Tip #2: Plot
Here were some plot tips that I took out of my reads:
- The plot usually centers around a single episode or event
- The heroine and hero need to meet early, preferably within the first 2 or 3 pages.
- The hero and heroine should be together as much as possible during the story
- There needs to be a good amount of emotional buildup before the love scene
- Historical detail and worldbuilding needs to have a strong presence, but can’t bog down the story
Tip #3: Secondary characters
At first, I thought I wouldn’t have much in the way of secondaries. But as I plotted, I realized my story had a “stranger comes to a small town” scenario. I needed the townsfolk to be integral to the story. Plus family is so important to the cultural and historical fabric in China that I couldn’t leave it out.
The secondaries had to serve their purpose in very few words and in limited interactions. Every little action had to speak VOLUMES.
Tip #4: Romantic Development
Don’t skimp on the stages of romance – To make the romantic development believeable, the H/h still need to go through all the steps. They must have the initial meet, they must discover more about one another, the internal conflict must keep them apart, and in the end they must earn the right to pursue their love and overcome all obstacles.
Tip #5: Execution
My story contains fight scenes, an unusual historical setting, multiple secondary characters, pretty extensive backstory for both the heroine and hero, flirtation, romantic growth, personal growth, and love scenes.
How was I going to cram ALL that in 11,000 words?
1. Careful plotting. Every scene had to be pivotal and memorable. I couldn’t have long interludes to reveal backstory. No mood setting scenes. No long internal reflection scenes. The key was to combine as many elements of the story into each scene as much as possible — without getting things confused.
2. Backstory. There was quite a lot of background information. I had to play with ways of weaving backstory into the narration and at the same time. Most importantly, I had to trust that the reader would be able to follow the action without having all the background.
3. Telling instead of showing. I didn’t get that backwards. Obviously, I had to be careful not to get lazy and do it all the time, but telling is faster than showing and sometimes, telling just fits better. When you’re deep in a character’s POV, it makes sense to tell versus show. A character feeling a deep emotional pain might be more likely to think, “It hurt to think about him.” Simple. Done.
Do you like reading shorter stories? What are some of your tips for writing them? What are some of your favorite short stories?
To celebrate the release day, one commenter will be chosen randomly at 8pm CST today to receive a download code for The Taming of Mei Lin from eHarlequin. It’s a little peek into the drama and sensuality of the Tang Dynasty that I explore further in Butterfly Swords.
