Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews: Interview with novelist L.T. Getty

Today’s special guest is author L.T. Getty. She’s chatting with me about her new steampunk-horror novel, Dreams of Mariposa.

During her virtual book tour, L.T. will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

L.T. Getty is a science fiction and fantasy writer who hails from the Canadian Prairies. When she’s not writing, you can likely find her driving an ambulance and dreaming about travel.

Wecome, L.T. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Dreams of Mariposa is a standalone Steampunk-Horror novel that follows Marie, a vampire daywalker who is sent to a village to learn about the goings on of a reclusive necromancer who has stumbled across an ancient temple with power the leaders of the masquerade desire for their own. Infiltrating society, she starts to fall in love with a human, something she is torn about because she’s spent the last few decades mourning the loss of her true love. This is not a romance novel, Marie is a villain-protagonist.

What inspired you to write this book?

When I signed Tower of Obsidian, my first novel with Champagne Books, the publisher mentioned she wanted more steampunk titles. I’m not terribly well versed in Victorian Literature, but I did study classics like Shelly’s Frankenstein, Broker’s Dracula, and Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The paranormal elements came easily to me. I was working on other projects, but I slowly started to think about the gothic elements that I knew.

Excerpt from Dreams of Mariposa:I spooked my horse while we travelled alongside a creek, but I managed to keep the gelding under control. It was Theo who was nearly thrown from his horse. Since Rosa and I preferred to keep no staff, the maintenance of the creatures was often something we did not do of our own volition.

“Steady! Steady,” he said. He quickly dismounted and petted her nose. “What is wrong?”

“Does she have a nervous temperament?” I asked. He shook his head.

“She is my uncle’s horse, and is all the more calm in her maturity.” He made clicking noises to soothe the mare, turning his attention to the started beast. Involuntarily, I reached out toward him, I wanted to feel his hair between my fingertips. At once the mare’s eyes widened, and she reared. Theo let go of her bridle and fell backward. I almost leapt at the horse to force her back, but she didn’t come down on him. Instead she galloped the way we came.

“Are you injured?” I asked.

“One who is afraid of horses shouldn’t be riding them,” he told me, rolling up almost effortlessly. He dusted himself off before he caught my eyes “A twelve-year old animal, and she still rides like the wind.”

“I shall fetch her for you.” It would be easy enough, once we were out of sight, to leap from my horse and run until I found the mare.

“Lend me your horse. I can recover my own mare,” he said. “You would leave a lady on the road, defenseless?”

“You and I both know you are far from defenseless. I shan’t be more than a minute, but each minute we delay only adds to the duration of this situation. She’s likely calmed down and eating berries. She knows my voice.”

“Help me down,” I said.

My horse was too slender a beast to pick up any real speed with two passengers, though my weight was negligible. Theo was no small fellow. I needed no help, but I knew how to play my part in my society and his. He put his hands about my narrow hips, and I put my arms around his neck, and slowly he boosted and then lowered me, ever in control. He had beautiful eyes, and I knew he could not deny mine as his gaze lingered.

“Is this yours?” a familiar voice broke the trance, and I glanced at Hilda, who had caught the mare.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I have submitted Book 2 in my proposed Rogue Healer Series, and am working on Book 3, a high seas swashbuckling adventure. They’re a return to fantasy for me, in sword and sorcery.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve been doing this so long I don’t remember really ‘starting’. I tried writing stories in elementary school; I think by grade 7 I started a novel. I know I finished a really bad draft of one before starting Grade 9. I never really thought about the title ‘writer’ more like ‘artist’.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write about a book a year – my schedule has been all over the place. I’ve never worked a traditional 9-5, as even when I was a service writer my schedule was not regular business hours. And by ‘book a year’ it’s not like I start in January and finish by Christmas. Typically, it’s more like I think about a project and write a little bit at a time. I might see an anthology I’m interested in submitting to, and take time away from the WIP to write a short. I might get another idea and hash out a scene, make notes. Typically once I commit to a novel, I try to commit to a timeline, and finish it based on the outline and what I propose the length ought to be, but when I write a draft I give myself leeway. There are exceptions; like I say I typically try to finish it even if I feel like it’s a failure, because I can always revisit it later.

My day job is a paramedic. I’m able to write when we have down time, so like I said, it’s irregular. I try to set myself goals, whether it’s writing or editing or whatever, and base it on time. If I know a project is going to be longer or more involved, I allot time for it.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I can rewrite something forever. That’s probably more common than not. I like to revisit novels via short stories, if only to flesh out a character or a place for myself with no intention of letting them be read by readers.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I thought we were more advanced in space than we were, so I wanted to be an astronaut. When I realized how limited in space we were and what all that entailed, I wanted to be a writer, a police officer, and a firefighter. I’m a first responder as a paramedic, as well as I keep on writing.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Only that if they want to write, don’t get bogged down if you feel your work doesn’t belong or you don’t belong. Keep writing, make your art. I think if you chase the market and what’s popular you’ll always be behind on trends.

For the readers, let’s say that I will never promise you a happy ending, but I will try to write a satisfying story.

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