Please Welcome...Donita K. Paul
What a joy to have Christian novelist Donita K.
Paul as
our interview guest at WhereTheMapEnds.com.
Ah, Donita, the dragon lady, my buddy in Colorado
Springs.
Donita and I had
known each other through a writer's online group
we're both part of, but we became good friends when my family and
I moved to Colorado Springs. It was the end of October when we moved, so
Donita invited us to her church for their we're-not-celebrating-Halloween
"harvest festival." It was great fun and we've been attending that church
ever since.
We also end up inviting ourselves over
to her house for the occasional Thanksgiving or Christmas
dinner!
Before I met Donita I had been impressed
with the cover of her fantasy novel Dragonspell. I was amazed to
see a CBA novel with a cover that actually looked like something real
fantasy lovers would pick up and read. Dragonlight, Donita's
fifth YA fantasy, releases this month (June 2008).
Donita says
she stumbled into fantasy writing. The challenge was issued twice.
Her mother said, “I think you are ready to write something different.” At
the time, Donita was writing Christian romance. Second, when her crit
group gave a thumbs-down to her first attempt at sci-fi/fantasy, Donita
felt compelled to prove she could write in the genre and succeed.
She
found exploring God's Truth through fantasy to be exciting and has only
looked over her shoulder a couple of times. Writing romance was easier,
but not quite as satisfying.
Donita
lives in Colorado Springs where she can be near her daughter, son-in-law,
and grandchildren.
She
has developed T-shirts for sale in connection with her novels. My favorite
has a dragon symbol on it and says, "Look wise, say nothing, and eat only
those who annoy you." Truly, words to live by.
And
now, without further ado, here is the interview.
WhereTheMapEnds: Catch us up with what's
going on in your life.
Donita K. Paul:
Lots! DragonLight
is the last of the DragonKeeper Chronicles series and comes out June
17th. But not to worry! I am busy writing the next book, which is set in
the same world but in a different time and on a different
continent.
My
daughter and I also wrote two picture books about a minor dragon and a
turtle. These will come out in the fall of 2009.
A
friend, who is a cognitive learning analyst and reading specialist, and I
are working on Dragon Readers, which hasn’t found a publishing
home yet.
Also
a picture book of Wulder’s principles is in the works. In my dragon books, a character named Bardon is always
quoting Wulder's Articles, which are like proverbs, to the annoyance of
another character named Kale.
WhereTheMapEnds:
Wow, you're busy. So Donita,
what is your favorite speculative novel of all time (Christian or secular)
and why is that your favorite?
Donita K. Paul: I
shall have to pick two. The Princess and the Goblin by
George MacDonald and Magic by the Lake by Edward
Eager.
George
MacDonald once said, “I do not write for children, but for the childlike,
whether of five, fifty, or seventy-five.” C.S. Lewis later echoed this
statement with something about if a children’s book is not good enough for
an adult, then it isn’t good enough for a child. The Princess and the Goblin was a
first, a moral tale that actually entertained children.
Magic by the Lake is a secular
tale. The reason it attracts me is that it humorously portrays how magic
can go wrong. Even when you think it is straightforward, there is an
innate twist in any magic to circumvent a normal course of events. A
cranky old turtle saves the day when the children accidentally get a lake
full of magic instead of a bit of magic by the lake. The mixture of
realism and fantasy is measured out in believable characterization and
plot.
WhereTheMapEnds: What
made you want to write Christian speculative
fiction?
Donita K. Paul: Money!
No, seriously. If you pick fantasy because you think it's the genre to
write in if you want to become rich, you might also be inclined to
purchase property with an ocean view in Kansas.
WhereTheMapEnds:
How was your first idea for a Christian speculative
novel received (by anyone: spouse, friends, parents, agent, publisher,
readers, reviewers, etc.)?
Donita K.
Paul: As
I said before, my critique group was less than impressed by the first
chapter of DragonSpell. In fact, I think I heard groans and
raspberries and maybe a snicker the first time I presented it.
I
had no idea what I was doing, so maybe the criticism was deserved. I
didn't even have a clear idea of the difference between Sci-Fi and
Fantasy.
But
once I worked the first pages over a couple of times and got into the
swing of the story, Kale and her adventures were
well-received.
WhereTheMapEnds:
What is your favorite speculative genre to read? To write? If they're
different, talk about that.
Donita
K. Paul: I like children’s fantasy best. The Chronicles of
Narnia, The Hobbit, old books by Edward Eager and
E.
Nesbitt
are my favorites. I sometimes think that fantasy written for adults
tries too hard. Exceptions to this would be Sharon Hinck’s Restorer
series.
WhereTheMapEnds:
How would you
characterize the current state of Christian speculative fiction writing
and/or publishing?
Donita K.
Paul: Promising.
Things are looking up. It is a good time to be a fantasy writer rather
than a Western writer. Those poor authors are taking a
hit.
WhereTheMapEnds:
Yes, talk about trying to appeal to a reader who is not typically served
by Christian fiction publishers.
Well,
I'm glad you're optimistic about Christian speculative fiction. I think in
YA (youth) fiction this is probably true. Nowhere is CBA publishing more
open to fantasy than in YA. But I'm not sure we're going to see that
openness extend to adult readers.
Until those YA readers become adults and start demanding it, that is. I keep
saying they are the generation that is going to save us and usher in new
demand for Christian speculative
fiction.
So
what have you seen that encourages you about Christian speculative fiction
writing and/or publishing?
Donita
K. Paul: There
are quite a few fantasy books that have been released recently or are
slated for launching soon. And there is a good variety. The new books are
not falling into one narrow chasm.
We
have Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our
Midst series, John Olson’s Shade, and Geoffrey Wood’s Leaper, both contemporary settings
but vastly different. On the other hand, you have the sword wielders in The Raven King Trilogy by Lawhead
and the Binding of the
Blade series by L. B. Graham. Such a rich assortment of styles,
settings, and symbolism! All good. All
good.
WhereTheMapEnds: True. All good. And don't
forget Eric Wilson's Jerusalem's Undead
trilogy
coming out soon. Well, have you seen anything that
discourages or frustrates you about Christian speculative fiction writing
and/or publishing?
Donita
K. Paul: We still hear the
story that Christian readers don't buy Christian speculative fiction. You
talk to teens and you discover that fantasy and sci-fi is what they
predominantly read. But somehow that isn't translating into sales to
capture the publisher's
interest.
WhereTheMapEnds:
Ah, yes. I love going to
Christian writer's conferences and hearing what the teen writers are working
on. They're all writing fantasy! So why haven't Christian publishers gotten a clue?
Well, they have a little, as we discussed above.
But
the main reason is that those shoppers don't go into the places
where Christian publishers sell books. That's my take on it, anyway. And
Marcher Lord
Press is all about the remedy to the problem.
What
would you like to see changed regarding Christian speculative fiction
writing and/or
publishing?
Donita
K. Paul: I’ll
leave that up to you and your innovative
plans.
WhereTheMapEnds: [blushes] Garshk!
Okay, so, what
do you think Christian speculative fiction writing and/or publishing will
look like in three years? Five years? Ten
years?
Donita
K. Paul: I
want to see more speculative books on the Christian shelves. Naturally,
the secular versions are tainted with a worldview that skewers the Truth
of Christ. Hopefully, we can offset that pollution with our own tales told
with God's
blessing.
WhereTheMapEnds: What
advice would you give to someone who aspires to write and publish
Christian speculative
fiction?
Donita K. Paul:
Oh
my, it has to be don’t quit your day job.
That's
good advice for any misguided soul who wants a career in writing. But I
think it is even more true for those wandering down the path of sci-fi,
fantasy, alternate universes, time travel, goblins, and ghosties.
Take
pleasure in what you write, persevere, hone your craft as you would for
any "normal" genre, and seek the fellowship of others who think dealing
with dragons is a proper
lifestyle.
WhereTheMapEnds:
Verily, because humans are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. Donita,
what’s
the best book or seminar on fiction writing you
know?
Donita
K. Paul: The Key
by
James. M. Frey. This book relates the hero’s journey in a way I
understand.
WhereTheMapEnds: What’s
the best part about writing and publishing Christian speculative
fiction?
Donita
K. Paul: The readers, without a
doubt.
WhereTheMapEnds: What writing project(s) are you
working on now?
Donita K. Paul:
My
main project at the moment is A New Tail about an emerlindian
young lady who has held her home together during her father’s absence only
to discover she must undo some of the measures taken to pay the mortgage.
Of course, if she doesn’t manage to set things to right it will be the
death of her father and, incidentally, the end of the
world.
WhereTheMapEnds: Awesome. So when
someone says, "Well, dearie, so you can't pay the rent—i
t's not the end of the world," she can testify otherwise. What’s
a cool speculative story idea you’ve had
lately?
Donita
K. Paul: I
want to send children back in time to save them from a mysterious illness
while their desperate parents search for the
cure.
WhereTheMapEnds: Very cool.
What’s
the best speculative story (Christian or secular, book or otherwise)
you’ve encountered lately?
Donita K.
Paul: Shade
by John B. Olson. It will be out in October,
2008.
WhereTheMapEnds: Well, Donita, what else
would you like to say to the readers of WhereTheMapEnds.com?
Donita K.
Paul:
Let's all encourage Jeff in his Marcher Lord Press endeavor. I'm
excited about the possibilities, but a bit bummed he won't take my prairie
romance I've never found a publisher gullible enough to invest in.
*sigh*
WhereTheMapEnds:
Consider changing it so that if the mail order bride doesn't find a
husband by the end of the book the world will end. Then we'll
talk.
That's
all for this time
What a wonderful interview, huh? Thanks again to Donita K.
Paul. Be sure to visit Donita online.
If
you missed the previous months' interviews with other speculative authors,
including Frank Peretti, Jerry Jenkins, Karen
Hancock, Tosca Lee, and Ted
Dekker, you can read them here.
And be sure to come back next month for an interview
with another mover and shaker in the world of Christian speculative
fiction.