**To enter to win an autographed copy of Dragon Wytch, the fourth book in the Sisters of the Moon series, along with a poster of “Maggie” (one of the characters from the book series), please send an email with your name and mailing address to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  , with DRAGON WYTCH in the subject. The contest ends on September 15, 2008 after which the winner will be chosen randomly and notified via email. Only one entry per mailing address.

By Christina Radish

Yasmine Galenorn (www.galenorn.com) is living her dream of being a successful author with a best-selling book series. The Washington resident’s Sisters of the Moon urban fantasy series, about the half-human, half-faerie D’Artigo sisters, features Camille, the good witch; Delilah, a feline shape-shifter; and Menolly, the acrobat vampire. Having risen in popularity since the first book, Witchling, debuted in 2006, book four, Dragon Wytch, landed on both the USA Today and New York Times (extended) bestseller lists. Galenorn not only has five more books in the series (Night Huntress and Demon Mistress are scheduled for 2009), but she has also signed a publishing deal for a new urban fantasy series about magic.

Galenorn recently took time out of her busy writing schedule to talk to MediaBlvd Magazine about her love for the Sisters of the Moon, and why she thinks so many readers are identifying with them.

MediaBlvd Magazine> When did you know that you wanted a career as a writer?

Yasmine Galenorn> I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was three years old. I learned to read early, and I actually remember that it suddenly dawned on me that people made the books that I was learning to read. I was like, “People actually make those. They don’t just appear.” Right at that moment, that’s when I knew I wanted to make books. I wrote short stories from the very beginning, before I could event print my letters. I started writing poetry when I was about 8 or 9. I had a very abusive childhood, and writing gave me a place to escape. And, I loved to read. I would lose myself in books. I would hide myself in my room and just read and write. I made my first sale when I was 15. It was a poem. Right then, I knew I could do it -- it would just take some time.

MediaBlvd> Have you had any actual formal training?

Yasmine> I skipped high school and started college when I was 15. My grades improved.  I was happier. I started working in the theater, and I received my degree in drama and theatrical management, but the writing was always there. Theater brought me out of my shell. I learned how to speak in public, and it gave me more confidence. Since I didn’t want to be a teacher, I figured that majoring in English would be a waste of my time. So, I just decided to do what I wanted and enjoy school and learn as much as I could about everything that I wanted to.

I took a 16-credit program in poetry at Evergreen State College, and that was probably the most intense quarter I spent in school. I learned how to give and take critique in that class, and that’s something that a lot of writers don’t come to until later on. Every Friday, we would have an all-day critique session. We had to submit six poems each week, and then we would pick one for the group session. The teacher would read the poem aloud and then everybody would critique it, but the author couldn't say a single word in defense. We had to just sit there and listen. At one point or another, everybody in class ended up in tears, but it taught us how to handle critique. Our teacher told us, “You won’t be there when the reader reads your work, so you’d better learn how to make it mean what you want it to through the writing.” We weren’t allowed to trash anything. We had to prove our points. By the end of the quarter, I wasn’t nearly as defensive as I had been. That's probably the most valuable thing I learned in school, as far as writing.

MediaBlvd> Where do you think the confidence came from that enabled you to sit down and write your first novel?

Yasmine> I just knew I could do it. I had that inner gut feeling that told me I’d make it if I kept trying. The first novel I wrote was called Tales of the Fae Queen, and it was back in ‘85. I wrote it off of some ideas I’d been playing with in Dungeons & Dragons. I had this whole world built up in my mind, so I decided that I might as well write it down. I think it ended up being 400 pages of tiny type with hardly any margins. I have no idea how many words it was, but it was fun. After that, I wrote six more novels that will never see the light of day. I call them my In the Closet Gang. They will never be published. Sometimes, I plunder them for ideas because there were some good ideas in there, but they simply weren’t good enough to be published so I use them for idea banks.        

MediaBlvd> Was it difficult to finish those first books, without wanting to continually self-edit them?

Yasmine> I have always been the type of person who writes most of the book before I start editing. And now, because of the time crunch I’m in with deadlines, I write the first chapter at least two or three times, maybe four times. Then, I write about 250 pages of the book. Then, I go back and edit it lightly to remind myself of what I’ve done on the book. And then, I finish the book, and then go back and revise. I used to be a lot less confident, not so much with the nonfiction, but when I turned in my first few books to my editor for Berkley, I sat there in terror, wondering, “Is she going to like it?” And, every time, she would say, “This is great! It’s better than the last one.” That helped build my confidence. It's all a process of coming to know where you’re at with your work and feeling confident enough in your own abilities so you’re not sitting on the edge of your seat going, “Oh, my god, did I do that right? Did I not do that right?”

All writers have doubts, no matter how successful they are. Every time I start a new book, there’s that little feeling of, “Can I do it again?” One of the things that I tell writers is to accept that your first novel may not sell, and that makes it a whole lot easier to finish it. If you take the pressure off and stop thinking, “I have to sell this first novel!,” then you can write it and learn from it. Maybe it will sell, but if it doesn’t, you’re not sitting there going, “I'll never make it!”

MediaBlvd> You weave mystery, fantasy and magic together very seamlessly in your work. When did you become interested in those aspects of your writing, and is that something you’ve always wanted to do?

Yasmine> I started out wanting to be a science fiction and fantasy author. That was my dream for many, many years, so that aspect has always been there. When I was a kid, I devoured Asimov and Clark.  I cut my teeth on Bradbury and Pohl. Luckily, our library didn't divide the books into adult and children’s sections, at least in terms of what you were allowed to check out. So I plundered the science fiction shelves in the adult section of the library. I remember, one summer, I kept track of how many books I read, and I read 90 books in two months, just one after another, and all of them were pretty much fantasy and science fiction -- anything I could get my hands on. I never once dreamed about being a mystery writer. I really had no clue that I had any ability to write mystery. Now, I believe all books have some mystery in them, to some degree. There’s always the discovery of underlying factors, and the exploration of what fuels the characters.

MediaBlvd> How did you make the transition from publishing non-fiction to publishing fiction?

Yasmine> In the year 2000, things started going downhill. I had sold seven non-fiction books. In November of that year, my husband was told he had a terminal condition. It was a misdiagnosis, but we didn’t know that for a little while. Within the same week, he lost his job because of the dot-com fallout, and we had no money coming in. And, my mother was dying. She’d been battling cancer for two years. So, within the space of three weeks, my husband was told he was terminal, he lost his job, and my mother died. The day after she died, we found out that they'd made a mistake and he wasn’t terminal, which took some of the stress off. A week later, I was offered my eighth non-fiction book contract, and they wanted the book delivered in six weeks. We needed the advance money, so I accepted the contract.

I turned off my emotions to write that book. I have no memory of the actual writing.  I remember walking into my office and I remember walking out at the end of the day. My husband told me that, during that time period, I was like a zombie. The gods only know what I was running on because I had nothing left. He did get another job within a few weeks, but by the time I finished writing the book and turned it in, I was trashed. I was proud of the non-fiction I wrote, but knew I couldn’t write it anymore. I missed writing fiction.

A few weeks later, I sat down at the computer and started goofing around.  I wrote three pages of something that started out with this woman waking up and finding a ghost at the end of her bed.  The ghost told her that she’d been murdered by her husband and she needed help proving it. I thought, “Oh, that’s interesting,” so I showed my husband and he started to laugh and said, “That’s funny -- write more.” So, I wrote three chapters and then sent it to a friend of mine who’s an agent, and asked, “What do you think of this? I have no idea what to think of it.” And, he wrote back, “My god, your writing has taken a huge leap!” He edited it down to one chapter, so I re-wrote the chapter and another one. The long and short is, from there, he encouraged me to write the whole book, and then line edited it for me. He showed me why, in certain places, my pacing and motivation didn’t work. And, most importantly, he explained why. All of a sudden, I got it. Something clicked. I re-wrote the book three or four more times. He doesn’t represent mysteries, so he didn’t take me on, and I really didn’t expect him to. I was just grateful for all the help he’d given me. But, another friend's agent looked at it, and she called me the next week and said, “I want to take you on as a client.” Two and a half weeks after that, she netted me a three-book contract with Berkley and I was suddenly a mystery writer.

MediaBlvd> For those who are not yet familiar with your current series, who are the Sisters of the Moon and what can readers expect from the books?

Yasmine> The sisters just flew in one night, when I was sitting there, watching TV. All of a sudden, they were there in my mind, introducing themselves, and I was thinking, “Hello! This sounds like fun!” The girls are half-human and half-Fae. Their mother is from Earth, and their father is from Otherworld, which is like the U.N. of Faerie Land. Otherworld is where all the other races congregate. All the things we think of as legendary or mythological hang out there. When the girls’ father, Sephreh, was assigned Earthside, he met their mother, they fell in love, he took her back to Otherworld and they had three children.

Camille is a witch, and she worships the Moon Mother. Delilah, the second born, is a werecat. She changes into a little tabby cat, and she can’t always control when she changes. The third sister, Menolly, was an extreme acrobat. She worked as a spy. Well, they all worked as spies, but she would climb into places and listen in on people. She ended up falling into a rogue clan of vampires she was spying on and getting tortured, killed, and turned into a vampire herself. The girls' half-human and half-Fae blood doesn’t mix that well and causes their powers to screw up. When they got sent Earthside to keep them out of trouble, they found out that the demons who inhabit the Subterranean Realms are trying to break through to take over both Earth and Otherworld. Now the girls are the only ones standing in the way of Shadow Wing and all the demons. That’s where the series started.

MediaBlvd> Was there an initial inspiration for any of the Sisters or their names?

Yasmine> My characters name themselves. I seldom consciously create names. I think about the character, visualize them in my mind, listen to them and what they’re saying, and they tell me their names. I would never have picked Camille. It’s not a name I would have thought of, but that’s her name. At first, I thought Menolly was going to be Melanie, like out of Gone with the Wind, but when I wrote it down, that’s not how she wanted it spelled and I realized she wanted it Menolly. My characters take on a life of their own. It is an interesting life, being a writer. There’s always something going on upstairs, even when you don’t realize it. The subconscious brews up a whole lot of stuff, and occasionally springs it on me in one big urp.

There is an underlying current running through the books that deals with prejudice, and being the misfit and outcast. The girls are trying to find out where they fit in, but they end up having to create their own niche. I think that mirrors what happens to a lot of people in our world. I’ve never found a group in which I feel totally comfortable. I know a lot of my friends have had the same problem. We create our own extended families. The sisters were called windwalkers when they were children because of their half-human heritage. A windwalker is someone who has no real roots and who isn’t really tied to a community. Because of their half-breed status, they aren’t seen as true Fae and they aren’t seen as truly human. All the way around, they’ve always been told they’re not good enough, and they’re trying to find the strength to boost their confidence. They slowly realize that, even if you’re not quite good enough in one way, you can still make a difference in the world, no matter what. Maybe your differences are what’s needed.

MediaBlvd> When you started writing these characters, did one of them come to you first, or did all three form at the same time?

Yasmine> They all showed up at the same time, but Camille showed up the strongest. I love them all, but I will admit that Camille is my favorite, probably because I’m more like Camille. I get a kick out of her. I fully expected to be writing the series from her viewpoint only. I had finished Witchling and turned it in, and my editor loved it. We were talking about Changeling and she said, “Changeling is going to be from Delilah’s point of view, right?,” and I was like, “Say what?” She said, “Oh, yeah, that’s what we thought you wanted. That’s one thing that really appealed to us, having each book from a different sister’s point of view.”

So, I had to totally re-think my thought process on how the books were going to work and how the time frames were going to work on the books. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I was actually scared out of my mind. I told my editor, “I don’t know if I can do it.” And she said, “You can. You’re good enough.”

And so, I decided to give it a try. I ended up throwing out 200 pages of Changeling and re-writing it before I found Delilah’s voice. What I realized was that I had been trying to write Delilah from the way Camille sees her. I had to get out of Camille’s head and actually walk into Delilah’s head. Once I figured that out, and disassociated my vision of her from Camille’s vision of her, then it came easier. By the time I got to Darkling, I knew what I had to do. Now, I’m glad they wanted me to do the round-robin viewpoint. It keeps the books from getting stale, and gives me the chance to see each character in a well-rounded, balanced way. I’m getting three different viewpoints on each character.

MediaBlvd> When you wrote Changeling, did anything surprise you about Delilah’s point of view?

Yasmine> When I started writing Changeling, what became abundantly clear was that the way each sister sees her other sisters is not necessarily the way the other sisters see themselves. Delilah sees herself in a whole different way than Camille and Menolly see her, and so on. Delilah is a little more sneaky than her sisters think she is. She’s not as naive as they think, she just chooses to look at life in a different way. The fact that she changes into a cat, and can’t always stop the transformations brought up several really funny scenes that made me laugh my head off when I was writing them. I also admire Delilah’s sense of loyalty. She loves her sisters. Camille will do anything to pave the way for her sisters. She’s very practical and she takes care of them. But, Delilah is the most emotionally tied to her sisters. She may be the middle child, but she's the most fragile.

MediaBlvd> When you wrote Darkling, did anything surprise you about Menolly’s point of view?

Yasmine> Menolly came in like a steam roller. I had to coax Delilah out into the light, like a cat. But Menolly isn't shy. She had to find a way to break the memories that haunt her, to break the chord that tied her to her sire. Menolly is extraordinarily scary, but she’s funny. She doesn’t pull punches. If something needs to be done, she'll go do it, even if it makes you wince. It’s not that she doesn’t have a conscience, but she doesn’t have hesitation. When she sees that an enemy is there that needs to be taken care of, she takes care of them. She has no compassion for those who harm innocents.

MediaBlvd> Will you continue to alternate with each book, for the duration of the series?

Yasmine> Yes, I’m going to be doing them in rotation. Dragon Wytch was from Camille’s point of view, Night Huntress goes back to Delilah, and Demon Mistress is Menolly’s second book.  I’m writing Bone Magic now, which is back again to Camille, and so on.

MediaBlvd> Your characters are kick-ass, but still very vulnerable. Was it a conscience effort to include both of those aspects?

Yasmine> I grew up in a very abusive home and I had a nine-year abusive marriage before the wonderful one I’m in now. I know what it’s like to be trampled, to be hit and to be hurt. I had to become strong and grow a backbone. A lot of times, when you encounter an exceptionally strong person or character, you’ll find that not far under the surface, they have insecurities and past baggage they cope with. I don’t believe in perfection. Everybody has some sort of insecurity. I see that as the basic nature of existence. I don’t believe in omnipotence, omniscience, or invulnerability. No matter how strong the enemy, they’ll have some sort of weakness. You just have to find it. The most fascinating aspects of character are the parts that don’t quite work ight.                                                      

MediaBlvd> When you write books like this, how do you find the right balance between telling the story and the romance aspects, so that you’re not too heavy with one or the other?

Yasmine> I’m not really a romance writer, though I respect the genre. I wrote this as urban fantasy. I know it says paranormal romance on the spine, but that was the publisher's decision.  I don't object to it because there are relationships and explicit sex in these books. With the sex, I’m not a person who likes to close the bedroom door on characters. To me, sex is part of life, it’s part of who we are as a species, and it’s definitely part of the Fae. However, a sex scene needs to fit the story arc. I’m not going to have them be in the middle of an action scene, and then, all of a sudden, drop to go screw their brains out in the corner. There’s got to be a reason to make it actually work. I look at a scene and think, “Does this fit? Does it make sense?”  If so, great.  If not, it goes. It’s all a balancing act. I'm constantly compensating to find that midpoint range.

MediaBlvd> Has writing the sex scenes been easy for you, or did you have to learn to become more bold with them, over time?

Yasmine> I have never had a problem writing sex scenes. I probably couldn't write a hardcore porn novel because I like plot with my sex. But I love good erotica, and don’t have any hang-ups talking about sex. What I do have a problem with are flowery euphemisms. You can get pretty metaphysical with sex and come out with an intense, powerful scene, but when you get into, “Oh, she looked at his manhood of steel,” I start to laugh. I’m sorry, but if it’s a cock, call it a cock. If it’s her pussy, call it that. Or, at least find a metaphor that doesn’t sound like purple prose. I know that some people are a little chagrined about my language, but too bad. That’s how I talk, and that’s how I write. My editor has been happy with my sex scenes, and the ratio of them to the rest of the book, so I figure that I’m doing something right.

MediaBlvd> Since you’re writing about a fantastical world, do you like to do research for this series, or do you prefer to draw totally from your imagination?

Yasmine> A lot of my research has been done over the years during my study of the metaphysical realm and mythology, so I’m drawing on the effort I’ve already put in. There are times where something will pop up that I need to go look up, but for the most part, a lot of it is already right here in my head. I have eight non-fiction metaphysical books out there, and I’ve been in the Craft since 1980, so I’ve got my background to work from.

MediaBlvd> What’s been the most fun about writing this series, and what’s been the most difficult aspect of it?

Yasmine> I love the characters and I love the world. It’s hard work, and sometimes I sit here for an hour, staring at the page, thinking “Okay, I know what needs to come next, but I need to envision it.” It’s not always easy, but it’s fun. I haven't reached a point in this series where I’ve been unhappy with it. I’ve enjoyed every minute of working with the Sisters. The hardest parts are remembering the different story arcs and who is where with what plot.  I’m being very good with keeping my notebooks and timelines written up. One of my big fears has been having to leave the characters behind, but that seems to be moot at this point.  Sometimes, a world and its characters won’t leave you alone. I know I’m not done with the Sisters yet.

MediaBlvd> How have the Sisters grown and changed, from the first set of books (Witchling, Changeling, Darkling) to the second set of books (Dragon Wytch, Night Huntress, Demon Mistress)?

Yasmine> They’re harder edged, they’re more savvy, and they’re much, much more afraid, as they begin to see that this isn’t just a flash in the pan war, but an all-out battle to keep Shadow Wing off balance. They’re finding out that they can lose battles -- which Menolly knew, personally, but now it means so much more when they do lose. They’re also finding out that allies come in the oddest forms, and sometimes the old adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is very, very apt.

Camille is learning to shed her fear over her wayward powers, and learning to walk in the shadows to find the strength she needs for the coming battles. Delilah is growing out of her naivety and becoming a woman instead of a girl. Menolly is learning to let her vulnerable side show -- learning that she can connect with others and they’ll still be safe.

MediaBlvd> Night Huntress seems like the book where Delilah will really have to come into her own. Is that the case? What can you say about that book?

Yasmine> Delilah is growing, and in Night Huntress, she finds out the truth about an important link to her past and personal nature. She also discovers what the Autumn Lord has planned for her. I think she’ll truly come into her own in her third book.

MediaBlvd> What hints can you give about Menolly’s next book?

Yasmine> Demon Mistress could be alternatively titled, “The Nerds From Hell.” It’s rather Lovecraftian, at least in my thinking, in terms of the menace they face there. It’s also really warped, in both humor and the creepy side of things. Sometimes, the worst monster is the boy next door. Menolly’s relationship with Nerissa grows stronger in this book, and she also branches out to the other side of the fence.

MediaBlvd> Do you have an end goal, as far as where you want to end up with this series, once you’re ready to finish it? Or, are you just following the characters and seeing where they lead you?

Yasmine> There’s the overall spirit shield story arc, but I’ve opened up new story arcs and I can also see others developing in the future. I’d like to tell the stories of some of the other characters, whether in novellas or short stories. This world I’m creating is so huge, and then there’s also Otherworld to play in. I’d love to write the story about how their mother and father met. So, yes, I can easily continue the series after the spirit seals story arc is done, and that will finish up. I won’t drag it on forever. But, in terms of getting there,  the story is evolving as I write it.

MediaBlvd> How are you with reading reviews? Is that something that you do or don’t like to do?

Yasmine> Witchling had a much wider audience and a much bigger print run than any of my other books before it, and with each book, both factors have increased. With a larger audience, there are bound to be more nasty comments. I’ve had such a wonderful response overall, but yes, there have been some really rude cracks that tick me off.  I’ve just had to grow a thicker skin and shrug, and say, “I can’t please everybody and I can’t let myself worry about it.” With Witchling, it was the first time I’d been trash-talked. I knew it was going to happen, but it was still a shock when I actually saw the comments on the screen, which is why I broke myself of reading reviews. I had to for my sanity’s sake. You get to a point where you have to say, “Okay, I’m truly sorry you didn’t like it. Please go find another author, and I hope you find one you really do enjoy.”

I’m not going to change my writing style because if I tried to please everyone, I’d bland it down so bad nobody would be happy. Writers can listen and, if the comments are the same, over and over again, maybe we need to take them under advisement. But, ultimately, we have to write the stories the way they need to be written. When reviews are so disparate and people get so angry, then you start thinking, “Well, maybe I’m just pushing their buttons and it’s their problem, not mine.”

MediaBlvd> These books have such beautiful covers. Do you get any input on that, or do you just feel extremely lucky?

Yasmine> I was extremely lucky. Authors have very, very little input on their covers. Tony Mauro, who did the art, is an incredible artist. I contacted him, when I saw the cover of Witchling, because he hit the character head-on. They are almost exactly the way I picture them. I managed to get 16 x 20 inch prints of the cover art for my office, so I’ve got the girls here, staring at me. And, I’ve commissioned several of the other characters from him. We’re actually selling posters of the artwork I personally commissioned. His cover art has had a huge impact on my readership. Sure, people say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but when you get down to it, people do buy books because of the cover.  They come back for the characters, but first impressions matter. It’s just a fact. 

MediaBlvd> What does it mean to be a shamanic witch, and how does that affect the way you live your life?

Yasmine> I’ve been in the craft since 1980, which is well over half of my life, though I’m not Wiccan. I wrote eight non-fiction books about the subject. Basically, the way being a witch affects my path is the same way anyone who practices a spiritual path is affected by their beliefs. I live my life according to my ethics. For me, this means that the spirit world and the world of Faerie are very real, although not the way I write about them in my fiction. The novels are fun fantasy books, but magic is very real to me. I live in a mystical world. I sense this mystical-spiritual side of life all the time, and have ever since I was a kid. It scared the hell out of me when I was little because I was raised as a very staunch Christian, but it wasn't the right path for me. No matter whether you end up Agnostic, Atheist, Christian, Buddhist, or being a shamanic witch, it needs to be right for you and your lifestyle.  I refuse to impose my beliefs on others, but at the same time, don’t want others imposing their beliefs on me. In terms of ethics, I treat others the way I would want them to treat me. However, I’m won't turn the other cheek. If someone tries to hurt me or my family, I’ll go after them, in whatever way I need to. I call people on their bullshit and have friends that call me on mine.  I believe in honor. I believe in protecting your loved ones. I think this is a universal belief.           

MediaBlvd> Do you have any specific writing habits, like a particular location or time of day that you prefer to write in? Do you write every day?

Yasmine> I hardly ever take a full day off. I’m on a three-books-a-year schedule and have been for a number of years now. I get up, turn on my computer, go make my mocha, grab a shower, eat breakfast at my computer, and eat lunch at my computer. I work all day. I work 60-70 hours a week because, besides the actual writing, there’s administrative work and promotion, which eats up time like crazy. Think of everything you think goes into writing a book and multiply it by 10 and you might be looking at the amount of actual tasks full-time authors face. Even though I have an agent and a part-time assistant, a lot of the administrative work falls on my shoulders. Time has become a valuable commodity. But, I like being busy. I’ve finally accepted the fact that I am a workaholic, and I’m happy with that. For a long time, I tried to balance my life out and have more play time, and I realized that I’m happiest when I’m working. Sometimes, I do need a day off, so I take a day when I really need one, but overall, working is one of the biggest priorities in my life.

MediaBlvd> Are you the kind of writer that likes to plot and outline, or do you prefer to see where the story and the characters take you?

Yasmine> I love hearing from my fans. I like it when they tell me why they loved a book. I don’t mind it if someone says, “I wish this would have happened,” or “I would like to see this happen,” as long as they realize that won't have any affect on what I’m writing. Hate letters, I could do with out, and I’ve received a few too many. The letters I treasure are like the one I received from a woman who lived in New Orleans. When Katrina hit, she had to evacuate her house, and she wrote to me while she was away in a refugee center. She said, “I took three of your Chintz ‘n China books with me when we had to evacuate, and they were the only thing that kept me from thinking about what was going on back home. They helped distract me and helped me escape thinking about what I couldn’t control.” That letter meant the world to me because it meant that what I write can actually help someone escape the pain of a major, traumatic incident, if only for a little while. That’s what entertainment is all about.

People have asked, “How do you feel about writing what’s considered entertainment, rather than something literary?” Well, when 9/11 happened, like the rest of the country, I was shell-shocked. I had been reading one of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. On the day that I saw the towers crash, I put it down, half-finished. And, I spent the next six weeks in a major depression. And then, one day, I realized I couldn’t deal with the gloom anymore. I saw the book sitting there and decided to finish it. By the end of the book, I was laughing and I realized that I felt so much better. It hit me: entertainment is vital to our sanity. I’m proud to be writing books that entertain people, make people laugh, give people a thrill, catch them up and offer them an escape. Quite frankly, if we don’t give ourselves a break from reality now and then, we’re not going to be of any use to anyone, including ourselves.

MediaBlvd> Is there someone whose advice you rely on, if you get stuck on something character or plot related?

Yasmine> I used to have a critique partner, who worked with me through my first five or six books. We did a great amount of work together and she was great, except that I started writing so fast and my schedule sped up so much that there was no way I could expect her to keep up. I finally decided it was time to rely on myself. Now, if I get stuck, I talk it through with my editor. She’s really good at helping me re-envision parts that I’m stuck on, so I know I can always call her to talk about it.

MediaBlvd> What is your proudest professional accomplishment, thus far?

Yasmine> Achieving my goal of being a career writer. My very first contract was my proudest moment, because I’d worked toward that for so many years. When it finally happened, I sat there in the car, holding the contract to my chest, crying my eyes out because I was so happy. And then, the next was when I got the call from my agent, saying that Berkley wanted to buy my series, and it was the first time I’d actually made a breakthrough with my fiction.  I was dancing around, screaming in her ear. She was laughing, but I was like, “Oh, man, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to deafen you.”                    

MediaBlvd> How does it feel to have hit both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists? Does reaching that goal mean that you’ve set a new goal for yourself with future books?

Yasmine> It felt incredible. When Witchling hit the USA Today list, I was thrilled. Then, Changeling did the same, and I was even more thrilled. But, with Darkling and Dragon Wytch hitting both lists, I was over the moon, slap your butt happy!

Now, my next goal is to make the New York Times Short List because, until then, I can’t use the New York Times best-selling author title. So, my focus is getting on the short list. After that, I have more goals. Trust me, I’m never without a direction. But, my biggest goal, career wise, is to increase my readership, go on writing books that I love, and write the best stories that I can, each time.

MediaBlvd> Does hitting the bestseller lists put pressure on you to hit them with every release?

Yasmine> Indirectly. My editor is very good about reassuring me that it’s not vital. But, once you do hit the lists, there is, at least for me, this internal pressure to do better. And, since you want the series to continue to do as well or better with each book, this indirectly means hitting the lists, again and again. Of course I want on that short list. I won’t lie. It’s like winning a major award at work. But, I’m trying to not let it rattle me, because there are so many factors that you have no control over, from what else is being released that week, to how many people wait a week after it comes out to buy it--there are never any guarantees.

During pre-release month, I go through this major wave of heart-thumping panic, wondering how well the book will do. And, some of that feeling is valid because publishing is a damned hard business to make a living in. When too many books start sliding, authors can find themselves without contracts. It’s just an occupational hazard. And it’s also this competition with myself, to do better than I did before.

But really, most of all, I want my readers to love the books so much they have to read them. I want them to need their Sisters fix because I love this world I’m writing about so much and it thrills me that others do too. I want to be able to write these books for a long time, as long as I feel I’m doing a good job on them.                                                                  

MediaBlvd> The tremendous success that you are currently having is an indication that readers love the Sisters. What do you think it is about them that makes it easy for so many people to identify with them?

Yasmine> I think it’s a combination of things. The Sisters each have certain talents and skills that are enviable, that a lot of us fantasize about having. And yet, they’re flawed. They make mistakes, they flounder, they have troubles in their love lives, their personal lives, their careers. They don’t always win, and they get bruised up a lot. They aren’t annoyingly perfect. I also think that their devotion to each other, to Iris and Maggie, to their lovers, that all comes through. They fight, they spat, they argue, but in the end, you know that each of the sisters would willingly die for the others. You know they’ll do everything in their power to save their loved ones.

Another aspect that I think attracts readers, because it attracts me to other series, is that they’re all a bunch of misfits. I keep thinking about the Island of Misfit Toys from Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The girls and their loved ones don’t fit into society in any nice, tidy way. So many of us feel alienated from what we see as the mainstream venue of life. I’m an intelligent, fat, sensual, married, bisexual, heavily-tattooed witch who’s part Cherokee and part Irish. How much more misfit can I get? When I write mainstream characters, I find it hard to identify with them. And, I don’t care much for reading about them either.

MediaBlvd> What is the Elemental Magic series, and when will that be coming out?

Yasmine> It’s so new that I don’t have much of a blurb to give you, and we haven’t got a release date for the first book yet, though I have a due date for it. The main characters are cousins, both around 18 - 20. My tag line for it is, “Four elements, Two Cousins, All Magic.” The book will deal with the Fae, but still in my own skewed way. But, the cousins aren’t Fae. Right now, I’m not talking a lot about it because I don’t want to dilute the energy.

MediaBlvd> How much more difficult is it for you to juggle two urban fantasy series now? Do you find that, since you switch voices for each of the books about the Sisters that it’s easier to switch back and forth between two different series?

Yasmine> I haven’t started to write the first book in the Elemental Magic series yet, but I imagine it won’t be that difficult. A few years back, I was writing three series in one year, and did fine. Both series will be in a genre I absolutely love, so I expect I’ll be a whole lot happier this time around. I’ll be writing two Sisters books a year, and one Elemental Magic book a year.    

MediaBlvd> How many books are you contracted for now with the Sisters, and how many are you contracted for with your new series? What will the release schedule be?

Yasmine> Currently, I am contracted through book nine with the Sisters and, at least on my part, have no plans to stop, unless something totally wacked happens. I’m about as sure as you can get in this business without a contract in hand that there will probably be more after the nine. I’m starting out with three books on the Elemental Magic series, and we’ll see how things go from there. I’m not sure of the release schedule for the Elemental Magic series, though I believe it will be one a year. The Sisters come out in January and July.

MediaBlvd> What is “Etched in Silver,” and when/where will that be released?

Yasmine> “Etched in Silver” is a novella, set in Otherworld, pre-dating the time when the girls came Earthside. It’s the story of how Trillian and Camille met, and will be in an anthology called Inked, from Berkley, to be released in January 2010. The other authors in the anthology will be Eileen Wilks, Marjorie M. Liu and Karen Chance.

MediaBlvd> Is there something you’d like to write that you haven’t gotten the chance to yet?

Yasmine> There are a number of stand-alones that I would love to work on. I’ve got at least five or six stand-alone books in my head that I haven’t had a chance to even start writing, so I’d like to get into that. Some are paranormal suspense, some are cyberpunk. I love paranormal thrillers. I’m not into the horror realms, in terms of blood-and-guts gore, but I love suspense and I love action. I love weaving action and mystery into a heavily paranormal setting. There’s a whole lot of things I’d like to do.

MediaBlvd> What advice can you offer to aspiring writers, who are not only looking to get published, but who would like to have a career as a writer?

Yasmine> The Career Novelist, by Donald Maass, and On Writing by Stephen King are both excellent books to start with. My advice? Know that your words aren’t set in stone. Be willing to listen to criticism. Learn to argue for what you believe in but let the rest go. If it won’t compromise the book, then make the changes your editor suggests. Don’t nit-pick. Learn to pick and choose your battles. Your first book probably won’t sell. Your second book may not sell either. Maybe not even your third or your fourth. Keep on writing. It’s all good, it’s all practice. You can’t expect to walk into Carnegie Hall and pick up a violin and go onstage with a symphony, when you’ve never had lessons. In the same vein, writing that first book is your first series of lessons. Think of rejection slips as proof that you are working toward a goal. That’s how I always viewed them. Out of my books in the closet, I ended up with 79 rejection slips from different agents and publishers for one of those books. I’ve probably received over 600 rejection slips in my life for various projects, but I didn’t give up. There is no guarantee you will ever succeed. However, if you quit, I guarantee you’ll fail. Unless you give it your all, you’ll never know if you can make it.