Today I have author Cinda Williams Chima. She is the author of the popular Heir series. She recently released the start of a new series, The Demon King (Amazon/Indieboud).

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What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?

Some of my most interesting comments/questions come from young writers. A boy wrote and said, "I noticed you used some swear words in your book. I, too, am a writer, and I'm wondering, what words can you use, and how many?"
I wrote back and said, "As few as possible."

The emails that touch me the most are from reluctant or non-readers, the ones that say, "They said I had to read a book, so I chose yours and then I couldn't put it down." That chokes me up. The idea of going through life without books is horrifying to me.

Is there a genre that you’d like to write? Is there a genre you’ll probably stay away from and why?

So much to write, so little time! For me, it's less about genre and more about story, though all of my books so far have been fantasy. Fantasy expands the boundaries a bit, and I love the notion of people with power. I would say I'd like to try my hand at writing mainstream or literary fiction, but I contend that there is no reason that fiction with genre elements can't be mainstream AND literary. I love the idea of books that cross boundaries and transcend genre. I prefer to stay away from formulaic fiction in any genre. I want to write books that are accessible and meaningful and speak to a broad range of people.

Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing?

I write on the computer. There would be no books written by me if not for the computer. I have a sweet setup with a 24 inch cinema display. I'm a very fast keyboarder. Other things I'll have on hand are a glass of iced tea and my tunes.

Describe your writing in three words.

Accessible, non-condescending, and cinematic (I hope)

What's next for you?

I'm revising The Exiled Queen, the second book in the Seven Realms series, and I'm ~350 pages into the first draft of book 3, which I had to put aside to revise Book 2. What I'll do next will likely depend on how these books are received. I have some new ideas that I'd like to grow. I'll be touring for The Demon King (my first book tour!) so i'm excited about that. I hope people will check out the schedule on my website and on booktour.com

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Thanks Cinda for that awesome interview! The Demon King was released October 6! I should have a review up sometime soon!

To win your very own signed copy of The Demon King:

• leave a comment on this post
• contest deadline is November 6, 2009!
  
• open to everyone!
  
• get extra entries for tweeting, posting about the contest, or adding the contest to your sidebar. please provide links!

Good Luck!

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