Author interview with fantasy and contemporary adult fiction writer, Abby Lattanzio

Hello, and welcome to this week’s featured author, Abby Lattanzio! Her work includes fantasy (The Elementals) and contemporary adult fiction (Remember Me Tomorrow).

Q: When did you first catch the writing bug? What drove you to persist?
A: I first became interested in writing in high school. During my sophomore year, we had a creative writing unit for our English class. It was fascinating to me, and I have felt compelled to write stories ever since!

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: My early literary influence was definitely Kenneth Oppel and his Airborn trilogy. I was smitten with the idea of airships and the illustrations at the beginning of Airborn, and that book inspired my first short story that I wrote for a high school class (I, unfortunately, have not been able to find a copy of this story; it was written on paper before we had to type up assignments and has been lost to time). My first published book, The Elementals, is inspired heavily by Airborn – especially in terms of seafaring (or in Airborn’s case, skyfaring?).

Q: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
A: Writing exhausts me. I love storytelling and being able to bring my characters and their exploits to life, but the physical act of having to sit down and write is very mentally draining. When I was in elementary school, I could never write long enough paragraphs for my assignments. My teacher forced me to tally out each sentence to ensure that I had a minimum of five sentences per paragraph. By the time I got to high school, I wrote entirely too much for my assignments, so much that my teacher would tell the class that they had until I finished my exam to turn theirs in, knowing that I would be the last one to finish. This didn’t mean I liked writing though. It was tedious, and still is, and I am forever wishing there was a faster, more succinct way of getting the words and images from my brain onto paper!

Q: Do you try more for originality or to please your readers?
A: I write for originality. I have stories and characters in my head that I want to share. I hope that readers enjoy them, but I am not here to please everyone. It’s not possible! Not everyone will like my stories or ideas, and that is okay!

Q: Do you ever try to write to the latest trends? Why or why not?
A: No, I don’t try to write to the latest trends. I stick to what I know and like, and what I feel I can convey the best with my voice and style. Especially now, where there is a big push toward romantasy/romance. I can’t write romance; no one wants to watch me flounder through that!

Q: Do you prefer to write stand-alone novels or series? Do you make connections between non-connected books?
A: This is an interesting question. When I started querying my first book, The Elementals, I didn’t have plans to make it into a series. I intentionally left it with an open ending and was wanting the reader to draw their own conclusions as to what happened next for my world, because my focus for the book originally was on the characters. I had felt that the characters’ arcs had completed, in a way, and was okay with where I had left them. However, after having a few friends read through the manuscript and getting it picked up by a publisher (Curious Curls Publishing), it was clear that the story deserved more than one book and that the story was unfinished. I’m glad that that feedback was given, because they were all correct! These characters were not done and I couldn’t leave the world the way I did at the end of book 1. So, The Elementals is now going to be a trilogy!

But I think I’m more of a mix of what I prefer. I like the ability of a standalone novel to be a one-and-done kind of thing, where you can get the story out and move onto the next story you want to tell. On the other hand, if the story you want to tell is too long and complicated, obviously you will need to create a series. I’m going whichever way the story takes me. I have a trilogy planned, a standalone book published, and another series that I would like to write. After I get all of that done, I think a standalone might be better so I can take a little break!

Q: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
A: Believe in yourself earlier. I was so unsure about pursuing creative writing in high school when the subject was first introduced that I passed up on an opportunity to take a semester-long creative writing course, which I really regret. If I had chosen to take that course in high school, my choice of college might have been different, my first job might have been different, I might have gotten something published in my early twenties instead of my early thirties. But on the flip side, I am really glad I ended up going to the college I did choose because I was able to pursue creative writing there and had some really great instructors!

Q: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
A: To be honest, it didn’t. I’m still a pantser; I don’t plan out my story from start to finish or strive to publish one book a year or whatnot. I work at my own pace, and I let the story find me. I am lucky to work with a publisher (Curious Curls Publishing) who hasn’t needed to push me to churn out books at a rapid pace and who is willing to take my story at face value before suggesting some arcs the story can move into.

Q: Do you have an all-time favorite writer, or does your favorite change over time? Who is your favorite writer today?
A: My favorite author changes as my reading tastes change. When I was younger, I was very big into fantasy and devoured anything and everything by Leigh Bardugo and Rick Riordan. As I have gotten older, my tastes have trended more toward horror and my insta-buy author is becoming T. Kingfisher.

Q: What is your favorite genre to read? Do you write in that genre? Has that always been your favorite genre, or has your taste evolved as you have grown as a writer?
A: My taste has evolved more as I’ve gotten older, not so much due to me growing as a writer. I’ve switched from fantasy to horror in the past year and it’s exciting to explore a genre I’ve never really had the courage to pick up before (I’m a bit of a scaredy cat – no horror movies for me!). I haven’t written horror before, but I am planning a series of supernatural occurrences at a college campus that could be classified as horror or horror-adjacent. I want this series to be more “things that go bump in the night” instead of gore.

Q: What does “literary success” or success as an author look like for you?
A: Just people reading my books! Everyone has their own tastes and expectations for what they read, but if even one person mentions that they enjoyed my story, I’m happy!

Q: What kind of music or sounds do you like to listen to as you write, or do you prefer complete silence?
A: I need complete silence because I get distracted too easily. However, sometimes I put on instrumental piano music or soft jazz because I can’t sing along with those!

Q: Do you read your book reviews? How do you handle those reviews, whether good or bad?
A: Yes, I do read my book reviews. I get all warm and fuzzy inside when someone leaves a nice review and I read any negative reviews, internalize briefly, and move on. Not every reader will like every book they read for various reasons. It’s interesting to see these reasons but not worth getting upset at them.

Q: How long (on average) does it take you to write a book?
A: Too long, ha ha! I’d say now that I have the goal of getting books published instead of trying to see if I can write, it takes me about a year. I am not a fast writer; I struggle with being able to find time and motivation to write more often than not and that slows me down.

Q: Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing/etc. come from?
A: My mom. She read to me almost every night when I was younger, and I always had a shelf (or eventually room) full of books growing up. She got me my first library card, would take me to the library or bookmobile, and would never hesitate to let me buy a new book.

Q: What was the hardest part of writing your most recent book?
A: My most recent book is the sequel to The Elementals. The hardest part of writing it is knowing where to most effectively break the story up into books two and three. I felt like I could have ended book two in a number of places but ultimately I believe I chose the correct spot!

Q: Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
A: I am a part-time writer. My day job can keep me pretty busy, which definitely affects how much time and mental capacity I can devote to my writing (which is why it takes a year between books).

Q: What projects are you working on at the present?
A: Currently, I am waiting for my publisher (Curious Curls Publishing) to review the most recent edits to The Elementals #2 (title TBD). I’m somewhat concurrently working on The Elementals #3 but want to focus on getting the sequel finalized before diving too deep into book three, that way I don’t misconstrue any important plot points!

Q: What do your plans for future projects include?
A: I really want to write a supernatural, spooky series regarding students that go missing at a small college. The thing that contributes to them going missing will be some sort of eldritch being that lives deep in the woods but has a human proxy at the college. This story has been in the back of my mind for a few years now. Once The Elementals trilogy is complete, I’ll be able to devote the necessary time to it! I anticipate this series being four books, one for each year of the main character’s time at college.

Q: What other books would you recommend to our readers in addition to your own?
A: Check out Tarah Benner’s Witches of Mountain Shadow series. I fell in love with these characters! Each book raises the stakes and makes you yearn for the next in the series!

Connect with the author

• Author website
• Instagram: @authorabbylattanzio
• Facebook: Author Abby Lattanzio 
• Buy Abby Lattanzio books on Amazon today!

Now available in print and on Kindle!