Firstly, thank you to Gail for taking part in this interview. Here is the “obligatory bio” from Gail’s website for a quick overview of the lady herself:
“Ms. Carriger began writing in order to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of Armenian lovers, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit. Soulless is her first book, Changeless is her second.”
Now on to the questions:
Have you made any new years resolutions and if so can you share any with us?
I have decided to do more yoga and drink less tea. So far this year, tea = 12 and yoga = 3. Not so good really.
Which book have you read in the last year that made you think “Damn, I wish I’d written that?”
That isn’t normally my first thought upon finishing a really good book, unless it’s a New York Times best seller. However, I really, really loved Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. It obviously stemmed from a place of love and academic familiarity with Nordic fairy stories. The prose was beautifully lyrical and it was a genuine pleasure to read.
You’re about to be stranded on a desert island and you are only allowed to take 3 books with you: which do you take and why?
The Forgotten Beast of Eld by Patricia McKillip, By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey, and Taming the Forest King by Claudia J. Edwards. All for exactly the same reason: I can read them over and over again and never get tired of them.
Now onto the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series – Soulless. Where did you come up with the idea of vampires and werewolves prowling the streets of Victorian London? It’s a ruthless vehicle to explain history’s greatest mystery: How did one tiny island manage to conquer an empire upon which the sun never set? I decided that the only possible answer was that England openly accepted supernatural creatures, and put them to good use, while other countries continued persecution. This gave Great Britain a leg up dealing with messy little situations like winning major foreign battles or establishing an efficient bureaucracy or convincing the world cricket is a good idea. It so very Victorian to take a stance the equivalent of, “Ah yes, vampires, jolly good chaps, excellent fashion sense, always polite, terribly charming at cards, we just won’t mention that little neck biting habit.”
What research did you do on London under the rule of Queen Victoria?
I had a fair bit of expertise in certain aspects of the era (fashion, food, manners, literature, theatre, upper class courting rituals, antiquities collecting) when I started but great gaps in other areas that I quickly realized needed to be filled. I spent a lot of time researching the gadgetry and technology of the day, travel and communications techniques, medical and hard science advances, not to mention other things like major wars and military strategies, configuration of army regiments, geographical lay out of London in the 1870s (shops and streets names), newspapers, and government policies. That’s the thing, you never know what information you are going to need until you need it, and inevitably the internet doesn’t have it. Since I’m writing alt history I can always disregard the facts, but I like to get it right first, before I mess with it. Most people won’t care to look up the details (or get it wrong by confusing my setting with Austen or mid-Victorian, I’m specifically 1773) but it will bother me if I don’t know the truth of the matter.
Which are your favourite books and authors from that era and did any of them inspire you while writing Soulless?
I love Elisabeth Gaskell, so anything by her. I like Jane Eyre but can do without the other Bronte sisters. Of course, I lived and breathed Dickens for a very long time, still do once a year, so I have to mention him. I’m an aberrant in this, but David Copperfield is my favorite. Amelia B. Edwards’ A Thousand Miles Up the Nile was certainly an influence on Alexia’s character. As to inspirations, I’d say P.G. Wodehouse had more of an influence on my writing style than anyone from the actual Victorian era.
Can you explain steampunk to us and what is it about it that fascinates you so much?
There are two main kinds of steampunk. The first, and most common, envisions a future as the Victorians imagined it. Steampower dominates (usually at the expense of electricity) and Victorian science, morals, and manners reign supreme. The writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are good examples. The alternative option, depicts a far future world that harkens back to Victorian culture, for example a bustle dress made of kevlar. There are also other temporal “punks” like clockpunk (c. 1500s) and dieselpunk (WWII). I’m fascinated by steampunk because it allows me to play with all the intriguing and appealing bits of Victorian era, while ignoring the rotten underbelly (bigotry, slavery, destitution).
There are second and third books coming out this year (Changeless and Blameless). Is that it for the Parasol Protectorate or is there more to come?
The usual rules of publishing apply. All I can say is, I’m open to more from Alexia and Lord Maccon. I’m currently under contract for only the three books. I don’t leave you hanging at the end of Blameless, so please don’t worry.
Do you plan on writing any more series after this one? Can you give us any juicy tidbits about your plans?
I have a Sci-fi YA I’m playing about with. Who knows if that will ever see the ink of publication? I’m enjoying Alexia’s world so much I’ve become interested in exploring both the past (specifically Alexia’s father) and the future, perhaps overseas in the Americas. I’d like to do a Turn of the Century Old West steampunk setting, polluted with my general irreverence, of course. The first is probably a stand-alone book, the second could be a series. Who knows? All are mere twinkles in the eye at the moment.
And finally, the quick fire round:
Favourite colour: red
Favourite item of clothing: A vintage 1950s black Dior suit (dress with jacket) that fits like a dream (thank goodness you didn’t ask about shoes, that’d take me hours to figure out)
Favourite animal: octopus (naturally)
Favourite flavour crisps (chips): Walkers roast chicken (I liked the pork & pickle too)
Favourite holiday destination: Italy, specifically Lake Como
Favourite childhood memory: sand ball wars on the beach (kind of like the California version snow ball wars, only harder and during the summer)
Always treacle tart or do other puddings get a look in? Oh, other puddings, by all means. Particularly custard. I am a sucker of custard in all its many forms.
These are the first two books in the Parasol Protectorate series. Here is a synopsys for both:
Souless: “Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Or will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart? SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.
Changeless: “Alexia Tarabotti, now Lady Maccon, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears – leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria. But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her into the backwaters of ugly waistcoats, Scotland, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only A soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.”
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