Griffin Farm was the debut, so that was awesome, and it took a long time to harness the form, because there are a lot of dynamics with family dramas...people coming and going, weaving in and out, that kind of thing. And it tugged on my heart; I can't say that I maintained an "artist distance" throughout the process, and I think this shows in its intensity.
And holy shit, speaking of people weaving in and out, The Anchor wins in that category. People are crawling around everywhere in that sucker. By far, the Anchor was the most fun to write, and there were a ton of voices and witty dialogue, which I loved, but the numerous minor characters made editing challenging! Very complicated, and it took an immense amount of research, but also, it's incredibly detailed and visual. Real life, living in 90s Seattle, and events there definitely inspired the work.
Strange Skin was challenging as well, since it was a YA, so it was a new style for me, and I had to work hard to tone down the fucks and leave the drugs out and such, ha, but the nature of this genre forced me to make the story more compact, which was a great learning experience. I definitely fell in love with my character Casper, which is interesting, because I seriously have never met anyone like him. His character grew out of an article I read about street hustlers a long time ago.
And The Hole was a whole other animal; it was painful to write that sucker, but strangely, I felt incredibly free at the same time, because I allowed myself to get as dark and dirty as I wanted, and I became completely lost in it, so much so that it felt like I became the characters when I did the voices. This one also took a lot of research -- interviews, letters, reading, podcasts, and then some. I learned a hell of a lot.
So that's the short answer. With each project, I become enmeshed, and they're all a part of me now, but once I finish one, I never read it again, unless I'm doing an event or whatnot.
And what comes next? Book Five, and as far as the style and subject matter, it will remain a secret until it's absolutely finished.
Until then, the others are here, paperback and eBook.
TYVM,
C.A. MacConnell
P.S. You're my favorite, always.
