Girl in the Shadows Blog Tour: Interview with Gwenda Bond

Today we're chatting with author Gwenda Bond as part of the GIRL IN THE SHADOWS blog tour. Come get to know more about Gwenda and her book.

Gwenda Bond is the author of the young adult novels Lois Lane: Fallout and Girl on a Wire, among others. Lois Lane: Double Down and Girl in the Shadows, a companion novel to Girl on a Wire set in the Cirque American, are next up in 2016. She’s also hard at work on some secret projects you don’t know about yet.

Her nonfiction writing has appeared in Publishers Weekly, Locus Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. She has an MFA in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in a hundred-year-old house in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband, author Christopher Rowe. There are rumors she escaped from a screwball comedy, and she might have a journalism degree because of her childhood love of Lois Lane. Visit her online at www.gwendabond.com or @gwenda on Twitter.

Hi, Gwenda! Welcome to We Do Write. Tell our readers a bit about GIRL IN THE SHADOWS. What’s the story about?

Girl in the Shadows is about Moira Mitchell, who wants to be the first female magician to be as well known as Houdini or David Copperfield or her famous Las Vegas magician father. But when her father forbids her from pursuing magic as a career, she runs away and auditions for the Cirque American...where things get more complicated after she discovers she can do real magic and that it has something to do with her mysterious absent mother.

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Sounds awesome! How did the idea of the story come to you?

The Cirque American and the novel this is a companion to, Girl on a Wire, grew out of my long obsession with all things circus. But in addition to that, I’ve always been obsessed with all things stage magic and somewhat frustrated there aren’t more successful, feted female magicians. So when I was thinking about the next story to tell in the Cirque American world, writing about that seemed like a natural fit.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’ve become more of an outliner and planner as I’ve written more novels. My Lois Lane series requires me to turn in detailed outlines up front, and so that’s strengthened my skills on that front. But no matter how much pre-work I do, there are always surprises in the writing itself. Which is as it should be!

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Drafting! It’s so far from where I ultimately want it to be that writing the first draft is often painful for me. I think this is the reason so many of us focus on word count when we’re drafting. It’s a tangible daily or weekly sign that someday we’ll have that draft and be able to fix it.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

My computer. ;)

Haha. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Teleportation! I get stuck in airports a lot.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Hmmm… I’m not sure of the answer for ever but this week I’ve been research mythologically monstrous children.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably …

Walking the dogs.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Oh my, how long do you have? But seriously I’m very lucky to have a husband, Christopher Rowe, who is also a writer and really gets it and supports me. My parents, definitely. And of course my agent Jenn Laughran and all the editors I work with. Booksellers, librarians and ALL MY READERS. I could go on. I’m very lucky.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog!

Thanks for hosting me!


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