Author: 
~ Interview by Melina Kantor
We’re thrilled to have Gabi Stevens, author of the delightful Time of Transition trilogy, visiting the blog today.
Her latest book, Wishful Thinking, was released on 4/24.
Welcome Gabi!
Q. Please tell us a bit about the Time of Transition series and your new book, Wishful Thinking.
A. Every seventy years, the magical world undergoes a change. The old fairy godmothers step down and pass their duties on to the new ones. In the North American Western region, the three old godmothers welcome their three new replacements, but this time the transition isn’t smooth. Unrest from the past raises its specter and threatens the Arcani and Groundling worlds.
In Wishful Thinking, free-spirit Stormy Jones-Smythe lives in a loving community of artists, but when she is chosen as the third fairy godmother, the Arcani world forces its boundaries and expectations on her. The first two godmothers have gone rogue, and the Council assigns her a full time guard to prevent her from doing the same. Luckily even a rigid and strict bodyguard can’t contain her exuberance.
Hunter Merrick doesn’t appreciate the babysitting job he’s been given, especially when Stormy proves as chaotic as her name implies. But a threat forces Hunter to choose which side deserves his loyalty and both choices have dire consequences.
And if Stormy can defeat the greatest enemy the Arcani have seen since the time of Merlin, maybe she can rescue a bit of happiness for herself too. If she survives.
Q. The Time of Transition books take place in quite an intricately built world, full of rules, traditions, and vivid history. I’d love to hear more about your world building process, and how you keep the world consistent from book to book.
A. The world building was so much fun. First of all, it’s contemporary, so everything that exists today, exists in this world—cell phones, internet, iPads, etc. Second, I set the story in San Diego, a city near and dear to my heart. I did my undergraduate work there, met my husband there, my father-in-law lives there, and I get to visit often. Third, I added magic. The people in my books have magical powers, but they live and mingle in our world. Yes, they have their own social gatherings, jobs, etc. but in my world, the number of Groundlings (those with no magic) vastly outnumber the Arcani. The separation of the two worlds has its origins with Merlin and Arthur. In my history, they tried to set up a society where both peoples could mix freely (Camelot), but that society collapsed when too many Arcani felt Groundlings were inferior, and too many Groundlings wanted to control Arcani magic.
I wish I could tell you I was organized and kept extensive notes and notebook filled with details that needed to be remembered from book to book, but I’m not. If I was unsure of a detail, I would find it in the earlier novels and make sure I maintained consistency. Not the more efficient way to write.
Q. Besides contemporary paranormals, you’ve also written historicals, which you recently released in ebook form. What are some of the challenges of writing in more than one genre?
A. My historicals are from my earlier publishing career. I love history and historicals and have always written pranormals and historicals (including a couple of paranormal historicals). But when that career fizzled (long story about editors leaving, the market dying, etc.), I focused on paranormals. The toughest part is the voice in the two genres. They have such a different feel—both me, but different.
My ebook release, Temptation’s Warrior, is a medieval romp that was originally released in 2005 in hardcover only. Right now, I’m waiting for the reversion of rights on five regency/Victorian era novels, but I’ll be releasing a fantasy romance in ebook soon—its feel is historical, not contemporary. Again, a different tone, but hopefully as entertaining.
Q. In addition to writing, you’re also a teacher. How do you balance the demands of your day job with your writing career?
A. I don’t know whether to say I’m happy that I quit the day job last May or that I’m angry about the whole situation. On the one hand, I love not having to balance the writing and the teaching. Doing both at the same time was nearly impossible—I threw my heart and soul into teaching (as so many teachers do) and also into writing, which left little time for me. But I quit after I felt my integrity couldn’t survive the teaching atmosphere any longer. The constrictions placed on teachers and what they’re allowed to teach—whether they know it’s the right thing or not—became unbearable to me. I don’t want to go into a rant here, but the emphasis on testing has severely curtailed the education a child receives today. School is not longer about teaching a child the joys of knowledge, but about bubbling in the right answer. Thinking is no longer on the curriculum. (Broad sweeping generalization, I know, but this interview isn’t about education but my new release.)
Q. As always, I’m eagerly awaiting your next book! Can you tell us about your next project?
A. My agent and I are shopping a new series about a special town in the Rockies with special inhabitants. I’ll let you know what happens with it.
Thank you for visiting with us, Gabi! 🙂
Gabi Stevens travels the world with her robotics engineer husband and her three incredible daughters (Reality: she went to Europe last summer with her family, but lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico). Because she is fluent in three languages and knows Latin, her abilities are in demand from many different factions (Reality: she has Hungarian relatives who needed her to translate to her family and students to whom she taught English and Latin) and her knowledge has helped numerable writers in their quest for publication (Reality: she has presented many writing workshops and has a critique group). Her latest novels feature fairy godmothers. Her current release is Wishful Thinking, from Tor books. Gabi claims no magical powers of her own. You can find her at www.GabiStevens.com, at her blog, www.GabiStevens.blogspot.com, or on Twitter or Facebook, unless she’s off on one of her world tours (Reality: she’s at home with her two dogs).
Discover the magic:
- THE WISH LIST
- AS YOU WISH
- WISHFUL THINKING
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