Teri Brown, Wrimo, resident history nut, and the author of Born of Illusion, a YA novel set in 1920’s New York, was kind enough to share how her NaNo-novel about Harry Houdini’s illegitimate daughter came to bookstores, and how writing taught her never to give up:
Your novel, Born of Illusion, came out this past June—it’s set in a dark and magical 1920s New York. What inspired you to write about this time?
The period of time between 1900 and 1930 has always fascinated me. It was a time of change across the board—women’s rights, technology, music, arts and literature were all going through a metamorphosis. Cultured hurtled into the modern age during that time and the affect all these changes had on people was incredible. It makes for a lot of conflict, which is what good stories thrive on.
What draws you to writing historical fiction?
The stories! There are just so many amazing time periods to tell stories about. I’m currently writing in the 1920’s and the Edwardian era (as T.J. Brown), but I have no doubt I’ll move on to other time periods, as well. I have the seeds of a tense young-adult western rattling about in my brain, sort of like Django Unchained meets the Wild Wild West, but it hasn’t quite jelled yet.
How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo? What have your NaNoWriMo experiences been like?
I think the first time I participated in NaNoWriMo was 2002. I won, but the book was terrible. I didn’t attend any meet-ups at all that year.
The second time I did NaNo was in 2010, and it was for Born of Illusion, which at the time was titled The Life and Times of Harry Houdini’s Illegitimate Daughter. (I know the title is bulky, but I actually loved it!) I went to several meet ups with my best friend’s teen daughter who won NaNo that year, as well.
On the last night we met at a Panera with a bunch of other Nano-ers. I had a charm bracelet engraved with her name and “NaNoWriMo 2010 Winner”. I wrapped it up in a box and bow and set it next to her computer. She could have her gift when she finished up. At twenty minutes to midnight she hit her word count and was able to open her prize. It was a fun year!
I did NaNo last year because I was actually trying to finish book three of four contracted books, which I ended up writing in eleven months… NaNo prepared me well for those deadlines! And yes, I won again. Does that mean I get a triple crown?
What was your journey to publication like?
My journey to publication is sort of convoluted. I scored an agent fairly soon in my career, but it took two books before I finally sold my first YA novel in 2007. Then I couldn’t sell again to save my life. My agent and I had a parting of the ways, I wrote another book and shopped until I found another agent. That book didn’t sell either and I thought my career was over. Seriously over.
I had an idea that would become Born of Illusion, but my agent at the time really enjoyed edgy YA and had little interest in historicals. I had to tell the story of Houdini’s daughter, so I left my second agent, wrote a banging proposal and went shopping again. To my delight, I had several offers and finally chose Mollie Glick from Foundry Literary agency. She is brilliant. (She is also warm and wonderful but mostly brilliant!) We worked on BOI for about eight months before we sold it in a preempt in 2011 to Kristin Rens at Balzer and Bray.
Six months later I also sold an adult Edwardian Trilogy to Gallery Books. You know the old adage it never rains, but it pours? That.
What is your favorite word?
Myriad. I don’t know why. I like plethora too.
What was your lowest moment while writing and how did you overcome it?
I have had so many low moments, but doesn’t every writer? Isn’t that part of our chosen profession?
When I was working nonfiction, there was that moment when I interviewed a prominent author and she contacted the editor after reading the article I submitted and told the editor I lied about a quote… luckily I had the email with the exact quote in it. The editor asked me what I wanted to do and I told her to scrap the article. That was a pretty low moment.
There was also the moment when my first agent and I broke up. And the moment when my second agent and I broke. Then there are the rejections and the occasional poor review. Like I said, low moments happen. A lot. You just have to develop a tenacious, no-holds-barred mentality. I am never going to give up. Never.
Last summer was particularly bad for me… I was diagnosed with throat cancer and had to undergo radiation treatments and I had all these deadlines… it’s times like those when you realize how much your writing career means to you. I wrote no matter how bad I felt. And the stories got me through.
Teri Brown is most proud of her two children but coming in a close second is the fact that she parachuted out of a plane and beat the original Legend of Zelda video game. She resides with her husband and way too many pets in Portlandia.
Keep up with Teri: