Cherie Priest is a well-established author whose latest book, Boneshaker, hit the market this past September.  She is the author of seven books in total, as well as an associate editor for Subterranean Press.  I’ve reviewed her latest book Boneshaker in a previous posting here on the Literary Life, and I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Cherie and finding a bit more about this great author.

If you could go on a dinner/movie date with any character from Boneshaker, who would it be?
Cherie – I’m not really sure.  Lucy would probably just talk throughout the whole movie.  Possibly Captain Cly.  He would eat all your popcorn but I can see him being fun – as long as he’s not sitting in front of you.  He’s a large guy and I wouldn’t be able to see.

What do you hate most about writing?
Cherie – Getting started.  I can imagine one million and one reasons not to write.  My house has never been so clean.  I will sit down and think to myself, “There are dishes in the sink.  I should clean them,” or “The floor could use some vacuuming.”  Once I finally get myself sitting and begin writing, then it’s fine and I can write and write and write.

How often do you read and where is your favorite place to read?
Cherie – I read daily – whether I like to or not.  As an editor, it is my job to read and review, but when it comes to pleasure reading I find myself either on the couch or the bed.

What lead you to write a novel with so many different concepts in it – zombies, steampunk, historical fiction, etc?
Cherie – I moved from Tennessee to Seattle about 4 years ago and I have always enjoyed writing about the different places that I live.  I grew up a military brat so I’ve moved many places and I really like to capture each place.  After arriving in Seattle, I had that urge again.  As well – Seattle was the Mecca of steampunk.  As I was learning more about steampunk, a few things just didn’t gel with me – such as why everyone wore gas masks.  I decided to write a novel that connected a few of those gaps.

You changed quite a bit of history around – so much so that you placed an Author’s Note at the end of your book asking history buffs not to be angry! Why did you choose to use an existing place and time instead of something completely fictional?
Cherie – I’ve always been drawn to realistic places.  The truth is often far crazier than history has written it – so I liked the concept of taking something that could be one of those crazy truths.  After taking the Seattle Underground Tour, I realized how much potential there was.  I’m originally from Florida and I wanted to capture the essence of Seattle.  I wanted this book to take place in 1880 because of the world setting at the time, but nothing was really happening in Seattle at that time.  It wasn’t until the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 that Seattle grew to any significant size.  So, I just sped up history a bit and had the Klondike Gold Rush happen a few years earlier – which lead me to the idea of the Bonecrusher to begin with.

There have been quite a few steampunk movies – Wild Wild West, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and Astroboy.  Do you see Boneshaker as a film?
Cherie – I think it would make an awesome film!  In fact, there have already been preliminary chats about buying the rights to the film – but I have no control over that.

What is your favorite children’s book?
Cherie – Howliday Inn by James Howe and Lynn Munsinger.  There was a whole set of them where they solved mysteries and dealt with a vampire bunny!

How has Twitter and social networking changed or helped you as a writer?
Cherie – Social networking has always been a useful thing.  I’ve been bound to the internet due to editors.  It has also been a great way for me to connect with my readers.  I work from home, so I do not get much social interaction during the day.  The internet has provided me with a sense of community and an outlet to feel less alone while I work.  In fact, most of the people I know in Seattle I met online and chatted with for a while before meeting in person.

If you could send a Tweet to the whole world, what would it be?
Cherie – Spay and neuter your pets.  I used to be involved in rescue work for animals.  I love cats and dogs but there are just too many of them.  That would be my message to the world.

A question came in from one of our readers:
You maintain a public and well-read blog. Do you feel you have to tailor your writing about the mundane for an audience?
Cherie – Yes and no — which is to say, I’m much more aware of what I put online than I was eight or nine years ago, when I was just doing it for fun and nobody was really reading me.  Now, of course, I have editors and other writers, reviewers, friends, readers, and heaven knows who else bopping by every once in awhile.  I use my webpage to give fans the heads up and to keep people abreast of what I’m working on, but at the same time, it’s a personal blog — an open letter to distant friends and family.  It’s a strange balance to try and strike.  So while I constantly try to keep the audience in mind, I still try to keep it casual — and I don’t do a great deal of self-censoring.

Cherie has two books coming out next year that are set in the same world as Boneshaker: Dreadnought from Tor and Clementine from Subterranean.  Thank you again to Cherie Priest for your time!

-Nick