MMM: Leah Cypess

Interview with Leah Cypess, author of Nightspell

What can those who fell in love with your first book, Mistwood, be expecting from this next novel of yours?

Some similarities with Mistwood, but also a very different story. As in Mistwood, the book is set in a fantasy world based loosely on late-medieval Europe, there is a lot of intrigue and double-crossing, and royalty and castles are featured prominently. But Darri, the main character, is very different from Isabel, and the country in which Nightspell is set is very different as well. You will be seeing more of Clarisse!

How are you similar and different from Darri?

Darri's stubbornness is definitely something I can relate to, and I am also an older sister. As for differences... well, where to begin? For one thing, I've never thrown a knife in my life. More generally, I am far less brave than she is.

Which scene in Nightspell did you enjoy writing the most?

Wow, that's a hard one; there were so many scenes in it that were fun for me. I think the most enjoyable might have been the hunting scene near the beginning of the book.

Share about your writing process! Drafts? Research? Outlining or just letting the story take shape as it goes?

I start out by letting the story take shape as it goes, then go through multiple drafts while I whip it into shape. I research as I go along, so my first draft usually has big empty spaces that say things like "figure out how a hunt would work and how she could SPOILER". Nightspell was a little different, because it was a re-attempt at a book I first tried to write more than ten years ago. I did start from scratch, but some of the major plot elements were in my mind from the beginning, which usually isn't the case for me.

If you could be any paranormal creature, what would it be and why?

A shapeshifter! Then I could be any of them whenever I wanted.

Top five favorite songs?

This changes a LOT -- I have a tendency to pick a song I like, listen to it over and over, and then get sick of it. But here are some random selections from my current playlist:

1. Dreams - the Corrs
2. White Horse - Taylor Swift
3. Vapor - Jennifer Paige
4. Nobody Drinks Alone - Keith Urban
5. Everybody Does - Martina McBride

What can your fans be expecting from you next?

More books, I hope! I have a ton of projects I'm excited about, and I'm currently almost at the end of the first draft of a new book. I tend not to talk much about my work while I'm writing it, but I can say they're all fantasy -- some high fantasy like Mistwood and Nightspell, and some fantasy set in our own world.

Have an interesting fact about yourself that not too many people know?

Oh, sooo many! ;) Let's see... I once spent a night in the back of a police car. (Okay, it was for a journalism assignment. Still, it was interesting.)

Any advice you have for aspiring authors?

From my own experience, my best advice would be not to get too focused on any single manuscript as the one that must be published. I wrote five manuscripts before getting an offer for Mistwood, and I don't regret any of them.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog!

Thanks for the interview, Leah!

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