Wednesday Writer – Maya Lassiter

Today, I’m posting my interview with Maya Lassiter. She is a member of Codex, as I am, but I don’t know her all that well. I used the interview to learn a little more about her and what she writes. I hope you enjoy it.

For somebody unfamiliar with the work of Maya Lassiter, how would you describe your fiction and which story do you think is the best introduction to your work?

My books always have a strong character focus with a bit of magic on the side. Contemporary fantasy. Urban fantasy. The exception to the “contemporary” is the Violin Maker’s Wife, co-written with Luc Reid, which is a period piece set in 1870’s Missouri.
Toby Streams the Universe, about a family of psychic’s living in NYC, seems to be my most popular book, so I’d suggest starting with that one.

You describe yourself as an unschooling mom, a yogini, a goat-keeper, and a yurt-dweller. How did that lifestyle come about?

How does any lifestyle come about? One choice at a time, I guess. It helps that my husband and I seem to be into the same things.

To date, your long fiction has been published under the indie model. How much of the prep work are you handling yourself and how much do you farm out?

I contract with a cover artist, a developmental editor, a copy editor, and someone to do the formatting/tech component. I spend about $1000 per book, the earnings for one paying for the next. I have been doing the cover design myself.

Are you still interested in traditional publishing in parallel with your indie work?

I’m not closed to the idea, but I’m not currently pursuing any NY contacts.

What writers have been the most influential in forming your style?

Samuel Delany is a huge influence. Some other favorites are Emma Bull, Caitlin Kiernan, Neil Gaiman, and Ursula Le Guin (may I one day touch the hem of her skirt).

What projects do you have in the works or in the planning stages that get you excited?

I am in the last stages of writing The Lucidity Effect, a novel about a woman who’s dreams have become infected with a parasitical entity. That one is slated to publish in summer 2013. Aside from that, in my mind are many coalescing ideas for the next novel, a handful of characters, settings, a few scenes…I love that stage, it’s always so exciting and sparkly.