I’m very happy to welcome Mindy Klasky back to The Dungeon today. (Welcome back, Mindy! 
)
Of course, it’s not for anything as innocent as mundane chit-chat. Oh, no! We must put her on the rack & subject her to Mistress Heidi’s own unique brand of torture. i.e. The Interview. 
What is your favorite color? Blue. Any color of blue. But if I get to pick my real, absolute, complete favorite, it’s that clear-sky-blue on a brilliantly sunny day, when there’s a single white cloud and a yellow-leafed aspen to set off the color.
Favorite song? Argh! I am a musical ignoramus. I really, truly don’t have a favorite song. Lots of earworms, though. I’d name them, but then you’d all hate me.
Favorite movie? This totally changes with my mood. The only movie I’ve ever watched start to finish to start again was The Manchurian Candidate (the original version.) The inter-cuts of the garden and torture scenes fascinate me to this day! But for romantic viewing? Um, I’d watch Jon Hamm read the phone book. From A to Z. Ads included. Really.
And of course, favorite book? Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is the book that most changed my lif—it was the book that made me decide to be a writer. (I started writing a sequel with my best friend, when we were both in seventh grade. Years later, I transferred the story from Middle Earth to my own land, and I rewrote the entire thing. I tried to sell it for years and never did—but while I was waiting for that non-sale, I wrote my first published novel, THE GLASSWRIGHTS’ APPRENTICE.
What are you currently reading, & how are you enjoying it? Donna Leon’s Suffer the Little Children. Leon writes mysteries that are set in Venice. The mysteries are okay—the characters (including the character of the city of Venice!) are incredible. As are the descriptions of food. Excuse me, while I go prepare a bowl of pasta, with olive oil, artichokes, and parmesan….
Name three books on your TBR pile that you can’t wait to read. Maria V. Snyder’s Sea Glass, Jeri Smith-Ready’s Bad to the Bone, and Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathon. I’ll spare you the other fifty or so titles lurking there…
What was the first book in your chosen genre that you remember reading, or that made you want to write the same? Chosen genre… Well, I started to write romantic fantasy through traditional fantasy, so I guess the answer would be the Lord of the Rings. Unless I think about myself as writing fantastic romance. Then, I guess the question would be those old Ruth M. Arthur juveniles—the classic gothic stories, about a girl who was alone in the world and found love and adventure… I loved those books; I reread them every summer!
What do you think of Heidi? She’s great, right? Totally! How could anyone think otherwise?!? 
How did you get started writing? Years after I started fiddling around with my Tolkien fan-fiction, I found myself in law school, in a four-credit course on the law of evidence. You know, the hearsay rule, which they always scream about in TV shows? (”Objection, your honor! Hearsay!”
The class was boring beyond my ability to describe, and I found my mind wandering back to my old unfinished novel. I took out a piece of paper and a pen, and I started to draft a mystical prophecy in rhymed iambic hexameter. And thus, my first real attempt at writing a novel was born.
Tell us a little bit about your first sale. I had signed a one-year contract with my agent, on March 31, 1997, so that he could shop around the manuscript for THE GLASSWRIGHTS’ APPRENTICE. A day after the contract expired, he sent me email saying that an editor was interested in buying the book—in fact, he said that she was interested in sequels, so he told her that I had two. I wasn’t able to reach him by phone before the end of the work day. That night, watching the murder mystery Night Must Fall. Halfway through the first act, I realized that it was April Fool’s Day, and I convinced myself that my agent was the cruelest man in the entire world. I still can’t tell you how the play ended—but my agent wasn’t cruel and heartless; the books were really sold.
Fill in the blank—If you like [blank], you’ll love Mindy Klasky! If you like slightly-crazy, sort-of-smart romantic-fantasy-comedy (and the overuse of hyphens), you’ll love Mindy Klasky!
Tell us about HOW NOT TO MAKE A WISH and your new “As You Wish” series, and why we’ll love every word. HOW NOT TO MAKE A WISH is the story of Kira Franklin, a stage manager at a down-and-out dinner theater, who discovers a magic lamp containing a wish-granting genie. Kira’s wishes, though don’t quite go as she plans—even when she manages to work on the play of her dreams in the theater of her dreams with the star of her dreams.
You can read the first chapter here: http://www.mindyklasky.com/chapter_hownotto.html
And you’ll love the entire series because each volume is totally and completely self-contained. (The genie connects story to story, so each individual’s set of wishes is resolved.) Plus, who doesn’t like women who can rock bright red lipstick? (Check out the book cover, if you have no idea what I’m talking about?)
If your plane crashed in the Andes, would you convince the other survivors to eat Heidi first or last? I am totally a save-the-best-for-last girl, so Heidi would have to be dessert! 
If you could write anything—whether in the same genre/sub-genre as you’re writing now or another—what would it be? There are so many writing projects I want to take on! I have a killer middle grade story that I hope, hope, hope I’ll get to write (it’s a boarding school story, crossed with romance, crossed with fantasy…) I have a serious literary YA novel (full of angst, full of self-discovery…) I have a traditional fantasy novel, set in an imaginary world, where a handful of people are born without magic and have to rely on libraries to maintain their unique knowledge. Wow. I guess I’d better get writing, huh?
What are you currently working on? I’ve written and turned in the last two volumes in the “As You Wish” series—WHEN GOOD WISHES GO BAD (in stores April 2010) and TO WISH OR NOT TO WISH (in stores October 2010.) Next up on the writing plate is a vampire series (yes, vampires!) which will be similar in tone to the Jane Madison books and the “As You Wish” books, but with sexy vamps included!
Heidi, thank you so much for the chance to visit. I can’t wait till next week, when I’ll be able to share more with your readers!
Thank you, Mindy! We’re delighted you’re here with us today & can’t wait to have you back next week. Mark your calendars, everyone! That would be WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH!
Remember, too, that Mindy will be giving away an autographed copy of the third book in her “Jane Madison” series, MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL, after today’s visit.
And next week, she’ll be drawing for a copy of her latest release & the first book in her “As You Wish” series, HOW NOT TO MAKE A WISH.
Not too shabby, huh? 
So feel free to begin chatting, & also take a minute to visit MindyKlasky.com to learn more about Mindy & all of her books!
LOTR FanFic!! Yay!!! Um…I wrote me some of that. :-) So nice to meet another nerd…I mean, another woman with clearly refined and discriminating taste.
And now…a genie cat.
http://bit.ly/63JWHz
Grrr…didn’t work. Try again with the long one…
GENIE CAT!!!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/funny-pictures-aladdin-genie-cat.jpg&imgrefurl=http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/01/10/funny-pictures-itty-bitty-living-space/&usg=__jVvR0uep_EI7lbu_ZJMeHd_JCOM=&h=491&w=500&sz=42&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=mWa_hiNv-4f_CM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLOLcats%2Bgenie%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
Morning, all! And thank you for joining us again today, Mindy, it’s great to have you back. Loved the interview.
Of course, now I’m feeling like a big geek—even bigger than LOTR fans
—because the only fanfic I used to write was for MacGyver & Diagnosis Murder.
Yeah, yeah, commence heckling….NOW!
Morning Mindy: I can do Genies, but whats with everyone writing about Vampires??? I just don’t get the fasination with someone sucking your blood even if he is handsome.. its still gross… Can someone explain that to me please? Give me a sexy cowboy, fireman, cop, serviceman or even a construction worker in a helmet but a vampire???? no way.. I may be the only oddball in the group but I just don’t get it…… Anyway Mindy I will read any of your other books but I pass on the vampires thank you very much….
Hooray! I made it back into the dungeon on clearly what is one of the best days in here–welcome, Mindy! Loved the interview and I loved it even more in knowing you were kind enough to spare us the earworms. *g*
Your genie series sounds fabulous–was it fun for you to write a lighter fantasy rather than the epic LOTR type? Was there a part of the epic you missed? (I know you’ll be writing more epics soon enough, but for now.)
Thanks for another great guest, Heidi!
I think the Twilight appeal was that he DIDN’T suck her blood, even though he wanted to. As for general vampire appeal? No idea.
Thank you for the nice image parade though, Barb! Cowboys and Firemen and Cops! Oh, my!!!
You know Mindy, the more you mention you’re current vamp workings, the more curious I am how they will turn out… So many choices.
And it is good to see that others are familiar with the term ‘fanfic’. I had to explain the idea to someone the other day. That and ‘Mary Sue’. That was an interesting car ride.
Thanks for the interview!
I remember my fanfic days well, but it was never based on anything as refined as LOTR. [Although it was very varied].
The Wish series does sound very interesting…I added it to wishlist.
I understand why vampires may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I tend to gloss over the “blood” part of it and concentrate on the foreplay and connections between the characters.
Foreplay=win!
OOOOHHHH another series after the Genie one! I’m excited.
I think it’s so neat that Mindy & I are both working on our first vampire projects at the same time!
And I happen to know that they both came about in rather surprising ways. LOL
I’ll read yours if you read mine, Mindy.
Genies granting wishes? That could be dangerous! And funny. Sounds like a great series.
Margay
Do these surprising ways have anything to do with the skill of vampire foreplay and personal experience in that area?
I love the idea of a genie and can only imagine how many fun roads the stories can go down. Definitely going on my TBR list.
As to fanfic? I read and write Wolverine/Rogue fan fiction in the Marvel/X-men universe. Two of my “sisters in fic” from the WR community there are now published authors writing together under the name Moira Rogers.
I would suggest that if anybody plans on flying over the Andes that they check the flight manifest and make sure Heidi isn’t on board! She’s scarily obsessed with being cannibalized there!
::grin:: So great to see so many of you here today! (Sorry to be late checking in – I’ve spent *all* day driving around Northern Virginia, shopping with my mother, who is visiting for Thanksgiving. I have a few nice clothes to show for it, but it is *so* frustrating to get lost in the rain!)
Maisey – Thanks for the LOLCats – I loved it! (I’ve got an orange cat here, myself, but her eyes aren’t blue…
Barb – I think that the vampire appeal goes beyond the bloodsucking stuff. It’s about the forbidden, and about the unknown, and about the unknowable. It’s also about heroes with tremendous power (the alphas of the alpha) but with tremendous restraints (no, not dungeon-type restraints!) – the whole daylight, stake, silver, garlic stuff….
Pamela – Sometimes, I *do* miss the *sweep* of epic, the feeling that I’m carried along in an entirely new world, so steadily and so quickly that I lose my footing. Of course, romance can sweep me off my feet in the same sort of way…
Kali – I had never thought of my middle school ramblings as “fanfic” until very recently. I’m still too ashamed of my Mary Sue of a main character to divulge her secrets to anyone! :-)
Everyone – Thanks so much for making the dungeon such a warm and welcoming place!
Hi Mindy!
so nice to see you back here again!!
Hi Mindy nice interview!! I have to say I have not read any of your books yet. I would love to win a book and get started. Thanks, Sue
Grace, that is so interesting how two of you fellow fan fic writers got published. The same thing happened with two people who met on an ezboard/yuku board I created a few years ago. Tehir first book comes out in January.
I swear my brain needs spell check. It seems like I notice errors AFTER I hit submit comment.
Just to be clear, I didn’t *actually* write fan fic. More like writing up my own little episodes of TV shows just for my own amusement. And if I made my friends act them out, that’s nobody’s business but my own.
Mindy~ Thanks for popping in. WE don’t want to take too much time away from your mother’s visit or your holiday prep!
Hope you had a fun time shopping, tho, despite getting lost in the rain. (I could so make some frightening horror movie references here, but I shall restrain myself. 
Um….Heidi…pretty sure that’s kinda fanfic.
First time here !
great post, and enjoyed it !
I’m still new with Mindy’s works. hoping i get the chance to win one of her books
I missed the fun this morning. I hope I am not too late????
Hi, Mariska—welcome to The Dungeon! That’s for coming out of the shadows & joining us, esp. on one of our great guest blogger days!
Maisey~ Okay, if it counts, then that’s what I’ll call it. I really only ever thought if it as “doodling,” tho, & always thought fanfic was stuff posted to fan sites & such…much more official & public than any of my junk.
Hi Mariska i havent had the pleasure i love this interview sorrty took so long to answer since i been doing the family things so close to the Holiday i hope you had a wonderful Holiday
Happy Holidays! everyone