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Jacqueline Carey is the writer of the mesmerizing "Kushiel's Dart" and "Kushiel's Chosen". She has received a lot of deserved praise from writers such as Piers Anthony, Robert Jordan and Storm Constantine, as well as from the media, for her first novel, "Kushiel's Dart". The novels in the Kushiel trilogy, travel to dark and hidden corners of the human mind, that very few writers have ever dared to reach. The books have an impressive combination of romance, fantasy, magic and adventure. The series is breathtaking and spellbinding. Both "Kushiel's Dart' and "Kushiel's Chosen" have an intense story and powerful characters. Jacqueline casts life and feelings into her characters creating a fantastic, and alternative religious world. The three books in the Kushiel series are focused on Phèdre nó Delaunay, a young courtesan who bears a red, scarlet fleck in her iris, that was associated with the God Kushiel, who had placed on her a curse to suffer the strongest pains and to experience unusual pleasures. Jacqueline has just published "Kushiel's Chosen", which came out this year in April from Tor books. The third book in the series, "Kushiel's Avatar" will be published in 2003. Jacqueline was born in 1964. She embarked on her writing career after receiving a B.A. degrees in psychology and English Literature. She has an affinity for travel that has taken her to Egypt and Finland. Jacqueline currently lives in Michigan. We interviewed Jacqueline Carey after "Kushiel's Chosen" was published. Interview
by Mauricio Saravia ARTIST INTERVIEWS: Your first book has received so much praise. Has studying psychology influenced your writing? Jacqueline Carey: I think my affinity for the field serves as a complement to my interest in character development. While an undergraduate degree is primarily the first step on the road to further study, it provides a good glimpse into the dynamics of the human nature. The human mind is a fascinating, complex thing. We're multilayered individuals, not always fully aware of our own desires and motivations. Those inner conflicts are what give us depth, create genuine tension, and make for fascinating stories. That's something I try to be mindful of in the writing process. Therein lies the trick of creating characters who are three-dimensional, resonant and alive. As a writer, of course, you have to make choices and maintain a focus on your protagonists; but ideally, the reader should feel that the story of any one of your characters is rich enough to pursue in its own right. I've always felt that with a truly good novel, the reader is left with the sense that there are half a dozen stories of equal merit left untold. AI: Jacqueline, in Kushiel's books, you created an alternative world born of angels, ruled by two demigods and a Blessed Elua. What inspired the religious setting for the novels? JC: Well, there's an account in Judeo-Christian theology of the 'Sons of God,' fallen angels, having relations with the 'Daughters of Men.' It's referenced briefly in Genesis, and addressed at greater length in the Book of Enoch, which is part of the Pseudepigrapha, contemporaneous books that aren't part of the accepted Biblican canon. I did draw on those sources, among others, and spent a lot of time in the library of a local seminary. However, I also incorporated aspects of other traditions. Blessed Elua, who is the main deity, is wholly my own creation, but he's based on the Dionysian model of the wandering fertility god whose worship is ecstatic. I wanted to synthesize the celestial with the chthonic in creating the central mythos of Terre d'Ange. I have an abiding fascination with mythology, with the forms in which faith has manifested throughout human history and the stories it has engendered. Myth-making is a singular joy for a writer, dealing with the raw stuff of the collective unconscious.
JC: Funny story about the "Angels" book. In late 1996, I was still a struggling, unpublished writer with a big idea, and I was beginning research into the mythology and folklore that would form Terre d'Ange, the setting for the Kushiel saga. My mother, bless her, said, "Oh honey, angels are so popular right now, you should write a book about them. I bet that would sell." Shortly thereafter, I got a call out of the blue from a friend who worked as a picture researcher for a company that published inexpensive coffee-table books. She was going into a meeting and asked if I had an idea to pitch. With my mother's words echoing in my memory, I said, "Sure!" And that, in a nutshell, is how I came to write "Angels." It's a fun book, subversive in its own quiet way, illustrated by lovely art. But the best thing about it was that I got paid to do the research I wanted to do anyway. AI: Phèdre nó Delaunay is a very powerful character. How much of your feelings are in her? JC: There's a part of the author in every character. There has to be, to bring them to life. After all, what else do we have to work with? Ourselves, our capacity for empathy, and imagination; the great leap across the void. When all is said and done, though, Phèdre is unlike me in many ways. I love her to pieces, because she's so unique in the annals of epic fantasy. Sure, she's cheerfully and unabashedly masochistic. Yet she lacks cynicism, which is a claim, alas, I wish I could make. She has a capacity for boundless optimism and unflagging persistence which I very much admire, as well as a gift for languages for which I would kill. Writers frequently endow their protagonists with gifts we wish we had, and it surprises me that linguistic ability doesn't surface more often. It is, after all, the essence of our stock in trade. That's one answer. The other is: Just enough. AI: Tell us about your new book "Kushiel's Chosen". JC: Although it's a standalone like its predecessor, "Kushiel's Chosen" picks up where "Kushiel's Dart" ends, continuing the saga of Phèdre nó Delaunay as she responds to the challenge of her nemesis, Melisande Shahrizai. In some ways, it's a very different book. It takes place in a shorter span of time, and the arc of the plot is more condensed. I envision it as part mystery, part roller-coaster ride. It was a fresh challenge to create the unraveling mystery in the first section, complete with red herrings and dropped hints. Once it launches into pure adventure, it was even more fun. There are a lot of classic tropes, from dolorous prisons to dashing pirates to rousing duels, all of which I used with glee. It's outrageous, over the top. That's part of the joy of the genre, the pure escape of the journey it affords. But there are somber elements, too; questions of national identity, pride, prejudice, personal responsibility, and the nature of love. These
are the things that make the journey worthwhile. If we return from it
unchanged, what's point of going? AI: You have traveled to Finland , Egypt and many other places. Would you like to share some anecdotes with us? JC: The truth is, I'm a very low-key traveler. Some people gravitate to adventure; me, I gravitate to cafes and tavernas. Oh sure, I want to explore the landscape, the museums, cathedrals and temples, but ultimately I search out someplace where I can sit and soak in the atmosphere. It makes for wonderful experiences, and tepid stories. I've watched sun set in a lot of places. A sliver of orange sun, fading to nothingness as it sinks beneath the clouds over the Sea of Libya; such an ordinary occurrence; such magic in it! It makes you marvel that this happens every day. I watched twilight falling in Provence, with the scent of lavender in the air, eating oil-cured olives sprinkled with rosemary and drinking wine purchased in a courtyard where you rinsed your glass in a fountain that burbled when Caesar's army rode across the land. There, if anywhere, Terre d'Ange was engendered. Good memories; great memories. Dull anecdotes. AI: What's a day in the life of Jacqueline Carey like? JC: It depends on the day. On Monday through Thursday, I report to work by nine am, because yes, I still have a day job, which I committed to keeping for the remainder of the academic year. It's at a conservative Christian college, where I keep a low profile (and wait for controversy to erupt). After leaving the office, I decompress for an hour or so, talking over the day with my girlfriend. Then I put in a couple hours of writing, from about seven to nine pm, followed by a late dinner, then collapse. Being an author, especially in the 'breakout' phase of a career, is a constant balancing act. I continue to read avidly, fitting it in wherever I can, because that's the fuel that feeds the creative fires. I hit the gym during a few lunch hours a week to ensure that I don't neglect my physical well-being, and because it doesn't cut into my writing time. I spend Fridays catching up on the business end of being an author, reserving Saturdays and Sundays for more writing. Weekend evenings are set aside for fun, friends and socializing, because if you don't maintain the things that create quality of life, what's the point? AI: Thank you very much, Jacqueline! You Can Visit Jacqueline Carey's Official Site: www.jacquelinecarey.com |
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