Interview: Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs is a full-time author who lives with her husband and animals in the Pacific Northwest. Brigg’s books include the Hurog series, Dancing with Dragons, the Ravens duology, When Demons Walk and many more. This LoveToKnow Science Fiction interview is the product of a long conversation with Patricia Briggs about her writing, her werewolves and her upcoming works.

Patricia Briggs writes the best-selling Mercedes Thompson series.

Mercedes Thompson is the main character in Patricia Briggs' series beginning with the novel Moon Called. In 2009, Briggs released her first graphic novel featuring main character Mercy: Homecoming. A New York Times bestseller, Patricia Briggs breathes life into the wonderful and intricate world of werewolves in America, the coyote who lives among them and the wild and somewhat hairy adventures that Mercy gets herself into.

Well, I knew I wanted Mercy to be a little bit of an outsider. An old author's trick is having a protagonist who is outside the culture you want to explore, because that character can comment on aspects of the culture, which explains it nicely to the reader. I also wanted to bring in some of the pre-European legends. In Native American lore, the idea that beings can change between human and animal shape is as commonplace as the wicked stepmother in European tales. I wanted to bring some aspects of this lore into the books, without borrowing too heavily from the stories and traditions of any one tribe.

Coyote, in many native cultures, is the trickster: a clever being that uses charisma, guile and cunning to carry the day. He's also the rogue, the one who won't be bound by tradition; the one who breaks the rules, and brings chaos and unpredictability to the world. The Tri-Cities area doesn't have many bears or wolves, but it's thick with coyotes. It all seemed to fit perfectly with the sort of character I had envisioned for Mercy.

Bite your tongue! I've already managed to turn what should have been a simple three-book series into TWO ongoing series. My brain would explode if I tried to branch out any further! Besides, while I have Bran's history mentally penciled in, I think he's more interesting wrapped in mystery. By using Charles in the Alpha and Omega series, I've moved my storytelling closer to Bran than I had originally intended to, so readers can peak behind the curtain a bit. In the end, I think he's more fun when we don't know everything about him. Bring up the fog machine, and cue the scary music, it's Bran! I might do a short story or two somewhere along the line -- but probably not a book.

Relationships are the heart of writing. I try to come up with good, interesting, characters. However, it's when one character meets another that things get interesting. When characters interact, they're no longer static. Characters change based on what other characters do and say. If Adam tells Mercy he prefers blonds, suddenly she has an issue she didn't have one sentence earlier. The hard part is keeping track of the changes, the issues each character is juggling, and deciding how that character will change as the result of additional information. The changes are usually very subtle, but the character at the end of a book is never quite the same person that walked on stage in chapter one. In a long-running series, it's surprisingly tough to keep track of who everybody is now.

First I light candles placed at the four compass points in my room. Then I say five positive affirmations, walk widdershins three times around the desk and meditate before my potted plant . . . OK, I'm joking. Writing is a creative exercise -- you're sitting down to play with your imaginary friends and it's helpful if the outside world will just go away for a while. Someday, I'm going to build a tall tower far out in the countryside with a writer's room at the very top overlooking fields of horses with a river in the distance. Until then, like most authors, I have to make do with reality. I'm fortunate, and have an office: a third of a mobile home off a busy street. It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and it's wonderful.

Anything character and story centric. I read fast and I read a lot, usually 2-3 books a day -- sometimes more. I read fantasy and urban fantasy, of course. But I also read mysteries, romance, science fiction and anything that catches my eye. Recently I've been in a kick rereading all The Black Stallion books (young adult horse books by Walter Farley). What a talented writer he was. With many fewer words than an adult book allows, he manages to get to the heart of what it means to deal with horses -- problem horses. Better than any other writer I know of he manages to capture the breathless speed at which bad things happen and leave you lying on the ground wondering if you and the horse are still alive. I think that his books (savage black stallion who loves only Alec Ramsay) hit the same cord as urban fantasy/paranormal romance have with the vampires/werewolves (big scary monster who would eat other people alive, but loves me). Great stuff!

Love To Know Science Fiction would like to thank Ms. Briggs for her time and to wish her continued success in her writing career. You can find a complete booklist of Patricia Briggs current and upcoming novels on her website.

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