All told, I wrote Lirium’s story over the course of four months; for Wraith, it only took two. Which just goes to show how the world of Debt Collector continues to gush out of me, once I know my character. Throughout all of it, the notes and reviews and demands for episodes before they’re even written were a constant source of encouragement. Sometimes it’s not easy to stay true to your story concept, especially when that story defies conventions or doesn’t fit neatly into genre boundaries. But when your readers get what you’ve written and demand more... that rivals even the most rapturous of mercy hits. You, my lovely readers, are quite literally the life energy that feeds this work. Whatever you do, please keep that coming…
I have more debt collectors yet to write.
[Special note: I will write Seasons Three-Five, back-to-back even, but that won't happen for a while. Other projects are taking their turn at the front of the queue! But eventually, I will return to the Debt Collector world.]
Writing a serial is just like writing a novel... if you were writing that novel while on crack. Or high from life energy hits. Actually, writing a novel and writing a serial are completely different experiences—one is a marathon of story and words, while the other is series of story wind-sprints in which you tell a connected chain of events within a larger story-complex—I think of it as nestled harmonics that fit together to give a larger story experience than is possible within the constraints of a novel. There’s a reason why I continue to write both serials and novels: they’re different ways of telling stories, and I love exploring the possibilities of both.
Not everyone writes serials with the rapid write-release-write-more-release-again pacing that I do with Debt Collector. But that’s the way it began with Season One, and I’m continuing the tradition with Season Two. This insanity would not be possible without the help of several key people. Huge thanks are due to my critique partners, Dianne Salerni, Leigh T. Moore, and Liz Searle. Their rapid-turn-around feedback helped to keep the story on the rails as I plowed full-steam ahead. Thanks are due also to Steven Novak, who not only makes the series gorgeous with unique cover art for every episode, but he likewise doesn’t bat an eye when I say, “Oh crap, I forgot the paperback cover for episode one, can I have that, like, immediately??” Strangely, he hasn’t thrown me overboard for less demanding, not to mention non-psychotic, clients.
The biggest thanks of all go to my Debt Collectors—those special readers and reviewers who join the crazy head-long rush while I’m writing the seasons, encouraging and reviewing and cheering along the way. Even the ones who wait until the end to read the completed season make me happy—knowing there are readers waiting for me to finish already definitely spurs me on. Your enthusiasm for the series is like a continuous supply of life energy hits (legal ones, of course)! Thanks for keeping me going.
Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy and the Debt Collector serial, as well as other speculative fiction novels and short stories. Her work has appeared in the Synchronic anthology and has been optioned for Virtual Reality by Immersive Entertainment. Her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist" but she mostly sits around in her PJs in awe that she gets to write full time.
Susan grew up in California, got a bunch of engineering degrees (B.S. Aerospace Engineering, M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering) and worked everywhere from NASA to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). She designed aircraft engines, studied global warming, and held elected office (as a school board member). All her engineering skills come in handy when dreaming up dangerous mind powers, future dystopian worlds, and slightly plausible steampunk inventions. For her stories, of course. Just ignore that stuff in the basement.
Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle.
Susan loves to connect with readers online! Chat with her about our coming robot overlords in her Facebook group, like her Facebook Page, or check out her website to learn about all her books.
The Debt Collector (Season Two) Page 39
