Kacy Ritter on Texas, Dragons, and writing MG: "The Great Texas Dragon Race"

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Kacy Ritter, author of The Great Texas Dragon Race which releases today!

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

Failure was the origin point. Seriously.

After trying my hand at a high fantasy YA novel in a medieval setting, I realized I wasn’t writing to my strengths. (In other words, the book was pretty terrible. So, there’s that.) Instead of clumsily writing an uninventive Eurocentric story, I decided to write a uniquely American fantasy in a uniquely American setting. They say, “Write what you know,” and I thought, “Well, I know dragons, and I know Texas, so why not?” To me, it seemed so possible that modern-day Texas could be filled with dragons—and I bet Texans would care for, ride, and train them just like horses. Everything expanded from that concept.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

My protagonist, Cassidy Drake, and her underdog racing dragon became the driving force during the outlining phase. I imagined Cassidy as a bold, stubborn dragon rider and conservationist, desperate to show her grit. The initial plot idea is stolen straight from a classic Western trope, the “Ranch Story,” in which a family-owned ranch—in this case, a penniless dragon sanctuary—is threatened by a larger corporate ranching operation. Then, I merged the plot with a classic competition narrative. (Because, really, shouldn’t there be more dragon racing stories?) From there, I dropped my ideas into a version of Larry Brook’s Story Engineering Beat Sheet and anchored the beats around specific locations across Texas. 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Absofreakinglutely. While the basic plot of The Great Texas Dragon Race was firmly set, the relationships between its cast of characters shifted as I put words on paper. In time, those characters developed arcs which couldn’t be ignored. The entire writing process really is an exercise in how to “kill your darlings.” Originally, I actually wrote (and queried!) this book as a YA novel. But something clicked when my agent, Adriann Ranta Zurhellen, suggested I rewrite it as a middle grade story. Apparently, I was an MG author in disguise! My editor at Clarion/HarperCollins, Emilia Rhodes, also had critical insight into how I could clarify the overall plot and vision. I’m so grateful for everything these fantastic women did to nurture Cassidy’s story.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

My work, at least for now, is very centered around the weird world of Texas. Texas has so much fodder for the imagination because it is so vast and varied. Whenever I’m traveling around the state, I get inspired by everything: from the old, dilapidated BBQ sign in a lonely town to the weird, campy keychain at a gas station. It’s so easy to develop fantastical ideas based on Texas’s strange nuances. Whether or not the idea is a good one… Well, that’s another story.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I LOVE cooking up plots and characters, but I tend to get pretty obsessive once I get “into” a specific idea. Worldbuilding is my childhood pastime, and while I can multitask if I have to, I prefer to be deeply invested in one “world” at a time. For new stories, I will always gravitate toward whichever idea I just can’t get out of my head.

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

As I write this, a very attentive rescue cat named Joe Biden is hovering over my keyboard while my rescue pup, Nandor the Relentless, looks on longingly. My second rescue cat, Dracarys “Cinder” Soot, finds humans mildly interesting as best, but I still have her fur sticking out of my keyboard. Most of the time, I find the trio pretty distracting, but I don’t really have a choice as I am their designated domestic servant. While I wish I had a rescue dragon to complete the crew, I fear that would make writing even more difficult.

Kacy Ritter is a behavioral health professional by day and MG fantasy writer by night. She is also a member of SCBWI Houston. In between writing and meetings, she imagines taking off on a Texas BBQ and taco tour with her rescue dog and cats. Kacy holds degrees from the University of Texas and the University of North Texas.

Madison Davis on Following Interesting Threads

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Madison Davis, author of The Loved Ones: Essays to Bury the Dead which is the winner of the Dzanc Nonfiction Prize

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I had a few! The Loved Ones first existed as a number of different projects. The real “idea” was to weave these disparate threads together into a non-traditional memoir. 

There is a section in the book that follows my research into the death of my great uncle who was killed in action in WWII. This storyline began with something like a “bolt of lightning” moment. I had always been fascinated by the story surrounding my great uncle, but I was driving one day—mind wandering in stop-and-go traffic—when I first thought has anyone in the family really looked into this? I realized that the story had been loosely filtered down from my grandmother in the form of scattered details and questions, but no one had tried in earnest to track down answers in the age of the internet. What followed was years of research culminating in a trip abroad to visit the place he died. 

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

I tried a few different ways to weave the content together. There are a lot of moving pieces—names, places, dates, and familial relationships over generations—so I needed to find a structure that a reader could follow. Ultimately, I decided to dedicate a section of the book to each of the central figures. Then, after all my main characters had been defined and the details of their lives and deaths had been told, the final section revisits each through the lens of the funerals and physical remains. Once the reader is well-situated in the narrative, I found I could take more leaps in that last section, draw more connections. 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

For the most part, my writing evolves on the page over many (many, many) iterations. There is rarely clarity in my mind before it’s on paper (and not for quite a while after that). I find a lot of enjoyment in editing the raw material. I love taking a piece apart and putting it back together in different ways until I see something new in it. Of course, there have been times that I believe something will work but it just falls apart on the page and requires total reimagining.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I’m always writing. Most of the little threads go nowhere. Other pieces combine into a project or grow into a whole piece of their own. At some point in my life, I began to see everything as writing material, for better or worse. I never know which seeds will grow, but I rarely experience a lack of ideas; a lack of time is the more common problem!

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I tend to have various projects percolating. I try very hard to follow my interest. If I’ve lost interest in a piece, it probably won’t become interesting if I force it. If there is something to it, I’ll find myself pulled back to it again down the road. It helps to have 2-3 projects in a rotation. If I’m stuck or struggling with one, I can pivot to another. 

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I write alongside my dog, Stevie. She’s an excellent writing partner. She reminds me to take walks every so often but is otherwise content to just snuggle up and listen to the typing. When I’m struggling to focus, I like to enlist a human writer friend to work near me. It’s great to feel the productive energy in the room for a specified amount of time (set a timer!) and then have a fun, rewarding break with a friend. 

Madison Davis is a writer and editor based in Oakland, California. She is the author of the books Disaster (Timeless Infinite Light; Nightboat 2016) and The Loved Ones (Dzanc 2023).

Michael C. Bland on The Inspiration For "The Price of Rebellion"

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Michael C. Bland, author of The Price of Rebellion which was named “Best Science Fiction” in the 2022 Indies Today awards.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

The idea started when I was riding the “L” in Chicago one day. Everyone’s faces were buried in their phones as the train roared from one stop to the next, and I thought, “I could strip naked and no one would notice.” Yet the subway car had cameras on the ceiling—so someone could be watching without my knowledge. From there, I wondered if that someone could be watching with malicious intent—to blow up the train, hold us hostage—and if so, how could I protect myself.

I then imagined living in a world where virtually every moment was watched. We’re moving closer to that future already, with more cameras being installed every day. If I did something wrong—or if someone I loved did—how could I protect them? What could I do?

These questions were the origins of The Price of Safety, and they continue with the second book in the trilogy, The Price of Rebellion. (You don’t have to read the first to read the second. The Price of Rebellion stands on its own, and contains quick summaries of what you need to know from the first book, though the experience is richer if you read The Price of Safety first.)

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

The plot stemmed from two focal points: family and technology. I know, weird focal points. I wanted to explore what the world would be like in the near future, with the technology developed, the risks they bring, and the ways they can work both to the characters’ benefit and detriment. But I wanted to ground the story, not just for myself but for the reader. We will still have family in the future, still have loved ones and will fear for their safety. I wanted that mix of sci-fi and family dynamics, as I haven’t found a lot of that in this genre.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Yes, I’ve had the plot shift under me more than once. With The Price of Rebellion, the plot changed dramatically when I started to outline the plot in detail. I have to outline each novel, not only because that’s how my brain works but the future I’ve created has a lot of interwoven “rules” for a lack of a better term. As I started to build out this plot, I realized there was a major event that not only was a surprise, it changed the entire trajectory of the story. There were other changes to the plot as well, but each one had to serve the overall narrative. This meant I had to reject some ideas as they didn’t fit, but this also led to other ideas that made The Price of Rebellion stronger.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I have a ton of ideas. New ones hit me all the time. However, that doesn’t mean they’re any good, and even those that are viable rarely come fully formed. Some are just snippets, and others are vague. In the end, I might have one great idea for every fifty bad ones, but that’s how my mind works, and I welcome each idea, as they’re part of my process. 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I gravitate toward ideas that have interesting hooks. Then I start developing the top ideas, to see which ones generate enough inspiration and excitement to expand into a full story. After I’ve developed the ideas to the point where they seem viable, I craft blurbs of the potential stories, and from there, I determine which story I want to focus on. A novel can take two to three years to work on, so I want to make sure I choose the best story to focus on. 

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I don’t have a writing buddy. We have two small Chinese Crested dogs, but they mostly follow my wife around, so my distraction level is minimal…though the puppy will occasionally appear with a toy, hoping I’ll play with him. That becomes a distraction, but he’s too cute to resist.

Michael C. Bland is a founding member and the secretary of BookPod, an online book support group. “Elizabeth”, one of his short stories, won Honorable Mention in Writer’s Digest 2015 Popular Fiction Awards contest, and two of the short stories he edited have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His debut novel, “The Price of Safety,” reached #7 in Amazon’s rankings for Dystopian novels and received Finalist awards three times: by the Indie Book Awards for both Science Fiction and Thriller, and by National Indie Excellence Awards for New Fiction. The second book in the planned trilogy, “The Price of Rebellion” was named “Best Science Fiction” in the 2022 Indies Today awards.  He currently lives in Florida. Learn more about Michael via his website: https://www.mcbland.com/