Remind Me

An Interview With Lee Danielle Hubbard

Edge Science Fiction will be launching the debut novel of Victoria's Lee Danielle Hubbard on April 15th. She was kind enough to take the time to answer a few of my questions.

(If you swing by Edge's table at Keycon, Winnipeg's annual science fiction and fantasy convention, you'll have a chance to meet Lee there.)

CG: First off, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. How does it feel having your first novel about to be published?

LDH: I am extremely excited to be getting my first novel published. I am an optimist but I am also a realist, and I am frankly amazed and gratified to have managed this step when at such a young age. I will be just twenty-two when the book is released.

CG: Your book has a very evocative title. Can you tell our readers a little bit about The Clan of the Dung-Sniffers?

LDH: Yes, the title is rather 'in-your-face.' It was actually suggested to me by a friend in my writing group. We all thought it was so comical, I stuck with it for the rough draft of the novel. After that, well, it's continued to stick I suppose. The 'Clan' itself refers to a group of men who were thrown together by unfortunate chance. The 'Dung' they sniff refers to the incense they burn at their meetings. Ksar, the primary narrator, is cynical about their meetings and about the incense.

CG: Previously you have published poetry in some literary journals. Why the jump to Science Fiction?

LDH: I have always written fiction, fantasy, literary and sci-fi. Although I do enjoy poetry, I care about it far less. Poems are just easier to publish than novels, so I have used poetry as a kind of first-step tool to get my name out there.

CG: What do you believe the best science fiction needs to present to its readers?

LDH: Science fiction, like any fiction, needs to have quality. You need strong, original writing and strong, original characters. The benefit of science fiction over literary or historical work is the random factor. When you're dealing with a world of your own invention, anything can happen. I think there should be more random in the literary world. If you want a character to grow feathers, for instance, why not? Make it happen. From the readers' point of view this is exciting, because anything could happen next.

CG: You spent a "year as a nomad" in Australia. Australia is starting to be known for its science fiction and fantasy scene. Did you spend any of your time trying to infiltrate their literary community?

LDH: Alas I did not. I was only nineteen, and spent far more time infiltrating the hiking and bus-riding scene. There were many aspects of Australian scenery, flora and fauna that fascinated me though, not to mention the crazy mentality of living out of a backpack for ten months, so I am sure that my time in Australia will work its way into my writing through all kinds of devious paths.

CG: How would you describe your writing method?

LDH: Hm... Determined. Once I get into a novel, I have to finish it. If you allow yourself doubt, everything else in life gets in the way and you'll never finish. I also believe in writing whatever the heck you want. In the rough draft, you can rant and ramble as much as you wish. It keeps the passion going, and then there is always the second draft...and the third...and the eighteenth...to weed out the extraneous stuff.

CG: What is more important to you when structuring a novel, plot or character?

LDH: Definitely character. If all of your characters are sound, they lead the plot in its own direction. If you try to force characters to fit a predetermined plot-line, on the other hand, everything begins to sound contrived and one-dimensional. This is how it works for me at least.

CG: You're currently in the University of Victoria art program. When you are conceiving a story do you tend to begin with illustrations or words?

LDH: I begin with words. It is only recently that I have been able to satisfactorily depict my characters. In the past, I could never draw characters exactly as I imaged them and this frustrated me so much that I would not draw them at all. Perhaps my representational skills have improved, or perhaps my standards have lowered - I am not sure which!

CG: What would you say has been the largest influence on your writing?

LDH: I don't know. Perhaps the fact that my parents always read to me when I was young? I was thereby exposed to adult literature at a very young age. Or perhaps just life. Everything in life has a story, or it SHOULD have a story, so it may as well be me to make one up.

CG: You've stated that you had a late start as a reader, and told your stories in your head before you could put them on paper. How do you feel this has affected your writing? Do you lament the abandonment of oral storytelling?

LDH: It has since had a positive effect, however. Because I am used to composing stories in my head, I can get a lot of 'writing' work done at the same time as walking to school, running errands, and in all other ways 'getting on with life.' I do not lament the loss of oral storytelling. It still exists on the domestic level, as it did in my family with my parents reading to me. With physical texts, there is more freedom to read, or write, whatever you want without the necessary involvement of a third party.