Interview with Charlie Holmberg

2015 seems a good time to introduce a new fantasy series and probably a new-to-you LDS author: Charlie N. Holmberg, a student of Brandon Sanderson and BYU graduate (2010), who has written the Paper Magician series, published by 47North. The series includes three books, The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician. The first two were published in 2014, and the last is scheduled for publication in spring of 2015.

I discovered Holmberg’s books only last month. The librarians I work with were heading out the door to record their monthly new book review TV program “While You’re At the Library.” On top of one of their armfuls was The Paper Magician, which (it turns out) was a favorite of our reader’s advisory librarian. (Also a “Top Kindle romance Book for 2014”). The book’s great cover and her recommendation had me excited and curious. And that’s what led to this book review and a thoroughly delightful opportunity to meet Charlie and talk about her writing. I think we can expect to see good things in the future of this young and talented new writer. I also recommend her blog, Myself As Written.

Enjoy!

Q. What is one of the first books you remember being read?
A. The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey.

Q. As you were growing up were you more of a reader or writer?
A. I liked reading — I read The Babysitter’s Club and Goosebumps, but I wasn’t necessarily an avid reader. As a teenager I started writing as a result of a Japanese anime called The Vision of Escaflowne. I loved the storyline of it and wanted to write the way that story was written.

Q. So, did you write fanfiction? Maybe some Vision of Escaflowne scripts for fun? Or was that more of a jumping place to let your imagination run wild?
A. Ha, embarrassingly enough I did dabble in fanfiction for a few years. A lot of it is on fanfiction.net, but no, I refuse to divulge my screen name. 😉

Q. Then you studied writing in college? Tell us a bit about that.
A. I majored in English with an emphasis in creative writing and minored in editing. I learned a lot, but if I could go back and do it again, I would major in history or anthropology — subjects that would be valuable in my writing.

Q. You call Brandon Sanderson the best writing teacher any aspiring author could have.
A. Yes! In my last year at BYU, I had the wonderful opportunity to take his course. He is a very funny person and completely approachable. Not only did he promote the writing group experience, he gave plenty of attention to understanding the business side of writing.

Q. What specifically did he teach you about the business side of writing?
A. Everything from how pay is split between you and your agent, to royalties, to taxes. There was a whole 2.5 hour class dedicated to it, and he answered any questions we had.

Q. Do you have a writing mantra and if so what is it?
A. Get it done, get it done! I’m fortunate in that procrastination has never been a problem for me. (Comes with being a red personality.) I move things along until they’re finished. I’m too anal-retentive not to!

Q. You are married and have a 9 month old daughter. So how did you meet your husband?
A. We were in band together in high school — I was a major band geek. He dated all of my stand partners, but never me. While he was on a mission I wrote him letters to show him how funny I am. It obviously worked! 🙂

Q. I know you mention your love for playing the ukulele. What other instruments do you play?
A. Flute and piano. In high school I also played the French horn and elk horn (an elk horn is like a marriage of a French horn and a trumpet), but I haven’t kept up with them.

Q. Writing is hard enough, but add an infant and that takes extreme will power. How do you manage?
A. I admit that I don’t get up extraordinarily early or stay up especially late. My strategy is writing throughout the day whenever I can, especially during nap time. It’s easy to find time to write when I don’t nurture any other skills whatsoever! I’ve also recently discovered the extreme value of playpens.

Q. In Paper Magician, the character Ceony is becoming acquainted with the master magician she has been apprenticed to. She asks, “Do you have a large family? You seem like someone who suffered through a great deal of sisters.” You have sisters I presume?
A. Yes, I grew up with all girls, no brothers. I am the second oldest of 4, and we all have boy names. (My mom is a character. She also gave us all Sesame Street-themed nicknames — I’m “Ernie” because I’m “fun-loving but don’t understand that my actions affect other people.” [hough hopefully I’m doing better on that in my adult years…)

Q. And now you are raising a baby girl?
A. She’s a happy baby, thankfully, and I try to read to her, but she’s still in the stage of needing “spit-proof” books.

Q. Have you thought about writing a picture book?
A. Nope. I had to write a picture book in college and it was surprisingly hard.

Q. Do you find time to read? If so, what do enjoy and who are your favorite writers?
A. Oh, I absolutely find time to read. I adore fantasy. Outside of Brandon Sanderson, some of my favorite authors are Robert Jordan, Juliet Marillier (I love Daughter of the Forest), Martine Leavitt, and Rosamund Hodge.

Q. What is the best piece of advice that you have received from another author?
A. Mary Robinett Kowal told me never to read bad reviews. (And seriously, it helps not to.)

Q. Let’s talk about your debut Paper Magician fantasy series. Tell us a little bit about the books and how you got the idea for this series.
A. After studying Japanese for 4 years and attempting a bit of origami, I thought it would be fun to write about origami that came to life. I initially wanted that to be a side-magic to a larger system, but ultimately made it the focus of the story.

The story revolves around Ceony Twill, a recent graduate from a rigorous magic prep school. She’s forced into studying paper magic because no one else will, and “Folding” is on the verge of becoming a dying art. She’s only an apprentice for a few weeks before a strange woman barges into her mentor’s home, literally rips his heart from his chest, and vanishes. Ceony folds her mentor a paper replacement, but it will only last so long… So it’s up to her to get the real heart back.

Q. I enjoyed the character of Magician Thane, and the development of that character was very satisfying. If readers enjoy Benedict Cumberbach’s Sherlock or Josh Groban’s intensity as a performer then they should find a bit of a blending of those two in this star character.
A. Haha, yes, several people have mentioned the Benedict Cumberbach thing, though that was not what I consciously intended. I actually picture him looking somewhat like Brandon Hillock (without the Veronica-Mars mustache!). My father pictures him looking like Colin O’Donoghue.

Q. I also want to mention the theme of forgiveness and specifically self-forgiveness in The Paper Magician. Can you talk about that a bit?
A. Honestly, no one is perfect. I feel like a lot of love interests in books (especially paranormal romance novels) have this semblance of perfection to them, and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to show that people are flawed, but that’s okay. And honestly, the world would be a lot better place if we were all more forgiving of both others and ourselves.

Q. Thanks, Charlie, for taking time to introduce everyone here at Association of Mormon Letters to your work. I definitely look forward to reading The Glass Magician as soon as my spot in the library queue arrives! Is there anything you’d like us to know about this title?
A. The Glass Magician is actually my favorite of the series. It’s less abstract and whimsical, but more adventurous and more deserving of the “romance” category. The antagonists are stronger and darker as well. I hope you’ll enjoy it!