I have a guest post up! It’s all about what it was like writing Seraphina, and there’s even an introduction from my fabulous editor. Go, read! Perhaps I shall convert you all to Morning Personism, ha ha.
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Rachel Hartman 
Well. You are writer enough to make me believe in dragons, but there is no writer alive who could make me believe in mornings.
Come to the daaaarrrrk side!
In fact, though, I would probably find it unpleasant to be asked to stay up late to write. I suspect I’d find it easier than someone who is truly morning-impaired, though, at least if all the self-reports are true. So no, no one need convert. Honour your circadian rhythms. As if there were a choice.
Rachel, I was reading the piece on SERAPHINA in the Maximum Shelf newsletter…in addition to being captivated by the storyline (I think my son would love the book, and can’t wait to read it), I was truly intrigued by something you mentioned in the Q&A. I love the idea of Byron’s Mystery Lab, and the concept that places like this are ‘where lying and truth and art intersect.’
I have a 7-year-old and we are constantly exploring the tricky territory that spans the gap between truth and imagination…plus as a writer myself (my first novel, THE MEMORY THIEF, is due out from Ballantine Books on 8/21) I’m fascinated by this idea too. What a beautiful and lyrical way to capture the heart of the matter…so to speak. Congratulations on SERAPHINA!
Best,
Emily Colin
Thanks, Emily! Yeah, Mystery Lab was an important point of understanding around here. She didn’t have space to include everything we talked about (we talked for an hour!) but that conversation with my son began with Harry Potter, in fact. I said, “Does Harry Potter really exist? But we care about Harry, right, and we worry about him, and he’s important to us. Is your lab like Harry Potter that way, really important to you, whether it really exists or not?” I was really pleased how well he understood that.
It’s amazing, when you have babies, how much you eagerly give up in order to write. I gave up my extra hour or two of sleeping in to write and I was so glad I did. Of course, my brain was somewhat muddled in the process, and when I went back over some of my words I kept thinking, “What was I trying to say here???” hahaha
I’m sure your sacrifice was worth it, just for the writing itself and I’m eagerly awaiting the release of Seraphina!