Interview with Devon Monk

Today I’m thrilled to bring you an interview with my friend and critique buddy, Devon Monk. Devon’s debut novel, Magic to the Bone, was recently released by ROC.

Good morning, Devon. Tell us about Magic to the Bone.

I’ll let the back cover copy say it for me:

Everything has a cost.  And every act of magic exacts a price from its user–maybe a two-day migraine, or losing the memory of your first kiss.  But some people want to use magic without paying, and they Offload the cost onto innocents.  When that happens, it falls to a Hound to identify the spell’s caster–and Allison Beckstrom’s the best there is.  Daughter of a prominent Portland businessman, Allie would rather moonlight as a Hound than accept the family fortune–and the strings that come with it.  But when she discovers a little boy dying from a magic Offload that has her father’s signature all over it, Allie is thrown into the high-stakes world of corporate espionage and black magic.  Now Allie’s out for the truth–and must call upon forces that will challenge everything she knows, change her in ways she could never imagine…and make her capable of things that powerful people will do anything to control.


What was the inspiration for this tale?

Magic to the Bone started out as a short story for a themed anthology that wanted the stories to be a blend of magic and business.  The first chapter (more or less) is what I came up with for the anthology.  The people and the world were so intriguing, I wrote the novel.


Is there an underlying theme to this story?

Oh, I would suppose so.  Themes have a way of sneaking into almost every story.  I wasn’t thinking about a theme when I wrote it, but there were some human experiences and emotions I wanted to explore: trust, vulnerability, strength, sacrifice, love, loss.

You’ve sold over fifty short stories, and you have additional novels in the works. Do you have recurring themes? Or is each story individual?

I don’t consciously sit down and think about what theme I want to explore when I write.  I do think about what emotion, what kind of people, what kind of world, what kind of challenges I want to explore.  Some of those may be similar, but each story for me, feels individual.


Is urban fantasy your genre of choice? Or do you have another love?

I didn’t even know I was writing an urban fantasy until after I’d written it and sent it to my agent, lol!  I do love the genre.  I cut my teeth on fairy tales.  My first love is fantasy–all kinds and types.


I love the world you’ve created for Allie. Similar to the Portland I know, and yet very different. How do you approach world building?

World building in urban fantasy has its own challenges.  It’s not exactly the world we live in, but the rules of the fantasy element of the story need to be consistent with the real world.  For me, I began world building when I knew magic was going to be a natural resource that we had been using for the last thirty years.  That meant we’d have a way to bill for it, common ways to use it, and expectation for what it could and couldn’t do for us.  It also meant there would need to be all the businesses in place to deal with magic use, laws, regulations, and of course the criminal element.  That led me to think about the physical aspects, like conduits and containers, and jails and hospitals, and that led to the next thought.  So I guess I world build by starting somewhere and thinking what that touches and then what that touches, and so on until I have a solid idea of the workings of the world.  I also have an amazing reader, Dean, who questions my logic, finds the holes, and helps me patch them up.


Would you share a little bit of your writing routine with us?

Sure!  I get up, get the kids to school, sometimes do yoga or take a walk, check email, then start writing.  Sometimes the words come fast, sometimes they come very, very slowly.  I work until late-afternoon, run errands, check email, make dinner, have some family time, and spend the evening, sometimes up until midnight, writing.  Doesn’t that just sound glamorous?


Since I’m currently seeking an agent, I’d love to hear your adventures in securing the services of one of the elusive and legendary professionals.

I spent five years shopping different books to agents.  I checked on line resources such as agent web pages, blogs, Preditors and Editors, Agent Query, Publishers Marketplace, SFWA, and more, then printed out every New York agent who I thought might represent my kind of books, put them in a three ring binder and started querying them.  At first, I only queried one or two agents I had heard good recommendations for, then I made a goal of querying as many as I could.  For a short time I was represented by a terrific agent who then changed agencies, and we parted ways (amicably)

I also went to conferences and pitched agents face-to-face.  I pitched to my agent at Surrey International Writer’s Conference.  She asked me to send her the manuscript.  I did, and followed that up a month or so later with an email query on the status of the book.  She called me and offered representation.

What about your sale to Roc? Care to tell us about “The Call”?

When my agent called to tell me we had an offer on the table, I was thrilled!  Then she told me she was going to check in with a few other editors who still had the manuscript.  What followed was an auction.  Every so many days, my agent would call and say, “Okay, editor X has offered this amount for these rights and this many books…editor Y has offered this amount for these rights and this many books, I’ll let you know what editor Z says.”  There was a holiday and people going on vacation so it felt like the longest, slowest thrill ride ever!  We finally went with Roc because of a lot of factors that just seemed to make good sense to me and my agent.  Roc, and my editor, has been absolutely wonderful to work with.


You’re an avid knitter. Would you share a favorite picture and a knitting story with us?

Back when I was trying to write book #1 in four weeks, I ran across a picture of a knitted gnome on line.  It was love at first sight.  It didn’t matter that I had never knit a toy before.  It didn’t matter that I had never used double pointed needles.  It didn’t matter that I didn’t have any wool yarn.  I had to knit that gnome.  I spent a full day trying to find the pattern.  I scoured the internet and realized the pattern was from a year-old magazine in the UK.  Out of print.  Gone.  I searched for substitute patterns.  I drove (absolutely true) through an unseasonable snow storm to my local fabric and knitting store looking for a pattern.  Nothing.  Finally, I found a link where I could order the insert of the pattern from Switzerland.  I sent my money and crossed my fingers and got back to work on the novel.  The pattern came in and I wanted to drop everything to make the gnome.  But I didn’t.  The gnome had become my reward, my sweetest of all sweet treats, and I decided I could knit him only AFTER I finished the novel.  So I worked even more feverishly on the novel.  The day I emailed MAGIC TO THE BONE to my agent (yes, within the four week deadline), I tore into that gnome with obsessive, single-minded glee.  I knitted all day.  Sometime around 4:00 in the morning, bent in front of the littlest TV in the house, with the volume of the History Channel set on the lowest setting, I finished the gnome.  He was full of mistakes.  He was a little lopsided, but he was done, and he was mine.  It felt like a physical representation of the huge task I’d just been through to complete the novel in four weeks.  He sits on my mantle as a reward and reminder that hard work can turn out something pretty darn cute.

What’s next for Devon Monk?

Book 2, MAGIC IN THE BLOOD will be out May 2009 and book 3, (tentatively titled) MAGIC OF THE SOUL will be out November 2009.

I’m working on another novel, so we’ll see where that goes, and I think I’ll have some short fiction out in 2009, but the details on that haven’t firmed up yet.

I’ll be at a couple local signings:
December 4th 2:30-4:00 at Willamette University’s Willamette Store
December 12th 7:00, Olympia, Washington Barnes and Nobel
December 13th 11:00-1:00 St. Helen’s Oregon, Grammy’s Books
December 27th Newport, Oregon Canyon Way Bookstore

And if anyone wants to friend me, I’m Devonmonk on Live Journal and Facebook.

Thank you, Debbie for a great interview!

And thank you, Devon, for letting us get to know you a little bit better!

This entry was posted in Friends, Writing and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Interview with Devon Monk

  1. Gwen says:

    Great interview Debbie!

  2. Debbie says:

    Thanks for stopping by, Gwen!!

Comments are closed.