On Writing, Wizards, and Work

What are you working on now?

I am currently on a brief sabbatical from writing fiction, but I’ve started up a website to yell excitedly about the books I’ve been reading. You can read my overly handwavey reviews at 11outof9.com. Eventually, I plan to get back to fiction and write the next Wizards of London books plus a few more in other genres.

How many books will there be in the Wizards of London series?

The first three have been published by Soul Mate Publishing. I plan to write at least four more – check out the Edgebourne family tree and see if you can guess what’s next!

What else do you write?

I write both historical fantasy and contemporary romance. I have plans to write more contemporary as well as venturing into the world of urban fantasy. I also write a lot of tweets on Twitter, and the occasional recipe on my blog.

Why don’t you have a separate pen name for your contemporary romances?

Bluntly, because I am lazy. More specifically, because while writing is a super fun job to have, in this day and age it is also a lot of work. Maintaining an author brand is no joke; maintaining two of them requires more brain space than I own. I think that most of the people who enjoy what I write in one genre will probably enjoy the other; the tone and themes (humor and family) are pretty universal. And if not, I plan to write enough in both genres (possibly more!) to keep you busy anyway.

Do you have a day job?

At the moment, my day job consists of keeping two small humans alive. It does not pay well. I occasionally do freelance work in corporate communications, my previous career field, but for the most part my daily work is poop-related.

Why do you tweet so much?

I’m a compulsive extrovert and the Internet is in my pocket. What did you think was going to happen?

On Family, Life, and Momming Twins

Where did your name come from? What does it mean?

It’s an intentional misspelling of an Arabic name that means ‘beautiful.’ My parents are a little strange.

Do you have a middle name?

Yes. It signifies my planet of origin. My dad was really into science fiction.

Is it true that your daughter has the same name as Maureen Johnson‘s dog as well as a very famous video game princess?

Yes.

Is that weird?

No.

Is having twins hard?

Yes. But eventually they will learn to change each other’s diaper.*

*This was written for the previous incarnation of my FAQ, before potty training. It did not come true. However, they did learn to turn on the TV themselves.

Did you know you were having twins?

This is, I kid you not, the question I get asked the most. The answer is yes, because I gave birth in 2014, not 1814, and believe it or not, ultrasound technology means that “how many babies are in there” is no longer a fun, wacky guessing game.

Are they identical?

Yes. But one has a penis.**

**No. Boy/girl twins, by nature, cannot be identical. Because of the penis, among other things.

(This is the second-most common question I get asked in grocery stores. Nobody knows what identical means, apparently, or they would realize that one pale redheaded twin and one tan brunette twin probably don’t have the exact same genetic components no matter what’s in their pants.)

Are they natural?

One of them is a robot. But I’m not saying which.

Do twins run in your family?

They are literally running right now. Away from me. Possibly in a parking lot. Excuse me, I need to go.