Better late than never :) My good friend Mindy had a new release in October and I've had this interview in my inbox for a couple weeks. I'll blame it on SPY GLASS the book that refused to be written - grrrrrr.

While cleaning an old lantern, Kira Franklin releases a genie. But this gender-morphing, appearance-bending creature doesn't do "big" wishes. So forget stopping world hunger or ending war. And still heartbroken from the jerk who dumped her, Kira doesn't believe in the perfect man.

Her second wish is about her appearance, which isn't exactly catching her third wish's eye. And there's the rub.

Because that old saying about being careful what you wish for is so spot-on. And Kira is about to discover that moxie, not magic, is what can make all your dreams come true.

My Take 10 with Mindy Klasky:

1.) Why this book? What made you want to write this story and series?

When I finished writing the Jane Madison series (about a librarian who finds out that she's a witch), I found that I still wanted to write about real, living magic in the world around us.  One of the most interesting aspects of magic, to me, is how it can be limited.  I always want to know what the costs are when a person works magic, and I'm often intrigued by what can go wrong.  As a child, I read a lot of  fairy tales, and I was fascinated by the people who got (and usually wasted!) wishes.  Therefore, it just seemed natural to look at the  havoc that can ensue when a genie grants wishes to unsuspecting people.

2.) Which authors inspire you? Has that changed over time?

The more that I write fantasy and romance, the more I find myself  reading in other genres - sort of a literary palate cleanser between  courses!  I have been truly enjoying Deanna Raybourn's "Silence"  mysteries, which involve the unconventional Victorian Lady Julia Grey  and the mysterious half-Gypsy Nicholas Brisbane.  I also read a lot of  young adult fiction, novels that are typically somewhat shorter than  adult fiction, with strong characters, plots, and motivations.  I  recently escaped into Patricia Wrede's THE THIRTEENTH CHILD, an  alternate history of the American frontier.  I go through phases where  I read a lot of one time of story - tons of category romance, lots of  creative non-fiction, volumes of literary fiction.  Often, my reading  is in preparation for a writing project that I want to undertake.

3.) Why fantasy? Is there something special about fantasy that draws you to write in the field?

While I've always been a person who follows the rules, I also enjoy  pushing those rules to their very limits.  To that end, fantasy is a  fascinating genre - magic comes with a lot of strings attached!  In  the As You Wish Series, for example, genies are very strict about granting Grand Wishes (e.g. world peace), because of the extreme  demand on magical resources.  Also, my wishers need to be extremely  careful about how they phrase their wishes, or they're likely to end  up with side effects they never anticipated.  I've always enjoyed  working within a limited space, and fantasy fiction inspires me to  maximize the potential of any specific story.

4.) What do you find most interesting about Kira Franklin?

Kira has a complicated relationship with her father - she loves him,  and she appreciates the things that he does to help her, but she  resents his pushing her to leave her often-unreliable stage management  job for a more stable legal career.  I loved writing the scenes  between Kira and her father - they're outside the strict four walls of  "contemporary fantasy romance", but they add depth and meaning to the  characters' lives.  They also remind me of one of my first literary heroines - Nancy Drew - and her loving relationship with her father.   (My father and I are quite close, but we never had any of the  conversations depicted between the characters in HOW NOT TO MAKE A  WISH.)

5.) What else do you enjoy doing besides writing? Interests? Hobbies?

I spend a lot of my free time quilting, a hobby I picked up years ago,  when I worked as a trademark and copyright lawyer and would come home  too exhausted to do anything but sit in front of the television set.   I also do some scrapbooking and some beading - when my two cats don't  take over the supplies!  If I were given a full week of vacation, I'd  spend at least two of the days reading, trying to tame my apparently  endless to-be-read shelf.

6.) Did you have to do any special research for this book? What did you learn that you didn't know before?

Kira Franklin, the heroine of HOW NOT TO MAKE A WISH, is a  professional stage manager who lives in ....Minneapolis.....  At the beginning  of the novel, she works in a run-down dinner theater, but then she  takes a job working on a production of ROMEO AND JULIET.  I used to stage manage plays in college, and I've ushered shows at local  theaters for the past twenty years, so I had a fair amount of  familiarity with the theatrical world.  I lived in ....Minneapolis.... for a few years, and I still go to visit relatives there occasionally.   Despite that basic groundwork, though, I constantly reach out to do  bits of spot research while I work.  In any one chapter, I might  research a specific line from ROMEO AND JULIET, look for a musical set  in ..Arabia.. (perfect setting for a genie's lamp!), track down a  restaurant close to Kira's ..Lake.. of the Isles home, or refresh my  memory on a shade of lipstick manufactured by MAC.  I emerged from  drafting HOW NOT TO MAKE A WISH with a much better knowledge of ROMEO  AND JULIET, including how each of that play's major scenes fit together.

7.)  How did you become a writer? Is this what you saw yourself  growing up to be? Or did it take you by surprise?

I always loved telling stories and writing them down - some of my favorite school projects were creative writing journals.  In seventh  grade, my best friend and I decided to write a sequel to THE LORD OF  THE RINGS.  (We worked over our entire spring break.  We didn't finish our brilliant creation.)  In college, I was an English major, which  gave me a chance to read widely, but I always intended to go to law  school.  I started writing seriously while I was in law school (OK,  while I was in my Evidence class...), but it took me almost ten years  to finish a publish-able novel, find the right agent, and make that  first sale.  I continued to juggle day job (after I was a lawyer, I  was a librarian) and writing for ten years before I started writing  full time.  My current writing career take me by (happy) surprise  every single morning, when I sit down to work!

8.) Do you have a writing routine? Talk process for a moment, how do the words get on the page?

The nitty-gritty:  I write primarily on an iMac, using the software  package Scrivener (which I export to Word, to turn in to my editor.)   I work from home, on the ground floor of my three-story townhouse.   More often than not, I have a cat on my lap; I have perfected the art of typing with a feline chin balanced on my right wrist.  (Although  I'm right-handed, I do all of my mouse-work with my left hand, to  avoid repetitive stress injuries and to keep the cats happy.)  I spend  about 1.5 hours each morning answering emails, processing contest entries from my website - www.mindyklasky.com , updating my  LiveJournal blog and my Facebook status, etc.  Then, I try to write  for about two hours before I take a lunch break.  In the afternoon, I  fit in another two hour writing session, along with Exciting Household  Management (grocery shopping, runs to Target, etc.)  I spend the end  of my writing day working on "writing support" matters, completing  interviews like this one, researching reviewers, etc.  I'm a  relatively rapid writer - I can draft a 5000 word chapter in one day  and revise it the next.  (On my most productive day ever, I drafted  about 18,000 words.)

9.) Office? Closet? Corner of the living room? Do you have a set place to write?  A favorite?

I do my best work sitting in my home office, where I have minimal  distractions and all my writing tools (a giant pot of tea, a  dictionary, a giant pot of tea, a thesaurus, a giant pot of tea... You get the idea.)  In a pinch, I can work on my laptop, but it's  often difficult to configure an ergonomically sound environment for  laptop writing, and my right wrist begins to resent me.

10.) What are you writing now?  What's coming out next?

In April 2010, the second book in the As You Wish series - WHEN GOOD  WISHES GO BAD - will be in stores.  (It follows the genie from HOW NOT  TO MAKE A WISH, heading to ....New York.... and the life of a professional  dramaturg.)  In October 2010, the As You Wish series will wrap up with  TO WISH OR NOT TO WISH (same genie again, working with a professional 

actress in ....New York.....)

I'm currently writing an all-new series about vampires.  My take on  fanged creatures is just starting to come together - suffice to say  that they'll be similar in tone to the Jane Madison and As You Wish  books, but they'll also hold true to classic vampire lore.

Thank you, Maria, for the opportunity to answer these questions!  If you or your readers have more questions, I'll be stopping by to answer them in comments!

Here are a few helpful links:

Mindy's website:  http://www.mindyklasky.com