Seanan McGuire is the New York Times bestselling author of October Daye, InCryptid, and more. In 2021, five books are coming out: Ghost-Spider (Vol. 2: Party People), Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children, #6), Angel of the Overpass (Ghost Roads, #3), Calculated Risks (InCryptid, #10) and When Sorrows Come (October Daye, #15).

Q. In 2021 you’ve got no fewer than five books coming out. How do you maintain this pace? What are you most excited about?

Seanan: I mostly maintain this pace by being very regimented when it comes to my work hours, and making sure that I hit my goals as frequently as I can. If I have a day where I know I won’t be able to work, I work more the day before and after, to help and take the pressure off. As for what I’m most excited about, I try never to have favorites among my projects, because it causes people whose favorites I don’t pick to get mad at me. And not making people mad at me is also a large part of my workflow.

Q. You’re a woman of varied interests, including cartoon illustration, musical theater, horror films, and sci-fi/fantasy conventions, among many others. How do your hobbies and pursuits impact your writing?

Seanan: They give me something else to do when my brain is full and words just won’t come any longer. You can’t pour water from an empty jug. These fill me back up.

Q. How does writing in sci-fi/fantasy and horror overlap? Is this a peas can’t touch the carrots situation or is there a lot of fluidity in your writing?

Seanan: I mean, I wrote a mermaid horror novel, and a science fiction horror novel (my Alien tie-in). So everything mixes together as the story demands.

Q. Across the Green Grass Fields, a sixth installment in your Hugo and Nebula award-winning Wayward Children series, is coming out this month. What are readers in for?

Seanan: About 40,000 words, roughly, placed in a linear order, third person past tense, sixth book in the series!

Q. What is the craziest, most venomous thing you’ve ever been bitten by? Any other close calls?

Seanan: So I am no longer willing to discuss animal rescue or animal encounters on the internet, having grown profoundly tired of being called a liar by strangers. I don’t lie to people about things that can be reasonably easy proven or disproven, but the accusations upset me, and we’re back to “not making people mad at me is a big part of my workflow.” I need to not be yelled at to be my most effective self.

Q. What are you working on now?

Seanan: This interview. In a larger sense, a book called Seasonal Fears, which is currently at the stage of being written where the only proper descriptive term is “a hot buttered mess.”