Thread by @seananmcguire

And now, some Wayward Children questions, for your edification and delight.

WHY DID YOU WRITE THE FIRST BOOK?

I wrote a song several years ago, called "Wicked Girls Saving Ourselves." It's the title song of my second "serious" CD, which got nominated for a Hugo Award. It was about all the girls from portal fantasies who got a raw deal.

When @LeeAHarris at @TorDotComPub asked me for a novella, I thought of that song, and how much I wanted to write the story that went with it, but how much I didn't want to be locked into those unhappy endings. The story followed.

WHERE DID YOU WRITE THE FIRST BOOK?

About half of it was written in the sewing room of my friends Teddy and Tom, in London. The rest was written in the dining room of my beloved @taliskimberley. It's a book with deep roots in British children's literature.

It seems fitting, because of that, that it was largely written in England.

DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE A SERIES?

If you've met me, you're aware that I think of everything as a potential series. Everything. Yes, even that. I don't always get my way, but I'm always plotting.

WHY IS THE SERIES STRUCTURED SO WEIRD?

The Wayward Children books alternate one past with one present. So one book set at the school and after EVERY HEART A DOORWAY, one book set in the background of a character or characters we've already met.

Doing it this way keeps me interested, which produces better books--like most people, I do my best work when I genuinely care--and also allows me to deepen and expand upon themes that may not have time to breathe on their first appearance.

ARE YOU PLANNING ON AN OMNIBUS?

Not to sound crass, but not right now, because I enjoy eating food and having a roof over my head. These books are currently selling really well, and while that's not why I keep writing them, it's a wonderful bonus.

Omnibuses are magic, but they usually happen once sales have dropped off, or after the situation has otherwise changed in some monumental way. So this isn't on the docket currently, since a girl has got to eat. As to the future, who knows?

ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT ______________?

This is a question that you can sort of answer, because as long as the books keep selling, I'll keep writing them, and as long as I keep writing them, everyone's on the table. I want to write all the portal fantasies.

WHY HAVEN'T YOU WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT ______________?

All things happen in an order. This series is a carefully braided rope of causes and effects, and while I'm happy to tell you what happens next, sometimes we need to follow the right strands to make things count.

BUT YOU'LL KEEP GOING, RIGHT?

I absolutely will. IN AN ABSENT DREAM is book #4. I'm currently committed through book #8. This means two more books at the school (#5 and #7) and two more portal fantasies (#6 and #8), minimum.

(For those of you who wonder why I seem to repeat myself a lot: we announced this last year, and I screamed about it a lot, and people are still startled and delighted now. 10,000 people learn something "everyone knows" every single day.)