Q&A with Lee Kelly

Yesterday I reviewed A CRIMINAL MAGIC.  Today I have a Q&A with author Lee Kelly to share, courtesy of BookSparks PR.

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1. When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?

I do! Well, maybe not the literal meaning of the name, but definitely the “feel” and popularity of the name at the time period of the novel. For example, in A Criminal Magic, Joan and Alex were both popular names in the 1920s. I also thought that “Joan” sounded tough, no-nonsense, and powerful, while “Alex” sounded like the name of someone a little softer, maybe even more complicated (at least to me). In my first book, City of Savages, I named the mother in the novel Sarah, what I consider to be a strong but also sort of “everywoman” name, while the sisters were named Sky (a dreamer, soulful, contemplative) and “Phee” for Phoenix (strong-willed, brave, and a girl literally born during the end of the world).

2. What is your main character’s favorite song?

Joan and Alex both love jazz, but I think Joan would be more into female blues singers (like Bessie Smith) and Alex would prefer the traditionally popular numbers from Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

3. Any recent works that you admire? 

I’d love to mention a team of female authors called the Freshman Fifteens – it’s an incredible group of writers and an awesome list of 2015 young adult debuts: check out our website at http://freshmanfifteens.com. In the adult fiction sphere, I absolutely positively loved Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies – the characters felt like friends by the end.

4. If you could co-write a book with any author, who would it be? 

While it would be seriously intimidating, I might pick someone prolific in the young adult realm, like Judy Blume, or in the fantasy realm, like Neil Gaiman – I just think it would be such an awesome opportunity to learn from them.

Lee Kelly

5. How have your personal experiences affected your writing? 

I think I’m one of those people that “write what they know,” but I take what I know and try to disguise it really well J. For instance, when I started my first novel City of Savages, I had just moved back to New York from LA, and I was working at a large law firm, with tight deadlines, demanding bosses, and long hours. I found myself needing a way to channel all of my frustration, and soon I began daydreaming about a very different version of New York: a Central Park that actually was a prison, life-or-death subway rides, city rituals that were extremely cutthroat and savage… a couple of months later, I had the beginnings of City of Savages.

During my writing of A Criminal Magic, I was at a very different place in my life, and this time the stress was more internal and subtle. I had gotten a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster, which I was thrilled about, but I was terrified over not being able to write more than one novel, over being a hack, over not measuring up in the writing world . . . and slowly but surely, the “magic” in the story became a loose analogy for writing, and I found ways to use that metaphor to explore the amazing (as well as dangerous and debilitating) aspects of the writing and publishing world. I think the exercise ended up making the magic system in the novel more textured, and personally ended up being really cathartic!

Review: A Criminal Magic

By Lee Kelly
Available February 2 from Saga Press (Simon & Schuster)
Review copy

In the world of A CRIMINAL MAGIC, prohibition as we know it isn't a thing.  Instead, sorcerer's shine is the forbidden drink being trafficked by organized crime.  Joan Kendrick's uncle has been increasingly drunk on his own product, and she and her family can barely survive on his shows any more.  When a stranger offers her money to use her magic in an experiment, she leaps at the chance. 

Meanwhile, Alex Danfrey joined the feds after his father was busted for magic smuggling.  His supervisor blackmails him into going undercover with a gang that seems to have a big racket in the works.

A CRIMINAL MAGIC is Lee Kelly's second book, and I sure hope there are sequels to come.  It ends in a surprising and satisfying manner, but I'd still love to see more of what happens to Joan and Alex after the last cover closes.

I thought Kelly's alternate twenties were well thought out.  I do find it a bit hard to believe that alcohol doesn't seem to exist, given that sorcerer's shine can only be made in small, localized batches with no shelf life.  (Not to mention for much of human history, alcohol was safe to drink when the water wasn't.)  At the same time, I think the way criminal elements control the restricted magic is very believable.

Most of all, I liked the characters.  Joan and Alex are both people who are in a hard place, trying to do their best to survive.  Joan starts out naive and Alex jaded, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Alex is the harder person.  (And, to be fair, Joan has plenty of darkness in her past.)  I was entertained the way both of them used their magic.  Some days it seems hard to find a character who delights in having magic and comes up with cool ways to use it, much less two.  (In fact, more than two!)

A CRIMINAL MAGIC is a sweet romance and wondrous exploration of magic revels.  It's also a look at a seamy criminal underbelly and the way people will backstab each other for their own gain.  It definitely has a strain of noir in its blood.  I found myself sucked in, and enjoyed it down to the unconventional ending that suits the characters perfectly.