We gave Dana our own set of questions, from the fun to the serious... Read on to find out a little more about the personal side of an up-and-coming writer! (Use the arrow immediately to the right to scroll down.)

What do you drink while you write?

"When writing, I found I relied on an alchemical mix of teas, in a balanced ratio of Earl Grey, Green Matcha, and Rooibos. I also drank a fair bit of chai while collecting my thoughts at our local Kundalini yoga centre."

What music did you listen to when you wrote The Steam Magnate?

"I like an eclectic mix that includes world music, electronic and some classical; generally music with a haunting and lyrical quality. I enjoy Emmy Lou Harris for the potency of her lyrics and music. Peter Gabriel, particularly his very textural music on the album Passion. I sometimes enjoy the minimalist Phillip Glass, cross-cultural Afro Celt Sound System, and British electronic such as Underworld and Future Sound of London. I do listen to the Smiths when feeling a certain cast of emotion, and to Sinead O’Connor for her power and intensity. Kraftwerk for their robotic charm. Kundalini Yoga mantras and music, both uplifting and relaxing."

What are some of your favorite movies?

"One of my favourite movies is Orlando, by Sally Potter, for its rich visual atmosphere, subtle acting and fascinating music. I enjoy movies with a sublime aesthetic quality and thematic weight. I saw a recent movie directed by Zhang Yimou called Hero which was a beautifully filmed medieval tale, replete with romance and excellent martial arts choreography. In terms of science fiction, the recent remake of Solaris was stylish and rich in ambience. The Sweet Hereafter by Canadian director Atom Egoyan is one of the most emotionally profound and subtle movies I’ve seen, and is not at all heavy-handed or sentimental. Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire is visually fascinating and meditative, particularly for its ‘floating perspective’ that carries the viewer over the city of Berlin, and through the minds of people in the city."

What's your favorite bookstore in the region where you live?

"Vancouver is a haven for wonderful bookstores of every variety. We have a science fiction specialty store called White Dwarf that recently hosted a wonderful reading by Canadian authors Robert Sawyer and Robert Charles Wilson. We also have Banyen Books and Sound, with its incredible array of materials on healing, spirituality and philosophy, as well as music. Little Sister’s bookstore on Davie Street specializes in gay, lesbian, gender and race studies. We have MacLeod’s, a Vancouver tradition in an old building that appears to be constructed of rare, used books. Sophia Bookstore is a wonderful multi-language resource, which helps our large number of exchange students, and Oscar’s Art Books provides an excellent selection of art and theory resources. The list goes on… White Dwarf and Banyen are my very favourites, and both are in near walking distance from my house."

What writers do you read for pleasure?

"My own reading spans from genre fiction to literary fiction. I read Iris Murdoch, Angela Carter, and Doris Lessing. Murdoch’s work The Green Knight is an allegorical exploration of character and meaning. Carter’s wild and imaginative style is a journey to the outer reaches of the imagination. Lessing writes impressively in both science fictional and realist styles.

"I enjoy Japanese authors both modern and historical, and have read part of the Tale of Genji. I like works that have Zen or Buddhist foundation, such as Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, and the writings of Pema Chodron.

"I’ve been reading Canadian science fiction writer Robert Charles Wilson, whose works are uniquely thought-provoking and deeply perceptive. The Tales of the Otori, by Lian Hearn, are fantasy works set in a fictionalized medieval Japan, and are a beautiful read.

"Naquib Mafouz’s Akenaten is a beautiful work that illuminates an ancient historical period through fictionalized accounts by a variety of people influenced by the life of the pharaoh Akenaten. Asian-Canadian writer Larissa Lai combines Chinese myth and contemporary Chinese Canadian experience with her intriguing novel When Fox is a Thousand. The picture books of Australian artist Shaun Tan are rich in cultural significance."

Do you have a favorite character, or a few favorite characters, in The Steam Magnate?

"The characters in my story are to me an integrated entity. While they have individual thoughts and actions, I tend to think of them collectively, and am too close to them to really have favourites. In terms of ease in writing, I found Kyra most challenging, while Eson flowed most easily, but they are to me inseparable, existing solely in terms of each other. They are perfect lovers in that regard, having been designed for each other, though their relationship is far from ideal. Jado acts as a counterbalance to Kyra and Eson, and provides his own set of elements to the story. In some ways, I feel the most affinity with him, for his slightly detached nature and social reticence, but none of the characters are very autobiographical. I came to enjoy shaping each one for their unique stories, and hope to write a sequel for each of them. As for the side characters, the group of debtors act as a social unit, and are modeled in a general way on the group of anarchists in Lessing’s The Good Terrorist. The mercenary and the Heiress I would like to develop further in a sequel, as they are left largely mysterious in this story. Neriv is a very grounding and lucid character, and I would like to develop her in further stories."

Is there a scene in The Steam Magnate you thought turned out particularly well or was particularly easy/difficult to write?

"I generally found the central scenes of the story most uplifting to write, while some of the more ‘connective’ or ‘explanatory’ scenes didn’t provide such an overtly powerful experience. The story found its way as it went along, and the later, important scenes felt like revelations when the inspiration for them struck. I always seemed to be waiting impatiently for the next part of the story to manifest itself, and once this had happened, I felt a calm and elevated sensation surround me. Eson’s scene at the High Bank came to me all in one day, and when I’d finished it, I walked out into a summer night that felt nearly as dreamlike as the world of the story. The ending of the story was mysterious and eluded expression for some weeks. I had to move through the emotional changes that the characters were experiencing, and this took time, walking, meditation and thought. The writing process was like one extended meditation."

What inspired you to write The Steam Magnate?

"The inspiration to write this novel developed over a long period of time. I’d always written the frameworks for novels and stories in my personal journals, but this was the first full-length book to manifest itself. My writing in general is inspired by the desire to access a frame of mind that occurs in artistic creation. Ideas begin as visualizations in dream or meditation, and from these initial impressions, which are usually of place and colour, the other elements of the piece develop. For instance, with this book, the original spark came from a dream I had of walking in a foreign city by night, traversing a particular route over and over, that led through a courtyard illuminated by the glow of light-coloured stone. The silent courtyard with its ghostly glow became the first image in the story, and the basis for the atmosphere of the Broken Glass City. The plots, characters and themes developed from the original image, as did the other images in the story. The visual element is exceedingly important in my writing, as images form the backdrop for ideas expressed through language. Visual art and writing are both the means by which I can express the images and ideas that I feel in my mind."

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