We’re back with another author interview in our series, “5 Questions with…” This month we’re talking with Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lora Senf, whose brand-new novel THE LOSTING FOUNTAIN came out on New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2024).
1) Tell me about The Losting Fountain. What’s the premise and what inspired you to write it.
The Losting Fountain is a dark fantasy story about what it means to be lost, to be found, and to discover our place in the world. Ember, Miles, and Sam—all from different times and places—have been called home. Only home is a place none of them have ever been before. They find themselves on an impossible island where lost things go that want to be found.
As their timelines converge, the choices they make will not only determine their own futures but will also have bigger consequences—they will either restore a cosmic balance or destroy the dams that separate two worlds, ending them both. Ember was called because she belonged, Miles because his mother belonged, and Sam . . . well, Sam arranged his own invitation.
The seeds for this book were planted more than two decades ago when a young child mispronounced lost and found. He called it losting fountain. My brain immediately grabbed on to the idea of such a place—What would be the purpose of a place like that? What would happen there? Who might benefit from it and who might…not? It took me many, many years to work up the courage to try to write a book and The Losting Fountain was my first completed manuscript although it is my fourth published novel.
2) You’ve described The Losting Fountain as “lower YA.” What does that mean to you, and what should readers expect from a book in that category?
If I’m being really honest, I have a hard time with the age classification for a lot of books. Sometimes a story is just a story and can be for anyone—side note, this is why I love middle grade books so much. They are the one category that can be for just about any reader.
In the case of The Losting Fountain, lower YA is as good a category as any. There’s more blood on the page and light swearing than I would put in my straight-up middle grade books but I think it could serve as a really nice stepping stone for young readers who are ready to try a book outside middle grade.
3) What is your writing process? Are you a pantser or a plotter or somewhere in between?
Oh, how I wish I had a process! It seems to change with every book. I suppose a few things are consistent across my books. While I don’t outline, I do have to mull a story over—for weeks or sometimes months—before I start committing words to page. I usually keep about a page of notes that would make sense to only me. That page has ideas or scenes that are vital to the story I’m trying to tell. The document serves as a sort of touchstone for me as I draft the manuscript.
As for the actual act of drafting, I write when and where I can. I have a family and a full-time job so if I want to get anything done, I have to be flexible. There are lots of very early morning sessions when I’m writing a manuscript. Sometimes I write during lunch breaks. Sometimes I write in the family room while my kids watch TV. Whatever it takes to get it done.
4) The Losting Fountain is your fourth published novel, all of which range from spooky to scary. Why are you drawn to horror stories? Do you have your eye on other genres in the future?
I discovered horror very early and never looked back. I jumped from John Bellairs straight to Stephen King and while I was probably (definitely) too young for King’s books, I was hooked on scary stories. As a kid with a lot of anxiety, those scary stories gave me a chance to practice being brave. And, honestly, I just love the feeling of being terrified and safe at the same time.
I won’t say never, but I have a hard time seeing myself writing something that doesn’t have a ghost or a monster (supernatural or human). I keep a list of all the books I want to write and every one of those is on the spooky-to-scary continuum. I may surprise myself someday and take a different path, but I sort of doubt it.
5) What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on the fifth Blight Harbor book—this one is a prequel set in the 1990’s and Blight Harbor readers will recognize the cast. The tweens and teens in this book are adults in the Evie Von Rathe books.
I’m also working on an unannounced YA horror that I am very excited about. I’ll share more about it when I can! Oh, and I’m also in the mulling-over stage of an adult horror novel with some pitch-black comedy. I think that will be my next project when these are done.
All that said, I have so much love for middle grade. I have (what I think is) a really good idea for a new series. Time will tell on that one!
Spooky Middle Grade 