Petra Lord chatted about her new book “‘Queen of Faces,” her writing process, and being a part of the digital age.
How did “Queen of Faces” come about?
I first got the idea for this story back in 2017, when I was in film school. I envisioned a fantasy world where people had the power to swap their souls between bodies, and the fascinating questions about identity that could result.
I’ve always loved cyberpunk worlds like Ghost in the Shell where you can swap your mind between bodies using technology, and I wanted to craft a setting like that in a fantasy universe.
The body that we’re born in is something we often take for granted, much like our gender, so I found a world where that bent and twisted to be very compelling.
From there, it was a long, intense, difficult eight years from idea into publication, but I couldn’t be more grateful for where the story ended up.
What inspires your writing process?
In the brilliant 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the sushi chef Jiro Ono says that you have to eat well if you want to cook well.
I’m a big believer in that – if you want to craft excellent art, you have to consume and study excellent art, from as many diverse sources as possible.
You need to study nonfiction as well, to ensure you have an intelligent and thoughtful perspective.
So, to me, the artistic “muse” is a fancy word for a well-developed subconscious – if I’m learning and experiencing interesting things, I will inevitably get interesting ideas that go in fresh, exciting directions.
How does it feel to be an author in the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology and social media being so prevalent)
I used to be the biggest tech booster. I grew up in the Bay Area surrounded by tech bros, I used a laptop to take notes in high school, made fun of old people who wrote close-minded op-eds about millennials on their phones.
Now, I feel like one of those old people. I’m such a big believer in digital technology as a tool, but so often these days it’s designed as a slot machine, a skinner box that rots autonomy and critical thinking.
I often hate what social media has become, both in a general sense and as an author. I think modern algorithmic feeds prioritize repetition and parasocial relationships over creativity, and that the era of AI bubble slop is like poison in the water supply.
As an author, the media landscape has decayed so much, I feel immense pressure to promote my books on social media, to be an influencer first when my fundamental job is to write.
I don’t think it’s all bad – my best moments with social media, with digital technology, are when I feel I can legitimately connect with readers and watch them experience my art. That’s when it all feels genuinely useful.
How do you use technology in your daily routine as an author?
In contrast to my burning hatred of generative AI and my frustration with Instagram, I do rely on some incredibly useful technologies as an author. Wikipedia is my best friend, a human-centric wonder of the world that I see as a genuine Library of Alexandria.
Back when I had serious nerve damage in my hands, I relied on Dragon Dictate and a Bluetooth microphone to voice type entire drafts of my manuscript, which was a miracle of software, and I couldn’t live without word processors.
And as someone who works from home full-time, strict blocker apps for distracting websites are some of my most important tools, which let me sculpt my day around my own preferences, rather than a tech company’s.
What do your plans for the future include?
I’m currently finishing up edits on Book 2, so my future plans mainly involve Book 3! And a very long nap after book tour.
What is your advice for young and emerging authors?
I’m still pretty new to publishing, so take everything I say with a big grain of salt. The best writing advice I’ve ever gotten is from a screenwriter named Film Crit Hulk, which I’ll paraphrase here: genius is fake, practice is everything.
Just about every great writer became great not because they were some magic prodigy, but because they practiced like hell.
Stephen King says you need one million words to be a competent writer, Malcolm Gladwell says you need 10,000 hours.
Writing is very, very hard, so there will inevitably be a great deal of failure, which you need to learn from.
So, go out there and fail, over and over again, fail more than everyone else. And one day you will wake up and realize you’re actually pretty good at this.
What did your “Queen of Faces” book teach you about yourself?
I think it taught me what I’m capable of, even in some of my darkest and most difficult moments.
What does the word success mean to you?
Accolades, bestseller lists, and sales are all great to me, especially for continuing my career. I love writing as full-time author, and would like to continue doing so.
That said, the successes I really crave are ineffable and incredibly difficult to achieve: I want to change people’s lives, and I want to have an impact on culture.
On a smaller, more intimate note, I want this book to be worth people’s time and money.
I want people to sit down with this manuscript, read it, and feel it was a worthwhile use of their precious hours. To me, there’s no higher honor.
What do you want to tell our readers about “Queen of Faces”? What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it?
I hope readers can take away that transforming yourself, in body or mind, is one of the most difficult and frightening things you can do, but is also utterly worth it
Her novel “Queen of Faces” is available on Amazon.
To learn more about Petra Lord, visit her official website and follow her on Instagram.
