Author Interview: Elizabeth Eulberg

Elizabeth Eulberg‘s third novel Take a Bow came out earlier this year. Having already enjoyed her previous novels The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom and Prejudice, I was delighted with her latest effort filled with drama and excitement at a performing arts school in New York City.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Elizabeth Eulberg (EE): I still can’t get used to saying that I’m a writer! I never thought being an author was a possibility growing up, this was in the dark ages before the internet and blogs, so authors were these mythical creatures. I loved to read and tell myself stories, but never once thought I’d be a writer. I went to school for public relations and got a job in publishing as a publicist. It was author Dav Pilkey who first encouraged me to write, I was scared to admit that I had been thinking about it. But there’s a huge difference between thinking and doing. And one day I decided to sit down and write.

MP: What was the inspiration for Take a Bow?

EE: I was obsessed with performing arts high schools growing up (I blame the movie Fame). I was in every musical offering at my high school – band, marching band, jazz band, pep band – but always envied people who got to go to schools that focused on the arts. So I decided to write a book set in one.

MP: Take a Bow is set in the fictional New York City School of the Creative and Performing Arts. What kind of research did it take to write about a performing arts school?

EE: I went online and looked at a few different performing arts high schools to see what the entrance requirements were and what a normal day looked like. My fictional school is loosely based on the La Guardia School in NYC and the Houston High School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

MP: Take a Bow is your third novel. It’s also your first with multiple narrators. How did you decide which characters would get a voice in the narration? How did writing multiple narrators compare to having just one narrator in terms of your writing process?

EE: Originally the book was only supposed to be told from Emme’s point of view…then I decided to take a shower! I was thinking about the story in the shower, as one often does, and realized that you really don’t get the full story if you don’t know what Sophie’s thinking. So I thought, okay, I can do both of them. Then I realized you really need to hear from Ethan as well. Okay, three points of view… I was thinking about Carter, who originally was only supposed to be a secondary character, Sophie’s celebrity boyfriend, when I realized he had a secret. I shut off the faucet right away before I decided to give the piano a POV!

I plotted out the story the same and then decided who would tell what. I knew that some characters would have more of a voice than others. But I really like how it worked out. I think you get a fuller story this way.

MP: With which of your four narrators—Emme, Ethan, Sophie or Carter—did you most identify? Who would you have wanted to be like in high school? Who was the most fun to write?

EE: I liked writing all of them, but think I’m probably most like Emme now and even back in high school. I will say that writing from Sophie’s POV was a lot of fun since we are so different. I did lean forward a little more and type fiercely when I was writing her. But I also liked being an emo boy with Ethan. But Carter surprised me the most.

MP: A big part of this story is Emme and Sophie’s changing friendship during their senior year. It’s obvious early on that Sophie is desperate to be a star. She’s also cunning and willing to use every advantage she can find. What was it like not just writing a character that is often unsympathetic but also having her tell part of the story?

EE: I knew from the beginning that Sophie would be unlike any character I’ve ever written and would be someone people wouldn’t necessary like. But there are people like that and I didn’t want her to have a teachable moment either, because some people never learn! I will admit that when writing Sophie, I started feeling sorry for her, mostly because she felt sorry for herself. It’s funny when people ask me about her, because they think I’m going to be offended that they don’t like her. It’s a compliment to write a character that brings out a strong reaction from readers – even if it’s a negative one!

MP: Aside from worrying about school performances and college auditions, Emme is in a band with her friends. Were you in a band in high school? What would your dream band look like? What instrument would you want to play?

EE: I wish I was in a band like Teenage Kicks! I was super jealous of Emme for that. I was only in the bands I mentioned above. I wasn’t cool enough to be in a proper band. But I would still love to be in a band, I’d play both guitar and piano…and get a singing solo every once in awhile. So basically, Teenage Kicks is my dream band. Watch out, Emme!

MP: Do you have a playlist for Take a Bow? If so, do any of the songs mentioned in the book feature on the playlist?

EE: I don’t have an “official” playlist for Take a Bow. But “Teenage Kicks” by the Undertones, “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, and Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” would definitely be on it!

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

EE: My next book, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality, comes out in March. I’m really excited about it. It’s about a girl named Lexi who’s the funny, clever girl that never gets the guy. To make matters worse, her younger sister is a beauty queen contestant so all her family’s time and resources focus on that. So Lexi decides she’s had enough of being the wallflower and starts to bloom.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

EE: READ! WRITE! Then read some more and WRITE! I really believe in writing the story you want to hear, not what you think will be popular or the next big trend. I’ve had to read and edit all my books countless times so if it wasn’t something I truly loved, I would’ve had gone crazy by now…well, more than I already am!

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Thanks again to Elizabeth Eulberg for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find more information about her books on her website.

If you want to read more about Take a Bow check out my review!

Author Interview: Jill Hathaway

Jill Hathaway‘s debut novel Slide came out earlier this year. This mystery with a hint of the supernatural and a dash of romance with some snark to taste blew me away.

Ms. Hathaway is here today to talk about her debut novel and answer some of my questions.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Jill Hathaway (JH):  I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I didn’t really become serious about it until a few years ago during NaNoWriMo. I decided to take the leap and query agents. I didn’t land an agent with my first (terrible) book, but I had interest from several agents with Slide. That’s when I knew I was onto something good! :)

MP: What was the inspiration for Slide?

JH: I wanted my protagonist to find herself standing over a dead body with no idea of how she ended up there. From there, I came up with the mechanism for sliding, which is the process through which Vee gets into other people’s heads and sees the world through their eyes.

JH:  I did some research online, but the thing is… Vee isn’t really narcoleptic. That’s just her excuse for what’s happening to her. As I understand it, narcoleptics actually fall asleep for very brief periods of time, and it’s not really like what happens to Vee.

[MP: Interesting.]

MP: In addition to being a writer, you are a teacher. Did your own teaching experiences influence your vision for the high school in Slide or for the classroom scenes during the novel? 

Since I’m in the world of high school every day, I’m sure my experiences filtered into the book somewhat. I had a former student comment on the thermostat that wasn’t working because I’ve had the same problem in my classroom. :D

MP: Since Slide is essentially a mystery there is a necessary suspense throughout the story as clues are uncovered. As a writer, how did you go about pacing this aspect of the story and deciding what to reveal when?

JH:  When I wrote the rough draft, I just threw in a bunch of stuff I thought would be cool. But during the revision process, I really had to sort out which clues to put where and which red herrings to put in. I’m trying to be smarter about writing my next book and plan all the clues before I even start writing. ;)

MP: Rollins is Vee’s best friend. He also makes his own zine. According to your website bio you too made your own zines. Are Rollins’ zines similar to your own?

JH:  Ha, I think they are about as cynical as my zines were. Like Rollins, I was very idealistic and indignant of any perceived hypocrisy around me. I also included interviews with bands and awful poetry.

MP: Vee’s father often cooks for Vee and Mattie to offer comfort. All of the food described in the book sounded delicious. How did you decide which dishes would be significant to the Bell family?

JH:  Ha, I think I wrote about whatever I was hungry for at the time. So my longing for the foods probably came through in the writing.

MP: To feel closer to her mother Vee listens to her mother’s music from the 1990s. Nirvana, the Gin Blossoms, Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins are some of the bands you mention in the story. How did you decide what songs to include in the novel?

JH:  A lot of bloggers and reviewers have commented that I obviously used music that I enjoyed when I was a teen, and that is very true. I was into “alternative” rock, and the songs I mention in the book are the songs I rocked out to when I was sixteen. In that way, I kind of pictured myself as Vee’s mom. I wonder if someday my daughter will read the book and listen to the same songs and think of me the way Vee does (but hopefully I won’t be dead at that point :P).

MP: Do you have a playlist for Slide? If so, do any of the songs mentioned in the book feature on the playlist? 

JH: Yes, there’s a lot of Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam on the Slide playlist. “Glycerine” by Bush is another song I listened to when I was writing the scenes with Vee and Zane, but I don’t think I mentioned it anywhere in the book. (Hint: I listened to “Everlong” by Green Day a lot while writing the sequel, IMPOSTOR!)

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

JH: IMPOSTOR, the sequel to SLIDE, will come out in spring 2013. In the book, Vee starts blacking out and realizing she’s been doing strange, dangerous things while she was unconscious. She eventually realizes that someone’s been sliding into her and wonders if the other slider is using her to do their dirty work.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

JH: Never ever ever ever ever give up.

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Thanks again to Jill Hathaway for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find more information about her books on her website.

If you want to read more about Slide check out my review!

Author Interview: Jessica Spotswood

Jessica Spotswoods‘s debut novel Born Wicked came out earlier this year. This stunning alternate history is filled with witches and unexpected twists and feminist ideas to boot. The ending broke my heart a little bit and made me desperate for book two, but Born Wicked remains a favorite 2012 read and I can’t wait to see the rest of the trilogy. Ms. Spotswood is here today to talk about her debut novel and answer some of my questions.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Jessica Spotswood (JS): I loved writing in high school, but got absorbed in theatre in college. After grad school, in 2007, I realized that I didn’t love theatre enough to make a career out of it. It was a scary thing to admit, but I coped by rereading my favorite books from childhood like L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott. That led me to reading some of the YA that was out at the time, like Vampire Academy, Wicked Lovely, and Twilight. I started writing my own YA fantasy, about a portrait-painting girl who discovers her family’s link to a world where artists are considered enemies of the state. I queried in 2009 with that manuscript, which earned me representation from my awesome agent, Jim McCarthy. While I was on submission, I wrote Born Wicked. That first manuscript never sold, but BW did, in a week!

MP: What was the inspiration for Born Wicked?

JS: I had a dream about three sisters who were fighting over a magical locket. There’s no magical locket in BW, but the idea stuck of writing about three sisters with a complicated magical inheritance.

MP: Born Wicked focuses on the three Cahill sisters, all witches and all extremely different. Did you identify with one sister more than the others? How did you go about giving each of the Cahill sisters their own unique personality?

JS: I identify with Cate the most; since the books are from her point of view, I spend the most time in her head. Like Cate, I’m the oldest of three sisters. Also like Cate, I’m a worrier and I’m super-stubborn (I think you have to be, in publishing)! As for how I gave them each their own personalities, I tend to think of each sister in terms of what she wants most and what she fears most, as well as her strengths and weaknesses. For instance: Cate’s best and worst qualities would be selflessness & overprotectiveness; Maura’s are ambition & jealousy; Tess’s are perceptiveness & impulsiveness.

MP: Although your book is set in an alternate history, Born Wicked is still grounded in pre-twentieth century clothing and social behaviors. Did research play into your writing process?

JS: Yes! One of my favorite notes from my editor was to “ruffle my corsets” more, so I read up on Victorian fashion and home décor and social customs. Since BW is an alternate history, I was able to take some liberties, but I hope all of those little details contribute to a rich portrait of the Cahills’ world.

MP: Before writing you studied and worked in the theater. Did your theater background affect how you set about writing each scene or setting up the plot Born Wicked?

JS: I’m not sure if it contributes to how I plot, but I do tend to write dialogue first and then add in description and Cate’s observations and thoughts. I read plays pretty exclusively for several years, so I think (hope?) I have a good ear for dialogue. I also tend to think in three-act structure, which may be why the Cahill Witch Chronicles is a trilogy!

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project? Or when to start looking for the second book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles?

JS: Right now I’m working on revisions for Star Cursed, the second book. It will be out February 7, 2013! On the Breathless Reads tour, I liked to say that Star Cursed will be brutal & awesome, with kissing. A longer teaser: The Cahill sisters will get to learn more about their magical heritage and what’s expected of them in the coming war between the Brotherhood and the witches. As usual, they’ll be divided about how to handle the responsibilities they’re faced with. They’ll finally get to meet their godmother, Zara Roth. There will be scandalous romantic trysts, new friends, political uprisings, and heartbreaking betrayals!

[MP: OMG that sounds awesome!]

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

JS: Find people to read your work and give you honest feedback. Other writers are great, but so are friends who read a lot. It is incredibly helpful to have objective opinions on what works well, what they love, as well as what they have questions about or what might not quite make sense to them. My critique partners are invaluable!

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Thanks again to Jessica Spotswood for taking the time to answer my questions.

If you want to read more about Born Wicked check out my review!

Author Interview: Jessica Martinez

Jessica Martinez‘s debut novel Virtuosity came out last year. Her story is an example of what a novel about a niche talent should look like. Martinez’ story of Carmen’s competitive world of violin is gripping and utterly fascinating. Ms. Martinez is here to discuss her debut novel today.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Jessica Martinez (JM): I’ve always loved reading and writing.  I studied English at college, but never really saw myself writing a novel.  It just seemed too big and impossible.  But then I got the idea for Virtuosity and it just wouldn’t leave me alone.  I had to try, although, for much of the writing process I didn’t actually believe that it would be published.  I guess I hoped for that, but writing it was more for myself, just to see if I could do it.  My process was kind of crazy—I wrote a whole novel and then scrapped it and started over, and then midway started over again—so a LOT of rewriting and revising, but I ended up with something I love.

MP: What was the inspiration for Virtuosity?

JM: My experiences as a violinist and my feelings about music inspired a lot of this novel.  Also, having kids inspired me.  After my daughter was born I felt this huge surge of creativity and a need to accomplish something.  That’s when I started writing Virtuosity.

MP: According to the biography on your website you began playing the violin when you were three as well as being a symphony violinist and a violin teacher. Did you experiences as a violinist influence your writing process?

JM: I’ve been surprised how similar writing is to the playing the violin.  Books are made of sentences and words the same way that concertos are made of phrases and notes.  Both require a mixture of technique and artistry—you have to know the rules to be able to create beauty.  But I think the biggest carry-over from violin is the grueling work.  There’s just no substitution for the hours required to master an instrument, and there isn’t a quick and easy way to magically be a good writer.  It’s blood, sweat, and tears.

MP: One of the things I enjoyed about Virtuosity was the blend of story and technical violin details. As a violinist yourself, how did you decide what technical details to include? How did you make sure the story remained the focus of the novel and non-musicians (like me) wouldn’t get lost in Carmen’s world?

JM: That was really tricky for me.  I wanted the book to appeal to non-musicians just as much as musicians, but I wasn’t always sure which details were common knowledge.  I often asked my (non-musician) husband, “Before you knew me, did you know about….”  More than once, the answer was, “I have no clue what you’re talking about now.”  So those details were cut—the purpose of the book is not to educate people about classical music.  The music is the setting for the real story, more than anything else.

Also, I didn’t want musicians to read it and be annoyed that silly little things were being explained either, so I was always looking for ways to explain things or include details that didn’t weigh down the story or draw attention to themselves.

MP: Carmen has some pretty intense relationships with other characters in the story (obviously with Jeremy King but also with her own mother and her teacher Yuri. How did you go about channeling Carmen’s competitiveness and tension into the book?

JM: Virtuosity isn’t an autobiography, but those parts of the book are ones that come from my personal experience.  Channeling Carmen’s competitiveness and the tension she feels was a matter of writing about my own experiences performing.  And I have a good memory for all of that stuff!

MP: Carmen’s story features several Chicago landmarks (most notably the Chicago Symphony Center). How did you decide what real Chicago features to include in the story?

JM: There’s so much to fall in love with in Chicago!  I used to live about an hour away from the city.  I went in occasionally to hear the symphony, so I knew the Symphony Center and surrounding area quite well.  I also visited once while I was writing Virtuosity (tagged along with my husband on a business trip!) and spent several days taking in details and seeing the places I wanted to write about.

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

JM: My next book, The Space Between Us, comes out in October.  It’s about two sisters and the lies they tell to protect each other and their family.  It’s a love story too.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

JM: Don’t get discouraged with the process.  There are times when writing feels wonderful and times when it’s absolute torture.  Learning to work through the torture without being too hard on yourself is the key.  Don’t give up!

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Thanks again to Jessica Martinez for taking the time to answer my questions. If you want to hear Jessica playing the violin herself, be sure to visit her website where she has posted some recordings.

If you want to read more about Virtuosity check out my review!

Author Interview: Victoria Schwab

Victoria Schwab‘s debut novel The Near Witch came out last year. Though I read it last November, I find myself returning to it often remembering the beautiful writing and dramatic story. Ms. Schwab is here today to answer some questions and talk about her atmospheric story of witches and strangers.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Victoria Schwab (VS): I grew up writing poetry, and then about a year into university, decided to try my hand at short fiction. A year after that, I wrote my first novel, which was sent out to agents, and promptly rejected (and very rightly so). I sat with the book for a year, figuring out what was broken, then revised, and sent it out again, and signed with my first agent a week later.

That book broke my heart, because it went on sub and got to acquisitions three or four times over the course of eight months, but never sold. Finally, for my own sanity more than anything, I sat down to write a new book. I was a second-semester senior with a killer course load, and I could only spare two hours in the evening at a coffee shop. But I did. I went every night, and that’s how The Near Witch was born. It sold the summer after I graduated university, to one of my dream houses, and I’ve been writing since.

MP: What was the inspiration for The Near Witch?

VS: I’ve always loved fairy tales, but at university, I became fascinated by their structure and their archetypes. As I expanded my studies into folklore and the nature of narrative, the way stories are told, the way culture spreads, I wanted to write my own.

Something that had always fascinated me was fairy tale’s lack of setting. The fact that place was so sparsely sketched helped keep the stories timeless, but I wanted to build a new fairy tale in which the setting was a character, in which it was vital to the narrative. I loved the challenge of it, and the challenge of building not only a story, but a world, a village of people with their own myths and legends and fears.

And I wanted it to be about witches, because of all the supernatural types out there, witches are not only the most flexible in the forms they take, but they have an inherent tie to nature, and I knew if I was going to make the natural world a part of the story, then witches would be the world’s living counterpart.

So it was really a tangle of things that led to The Near Witch. But I’ve discovered that’s how I work. A dozen threads that interest me, and somewhere in their midst, a knot.

MP: In your biography on your website you mention your love of fairy tale and folklore. Do you have any favorite stories? Did any stories influence The Near Witch?

VS: No specific story influenced The Near Witch, actually. I was driven on by the nature of fairy tale itself, its structure more than any actual tale.

MP: The Near Witch has a very strong atmosphere in the town of Near. Did any real locations help you conjure the landscape Lexi calls home?

VS: Near is based largely on the moors of northern England. If anything, I took that classic green and gray setting, and distorted it to fit the fairy tale, compressed the hills and stretched the woods, and made it mine.

MP: One of the interesting aspects of this book is that is has a story within the story. The book begins with Lexi reading the story of the Near Witch to her younger sister Wren. This structure begs the question, which story came first during your writing: Lexi’s story or the tale of the Near Witch?

VS: The story of the Near Witch herself actually came first. In keeping with the tangled nature of this story’s evolution, NEAR as a town is actually the part that came first. I sat down to build the world. And then I wrote the stories that filled that world, and then I wrote the people who told those stories. It was a bit backwards, I know, but it helped me figure out why the inhabitants of Near were the way they were.

MP: A big part of this novel is the mystery surrounding the actual Near Witch and the disappearances in town. Readers discover clues and put pieces together along with Lexi throughout the novel. As a writer, how did you go about pacing this aspect of the story and deciding what to reveal when?

VS: IT IS HARD. It’s hard because I KNOW all the secrets, so it’s hard for me to tell when the reader should know them. This is why, in every round of revision, I pick a beta reader who’s never read a draft before. Fresh eyes become KEY. But I will also say that over the course of writing and revising the book I learned more and more the FEEL of the reveal. So much of it is feel, not formula. And when I sat down to write THE ARCHIVED, which also has an element of mystery, I had a better notion of what to do. Fresh eyes are still invaluable, though. I’m lucky because my editor has the gift of voluntary short term memory, so she can look at every draft with much, much fresher eyes than I do.

MP: Since your book features witches, I’m obligated to ask your opinion on the age-old debate: Witches vs. Vampires.

VS: BOTH. Seriously though, that’s a mean question, because witches and vampires are my two favorite paranormal entities. The reason I chose to WRITE the former, however, was their flexibility. Vampires have a pretty set mythology, but witches can take so many shapes, and in the case of The Near Witch, I was able to really build my own variety of witch from scratch. So I will have to go with WITCHES.

MP: Your next book The Archived is set to come out from Disney Hyperion in 2013. Can you tell us anything about it?

VS: Ahhhhh I cannot wait until I’m able to talk more about this book! It has lived in me for so long now, and just the thought that soon people will be able to read it is absolutely thrilling. It comes out in January, so every time we reach a new month, I do a little dance because we’re getting closer. I think the only thing I can really say about it right now is that it’s got a little Buffy, and a little The Shining. In a library.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

VS: The best advice I can possibly give is to be brave. The road to publication is scary and filled with rejection, but at every step your want has to outweigh your fear. Not indignation, mind you, or entitlement, but WANT. If it doesn’t, you’re not ready yet. Be very honest with yourself. And be brave.

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Thanks again to Victoria Schwab for taking the time to answer my questions!

If you want to read more about The Near Witch check out my review!

Author Interview: Megan Miranda

Megan Miranda‘s debut novel Fracture came out last month. This month Miranda is here to talk about her writing as well as her first book–a unique combination of paranormal suspense, science, and old fashioned good writing.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Megan Miranda (MM): I always loved to write, but I spent a lot of time after high school not writing. I loved science as well, and I pursued that through college, eventually working in biotech and teaching high school science. It wasn’t until I was home with my two young kids that I really wondered why I wasn’t taking a real shot at writing. I started writing again, at night, when my kids were sleeping, and haven’t stopped since. I think my writing incorporates my love of science as well—I’m so thrilled to be doing something that I love.

MP: What was the inspiration for Fracture? Did your background as a scientist and teacher (not to mention your BS in biology from MIT) play a part in your vision for the story?

MM: It did, but in a somewhat roundabout way. There is definitely science in Fracture, but the idea for the story came from questions I had about the things that science attempts to explain, but isn’t always able to. In that way, Fracture walks the line between science and paranormal… which is just something that science can’t explain. Yet.

Teaching high school really helped in creating characters. It removed me from the equation, from the way I remembered high school, and helped me see everyone, not just the people I would’ve been friends with. It made me realize that everyone is the main character of their own life. I hope all my characters, even the small ones, seem like real people.

MP: Fracture is filled with evocative winter scenes of Delaney’s small Maine town–I felt like I was really there while reading the book. Is Delaney’s town real or based on a real location?

MM: Thank you! My dad grew up in Maine, and we used to visit in the summers. We’d stay in this small town on a bay, and the water was always freezing, even in June. The setting for Fracture is based on that town, but after the tourists leave, in the winter. And I changed the bay to a lake.

MP: Les Miserables plays a significant role in the narrative. Did you always plan to include that specific book and its musical adaptation in Fracture? If not, how did it come to be included?

MM: I love Les Mis—both the book and the play. The first version of Fracture had a reference to the book, but it shifted through the drafts to be a reference to the play. It did always play a part in the story, but the way it was included evolved over time.

MP: Fracture has elements of paranormal in the story, but one of the most interesting things for me was how well the story dealt with the aftermath of Delaney’s accident. How did you approach writing about this complex topic?

MM: I tried to read a lot about the people side of the science. Researching medicine and details is one thing, but exploring how it affects a person is a different issue entirely. I was really drawn to the dichotomy of the before and after. If a person survives, but is slightly different, how do others treat them? Do they mourn for the person who used to be, or do they embrace the one that remains? In Fracture, this change takes the form of something “other,” but I think it can really be anything.

As far as writing about it, my method was the same as it would be for anything else. I closed my eyes and I tried to imagine being in that situation… with the doctors not trusting me, and then my parents…and maybe even my friends. Would I even trust myself?

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

MM: Sure! I have another standalone YA set to come out in early 2013. It’s in the same vein as Fracture in that it walks the line a bit between science and paranormal, but it’s also pretty different. It’s a psychological thriller about the thin line between the real and the imagined.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

MM: Write. Read. Whatever makes you different, throw it into your writing. And don’t be scared to start over.

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Thanks again to Megan Miranda for taking the time to answer my questions!

If you want to read more about Fracture check out my review!

Author Interview: Lia Habel

Lia Habel is the debut author Dearly, Departed–of one of my favorite 2011 debuts. Dearly, Departed is a zombie steampunk romance with lots of action and adventure. It’s a lot of fun and has a really clever spin on quote a few things. Lia Habel is on the blog today to answer some questions about her exciting debut.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Lia Habel (LH): I really stumbled into publishing. I still feel like I have no right to be in it, at all – like I have no skill, very little talent, and a sort of “buh?” look on my face 80% of the time. (In fact, I think I come across as a little standoffish at events, but it’s only because I’m actually terrified!) I wrote the first draft of Dearly, Departed for fun, to amuse my friends and distract myself from a dark time in my life, and I can’t believe it’s gotten me this far.

Even as a child, I loved to write to entertain myself, and I was always skilled when it came to academic writing – English was my best subject, and the written word was always my area of strength. But for some reason, I never thought of translating my skill into publishing or writing. My inherent shyness might have something to do with it.

But, long story short – after writing Dearly, Departed as a joke (and I wrote the first draft in about 45 days, give or take), I was encouraged to see how far I could take it. I ended up with an agent a short time later, and a publishing deal a year after that.

MP: What was the inspiration for Dearly, Departed?

LH: I tend to think in terms of positive and negative inspiration for Dearly, Departed. On the positive side of things, I wanted to create a story that was more than a romance, a story that featured interesting teen characters, strong female characters, and a lot of action. On the negative side, I think I was actively rebelling against some of the trends that I’d seen as a reader – the brooding hero who’s so hot that the heroine is within his thrall within two pages of meeting him, the dull heroine who serves as an avatar for the reader, etc. And yet, most of all, I was just having fun. I threw in everything but the kitchen sink for that precise reason – I was writing for fun, no one was judging me, and I had no idea the whole thing would be published.

Furthermore, I just love monsters. Love ‘em. I can’t imagine writing a story that doesn’t involve monsters of some sort – and I’m actually working on a few now. But I’m glad I started with the zombies, and was able to effectively convey my own feelings about that particular type of monster to readers.

MP: Dearly, Departed is the first book in a series.  Do you have a set arc for Nora and Bram’s story or know how many books will be in the series?

LH: I don’t know how many will be in the series – I’d like at least five or six. I don’t have an idea of the overall story arc – I prefer to wander when I create – but I do have a rough idea of where I want everyone to end up. It’s just a matter of getting them there!

MP: Dearly, Departed is narrated by five different characters all with their own parts of the larger story. How did you keep track of the different story threads and tie them all together? How did you decide which characters rated a narrator role?

LH: Instinctively. I hate to answer the question that way, but that’s how it worked! I knew I wanted to shift perspective, because I find staying in one character’s head extremely boring (and yet, I’m doing just that with a few side projects now, so go figure). Furthermore, the decision was based heavily on location usage, because I had all these different places to go and I needed “representatives” from each. So we got Nora/Bram at base, Pam in the city, Victor in the desert and a touch of Wolfe because I wanted to convey the experience of the “bad” guy.

That tradition is continuing into book two, where we have six narrators – Bram/Nora again, Pam again, Vespertine and Michael, and a new zombie girl.

MP: I’ve been describing this book as a “steampunk zombie romance” to people who want a quick summary. But steampunk is a many-splendored thing with lots of different varieties. How do you define steampunk? What does it mean to you?

LH: Exactly – I’ve often felt like I shouldn’t call myself steampunk, because I’m not “pure” steampunk. Then I started hanging out with more steampunks in real life, and realized I’d been thinking quite foolishly. Steampunk’s an incredibly diverse concept, and many people spin it their own way. And everyone else is okay with that!

To me, steampunk is any interesting intersection of Victorian aesthetics, mores, or history with technology. This is a pretty broad and workable definition, I think – it encompasses the steampunky aspects of actual Victorian history, reimagined-past narratives, Victorian-future narratives…there’s room for everybody.

MP: This book is set in 2195 in a world where the USA and most northern countries are uninhabitable and society has migrated south, in addition to adopting Victorian mores and ideals. How did you approach writing a story about such unique future? Did you start with a specific scene or place? Was a lot of research involved?

LH: It came to me on the fly. I decided that in order to get to where I needed to be, I needed complete social upheaval, on a global scale – so I basically decided to throw every disaster I’d ever read about at the planet, and figure out things from there. If any research was involved in the creation of the basic global situation, it was simply reading newspapers and watching bad History Channel documentaries!

I did a lot more research when it came to scientific aspects of the world – technology, prions, etc. Then I used a combination of actual scientific articles, science websites, emailing pathologists (which was awesome), and quizzing knowledgeable friends.

Yet, there are still holes in my knowledge – and some amusing ones, really. For instance, in book one I vaguely noted that Allister’s nature preserve was in “northern Nicaragua.” I literally pulled that out of thin air. In doing some mapping for book two, I found this empty area in northern Nicaragua that I couldn’t Google Map my way through. “What is this dead zone getting in the way of my chase scene?” I fumed.

It was a nature preserve. Right where I said it’d be. I swear I did not know that when I wrote book one.

MP: You mention your love of zombies and zombie movies in the acknowledgements of Dearly, Departed as well as on your website. Do you have a favorite zombie movie? Did any film play a role in shaping your vision of the zombies in your novel?

LH: Oh gosh, I have far too many. Fido, Zombieland, Day of the Dead, Dance of the Dead (the MOH episode)…I could go on. I love any zombie film where the zombies are treated either compassionately or as people of emotion and interest, not just enemies to be blown apart. I don’t think any particular film made it into the book in a large way, but there are tons of references sprinkled throughout – again, I started out writing the book for fun, and I think a lot of both tongue-in-cheek and overt references made it through editing. For instance, many street names are taken from pivotal zombie figures – George Street, Halperin Street. This trend is continuing in book two, and the other day I realized that in theory, these films did exist at one point in my universe, so if any copies have existed, maybe someone will come up with a wild conspiracy theory…

MP: Since your novel features zombies I am obligated to ask your opinion on the key debate of our time: Zombies vs. Unicorns. Thoughts?

LH: Hmm. I’m immediately reminded of the fact that my one zombie girl died a virgin, so I’m wondering how that interaction would go down. In truth, I think she’d squee and want to make the unicorn her pet, not eat it. The unicorn might have other ideas. (And with all the mythology and religious weight behind the idea of dying a virgin, who’s to say that a zombie virgin doesn’t ping a unicorn’s radar as, like, Das Uber Virgin? Why would the unicorn fight that?)

…I can’t believe I’m considering these concepts.

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

LH: I’m working on the sequel now, Dearly, Beloved, and a few other unsolicited books. They involve monsters, that’s all I’m saying!

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

LH: Seriously – write what you love. Don’t stress over the industry, marketing, writing to trend, all the things I see everyone fretting about on their blogs every day in my feed – just write what you want to see, and don’t worry about everything else. At some point these concerns will become paramount, but before that you need to create – in fact, that’s your main job. I always cringe when I hear some important agent or editor saying things like, “Oh, nobody wants dystopian anymore, that’s SO over.” I can’t help but imagine an aspiring writer somewhere sighing and shelving their dystopian manuscript, convinced that it won’t sell – and that book was the most brilliant dystopian work since Brave New World.

–

Thanks again to Lia Habel for a great interview! You can also read my review of Dearly, Departed here on the blog and visit Lia’s website for more info about her and her other books.

Author Interview: C. Alexander London

C. Alexander London is the author of the abundantly funny Accidental Adventure series which began with We Are Not Eaten by Yaks. He is also a non-practicing librarian and, true story, one of my classmates from library school as well as an all around nice guy. He’s here today to answer some questions about his writing and his upcoming Accidental Adventure novel We Dine With Cannibals which will be released on November 14, 2011.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

C. Alexander London (CAL): It has been a circuitous, yet somehow inevitable path. When I was young, I wasn’t much of a reader. I was lucky enough to grow up in a house with a lot of books, and I enjoyed looking at their covers and daydreaming about the stories inside, without ever actually cracking them open to find out. See, although I found reading challenging, I loved stories. My sister used to read aloud to me and do all the voices and she was the first person to really bring stories alive for me. I also loved watching TV and playing video games and looking at comic books. I also liked some of those fact-books, like the Guinness Book of World Records and atlases. I loved staring at atlases and daydreaming about all the places I could go. Each of these media fed fuel into my imagination. I would make up my own villains and levels and plot lines, my own stories about travel to the farthest places I could find on the maps.

It was around when I was 11 that a teacher shared Redwall by Brian Jacques with me. I had never read a book that thick before, and I was amazed by how much I loved it, how inspiring the tale of chivalrous mice and devious weasels was. After I had finished it, I wrote Brian Jacques a letter, and, much to my surprise, he wrote back! That was the first time I saw a writer as a real person. He encouraged me to write, to use my imagination and maybe, to become a writer myself. That was the start of the path, although it took me a long time to get to do it professionally. I was a freelance journalist. I worked as an assistant at a talent agency. I became a librarian. Bit by bit, rejection after rejection, I honed my craft and was lucky enough to find editors and publisher’s who believed in me and the vision I had for my books. I’ve been writing full time now for about four years, and I never could have done it alone. From Brian Jacques, to my literary agent, to my teachers and classmates in library school (like Miss Print!), to my current editor and publisher, I’m really standing on a lot of shoulders while I tell my stories.

MP: Before starting your Accidental Adventure series you wrote two non-fiction books targeted toward adult readers? Has your writing process changed at all now that you’re writing fiction for a younger audience?

CAL: The bigger difference for me isn’t between the ages of the intended audience, but the fact that my books for adults were nonfiction and now I write novels. In college, I started doing journalism, and I see that process as essential training for writing fiction. I got to travel and see places in the world I could never have imagined. I had a lot of adventures, and, learning to capture diverse voices across cultures and circumstances and to render places both near and far as truthfully as possible gave me the tools to attempt the same with the product of my imagination. So, turning to fiction, I became a kind of reporter of my daydreams.

MP: What was the inspiration for the Accidental Adventures series?

CAL: There are a lot of sources of inspiration feeding into these silly stories.

They are, first off, somewhat autobiographical. I’ve never actually been thrown out of an airplane or battled an angry Yeti, but I thought of the idea for this series of books while I was on a flight between Rangoon and Mumbai, having my own accidental adventure. In Rangoon, the capital of Burma, thousands of Buddhist monks were battling with hardened government soldiers, and I accidentally walked into the middle of it. There were peaceful protests and prayers and then there was chaos and violence. Within days, the government had sealed off the country, shut down the internet and scrambled all the foreign television stations so you couldn’t watch them. No CNN. No Cartoon Network.

And I really missed it.

Even as things were going insane in the world around me, TV somehow made me feel safer. Even though I was having the adventure of a lifetime, all I wanted was to be curled up on the couch at home watching TV. I left Burma to go to India, where the festival of Ganesha was underway and millions of people were celebrating by lighting fireworks and throwing pink paint all over each other. And I was just so over it.

It was on that flight in Asia that I first imagined Oliver and Celia Navel, who are doomed to have a life of adventure, when all they want is to do is watch television.

So that was my inspiration, but I made a lot of stuff up too. Oliver has parts of my personality in him and Celia is based on my older sister, but there are also parts that are totally imaginary. Sir Edmund is completely made up, although the Poison Witches are not (they are some scary stories about them in Tibet). When I write, it’s like making a stew. I take ingredients from my memories, from the people I know, from things I’ve read or heard or learned in school and also things that I make up or that I dream about, and then I mix them all together to see what comes out. That’s how I wrote We Are Not Eaten By Yaks.

I also really identified with Milo from The Phantom Tollbooth. That was one of the books my sister used to read to me. I was always struck by Milo’s childhood ennui, that feeling of being “just so over it.” I think of Oliver and Celia Navel as descendants of young Milo.

MP: How did you choose all of the places (and animals) that feature in the series (so far)?

CAL: Each book takes place in a different cultural milieu that interests me, either through the travel I’ve done, or a place and people I want to know more about. The first one was in Tibet because I studied Tibetan Buddhism and thought there were a lot of interesting elements there to fuel my story. There is a balancing act, however. I am writing about real cultures and want to be respectful. I am simply very excited by the ethnosphere, which real-life explorer in residence at National Geographic, Wade Davis, describes as “the sum total of all thoughts, dreams, ideas, beliefs, myths, intuitions, and inspirations brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness.”  I try to share that excitement in the stories.

As for the animals, I went with what made me laugh. Grumpy lizards and mischievous monkeys are funny to me.

MP: Celia and Oliver HATE adventures and exploring. They’re couch potatoes and proud of it. Do you identify with their dislike of all things exciting? What is it like writing about such reluctant heroes?

CAL: I do identify with them! Although I love travel, I often find when I’m traveling, I just want to be home! I agree with Roy C Andrews, former president of the real Explorers Club in NYC, who disliked adventures because “they interfere with work and disrupt carefully made plans.” Adventures mean something has gone wrong and I like things to go smoothly when I travel, although things rarely do go smoothly. I love putting Oliver and Celia through things that I would hate to experience, like getting lost in the jungle or playing dodgeball.

As to writing such reluctant heroes, it is a challenge. It’s hard to motivate action, when my protagonists don’t want there to be any. It also hard to make sure that their reluctance doesn’t overwhelm their identities, that they remain likable. Oddly, the comments I get most often from parents are, “Oliver and Celia are just like my kids” and, “I really struggled to like Oliver and Celia.” I will often hear these comments from the same person!

MP: Working from the last question, Celia and Oliver have some . . . let’s say unique taste in TV shows (like Love at 30,000 Feet to name but one). How did you come up with all of the shows they watch?

CAL: I love TV and watch a good deal of it. Seeing some of the crazy shows that are out there, I just took what exists and made them just a little weirder. For example, with Love at 30,000 Feet, I thought about all those dramas set in hospitals or schools or cruise ships and wondered, what is the least likely place for an elaborate drama? An airplane seemed fitting.

MP: We Dine with Cannibals is coming out November 14, 2011 and is the second book in the series. Do you have a set arc for Celia and Oliver’s story or know how many books will be in the series?

CAL: There will be four books in the series and I do know how it ends now, although unlike many series authors, I had no idea where it was going when I started. I knew the arc I wanted for their characters, but I didn’t know how the plot would go. It ended up surprising me. I just finished a draft of the fourth book a few weeks ago.

MP: Can you tell us anything about what to expect in We Dine with Cannibals?

CAL: Well, when I wrote We Dine With Cannibals I was watching a lot of Man vs Wild, so extreme reality TV plays a role. The twins get to spend some time with Corey Brandt, teen star of Sunset High, Agent Zero, and the new reality show, The Celebrity Adventurist. Corey is, in my mind, a mash-up of Justin Bieber and Bear Grylls, which was a lot of fun to write. Of course, as always with Oliver and Celia, not everything is what it seems. Aside from teenaged a heartthrob, there are adventures in the ruins of Machu Picchu, treks into unexplored jungle, two lost cities, wild animals, poison darts, and most treacherous of all: dodgeball.

MP: In addition to your skeet-shooting skills and being a writer, you’re a librarian. How has that effected your writing?

CAL: Well, the training gave me a deep appreciation for the breadth of young people’s literature that’s available these days. It gave me a great respect for the diversity of reader experience and ti gave me confidence to believe I could play a role in the reading life of a child, whether it was doing reader’s advisory at a branch of NYPL when I worked there, or now, writing stories that I hope kids will enjoy.

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

CAL: I’m doing a speculative YA novel. It is definitely for an older crowd, although it was inspired by the classic middle grade novel by Sid Fleischman, The Whipping Boy. It will be out in 2013, so I don’t want to give too much away about it. I can tell you the title though. It’s called Proxy.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

CAL: It’s pretty basic advice. Write every day. No matter what, even if you don’t think what you’re writing is any good, just keep writing. The worst writing you do is always better than the writing you don’t do. I would also say to read, but I think you’re readers understand that already.

MP: Random Extra Question: I have a minor obsession with your dog. How is he doing?

CAL: He’s good! He is snoring on the bed as I sit at my desk writing this. He’s a great source of inspiration (Beverly, the ornery poisonous lizard in We Dine With Cannibals is based on him). I think every professional writer should get a dog; he forces me to put on pants and leave the house, which is very important to do every day in that order.
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Thanks again to C. Alexander London for taking the time to answer my questions.

You can also read my review of We Are Not Eaten by Yaks to learn more about the series.

Author Interview (#2): Sarah Beth Durst

Back in May, I was lucky enough to interview Sarah Beth Durst about her book Enchanted Ivy. At the end of that interview she mentioned that her next project involved a vampire who was stabbed by a unicorn. I was, of course, intrigued.

Now that Drink, Slay, Love is officially out in the world, Sarah is back to talk with me once again about her unique take on vampires (and unicorns!). If you want more preliminary information about Sarah and her writing, you can also check out our earlier interview.

Miss Print (MP): In a fun post on your blog you talk a bit about the inspiration for Drink, Slay, Love coming from your love of both unicorns and vampires. What drew you to those two creatures? What is the appeal, for you, of vampires and unicorns?

Sarah Beth Durst (SBD): I think my love of unicorns can be traced to elementary school.  In my school, unicorns were considered the crowning jewel of any girl’s sticker collection.  As to vampires…  I blame Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was pretty much the best show on television ever.

MP: There is a long history of tales about vampires or unicorns. How did you decide what aspects of vampire or unicorn lore to keep and what to reimagine for your story?

SBD: I liked how opposite the vampire and the unicorn are.  One, a sexy and bloodthirsty creature of the night.  And the other… much more apt to eat marshmallows and poop rainbows.  So I wanted to strengthen that dichotomy by going with the darker, more evil and less brooding version of the vampire.  And for the unicorn, I decided that their fluffy and happy reputation is mere propaganda spread by the unicorns themselves to disguise their true purpose as vampire hunters.

MP: Drink, Slay, Love is one of the catchiest titles I’ve heard for a book this year. How did you come up with the title? Did you find this title before or after the novel was written?

SBD: Drink, Slay, Love had many, many, many titles.  All the credit for the final title goes to my husband, who thought of it in this epiphany-like moment where I expected a cartoon lightbulb to appear over his head.

MP: I really enjoyed that the heroine of Drink, Slay, Love is named Pearl because it seems like such an unlikely name for a vampire. How did you know Pearl was the right name for your vampire protagonist?

SBD: I knew Pearl’s name before I even knew her story.  It just felt so wrong that I knew it was right.  The name “Pearl” implies such innocence and purity, and my Pearl is… well, evil.

MP: Being a vampire and a natural predator, Pearl isn’t always the most sympathetic heroine. What was it like writing about a character who starts the book as kind of scary and not nice?

SBD: I loved writing Pearl!  Seriously, this was the best writing experience I’ve ever had.  It’s so freeing to write a character that doesn’t suffer any fools.  She’s fierce, fearless, and funny, and I loved hanging out with her.

MP: One of the really fun things about this book is that it has a lot of strong, memorable secondary characters. So many, in fact, that it’s hard to pick an example but I really enjoyed Bethany and Jocelyn (and Matt and Zeke’s banter). This isn’t a fair question for a writer, but did you have a favorite character in the story? Was one more fun to write about than the others?

SBD: I love them all, of course.  *blows air-kisses at characters*  But I have to admit to having a soft spot for Antoinette, Pearl’s vampire cousin who is utterly evil and loves Molly Ringwald 80s movies.

MP: Given the plot of Drink, Slay, Love I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask your opinion on the two great debates of our time: Vampires vs. Werewolves and Zombies vs. Unicorns. Any thoughts?

SBD: Werewolves.  Much more cuddly.

And unicorns.  Much less gooey.

MP: What can you tell us about your next book? Do you have any plans to revisit Pearl and Evan (and Bethany and Matt and Zeke) in a future project?

SBD: I don’t have any immediate plans for a sequel to DRINK, SLAY, LOVE, though I do miss Pearl and Evan, so who knows what the future may bring…  My next book is a standalone YA fantasy called VESSEL.  It’s coming out in fall 2012 from Simon & Schuster, and I’m really excited about it!

Thanks so much for interviewing me!

—

Thanks again to Sarah for taking the time out of her schedule to answer all of my questions.

If you want to know more about Drink, Slay, Love be sure to check out my review.

Author Interview: Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle Zevin is the author of several books including Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac as well as the screenplay for Conversations With Other Women. Her latest book, All These Things I’ve Done came out earlier this week (September 6, 2011). In addition to being a catchy, clever twist on dystopian futures and organized crime, All These Things I’ve Done was one of my favorite reads this summer. I’m delighted that Gabrielle was able to fit an interview into her schedule to answer some questions about this latest novel.

Miss Print (MP): Can you tell us a bit about your path as a writer? How did you get to this point?

Gabrielle Zevin (GZ): I was an avid reader who became a writer because it turned out I had an aptitude for both lying and solitude. In terms of my career… I think I got to this point through willful self-delusion and lots of caffeine. Seriously though, there’s much discussion about the end of conventional publishers in the wake of e-books. I can honestly say that I probably wouldn’t be a writer if there hadn’t been conventional publishers when I was starting. I learned my craft by working with professionals at the top level who knew more than me about everything from content to design to promotion. Some writers, by the way, have no gift for self-promotion, but they still write beautiful and worthy books. In fact,  it could be said that the kind of introspection it takes to write a really original novel can be in direct opposition to the ability to self-promote. My point is, I’m lucky that I came up when I did. I’ve had a lot of support. It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to publish a book.

MP: All These Things I’ve Done is your third young adult novel. You have also written two novels that were marketed to adults as well as the screenplay for Conversations With Other Women. What is it like writing for these different audiences/formats? Does your writing process change in these different areas?

GZ: I suspect I would have quit writing a long time ago if I hadn’t been able to move around among genres, kinds of characters, styles of writing. There’s nothing as creatively freeing as trying something you haven’t done before. In terms of process? It is just as difficult and painful to write a young adult novel, a screenplay, or a “serious” work of literary fiction. (I’ve never read anything as absurd as that piece in Slate.)

MP: What was the inspiration for All These Things I’ve Done?

GZ: I’ve always loved organized crime stories — despite the fact that the women characters are usually wive or hookers — and I wanted to tell one where the girl tries to rise to the power.

MP: All These Things I’ve Done is the first book in a series. Do you have a set arc for Anya’s story or know how many books will be in the series?

GZ: I absolutely have a set arc. Anya is going to grow up and go through so much and travel to so many places, I’m kind of dying for readers to get to the next book. (The one thing I want readers to know is that sometimes when a boy looks too good to be true, it’s because he is. And, for the record, most of us don’t end up marrying the boy we loved in high school.)

There’s going to be four books. I know that some places say three, but I’ve always planned for four.

MP: The book is set in 2083 and a lot of things are scarce (like paper) and some are illegal (most notably chocolate and coffee). Did you always know chocolate would play such a big part in the story? What is your favorite kind of chocolate or coffee?

GZ: I chose chocolate very early on. I’d watched the documentary Food Inc., and after seeing it,  I’d gotten kind of obsessed with the business of food — i.e., the extent to which large corporations play a role in what we consume. Chocolate appealed to me because, as it turns out, cacao is a fascinating  crop. It’s extremely difficult to grow, and really only thrives in a handful of places around the world. The Mayans believed cacao had healing properties and even used it as currency. The DSM doesn’t go so far as to classify it as a drug, but they do note that it is one of the few foods that people experience withdrawal-like symptoms from. I also found it interesting the way chocolate is packaged with a cacao percentage on the label, not unlike the way alcohol is packaged with a proof number.

The weird thing is, I’m not the biggest chocolate person. I’ve grown an appreciation for it from all the research I did for the book, but I don’t crave it and I could live without it. (If it was a society that banned bread, I’d be a lot more upset!) I once read an interview with Ralph Fiennes (who plays Voldemort) in which they asked him if he was a big Harry Potter Fan. He replied that he wasn’t, but that the man who played Voldemort probably shouldn’t be. I guess it’s like that for me and chocolate. I do love coffee however — I’m an espresso girl. Don’t know how to write a book without it.

MP: How did you approach writing a story about such distinct future? Did your vision for Anya’s New York start with a specific place or aspect?

GZ: My approach was to not write the future like it was the future. Because if you are a person living in the future, you’re not thinking how amazing and odd everything is, and you’re not going to explain the world as if the reader is living in the past. I absolutely didn’t put anything in the book that didn’t come plausibly through Anya’s point of view. Anya is not a history teacher or a political scientist, and her knowledge of how the world works is pretty shallow in a way, especially in the first book.

I’ve lived in New York City most of my life, but this is the first novel I’ve set there. So writing the world was easy, or as easy as these things ever are. I just imagined what would happen if the economy never picked up, if we stopped funding the arts and the parks, and if everything got a little worse each year, instead of a little better. I think it might have started with a docent at Metropolitan telling me that I should give more than the suggested ticket price, because the museum needed it. Despite how bad the economy was/is, I really had never thought than institution like the Metropolitan Museum of Art would ever be in jeopardy. But you start looking into it and things are bad everywhere, and especially for the things that are considered non-essentials like, you know, culture.

MP: One of the things that I really enjoyed about All These Things I’ve Done is that it is set in New York City—albeit a New York of the future where a lot of things are different. How did you decide what details to include in Anya’s version of the city? Are you particularly fond of any details? (I was especially struck by Little Egypt and Liberty Island.)

GZ: As I mentioned, I only included details that were absolutely relevant to Anya’s point-of-view. Anya really won’t tell you anything that doesn’t concern her. Beyond that, I guess I probably chose the places I thought I’d miss the most if they weren’t there any longer. Little Egypt definitely came from that museum trip. Liberty Children’s began from a news story I read about the cost of maintaining the Statue of Liberty.

In terms of favorites? The New York Public Library (referred to as The Lion’s Den) makes a very brief appear in the book, but it ends up being extremely important in the series.

MP: Can you tell us anything about your next project?

GZ: I’m finished with the sequel, which right now is called All the Kingdoms of the World. I’m writing a screenplay, an adaptation of a book (not by me). And I’m seriously flirting with writing a middle grade novel.

MP: Do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

GZ: Be ruthless with yourself. Be kind to other writers. Remember that books do occasionally have  goals besides making you “like” them. (In fact, I’d argue that the books you truly hate can be better writing teachers than the ones you love.) Finally, invest in a good chair.

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You can also read my review of All These Things I’ve Done