Feature Friday: Colleen Houck

Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she's not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Colleen:
My number one piece of advice is to read. I strongly believe that good readers make great writers. There is so much to learn by reading a variety of books.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Colleen:
My favorite book changes all the time but I am a big fan of the classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Island of the Blue Dolphins. I've always loved adventure stories, books that take me to far away places.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for The Tiger's curse Saga?

Colleen:
The basic idea I had was to write a Beauty and the Beast kind of story. I ended up choosing a tiger as my beast and that led me to India.

A.L.:
 Did you hit any snags while writing The Tiger's Curse Saga?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Colleen:
The biggest snag was the prologue in book one. Tiger's Curse was my first novel and I wasn't really sure I was doing it right. I rewrote the prologue dozens of times and agonized over the first five chapters. I had to learn to let it go and move on. After that, I got into a groove.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in The Tiger's Curse saga is your favorite and why?

Colleen:
Mr. Kadam is actually my favorite. I love my tigers but there is something regal and special about Mr. Kadam. He dedicated his life to taking care of the princes under his charge and I really admire that kind of unwavering commitment.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Colleen:
I self published originally. I was about a week away from self pubbing my third book, Tiger's Voyage, when I landed an agent. Everything was put on hold while he took those three books and sent them out on submission. I had been laid off of work a few months before that and was getting a little desperate when he called to say he'd landed me a deal. I haven't looked back since.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Colleen:
Something new. I have recently switched publishers and I just turned in a new first book in a series featuring the mythologies of Egypt. I'm very excited about it and think my fans will eat it up.

A.L.:
 What's your favorite part of living in Oregon?  Why?

Colleen:
The trees. There are miles and miles of forest in every direction. Throw in Christmas tree farms, apples the size of your head, and waterfalls. What's not to love?

A.L.:
What's your favorite show on food network and why?

Colleen:
I really like Restaurant Impossible. I love the idea of revamping the decor, the menu, and figuring out what needs to change to make something work. There's a part of me that loves that level of problem solving.

A.L.:
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Colleen:
India. I really want to visit all the places I've written about.

The Giveaway:
Colleen is giving away two signed copies of TIGER'S CURSE with bookmarks.

Tiger's Curse:  Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.





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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

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Feature Friday: Amanda Sun

Amanda Sun was born in Deep River, a small town where she could escape into the surrounding forest to read. An archaeologist by training, she speaks several languages and will write your name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics if you ask. Her debut novel, INK, is the first in the Paper Gods series and is inspired by her time in Japan, with a paranormal twist. She loves knitting, gaming, and cosplay, and lives in Toronto with her family. Find her on Twitter @Amanda_Sun or on Goodreads.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Amanda:
Finish what you write! This held me back for a long time. You learn so much by finishing a novel—how to wrap up all the ends and how to scale down from the excitement. Once I hit the middle of a novel, sometimes it’s all I can do to crawl forward sentence by sentence. It can be a painful time in the book’s life, and mine. But you have to keep going or you'll never reach the end. You just can’t stop in the middle, no matter how tempting it is, or you’ll never be at the point where you can share you work with others. :)

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Amanda:
I have a couple favorite books. One is Mort by Terry Pratchett. I love how Pratchett keeps you laughing, and yet invites you to contemplate deeper questions in his novels. Mort is about an awkward boy becoming Death's apprentice, and what happens when he doesn't want to carry out his duties...but of course, on a deeper level it's about mortality, and choices we make in life. I love the balance of authentic and entertaining.

My other favorite book is The Knife of Never Letting Go. That novel wasn't afraid to go into the dark places or to push the limits of fiction. I found myself constantly amazed that the story went where it did, always taking me to the edge of cliffs and then dropping me off them! As the Chaos Walking series progressed, it showed, too, how circumstances can push us as humans to make decisions we never thought we would. So I love the insight into the human character in this book.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Paper Gods?

Amanda:
Well, I lived in Japan on exchange in high school, and I knew I wanted to combine my love of YA with my love of Japan and my experiences there. On top of that, I was really interested in Japanese mythology and bringing those elements into a YA. I watch a lot of J-dramas, and I like how you're not guaranteed a happy ending, or an always-positive outcome, so that played into it as well. But believe it or not, a huge influence for INK was Egyptian history! I studied Middle Egyptian in university, and I learned that the scribes used to chisel lines through the snake hieroglyphs because they were worried that the drawings would come alive and bite those entombed in the After Life. Japanese characters, as well, have their roots in communicating with the spirit world, so it all seemed to fit. And on top of that, as a kid I loved the children's cartoon Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings. Haha! So I guess you could say the idea's been building my whole life. ;D

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Paper Gods?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Amanda:
So originally INK started as a contemporary YA! I pictured this boy who wanted to be an artist but couldn't because of his family's wishes, and this girl who had suffered a loss in her life. I saw them connecting and helping each other. But one day, while I was watching Tomohiro sketch, his drawing moved across the page. I was really shocked! Slowly, Tomohiro started to tell me who he really was, and then I realized that my novel was about something else entirely. So it was a snag, but an exciting one. The plot changed dramatically as I saw the limited choices Tomohiro had to survive.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Paper Gods is your favorite and why?

Amanda:
I'd have to say Tomohiro. I really love dark characters who have demons to overcome, and Tomohiro has those in spades. Between the nightmares and the strange skills he's been cursed with, it takes a lot of strength for him to fight against his own fate. But despite all the darkness that surrounds him, he has a good heart, and wants to do good in the world. So I really admire him and appreciate the struggle he has--that we all have.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Amanda: 
Sure! I always wanted to be a writer, as long as I can remember. :) I actually majored in Archaeology in university, and took every course under the sun, so I would have a broad background for developing realistic worlds, histories, and characters. Good thing the writing thing worked out! *laughs* I sold my first short story in 2007--actually, I won a fiction contest and publication. That story was set in Kyoto, but was literary fiction. After that I sold two more stories, a YA Dystopian and a YA Urban Fantasy. My first novel, an epic fantasy, couldn't find an agent, however, so I put it in the drawer and spent a year reading all the YA I could get my hands on. It really helped to know what was current in YA! Not that you should write to the market, but it's a good idea to know what's out there and what's going on. With my new knowledge and my love for YA reignited, I wrote INK in 2009-2010, polished it for a while, and then signed with my agent in 2011. INK sold later that year--hurray! ^_^

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Amanda:
I'm currently working on edits for Book 2 in The Paper Gods. Lots more strange ink happenings, more Japanese culture, and more Japanese food! *laughs* I also have a couple Shiny New Ideas(TM) floating around that I'm starting to plot out.

A.L.:
How did you go about writing a book set in Japan?  How did you go about making it relatable to American readers?

Amanda:
When I lived in Osaka, I kept a daily journal, which I looked back on before writing INK. I also traveled back to Japan and really studied Shizuoka City, taking a ton of photos of Sunpu Park and all the locations where INK is set. I checked in with my Japanese friends to make sure as many details as possible were accurate, like how Japanese boys talk, school life, and so on. I wanted as authentic an experience as possible.

The decision to make Katie an outsider was largely to make the novel accessible to readers who aren't familiar with life in Japan. I didn't want to hit readers over the head with the culture, but integrate it slowly in the background. Hopefully that comes across as you read :) Also, Japanese teens grow up in a different society than American or Canadian or Australian, and I wanted to make sure the world was accessible while still being understandable. There are times that the Japanese characters react in a way that might not feel familiar to outside readers, and I'm hoping that Katie will help bridge that gap by asking the questions readers might have about those situations. But I really hope that what comes across most clearly is not the differences, but the similarities, the way we are the same. :)

A.L.:
What's the most epic cos-play outfit you've ever made?

Amanda:
Oh! Well, there are two. One is Fran from Final Fantasy XII, aka Warrior Bunny. I spent four months cutting out teeeeeny strips of craft foam and layering them to create her intricate-looking armor. It was an awesome experience wearing the finished product, though. The other I just finished--Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII. I used over 1600 beads on the costume, 500 of which were handpainted one by one. Often I didn't have the right beads, so I made them out of clay. I performed on stage and won a Workmanship ribbon for my beading, which was so rewarding after all those months of work! It's a time-consuming hobby, but I just love cosplay. I learn something different about myself from recreating each of those characters, and I love learning from the painting, sewing, and crafting that goes into each costume.

If you want to see my cosplays, I keep some photos on my pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/amandasunbooks/my-cosplay/

A.L.:
During your travels in Japan, what was the most memorable thing that you did?

Amanda: 
I think my trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima Island really stayed with me. Seeing the buildings frozen in time by the bomb that dropped there...it was such an eerie reminder of the darkness humans are capable of. And Itsukushima Shrine plays an important role in INK, just as it moved me the first time I saw it. The endless hallways of orange and white beams are almost dream-like to walk through, and the giant O-Torii gate is so beautiful as the tide laps against its base.

Another memorable thing was climbing Mount Fuji. Unfortunately I didn't make it all the way to the top--maybe someday! We were very close to the summit when an Australian girl I'd met that morning fell on the loose red rocks and hurt her leg. I remember walking alongside her as we descended, sharing wonderful conversation as she hobbled down the mountainside. I'll never forget that feeling of friendship, and how quickly we grew together through that experience. Later that night we went to the beach of Kamakura and lit small fireworks and sparklers, laughing as the tide lapped the shore around us. That was a moment of togetherness I can't forget. We were a mix of exchange students and Japanese teens, and despite all our different backgrounds, we came together through what we had in common. That is the spirit of INK that I hope comes across, that we're really not that different from one another after all. :)

Thank you so much for having me on the blog! ^_^

The Giveaway:
Amanda is giving away a signed ARC of INK.

Ink:  I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Read Goodreads reviews.
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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants. 

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Feature Friday: Laura Ellen

Don't forget to participate in the Dreaming of Summer Giveaway/Hop (here).

Laura Ellen is a full-time writer and mother of three who began her career as a teacher in both Language Arts and special education. Diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration as a teen, she drew upon her own experiences with vision loss to write her debut YA thriller Blind Spot, an emotional and suspenseful page-turner. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, she recently moved across country from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Scottsdale, Arizona.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Laura:
Keep writing. If you want to be a writer, you have to write all the time and you have to revise what you've written. It's the only way to get better at it.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Laura:
Eek, that's hard. I love so many! My absolute fave though might be A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. I love the way she merged genres -- historical, mystery, and literary -- so flawlessly in the novel.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Blind Spot?

Laura:
I knew I wanted to write a character that was going through the first stages of dealing with a disability like I did myself as a teen -- but I also wanted to write a mystery/thriller. So I thought why not make the character's struggle to accept herself and the mistakes she makes while doing it, the catalyst for the trouble she gets into?

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Blind Spot? What were they and how did you fix them?

Laura:
Definitely! Using my experiences as a visually impaired teen was actually tying my hands when it came to the development of the plot and main character. I kept thinking of Roz as me and that stinted what situations I put her into. So I had to take 'me' out of it. I did this by rewriting the novel in third person,. That way I could distance myself from her and see her as her own person with her own issues, family, friends, etc. Once I'd taken myself out, I rewrote it again in first person.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Blind Spot is your favorite and why?

Laura:
I like them all because they are all very flawed -- which makes them all very real.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Laura:
I've always been a writer -- writing keeps me sane! But I didn't start pursuing becoming an author until about 2002. I knew I needed to learn the business if I wanted to break in, so I attended writing conferences, joined a critique group, went to graduate school, and yes, wrote  . . A LOT.

A.L.:
What are you working on now? Sequel? Something new?

Laura:
It's another stand-alone, also a thriller, about a girl who goes to Alaska to meet the father she'd never known and discovers he's accused of murder.

A.L.:
Roz, your main character, is – like you - legally blind because she has macular degeneration. Can you tell us a little bit about writing a character that, I assume in some ways, is meant to frame what life must be like for you?

Laura:
When I set out to write Roz's story, I thought it would be easy because I'd lived her life -- the difficulties navigating everyday life, the awkwardness in relationships, the stereotypes, and the downright unforgivable treatment by teachers who for whatever reason won't accommodate in a classroom.

But it wasn't easy. It was hard because I kept seeing Roz as me. As I mentioned earlier, I had to pull 'me' out of it. I wasn't writing an auto-biography. This was fiction. I learned that 'write what you know' doesn't mean EXACTLY what you lived, it means use the emotions, the knowledge, the lessons and apply them to the fictional situation you've created for your character.

A.L.:
You’re originally from Alaska. Can you tell us what your absolute favorite thing to do or go to was while you were living there?

Laura:
 I love so many things about Alaska -- like the Northern Lights in the winter (just hate the winter!); they are spectacular in shades of green or blue or red. I think my absolute favorite though  is camping in the summer when it is all day sun and you are out deep in the woods by a river, no one around. I love that.

A.L.:
So, music is a big inspiration for you. Can you tell us what your favorite artist, favorite song, and favorite instrument are and why?

Laura:
Ugh! Like books, music shifts for me according to mood! But okay, I'll play.

Favorite artist: Probably Rob Thomas, both solo and with Matchbox Twenty. He is a phenomenal song writer and I love how he mixes different types of music, especially in his solo stuff.
Favorite song (right now!) would be the acoustic version of 'Outside' by Staind with Fred Durst; I like how you can hear the pain in that song; it's so raw, gets me every time.
Favorite instrument, hands down would be acoustic guitar. When a musician unplugs or picks up the classic guitar, he strips the music down to just him and those notes, and there's something so intimate about that; it opens him up, makes him vulnerable. 

The Giveaway:

Blind Spot:  There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer.

This unflinchingly emotional novel is written in the powerful first-person voice of a legally blind teen who just wants to be like everyone else.

Read Goodreads Reviews.
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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.
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Feature Friday: Susan Dennard

If you are looking for the Lazy Days of Summer YA Giveaway/Hop, please go here.

Today, we have the fabulous and friendly, Ms. Susan Dennard!

Susan is a reader, writer, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. She used to be a marine biologist, but now she writes novels–and not novels about fish, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues. She lives in Germany with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog, twitter, or facebook. Her debut, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available from HarperTeen on July 24, 2012!



  

Interview:

A.L.:

What advice would you give to a budding author?

Susan:

Dream big and never, ever give up! So much of publishing is timing and luck, so even when things seem slow or frustrating, you have to just keep on pushing. You'll reach those dreams one day! Heck, if I can do it, anyone can!

A.L.:

Something Strange and Deadly has such an interesting premise, where did you get the inspiration for it?

Susan:

Oh, it's such a silly answer (I always feel like a cliche goon when I respond). The idea for SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY actually came from a dream! You know those dreams you have that leave you feeling changed when you awaken? Well, this was one of THOSE dreams, and in it, I had an older brother who was missing. I knew I would do anything to find him--even join that weird team of outcasts (yes! This really was actually in my dream!).

I took that initial idea and "fleshed it out" by finding a setting I thought would be interesting and provide a great source of conflict: 1876 Philadelphia, when the first American World's Fair took place. And because I love being scared, I thought I'd throw in a paranormal twist. I literally scanned my bookshelves for something that scared me, and when my eyes settled on Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, I knew I'd found it: walking corpses, murderous ghosts, and necromancy. His books always give me the shivers! Ultimately, my take on necromancy is very different from Nix's amazing and mind-bogglingly clever approach, but the initial idea was taken from his creepy stories! And best of all, the minute I settled on ghosts and corpses, it all just CLICKED. My method for building the setting might have been roundabout, but at the end of the day, it worked out perfectly. ;)

A.L.:

Did you hit any snags while writing the book?

Susan:

Oh absolutely! There were so many days I wanted to throw in the towel. By the fifth revision of SS&D, I was downright SICK of it. By the tenth, I wanted to gouge my eyes out with staples. BUT...I also knew deep down that this was The Book--the one I wanted to share with the world. The story I needed to tell. So, after a deep breath, I'd dive back in.

A.L.:

Who is your favorite character in Something Strange and Deadly and why?

Susan:

I'm not sure I can pick just one favorite! In book 1, I suppose I could say Daniel--he has so many secrets and so much guilt that guide his life and emotions. His character really changes as the series progresses, and I love that about him. Of course, Eleanor, Jie, and Joseph also grow and change with each book, so... I can't choose just ONE!

A.L.:

So, you absolutely love reading. What’s your favorite book and why?

Susan:

I can't pick just one!!! IMPOSSIBLE! However, if I had to pick only one book to bring with me on a desert island (ha! See how I totally changed your question! Sneaky, eh?), I would pick JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL. That book is so expansive, so creative, and soooooooo magical--I've read it three times, yet the 900 page tome still calls me back for another reading!

A.L.:

Is it hard writing a historical piece?

Susan:

Yes, it has certainly been harder than the other books I've written--but only in the added research and the restrictions that go along with writing in a historical setting. The plot and characters weren't any harder than other stories, but getting the setting right sure was! I spent so much time researching 1876 Philadelphia before I even set my hands on the keyboard--and the same amount of time studying 1876 Paris before I started book 2. Then, as I wrote, I would constantly hit snags or gaps in my research--such as what was the proper type of carriage for a trip to the opera versus a ride in the country?

Even though I meticulously researched details like that, not all of them made it into the book. This is another difficult thing about writing historicals--finding the balance between how much information is Just Enough to give the feel of the time without bogging down the reader.

A.L.:

We hear you’ve got a crippling addiction to cookies…What’s the absolute, best flavor cookie possible? The one you just can’t say no to?

Susan:

I think...it's a tie between snickerdoodles and ginger molasses cookies. I love how chewy and rich--yet simple--those cookies are!

A.L.:

What are you working on now?

Susan:

Right now, I'm working on the series' final book (#3), which takes Eleanor and the gang through the south of France and across Egypt. Book 2--A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY--is at copyedits, meaning it's "finished" (at least all the hard stuff is!)--so even though book 3 (which isn't titled yet) isn't due until December, I'd like to get it wrapped up so I can start working on new worlds and characters!

A.L.:

So, you’re trained as a marine biologist, do you think you’ll ever combine your two passions (writing and marine biology, not cookies) and write a book about the ocean? Or maybe a marine biologist character?

Susan:

I'm not sure I'll ever go back to marine biology--at least outside of a hobby, surface love. But I've definitely considered the possibility of a marine biologist character! Or just a scientist character...or perhaps a book set at sea or in the Arctic (where I did my research). Write what you know--isn't that the old adage? One day, I think I will. :)

The Giveaway:
Susan is giving away a signed copy of her debut novel, SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY!

Something Strange and Deadly: (Formerly titled The Spirit-Hunters)

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Read Goodreads Reviews.
Get it on Barnes and Noble.
Get it on Amazon.

How to Enter:
Regulars:  Contest entry options have been changed, please make sure you re-read entry options.
Enter  the giveaway using Rafflecopter.  Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow  the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may  have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner  (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This  contest is open to international entrants.

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Feature Friday: Leah Bobet and ABOVE Giveaway

Today's Feature Friday author is Leah Bobet whose debut novel, Above, just released at the beginning of this month!  Leah is officially the first Feature Friday author that I've never personally met, so we'll all be learning a little more about Leah through this interview.  So far, we know: Leah's short fiction and poetry have appeared in Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens, and nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Rhysling Award. She received a 2008 emerging writers’ development grant from the Toronto Arts Council. She lives in Toronto, Ontario where she drinks tea, wears feathers in her hair, and plants gardens in back alleys...We genuinely hope the faeries don't kidnap her.

Interview:

A.L.: 
This is probably a very common question when you’re interviewed, but since some of the readers may not have read any of your past interviews, what was your inspiration for ABOVE?  

Leah:

There were three or four elements that came together to form the idea for ABOVE. The first was reading an essay in Eli Clare's Exile and Pride; it was coursework for a philosophy class in the third year of my university degree. The author was describing how his disability was diagnosed, and there's a paragraph about having to stand, barely dressed and in pain, under bright lights for what felt like forever while the doctor used the diagnosis to teach medical students. It's one of the most effective pieces of writing I've ever read: it's full of shame and display and hurt, and it hit me right between the eyes.

The second thing was me getting kind of annoyed with the whole cliche of outcasts living underground and how it's treated in fiction and TV. For one, there are lots of people who'd have better reasons to want to live outside of society in a safe place, a place where they weren't marginalized or discriminated against, not just people with imaginary mutations. And living underground wouldn't be fun or easy: so many TV shows had reliable technology and marble floors and people who were suspiciously clean living in secret. Really, you'd be stealing canned food all the time and every bad cold would turn into pneumonia.

The third thing was something I'd been wondering for a while: when you stop trying to save someone from themself. When constantly bailing someone out, saying it was okay, being supportive and taking time to help didn't actually mean they'd get better, but that they'd just pull you into trouble that neither of you could get out of.

Those three things came together once I finally got a hint of Matthew's narrative voice, and while a lot of other issues came into the book later, that was enough for a start.

A.L.:

What advice would you give to a budding author?  

Leah:

I think mostly to be patient with yourself and your process, and to remember that this is supposed to be fun.  Learning to write well-crafted fiction takes time, mostly because you usually can’t see how much you still have left to learn – and this doesn’t change after your first novel comes out!  I was writing with an eye to publication for nine years before ABOVE sold, and that’s actually pretty normal.  So, it’s entirely possible what you’re doing is going to take a while, and there’s no cheat sheet around that: just remember, always, to have fun doing it and make sure it’s a positive part of your life, even when it’s hard.  

 A.L.:

The cover for ABOVE is amazing!  Do you love it?  Does it look how you thought it would?  How to you feel about Ariel being on the cover and not Matthew?

Leah:

The cover’s breathtaking – it’s a terrible cliché, but I literally sucked in a breath the first time I saw it – and I do indeed love it, and it’s nothing like I pictured.  The idea of a cover I had in my head was something more like Holly Black’s TITHE or VALIANT; that stark black and brightness combined.  And when I got this, which was something I’d never dreamed of…well, it explains exactly why it can be a very good thing that authors don’t make any decisions about the covers of their books.  It’s much, much more suited to the book than what I was thinking, and it’s lovely.

As for Ariel being on the cover instead of Matthew: that doesn’t really hit me one way or the other.  I worked for four years in an independent bookstore, and one of the things you learn seeing so many books go through your hands is that covers aren’t really supposed to show you exactly what’s going on in the book, they’re supposed to show you what kind of book it is.  So for example, if a hard science fiction novel has a cover with a spaceship, even if there aren’t spaceships, it’s still sending a message that says, “Hey, look!  Readers who like science fiction!  You might want this one – it’s a book like the ones you like!”  Covers are, well, signals.

Having Ariel on the cover sends a few of those signals, telling people this might be a book that works for them.  So I’m perfectly happy with that happening. 

A.L.:

Who is your favorite character in ABOVE and why?

Leah:

I have a bit of an extra fondness for Jack.  He’s the smartest one there, really: He sees everything that’s going on and knows the score entirely – and he’s been breaking any rules he didn’t like for years -- but he also knows when to stick his nose out of something.  He’s got himself together, basically, which is pretty rare with this cast of characters.

Also, he swears like a pirate.  

A.L.:

Why a bee for Ariel? 

Leah:

You know, I couldn’t even tell you.  It just fit her: Bright and soft and fragile and viciously tough.  Some things about a story, for me, just are, and this was one of them.  

A.L.:

The main character, Matthew, has a very particular kind of voice.  Did you create his voice on purpose?  Did you just fall into it?  Did it take a little practice? 

Leah:

Matthew’s voice is another thing that just came with, although when I look back, I’d been experimenting with that kind of voice in different short stories and projects for years.  If you want to see an earlier version, a dry run almost, there’s a post-apocalyptic short story called “Six” in the Clockwork Phoenix 2 anthology that I think was my first crack at that weird-grammar young boy’s voice.

It did pretty much just fall together when I started writing – it was the thing that let me start writing, the last puzzle piece I needed – but it also took some practice, and some work: I was overdoing it a bit in the early chapters, and had to smooth it out in my second and third drafts, once I’d figured out the exact feel I was going for.  

A.L.:

Are there any authors/novels that you feel have inspired you and your work? 

Leah:

Plenty!  We take something out of everything we read, I think, even if it’s just an argument, or I wouldn’t do it like that.  Especially the arguments.

Some of the authors who inspired ABOVE, though, aren’t yet publishing novels or are out of print.  Some of the voice and style are inspired by my friend Amber van Dyk, whose short stories are available here and there, and who is one of the most unique prose writers I’ve ever seen.  I wanted to do something a little Amberlike when I started ABOVE.  And I wanted to do something practical, something that showed how it would really be to live underground secretly, because when I was probably ten I read this series called Night-Threads by Ru Emerson, where people got transported into a magical fantasy world to depose an evil upstart duke, and…ran out of coffee.  And aspirin.  And had to figure out how to defend themselves against armed swordsmen, because the protagonist was a lawyer and had never taken weapons classes, and you don’t pick those things up overnight.  I loved the practicality of that.  It shows up a bit in everything I write.  

A.L.:

If you could choose your Curse, what would it be? 

Leah:

Hah – if I chose it, it wouldn’t be a Curse.  It’d be a superpower.  The whole point, with Curses, is that you don’t get to choose the things your mind or body is going to do, but people are going to act as if you could, and did.  And it’s left to you to deal with that as best you can.  

A.L.'s NOTE:  Haha, yeah...I guess that's true.  *PWND*

A.L.:

You mention in previous interviews that because Above is such a different book that you weren’t certain it was even going to sell?  What kind of experience did you have trying to sell it?  Did it sell right away?  Did you get frustrated that people couldn’t see your "genius/vision"? 

Leah:

To be clear, right off the top: I don’t really believe in that “you just can’t see my genius!” idea, even though, yes, it’s everywhere.  Editors are very smart and perceptive people, and they’re on your side: they want the book you sent them to be good, and they want it to work, because they love good books so much they spend their entire workdays finding and improving them for readers.  When they say no to a piece of writing, usually it’s for a reason, and in my experience the reason usually isn’t that I, the author, was just too smart for them.  It’s usually because it either doesn’t fit what their readership wants, or there’s something the book isn’t doing as well as it could -- and it’s a big enough problem that they don’t think we could sit down together and fix it.  That’s all.  So while thinking they’re just not getting the vision is…well, I suppose it’ll make the author feel better about himself or herself for five minutes?  It doesn’t fix the problem of why people aren’t connecting with a book, and feeling better about yourself at someone else’s expense doesn’t sell books; fixing the reasons people are putting them down does.

So when we were out on submission with ABOVE and getting a small stack of very, very nice rejection letters (they were really very nice), I did get frustrated, yes: but I got frustrated with myself.  I felt like I had done my very best with this book, and about three months into submissions, I started thinking my best might still not be good enough.  ABOVE is a difficult, prickly book, and I know it; it’s the kind of thing a lot of people are going to be confused by, or hate.  I worked hard to make it connect with readers too, and I hit the point where I couldn’t find one more thing that would help the book connect better.  And if I couldn’t find that, couldn’t make it a better book and fix the things that were making those editors say no, then maybe this was a sign that I wasn’t ever going to have the skill to make the stories I wanted to tell accessible to people who weren’t me; that maybe this whole writing thing, on a very practical level, just wasn’t going to work.

I didn’t know how to get better.  I didn’t know how to write better.  That was frustrating, and it hurt.

I was wrong, of course.  You usually are when you think you can’t ever do something.  The book sold after six months on submission, and it was very much to the right editor, and the right publisher: one who loved it, and who could see how we could improve the things that were making it not connect with some people.  And then we improved them in ways I would have never even dreamed of, and I learned some more things about good writing during that process: I learned how to get better.

I still am learning that, every day.  And I don’t expect to stop.

A.L.:

Since you love tea, we’d like you to put the following five teas in order of what sounds most tasty.  Amandine Rose Black Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Jasmine Oolong Tea, Honeybush Vanilla Herbal Tea, and Dragonwell Green Tea.  You may also add your favorites in, if you’d like. 

Leah:

Oh, tea question!  Awesome!  I’d have to go with the Amandine Rose, Jasmine Oolong, Earl Grey, Dragonwell Green, and then the Honeybush.  I like florals, but I’m not so great with sweet.

Current favourites, though: There’s a local tea shop called Herbal Infusions that one of my friends discovered, and they make these amazing, kind of offbeat blends.  I’m working through two of theirs right now.  One’s a spicy cherry rooibos, which is just sheer amazing, and the other?  Orange creamsicle.  Seriously.  It tastes so much like a real creamsicle you can almost taste the popsicle stick, and that’s just magic.  

A.L.:

When did you decide you wanted to be an author?  What was it like taking those first steps? 

Leah:

I don’t think I ever decided I wanted to be an author.  I wanted to write.  Sending out what I wrote for publication was kind of a side effect of that, because when you’ve written something you’re proud of and you think it’s good, putting it in a drawer seems like a bit of a waste.  Also, I was in my first year of university and terminally broke, and anything that helped pay the power bill was worth doing.  This will sound maybe really flippant, but no, really: that’s how it started.  I was poor, and there was a chance to make that less bad with this thing I was already doing just for the love of it.

But there was no decision; no day where I sat up and said “I’ve decided that I want to be an author and am going to make a career plan for it.”  I just sort of drifted into it.  One day I was puttering around with writing in my spare time; a year or two later I woke up and realized that submissions, wordcounts, editing, conventions -- this was my life.  It had happened sneakily, bit by bit, like all the best things do.  

A.L.:

What’s your favorite book and why? 

Leah:

I don’t really have a favourite; I have lots of books I love, for different reasons. I think I’ve read too many books for favourites!

The thing I fell in love with last, then: Zoe Whittall’s HOLDING STILL FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.  I could say it’s because it’s set in my city, in my neighbourhoods, and about people who are so very much me and the people I know and care about; or that she’s just an amazing, evocative, smart writer.  But really it’s because it was the exact book I needed at the exact time I needed it, and I didn’t even know that when I picked it up.  

A.L.:

Have you been reading the reviews ABOVE has gotten or do you not care?

Leah:

If you don’t mind, I’d rather not answer this one.  People put a lot of work and thought into writing reviews of books, and if I say I don’t read them, then that’s a bit of a slight to the work they’ve put in.  That work does matter, and brushing it off is unkind.  On the other hand, reviews are also a place where readers can talk about books between themselves, honestly, and if I say I do read them, then it’s possible it’ll feel like the author’s looking over their shoulder or spying or something.  I don’t want to stop readers from being able to have complete conversations about the book, or change what they’re willing to say just by them knowing I might be there.

So it’s a bit of a no-win question, unfortunately, and if it’s all right, I’d rather keep the issue of whether I read reviews of ABOVE strictly to myself. 

Find Leah Bobet:

Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Twitter

The Giveaway:
For this Feature Friday giveaway, Leah has sent me two copies of Above.  The giveaway is going to be held from April 27th to May 3rd.  You may enter below.

Above: Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee’s wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.

But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe’s history and the shadows’ attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.

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TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter.  Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be two winners (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winners via email. This contest is open to international entrants.

Feature Friday: Esther Friesner

Have you ever met someone who is just a unique diamond-in-the-rough kind of person?  I've decided that's the kind of person Esther Friesner is.  Esther has been getting published in the SciFi/Fantasy realm for years, but she only just recently started writing historic YA novels, most specifically the Princesses of Myth series.  I've seen Esther on panels at Lunacon for years and I've always thought she was interesting to listen to.  This year I had the pleasure of being on a panel with her and that was quite a great experience.  This year I learned that Esther is a fellow Connecticut author, a lover of anime, and that she loves hamsters; but I didn't get to know the true Esther until I asked her to become a Feature Friday author and I read her info page on her website.  Holy moly what a fun info page to read!  It's a little too long to copy and paste onto the blog, but I encourage you to take a look here.  Even if you don't get a chance to read her bio page, I hope that this interview is enough for you to get a taste of Esther's personality and creative vision as an author. 

INTERVIEW:

A.L.:

All your heroines tend to be strong roll models for the readers you set out to write for. How much of this is intentional and how much is just your own inclination for that kind of character?

Esther:

It just happens because I like that sort of character and that sort of person. I hope I never set out to use a character as a lecture platform or a pulpit! I don't like reading what I call A Valuable Lesson characters and I doubt most readers do either. I also think that strong characters are more interesting, especially female ones, because it's never been easy--and still isn't--to be a strong woman in any society.

A.L.:

Your new book, Spirit’s Princess, is about a Japanese historical figure named Himiko. Can you tell me why you chose her?

Esther:

I don't remember when or where I first heard of Himiko. I know she's one of the illustrations in an Osprey "Men at Arms" series book. I do recall being fascinated to learn that she--not a warrior-queen but a shaman--managed to unite the warring tribes of Yayoi-era Japan, and that this was not just a legend since her existence is attested in the Chinese chronicles of Wei. Foreign historians gain nothing by glorifying the leader of another nation, especially not if said leader were purely imaginary. She was real, all right, a unifier and a peace-bringer. (BTW, she exchanged tribute with China and archaeologists have found evidence of this exchange. Very interesting!)

A.L.:

When it comes to choosing which YA book you write next, do you decide to choose an area, time period, or a particular historic figure/event first?

Esther:

I choose my heroine first, not her era or country, though to be more accurate, I choose at least three young women whose lives and histories interest me enough to set me wondering about what their girlhoods might have been like. Then I take my ideas to my editor and we pick one. The good part is, I am equally interested in writing about any one of the three or I would not suggest them, so it's win-win-win for me no matter which one, er, wins. :)

A.L.:

What kind of research did you do to prepare to write Himiko’s story?

Esther:

Books and Our Friend the Internet. There aren't many books available about Himiko, but the one I chiefly used was excellent. I am very thankful for all the online resources available concerning daily life in Himiko's time, Yayoi-era Japan. I also owe thanks to the Japanese Tourism Office in New york for maps and beautifully illustrated brochures. Finally, I am happy to say that I've been lucky enough to visit Japan twice and on my second trip was able to travel beyond Tokyo. I would love to do so again, and hope that my next journey will allow me to visit a reconstructed Yayoi village, about which I have only read online. It looks wonderful!

A.L.:

I’m assuming you’ll go along with the two-book-standard for Himiko, so we should expect a second book in her series, but after her, who do you think will be your next heroine?

Esther:

There is definitely a second book about Himiko, Spirit's Chosen.

And for my next heroine in the Princesses of Myth series, I am hoping to take readers to Ireland of the Iron Age in order to share the adventures of the girl who grew up to be the redoubtable Queen Maeve. She was quite the kickbutt character, probably able to give young Helen of Sparta powerful competition, but trust me, I've got some powerful surprises and twists in store for her! [Cue Author's Gloating Laughter here.]

A.L.:

Do you see yourself writing in another YA genre anytime soon?

Esther:

I'm having too much fun writing my YA historicals right now to turn to another genre, but you never know.

A.L.:

If you walked into a Japanese restaurant, what would you order?

Esther:

YUM! I love Japanese food.

I would order the following: miso soup; assorted sushi (I prefer roll style and my preferred kinds include, but are not limited to: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, cucumber, any combinations of the above featuring avocado, scallions, other veggies, and roe, but I am open to sampling new and untried varieties); rice balls, especially stuffed with ume (pickled plum); oshinko (assorted pickled vegetables); seaweed salad; udon (a specific type of noodle); green tea; sake.

Please note that I would not order all of these for one meal. I just don't want to leave out any of my favorite dishes. (Except I fear I might have done so anyway. There are so many good things! When shall we go?)

A.L.:

If you could give one piece of advice to budding authors, what would it be?

Esther:

May I give more than one?

Don't give up.

Recognize that your work is valuable and that you deserve to be paid for your talent and effort.

Don't take rejection personally. You are not being rejected, it's just that one piece of your writing was not a good "fit" for that particular editor/publication. Try submitting it elsewhere. Write more. If your submission receives a criticism from one editor, it might be no more than a matter of that person's taste, but if your submission receives similar criticisms from more than one editor, you might want to consider rewriting it.

Don't fall for any of the "We want to publish your book/be your agent!" scams out there. Reputable agents do not charge fees for trying to sell your work to a publisher; they receive a percentage of the money you receive once they do make that sale for you.

Beware of "contests" that charge entry fees.

If you aspire to become a professionally published author, remember the wise words of James Macdonald: "Money flows toward the writer."

A.L.:

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a historical novel?

Esther:

The hardest part is making sure that I don't let my heroines act like 21st century young women who are playing dress-up. This means that sometimes they may accept as normal certain parts of their culture that we would find horrible.

Case in point: All three of the cultures about which I have written so far--ancient Egypt, Minoan-Mycenaean Greece, and 3rd century Japan--were slave-owning societies. It would be artificial for my heroines to declare "Slavery is wrong!" unless they first had the opportunity to think about it and the personal experiences that would bring them to this realization naturally.

And I get to give them those experiences. :)

A.L.:

Out of your three YA heroines (Helen, Nefertiti, and Himiko) which is your favorite? Likewise, whose story was the most interesting/fun to write?

Esther:

No contest: All of the Above, for all different reasons.

Never ask a mother to name her favorite child. :)

A.L.:

Some of your best baddies have been women; do you like writing female baddies more than male? Or is this just a coincidence?

Esther:

It's coincidence. I am an Equal Opportunity Baddie-Employer! I will admit, it can be a great deal of fun to write a really juicy villain's part. (Dracula is so much more interesting than Van Helsing!)

If you delve into history, you'll find plenty of examples of notorious baddies both male and female. Unfortunately, when they're a part of history rather than historical novels, they do real damage.

A.L.:

If you could be a particular female character (mythical/real) who would you be? Why?

Esther:

Off the top of my head, I'd pick Eleanore of Aquitaine. She was an independent ruler, she had the most marvelous real-life adventures, she traveled widely, and she lived into her eighties or nineties.

She could have had better luck with her husbands, though. Can I be Eleanore without that part of her life where her second husband, Henry II of England, imprisons her for years and years? Yes, it was a very comfortable imprisonment, but still--!

But she did get out eventually, and went on to make her own happy ending.

Or so I like to imagine, and for me, imagination's what it's all about!

Esther Friesner

Web: http://princessesofmyth.com/

THE GIVEAWAY!
For this Feature Friday giveaway we have a real treat!  Esther has provided two advanced reading copies of her new book, Spirit's Princess, as well as some autographed book plates.  The giveaway will run from April 20th to the 25th as part of my Showers of Books Giveaway Hop.

Spirit's Princess: Himiko the beloved daughter of a chieftain in third century Japan has always been special. The day she was born there was a devastating earthquake, and the tribe's shamaness had an amazing vision revealing the young girl's future—one day this privileged child will be the spiritual and tribal leader over all of the tribes. Book One revolves around the events of Himiko's early teen years—her shaman lessons, friendships, contact with other tribes, and journey to save her family after a series of tragic events. Once again, Esther Friesner masterfully weaves together history, myth, and mysticism in a tale of a princess whose path is far from traditional.

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