When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always been a
storyteller. Like Emma in RIVEN, I used to gather up figurines and nick-knacks
lying around the house and make up stories for my younger siblings. I’ve always
liked writing, too: poetry, prose, essays…I’d do other students’ papers in
college…I just knew what the teachers wanted to hear and how to say it. But it
wasn’t until I went to the American Library Association’s Newbery Award Gala
for Jack Gantos a few years ago that I ever thought I could make an actual book
out of the scenes in my head. I met so many amazing authors that weekend. They
inspired and encouraged me. When I got home from that trip I bought my first
MacBook and started what would eventually become RIVEN.
What are some of your favorite books?
Ok, I like anything that’s
written well, across any genre. Top 5?
1. All
the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner
2. The
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
3. Ava’s
Man by Rick Bragg
4. The
Life of Pi By Yann Martel
5. Peace
Like a River by Leif Enger
6. Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
7. His
Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
8. The
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
That’s 5, right?
What inspires you to write?
Life and dreams. The
subconscious. Social issues. Relationships. Beauty, ugliness…everything.
Where is your favorite place to write?
Running water really helps
my flow. I have a fountain in my art/writing room, and one outside when it
isn’t too hot and there aren’t mosquitos. There’s also this v cool 24 hour
Korean spa here in Dallas I escape to sometimes called King Spa. There’s a Toad
in the women’s water room with a sign around his neck that says STAY AWAY FROM
TOAD. (!)
What do you like to do when you’re not
writing?
Collect experiences. I’m a
huge process oriented person and the ultimate consumer of LIFE. I love
traveling, but I’m also content being at home hanging out with my kids. I’m
into all of the high-brow visual and performing arts, but I’m also a TV/movie
junkie. Scary movies and British crime dramas are my fav! I want to imbibe
life, connect with people, learn and grow.
Oh, and eat. I LOVE FOOD.
What is your newest book about?
I like what Kirkus Reviews
said:"In this debut fantasy thriller, a teen's real life begins to overlap with a colorful world she thinks she's invented... Riven is a whirlwind narrative about an imaginative heroine that uses fantasy to offer salvation from abuse."
Are you currently working on anything new?
I’m currently writing books
two and three of the My Myth Trilogy and OMG I am SO excited! Book two is
called SECRET KEEPER and book three is PRIMED.
How many books have you written and which
one is your favorite?
RIVEN is my debut novel!
Now let’s get down to business…
You’re stranded on a deserted island, you
get to pick one book to take with you. What do you choose and why?
1,001 Arabian Nights. My dad
read me these stories as a little girl, and they just have endless
possibilities. Scheherazade is the ultimate badass problem solver and
storyteller…she would inspire me to survive if I ever felt like giving up and
probably help me figure out a way to MacGyver up some Swiss Family Robinson
contraptions for my water-collection system.
You have been given a week vacation to
visit ANY fictional town, where would you go?
I’d probably head on over to
Lothlórien. You know, make out with a hottie elf or two, flit about the
enchanted forest in flowing gossamer with blossoms in my hair, sleep in a
slender-limbed white-branched tree house and sip mellifluous honeyed elven
wine. In fact, let’s make it a fortnight!
Quick! You have a date with your favorite
fictional character, who are you meeting tonight?!
Yummers. Well, this may
totally be cheating, but I’d pick Kaillen from RIVEN. He is seriously
scrumptious: hella strong, complicated, Latino, cocky-but-not-arrogant, wicked
smart, and well mannered. I haven’t decided if he’s worthy of a long-term
relationship just yet (no spoilers!) but I’d def stay up with him ALL NIGHT
LONG.
If I have to pick someone
from a book I didn’t write though, (and keeping in mind I went out with Mr.
Darcy last night), I’d have to say
Silas from The Graveyard Book. He’s mysterious, wise, sexy, and has this
underlying menace I really dig.
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