Veronica Rossi: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with...

Veronica Rossi!

Picture borrowed from Veronica's Facebook page.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

Yeah, those. And all the ones in between!

Best writing tip you ever received?

$5. Just kidding. Um… tip… I think it’s probably to allow yourself to suck when writing early drafts. It takes away a lot of the fear of generating good material. It’s not easy to be creative when you’re judging your work.      

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

1.       In the past year, I discovered a deep love of Brussel sprouts

2.       I talk to myself. Heck. Sometimes I argue with myself.

3.       I’m arguing with myself about including that last point at this very moment.

4.       My favorite animals are elephants.

5.       Dresses with pockets make me happy.

Where's your favorite place to write?

I usually work in my home office, but I love working in hotel rooms. No distractions!

What are you working on now?

Something I’m very excited about! Can’t divulge any details yet, but it’s an idea I’ve been mulling over for years.

Ransom Riggs: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with...

Ransom Riggs!

Picture borrowed from Ransom's Facebook page.

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Silence. My noise-cancelling headphones have become almost essential.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

The first. I rewrite and rewrite it a million times. The last comes easy.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

I’m six foot four. I lived on a working farm until I was five. I used to know how to cook Indian food but now I've forgotten. I love documentaries. One day I will conquer the moon.

What are you working on now?

A novel for Little, Brown the plot of which is SECRET! (Sort of, for now. But I’m really excited about it.)

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

Oh, definitely YA to write in. I read everything, lots of YA, lots of adult, nonfiction of all sorts. I even read poetry when I’m feeling ambitious. I think it’s crucial to have lots of different influences. If you only read in the genre you write in, your writing will sound like everything else that’s already out there.

I'm looking very forward to meeting Ransom in November!

Rainbow Rowell: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview continues with...

RAINBOW ROWELL!!! *fangirl squeeeeeaaaal*

Photo borrowed from http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Lip balm.

Describe your book in 5 words.

FANGIRL - Earnest, snowy, swoony, minty, bookish.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

THE FIRST! The whole first page is a nightmare. I want people to just skip it. And I always end up rewriting it.

Best writing tip you ever received?

“Just finish your book.”

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. I think it would have made me feel less alone.

Where's your favorite place to write?

At coffee shops. In giant overstuffed chairs.

What are you working on now?

I’m revising my adult novel, Landline, which comes out in spring 2014, and playing with a romantic/political/tragicomic fantasy.

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

I write mostly contemporary. I read mostly fantasy.

At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?

All of my ideas are full-length novels. I have a hard time narrowing my scope.

So, you're going to meet us in Charleston now, right? Right?!?! :) Ahhh, I love Rainbow!

Sean Williams: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with Sean Williams!

Photo by Anna Solding

Photo borrowed from http://seanwilliams.com/

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

The right music. And chocolate as a reward when I finish.

Describe your book in 5 words
Jump meets Uglies. But different.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
The first line is often the hardest to write, but I like a good challenge. The line I like writing the least is the last because it means I have a whole load of rewriting ahead of me.

Best writing tip you ever received?
Give up. If you can do that, you’ll be happier and probably better off as a result. If you can’t, then you know writing is exactly the right thing for you!

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
1) I live in Adelaide, South Australia, a place that’s home to about a million other people but somehow feels like a small town, which is why I love it.
2) I still think music from the 1980s is cool.
3) My stepson has situs invertus, which means his heart is on the wrong side of his body. That’s not really about me, but it is pretty random.
4) I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who.
5) I’m minding a pair of green tree frogs, Skipper and Jumpy, for a young friend while she’s overseas with her family. You can see pictures of them on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/seanwilliamsauthor/.

Where's your favorite place to write?
In my study, a lovely upstairs nook containing all my favorite book-related things, but I've trained myself to write anywhere as long as I have my headphones and some music. I quite like writing in hotels, probably because someone else does all the household chores.

What are you working on now?
Crashland, the sequel to Twinmaker.

CJ Lyons: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!

Today's interview is with CJ Lyons!

Picture borrowed from http://cjlyons.net/

Describe your book in 5 words:

CJ: Girl dying of broken heart (literally)

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

CJ: The first. I’ll often return to it over and over again until I've sliced and diced and fine-honed it to that perfect combination of intrigue, visceral reaction, and emotional connection with the reader.

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?

CJ: Code Name Verity because it is so emotionally honest and inspiring, empowering, not to mention gut-wrenching. Really brings the era to life as well as the sacrifices made in the name of freedom.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

CJ: When I was a kid I worked summer stock theatre and was actually a theatre major undergrad before switching to pre-med. I've had two hard landings in helicopters while working as a flight doc. I survived rampaging Cape Horn Buffalo and a pack of wild baboons, not to mention a leopard (he’s already eaten) while hiking in Hells Gate Park in Kenya. I’m a Capricorn. I diagnosed my niece with the heart condition that’s at the center of my YA thriller, BROKEN.

What are you working on now?

CJ: DAMAGED, my next YA thriller, due out in 2014. It deals with the really tough topic of abuse and coercion and is the most difficult book I've ever tackled—there have been times while writing when I was literally in tears as I typed.

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

CJ: I created my own genre of Thrillers with Heart—I love writing fast paced stories with raising stakes but centered on the emotional heart of an evolving relationship. As for reading, I read almost every genre but especially love YA, magical realism, and thrillers. As long as a story grabs me by the throat and won’t let me go because I’m too worried about what the characters are going through, I’ll read it and love it.

Lauren Oliver: YALLFest Interview

The author interviews continue!

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

Check out yallfest.org for more information!

Today's interview is from Lauren FREAKIN' Oliver!!! I am trying to keep from fainting and fangirling! I may be able to control the fainting, but the fangirling, I can't! *fangirl on*

Lauren is the author of the Delirium Trilogy, Before I Fall, Liesl & Po, and more! 

Jonathan Alpeyrie, 2011

Picture borrowed from http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Coffee!

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

Honestly, neither. It’s just every single line in between that feels impossible.

Best writing tip you ever received?

Aim for truth and beauty will follow.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

I have fourteen tattoos. I can fall asleep any time, any place. I have a phobia of worms. I hate fruit. I wrote my first novel largely on my Blackberry.

Where's your favorite place to write?

In my sunroom in upstate New York.

What are you working on now?

Two different middle grade books and an untitled young adult novel that my agent described as “the most disturbing thing he’s ever read.” Oops!

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

I love realistic books that include just a hint of fantasy.

Check out her website for more information, or better yet, join us in November and meet her in person!

Cinda Williams Chima: YALLFest Interview

So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.

YALLFest.org

I have been allowed to post this interview from Cinda Williams Chima...ya know, the author of The Heir Chronicles and Seven Realms? Yeah, her! You can check out her website for more information, or better yet, join us in November and meet her in person!

Photo by Augusten Burroughs

Picture borrowed from http://www.cindachima.com/

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

A computer

Describe your book in 5 words

Wizards misbehave, magic goes mutant.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

Usually the lines in between.

Best writing tip you ever received?

Give yourself permission to write badly.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

1.       I am a twin.

2.       I am named after a character in a novel.

3.       I didn't really start driving until I was 27.

4.       I am descended from Puritans and scoundrels.

5.       I used to be in a folk music band.

Where's your favorite place to write?

On a balcony overlooking the ocean.

What are you working on now?

I’m writing The Sorcerer Heir, the fifth book in a trilogy.

At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?

When I’m finished with a full-length novel. 

Check back with the YALLFest blog each day (especially Mondays and Fridays) for author interviews over the next 8 weeks!

November, I am SO ready for you!