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Q&A with Be Affected Author Riley Choquette

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One of the few nonfiction titles I selected this year is a short book called Be Affected, which challenges and encourages young Christian men as they enter early stages of dating. It’s kind of a quick tips guide to successfully navigating those first relationships and build great boundaries and habits for dating relationships in general. It was a fun read, so I’m super excited to be able to talk a little more with author Riley Choquette.

Q&A with Riley Choquette

What inspired you to write BE AFFECTED?

In my residential college, I got to share a couple of songs at a coffee shop night, and I realized that both of the songs I had chosen were about dating relationships not working out. In between the songs, I took a moment to explain that people don’t have to feel crazy when they are deeply affected by their desires to be in relationship, that it’s even a good thing from the perspective of Divine image-bearing. After I had finished, a young guy came up and thanked me for sharing that perspective.

A few weeks later, we had a dating and relationships panel discussion, and I had the pleasure of representing single men. Experienced couples offered great wisdom that I wanted everyone to hear, but at the end of our time I found myself longing to communicate very practical dating advice to the young guys in my community. After a few days of being unable to fall asleep easily because I was dwelling on the advice I wanted to share, I decided to write it down.

If you could pass on only one bit of wisdom to teens and young adults who are looking for dating relationships today, what would it be?

Men, ask her out! Women, give a clear answer!

A frustrating amount of drama and pain results from the fear of plainly expressing the desire to learn about someone on a simple date. If more men would ask women on dates, we would have less pressure in dating, more freedom, and more joy. That’s the big-picture view.

On an individual level, asking a person out provides relief through clarity. The best way to know if someone wants to go on a date with you is to ask! There’s little good to over-analyzing whether someone is interested in you when you can simply ask the person who knows the answer. Clear asking and clear answering are good gifts in a realm full of ambiguity (and the insecurity that comes along with it).

What do you think is the greatest challenge facing Christian singles today?

In my opinion, the greatest hindrance to healthy dating is sexual impurity. Our culture defines dating in terms of sex and not in terms of marriage, which places ruinous expectations on Christian singles. That said, left in a vacuum, Christians would still struggle with purity because of the desires of our own flesh.

In light of that sad reality, Christians falter in two ways. The more common trap we fall into is compromising with the world on what good dating looks like, allowing sexual contact to cause unnecessary confusion, heartbreak, and pain in our relationships. Sometimes shame from stumbling in the area of purity hinders Christians from dating confidently, instead of pressing into a gracious God who forgives and heals.

But we also err in reaction to the world, by thinking that everything related to dating is worldly and wrong. God invented marriage, relationships, and love, and He owns them all. Christians should not fear romance; rather, we should embrace healthy dating as a witness to the world of our relational God.

What did you learn as you wrote BE AFFECTED?

I learned how awesome my parents are. I distinctly remember receiving the basis for the practical parts of dating, and even ending dating relationships, from my mom and dad. The bottom of good dating is consideration for other people, which my mom instilled in me in part through countless briefings before school dances: “When you pick her up, shake her dad’s hand. Look him in the eye. Tell her she looks pretty. Open the car door for her…” But beyond telling me what to do, they told me who I am. “Be your sweet, thoughtful self.”

When I was in my teens, the popular Christian dating guide was I KISSED DATING GOODBYE by Joshua Harris, which encourages Christians to pursue courtship as a relationship model rather than dating. What do you think about courtship versus dating?

Courtship is pursuing an exclusive relationship with a mind toward ending it in marriage. I think the model was developed out of a genuine desire for purity and a desire to avoid unnecessary heartache. Healthy Christian dating shares some goals and attributes with courtship, namely that its end is marriage and it desires to pursue that end in purity. The method is what differs.

Courtship is exclusive. While as a pursuer I ask only one woman at a time on dates, I think it’s healthy for both parties to be free from commitment in the early stages of dating. This protects both men and women. Why would I give part of my heart or my body away to someone that I may not be dating a month or even a week from now? Dating opens up space to get know someone’s personality without the pressure of starting a formalized relationship. In general, I think more pursuit of marriage among Christians would be a good thing, but the courtship model raises the start-up cost too high. In the earliest stages of romantic relationships, sometimes my friends will say, “I really just don’t know if I like him/her.” to which I can happily reply, “the point of dating is to find out!”

In terms of avoiding heartache, the courtship model definitely wins in the short term. Healthy dating, on the other hand, makes little attempt to hide from rejection or pain; it allows itself to be affected by the desire for relationship. Dating is for the bold, and when done well, it’s an opportunity to show off the image of God. I don’t read an explicit command in scripture to find marriage in one way or another, whether by arrangement or by courtship or by dating. Two things are certain: that we are to pursue relationships for God’s glory, and that neither marriage nor human attempts at purity can save souls—only Jesus does that.

Are there additional resources you recommend for teens or young adults who are beginning to explore dating relationships?

While there are a number of helpful articles online and countless books on dating, I believe the best resource for young people who are looking to date is community. Young people should talk through dating plans and ideas and struggles with family and friends who know and love them.

In the book, I talk about both preparing for a date and debriefing from a date through community. Once, when I was hoping to finish a canoe I had been building so that I could use it for a date, an amazingly wide circle of friends came around me to help finish the work and to cheer me on. And on multiple occasions, I’ve called my mom or my friends not only to tell them about a date, but also to find out how I feel about it. My community knows me well enough to speak into my decision making: “She sounds awesome! You should go on another date to be sure.” “I don’t know, man, you don’t seem that excited.” My community is still there and still loving me, even as the potential for romantic relationship comes and goes. It gives me the confidence to keep going.

Parents, be aware that it can be tricky to get these conversations started, especially with young guys. It takes time and patience and it can’t be forced. “Any cute girls on your radar?” is a good place to start.

 

Riley ChoquetteAbout Riley Choquette

Riley Choquette is a young, Christian man who is passionate about good dating. He is from Edmond, OK and currently lives in Waco, TX where he recently graduated from Baylor University.

About Be Affected

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Be Affected charges young men, especially in the Church, to embrace the value of dating as an aspect of divine image-bearing and offers practical advice on how to do it well. Written from the perspective of a young, single Christian man, this books offers a theological explanation of the importance and goodness of dating, highly-practical advice on asking for and planning effective dates, and honest encouragement for when things don’t go as planned.

From the Introduction:
Books about dating all face one of two problems: either the author is married, or the author is single. In the first case, it’s too easy to think ‘Well sure, that approach worked for you, but that’s just one story.’ What if the married author has fallen out of touch, and he or she doesn’t understand how things are these days? In the case of a single author, even more doubts arise: ‘How can I be sure whether any of this works, if it hasn’t worked out for you?’

That kind of thinking assumes that the goal of dating is finding a spouse, which is true. However, even though the ultimate indicator of success in dating is marriage, there are plenty of ways to be successful without yet having found a spouse. This book will detail some of those ways.


This very small book is meant as a practical guide to the early stages of dating. To maintain its usefulness, I will try to keep explanations brief and advice blunt. I write from my own experience and perspective—that of a young, single, Christian male—so this book is written primarily to young, Christian men. (That said, I feel non-Christians and females may still benefit from reading sections of this book.)

I write as one who is still trying. Nobody wants to be good at first dates, because that means the dates aren’t working! It’s much better to get in the game, find who you’re looking for, and get out, without having a lot of practice. But in terms of exploring compatibility with a number of women for whom I have much admiration and respect, I’d say I’m doing okay. I rarely avoid anyone out of embarrassment, and I have gained friendship with several awesome ladies. I can be honest, though, in saying I’d still prefer a wife over a number of new friends.

With this being a book of mostly practical advice (with some theology thrown in to back it all up), I think of it as an “80%” book: it will work for about 80% of the intended audience about 80% of the time. “But,” you say, “I don’t want an ‘80%’ relationship! I want something special!” My expectation is that what makes a relationship special is how it sneaks up and surprises you, and how it changes what makes sense to you and what doesn’t. Even walking intentionally toward a dating relationship, I fully expect to be surprised by love. This book will attempt to cover part of the walking.

There can be no pride in writing from a place where I’m still walking. I’m merely trying to make more peace for people like me. I see a lot of trouble and conflict in my generation from avoidable mistakes in dating. I see just as much trouble and conflict, if not more, from a fear of dating, especially among young people in the Church. I have hope that sharing my little experience may add to someone’s peace and make life simpler for my young friends and for me.

In truth, you have probably already heard much of the wisdom contained in this book. It’s a lot of common sense. The advice contained in this book is mostly simple, but I’m not foolish enough to call it easily-executed. Dating is hard! It takes guts, and work, and planning. It takes vulnerability and effort, and even effort to be vulnerable. But we don’t want dating to be easy, we want dating to be worth it.

Sadie Blog Tour Q&A with Courtney Summers

Author Interview, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Courtney Summers writes gripping stories that tend to stick with you long after the last page is closed. When I listened to her speak at YALLfest in 2016, her commitment to give girls a strong voice really stuck out to me. When I had the opportunity to participate in this blog tour with Wednesday Books, I jumped at the chance to talk more with Courtney Summers about her latest book, Sadie. I’ll introduce the book and then move straight into what I learned from the author.

About Sadie by Courtney Summers

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Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Q&A with Courtney Summers

Do you have a favorite scene, quote, or moment from Sadie?

My favorite scene is a spoiler, but my favorite quote is this: “I wish this was a love story.”

What gave you the idea for Sadie?

One of the things that inspired Sadie was the way we consume violence against women and girls as a form of entertainment. When we do that, we reduce its victims to objects, which suggests a level of disposability–that a girl’s pain is only valuable to us if we’re being entertained by it. What is our responsibility to us? I really wanted to explore that and the way we dismiss missing girls and what the cost of that ultimately is.

Can you talk a little bit about how you created the setting for Sadie?

 Sadie is set in various fictional towns and cities across the state of Colorado and Sadie, as a character herself, was integral in creating those places. I had to make sure to put her in environments she could not only respond to, but would reveal her headspace and past to the reader.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your characters?

When I first started Sadie, I was extremely skeptical of West– he had to prove himself to readers over the course of his narrative and given the nature of his job, I was curious to see where writing him would take me. I really loved the way his arc unfolded. I wasn’t necessarily surprised by it, but more gratified by it than I realized I would be.

What was the hardest part of the story to write?

There wasn’t a particular part that was harder to write than any others—writing a book like Sadie requires occupying a dark emotional headspace all the way through, so it was all a bit tough to write in that sense.

Sadie is told through two points of view: Sadie, as she looks for her sister, and West’s podcasts as he follows her story. Did you experience more difficulty writing one or the other, or did you like writing in one form more? How much of the novel did you write in chronological order, and how much did you jump around?

I enjoyed both of them. Writing Sadie’s perspective was very familiar to me because all of my books feature an intensely close first person, female point-of-view. Writing West’s perspective, the podcast format, proved a little more challenging. Not so much because of the way it was written (scripts) but because each episode had to propel Sadie’s narrative forward and give us a different way of looking at the things she went through.

So far, I’ve only ever been able to write in chronological order!

Was this how you always envisioned the book or did it change as you wrote it?

Regina Spektor said something really interesting about writing songs that I’ve always loved and related to as an author. She said, “[A]s soon as you try and take a song from your mind into piano and voice and into the real world, something gets lost and it’s like a moment where, in that moment, you forget how it was and it’s this new way. And then when you make a record, even those ideas that you had, then those get all turned around and changed. So in the end, I think, it just becomes its own thing and really I think a song could be recorded a million different ways and so what my records are, it just happened like that, but it’s not like, this is how I planned it from the very beginning because I have no idea, I can’t remember.”

I feel something similar when writing– the heart of my idea remains intact, but the way it takes its ultimate form is always a little different (or even a lot different) than I might have been expecting, which makes it difficult to recall the starting point. But that’s okay as long as the heart is still there and you’re satisfied with and believe in what you’ve created.

About Courtney Summers

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Courtney Summers was born in Belleville, Ontario, 1986. At age 14, she dropped out of high school. At age 18, she wrote her first novel. Cracked Up to Be was published in 2008, when she was 22 and went on to win the 2009 CYBIL award in YA fiction. Since then, she’s published four more critically acclaimed books: Some Girls Are, Fall for Anything, This is Not a Test and All the Rage, as well as an e-novella, Please Remain Calm which is a sequel to This is Not a Test. Her new novel, Sadie, is available now wherever books are sold. #findsadie
In 2016, Courtney was named one of Flare Magazine’s 60 under 30.

Author Interview with Leslye Penelope

Author Interview, Fantasy, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

I’m excited to share some questions and answers with Song of Blood and Stone author Leslye Penelope with you today. Let me first tell you a little bit about Song of Blood and Stone and then we’ll get to the Q&A.

Song of Blood and Stone
Leslye Penelope
St. Martin’s Press
Publishes May 1, 2018

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About Song of Blood and Stone
A treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers.

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive–an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.

Jack’s mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it’s people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda’s Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.

Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.

The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.


Author Q&A with Leslye Penelope

What inspired you to write this series? What came first: The characters or the world? What was your inspiration for the magic of Earthsong? Were you inspired by other books? Movies?

When I first wrote this book, up until the time I gave it to my first editor, I thought it was going to be a novella. It was always meant to be a fairytale-esque story of a girl’s journey from the margins of society straight to its upper echelons. The characters Jack and Jasminda were there before the world was ever clear in my mind. The first scene I wrote was the one where they meet in front of her cabin. I knew they were from different, warring countries and they came from very different sorts of lives, but that was all. Through the magic of revision (lots and lots of revision) I discovered the journey that the characters would go on and all the conflicts they would face.

I love fantasy and there were so many inspiring series that I soaked in prior to writing the book, from Graceling by Kristin Cashore to Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. But I think this book owes its biggest inspiration to the Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta. Her fantasy world felt well realized and complex, filled with incredibly detailed characters, groups, nations, and settings. But I also wanted to write a kinder, gentler fantasy novel that wouldn’t double as a doorstopper. And mix in a really strong romance like some of my favorites Nalini Singh or Kresley Cole.

What were your favorite scenes to write for SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE? What was the hardest scene to write? Is there a scene or moment that really sticks with you?

Though Usher, Jack’s valet, spends relatively little time on the page, I loved writing the scenes with him and Jack. When two characters have known each other for a long time, it can be really fun to play with how to show their relationship. Usher has known Jack his entire life and so the way they interact is unique. I also loved writing the visions that Jasminda gets from the stone. They were in a different voice, from a totally different perspective and the peeked in on a vibrant, fully formed world that’s different to the one of the main story. Hardest to write were the ones where Jasminda is confronted with the racism and bias of Elsirans.

The scene that sticks with me is when Jack and Jasminda are in the army base and he sleeps on the ground beside her, holding her hand. I find it really sweet and romantic.

What advice would you give aspiring authors, especially authors or color, striving to have their stories and truths shared?

I would tell aspiring authors to really investigate your goals and be frank with yourself about why you want to do this. It’s a difficult path emotionally, creatively, and professionally and what will get you through the low points is being very clear about your “why”. It can also be incredibly rewarding, but knowing what you’re getting yourself into is key.

Writing and publishing are two different disciplines. Your “why” will inform whether you pursue traditional publishing or seek to self-publish. It will keep you going through rejections, delays, bad reviews, disappointment, and the imposter syndrome that we all go through.

The other very important thing is to have a community to fall back on. Whether that’s a chapter of a professional organization like RWA, SFWA, SCWBI, and others, or a Facebook group, critique group, or writer’s circle, having others to commiserate and celebrate with you makes the journey much easier.

Is there a character in SONG OF BLOOD & STONE that you most relate to? How do you select names of your characters?

I think Jasminda represents various aspects of myself both as I am and as I’d like to be. She’s definitely bolder than I am, but her struggle to feel a part of things is one that I understand.

As for naming my characters, for each nation, I asked questions about how the names should generally work. Things like: which prefixes and suffixes are common? Which letters and sounds are prevalent? Which letters or sounds either don’t exist or are more rare? So the Elsirans have a lot of double vowels in their names. Qs, Vs, and Zs are prominent, but there are no hard Cs.

Lagrimari names generally don’t use Js. I set up which suffixes were for men and women and the types of sounds the names would have. There are only 9 last names in Lagrimar, corresponding with the Houses. Jasminda as a name is an exception. Her parents didn’t follow the naming conventions of either country for her or her brothers. Because their interracial relationship was unique, they wanted their children’s names to be distinctive as well.

What do you most hope that readers take away from SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE?

I really just hope readers enjoy the story and the characters. Jasminda is a heroine that I had been longing to see, so I hope people get as much joy and heartache from her story as I did when I wrote it.

Can you tell us more about the next books in the series? What are you working on now?

Book 2, WHISPERS OF SHADOW & FLAME, follows a parallel timeline to SONG. It’s about Darvyn, a character we hear about in SONG who was the Earthsinger responsible for disguising Jack. The disguise’s failure gets Jack captured and he wonders what happened to Darvyn. So in WHISPERS, we find out. But it also pushes the story forward, showing what’s going on in Lagrimar in the days before the Mantle comes down and setting up the next challenge that Jack, Jasminda, and Darvyn will face.

Book 3, CRY OF METAL & BONE picks up the story of how Elsira and Lagrimar deal with the fall of the Mantle and the new threat facing the nations.

I’m also working on a brand-new series with dragons J.

What are your favorite books you would recommend to readers?

Among my favorites of all time are Wild Seed by Octavia Butler, The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor and Sheltered by Charlotte Stein. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it there.

If you could be any character in any book, who would you choose, and why?

That’s a tough one, because characters in good books really go through the ringer and I wouldn’t knowingly sign up for any of that. One of the characters I most admire is Evanjalin from Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. She amazed me and I would at least like to be her friend and siphon some of her personal strength and adaptability, if not actually walk in her shoes.

About Leslye Penelope

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Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of new adult, fantasy, and paranormal romance. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents: an eighty-pound lap dog and an aspiring feral cat.

Author Interview: Lily Anderson

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I’m super excited because today, as a part of the Wednesday Books Blog Tour, I get to share an interview with author Lily Anderson. You might have first fallen in reader love with her after reading her debut novel, The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, which probably won you over with its fabulous geek culture and unstoppable banter between characters. Lily’s back with her sophomore novel, inspired somewhat by The Importance of Being Earnest, about a girl who runs away from home to compete for a college scholarship.

Onto the questions and answers!

Author Interview with Lily Anderson

Do you have a favorite character (from either of your books)? Is there something about him/her which you love but just didn’t fit and didn’t get included in the story?

I love Ben West, the hero from THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU. He’s the braying jackass that lives inside me. When I was originally drafting THE ONLY THING, Ben’s dad was a big part of the story. He was supposed to be a former Jeopardy champion who used his winnings to send Ben to the Mess and Trixie taunted Ben with the final question that finally got his dad off the show. It just never really fit with the book so it got cut pretty early on.

Awww – Ben is awesome! That would have been a super cool twist, but yeah, I can see how it didn’t fit the rest of the story. Such a fun idea, though!
One of my favorite things about THE ONLY THINK WORSE THAN ME IS YOU is all the Geekdom and witty banter. Are you a Whovian personally? Were you able to pull a lot of the trivia from things you already knew or were there things you researched for the characters?

I am a Whovian with super strong opinions (mostly about how much I hate Clara—bye forever, Impossible Girl!). For the geeky references in both of my books, I pulled from my own knowledge as much as possible, but I also researched some other fandoms that I’m not as involved with (mostly Supernatural, Game of Thrones, and comics in the Spider-Verse) when I realized which characters would be into things that I’m not. For NOT NOW, NOT EVER, I read a lot more sci-fi than I normally would and got weirdly into Frank Herbert’s Dune.

I have to say, I couldn’t tell where your personal knowledge ended and the research began. Also– right?! My husband got me hooked on DUNE while we were dating. Not my favorite storytelling style, but there’s something about it that won’t let me go.
The rivalry and banter, especially between Ben and Trixie made me laugh out loud so many times. Is there more of this sort of fun to look forward to in Not Now, Not Ever?

NOT NOW, NOT EVER is also full of rivalry and banter, although it’s not an enemies-to-lovers story like THE ONLY THING. Luckily, Ben and Trixie are minor characters in NOT NOW, so you’ll get to see what they’re up to now that they’re in college.

YAYYYY!!! I can’t wait to read it. It will be fun to get a glimpse of Ben and Trixie again, too. Totally looking forward to that.
What is one question about your books you are often asked by readers?

I think what I’m asked most is “what advice would you give to aspiring writers?” And my advice is this: not everything you write will—or SHOULD—get published. Some things will just be for you. Some things just won’t work out. Don’t ever stop. Read as much as you can.

Great advice! What do you most hope that readers take away from your novels (either or both)?

I want all my readers to take away a sense of happiness. NOT NOW, NOT EVER and its predecessor, THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU, are fluff. Hopefully well crafted, artisanal and organic fluff but fluff nonetheless. NOT NOW is very much a story about choosing a path, but also realizing that the paths don’t close behind you. I want my readers to have hope for Elliot’s path and their own.

Hope and happiness are definitely worthy goals for a book. I know I felt both when I read THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU.

About Lily Anderson

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LILY ANDERSON is an elementary school librarian and Melvil Dewey fangirl with an ever-growing collection of musical theater tattoos and Harry Potter ephemera. She lives in Northern California. She is also the author of The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You.

About Not Now, Not Ever

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Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn’t going to do this summer.

  1. She isn’t going to stay home in Sacramento, where she’d have to sit through her stepmother’s sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
  2. She isn’t going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
  3. And she certainly isn’t going to the Air Force summer program on her mom’s base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender’s Game, Ellie’s seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it’s much less Luke/Yoda/”feel the force,” and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn’t appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she’d be able to defeat afterwards.

What she is going to do is pack up her determination, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she’s going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?

This summer’s going to be great.

Author Interview with Len Vlahos

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

When I received an email asking if I’d like to participate in the blog tour for Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos, I knew immediately I had to ask for an interview. Scar Boys by Len Vlahos caught my eye on one of those “Top YA Books You Must Read Like Right Now” lists probably on Buzzfeed or a site like that. I did read and love Scar Boys (yeah, he had me at punk boys in a band– my number one literary weakness.) and eventually got my hands on a review copy of Scar Girl, which was a fantastic follow up. So now, here I am, joined by the wonderful Len Vlahos for some chitchat about his latest novel, Life in a Fishbowl. Yay!

Author Interview with Len Vlahos

Can I sneak in a question about Scar Boys? What made you choose punk as the style of music for the band Harry and Johnny put together? Was it strictly based on your own experience or preferences or is there something more about that genre of music that particularly inspired the story? (Other than the sad truth that there are seriously not enough books about punk kids in bands. What’s up with that?)

I love this question. It was based on both my experience – Woofing Cookies, the band I played in when I was younger, was a punk-pop band – and on knowing first-hand that the punk world is more welcoming to those who don’t conform to standards or norms. It was a perfect fit for Harry.

Yes! Strangely, I hadn’t really thought about the misfit element of the punk scene as it would relate to Harry. But now that you say that, I’m like duh. Yes. Totally fits.

Do you listen to music while you write? Were there songs that most inspired your favorite moments in Life in a Fishbowl?

For the most part, I do not listen to music when I write. My preference is for ambient sound, and anonymity – meaning no family and friends. It’s why I wrote most of Life in a Fishbowl (and Scar Girl) on a commuter train from Connecticut to New York City, and why I do most of my writing now in coffee shops. (We moved to Colorado, so no more commuter train.)

However, I do listen to music when I’m editing, and when I’m writing for blogs. (I’m listening to Bob Marley’s Legend right now. It’s the really cool vinyl in the colors of the Jamaican flag.)

Ha! That’s a fun pick. So all that writing about music on a train with no music. Is there a music element to the story of Life in a Fishbowl?

Deliberately no. So much of The Scar Boys (and Scar Girl) was drawn from personal experience that I really wanted to step outside of my own sphere of knowledge and comfort zone. I wanted to write something cut from whole cloth; to prove to myself that I could really write.

Music won’t play a role in my next book either – can’t share any details about that just yet – but I would like to get back to it someday. (If for no other reason than I get to bring my guitar on book tour.)

A guitar and a book tour sound like a perfect match. I’ve been surprised at how different Life in a Fishbowl is from your other books– not in a bad way! How did the story Life in a Fishbowl come to you? Did the whole idea arrive fully formed, or did one particular element spark the story and gradually it took shape?

It was the latter. I read an online article about a man named Ian Usher who had put his life for sale – his house, his car, even his friends and his cat (if I remember correctly) – after going through a bitter divorce. It made me wonder, what would happen if someone put their actual life for sale on eBay? What would make them do it, and who would bid on it?

At the same time, I had seen a movie when I was younger called Whose Life Is It Anyway? (Not to be confused with Whose Line Is It Anyway?) It was the story a sculptor, who, after an accident and paralyzes him from the neck down, decides to end his life. The film tackles euthanasia head on, and I’ve been fascinated with that topic ever since.

Fishbowl grew out of the clash of those two ideas.

I like how the story explores both those ideas. What do you most hope readers take away from Life in a Fishbowl?

This is a tough question. I guess I hope people take some small amount of inspiration to question the validity and veracity of what we see in media. Just because it’s on a screen does not make it true. We have an obligation to seek and accept the truth when it’s presented.

That said, one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of writing is learning what readers see in your work that you never saw to begin with.

[SPOILER] For example, I had no idea Cheyenne was pregnant at the end of The Scar Boys – which is the set-up for Scar Girl – until a reader told me. Crazy, right?

That’s really awesome. What a cool thing for readers to know they can impact a story so deeply. I love that!

Looking beyond your novels, are there books you’ve read recently deserves a greater spotlight or changed your life in a meaningful way? What makes it so special?

You don’t have enough space for me to really answer this question, but here are a few that have had an impact:

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely – An honest and difficult look at police treatment of African American men. If ever a book was a conversation starter, it was this one.

The Magus, by John Fowles – I hardly remember what this book is about – other than it was really trippy – but I read it in two days when I had the flu in the mid 1980s. It’s the book I credit with changing me from a casual to a voracious reader.

Ready Player One by Ernie Cline and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams, because, well, because. (I’ve read and listened to both.)

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf – It’s the book my mom read to me every night when I was five, and I think it did a lot to shape who I am.

As for recently, I just read The Bombs That Brought Us Together by Brian Conaghan and listened to Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas, both of which were brilliant. Brilliant.

This is a great list, and I want to comment on so many of them. I loved Because You’ll Never Meet Me and JUST bought All American Boys with a Christmas gift card. I will have to check out some of the others you mentioned. Thanks so much for your time!

Thank you!

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About Life in a Fishbowl

Life in a Fishbowl
Len Vlahos
Bloomsbury Books
Published January 3, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Fifteen-year-old Jackie Stone is a prisoner in her own house. Everything she says and does 24/7 is being taped and broadcast to every television in America. Why? Because her dad is dying of a brain tumor and he has auctioned his life on eBay to the highest bidder: a ruthless TV reality show executive at ATN.

Gone is her mom’s attention and cooking and parent-teacher conferences. Gone is her sister’s trust ever since she’s been dazzled by the cameras and new-found infamy. Gone is her privacy. Gone is the whole family’s dignity as ATN twists their words and makes a public mockery of their lives on Life and Death. But most of all, Jackie fears that one day very soon her father will just be . . . gone. Armed only with her ingenuity and the power of the internet, Jackie is determined to end the show and reclaim all of their lives, even in death.

About Len Vlahos

Web Site | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

(from Goodreads)

I dropped out of NYU film school in the mid 80s to play guitar and write songs for Woofing Cookies. We were a punk-pop four piece — think R.E.M. meets the Ramones — that toured up and down the East Coast, and had two singles and one full-length LP on Midnight Records.

The band broke up in 1987 and I followed my other passion, books. I’ve worked in the book industry ever since. And, of course, I write. And I write, And I write, write, write.

My first novel, The Scar Boys — it’s labeled as Young Adult, but I’ve never really liked labels — published January 2014. It is, not surprisingly, a rock and roll coming of age story. No vampires or dystopian future, just a messed up boy and his guitar. (I have nothing against vampires or dystopian futures. I loved The Passage, The Hunger Games, and The Road.)

Check out the other stops on the tour.

Jan 3—Swoony Boys Podcast
Jan 4—Ex Libris
Jan 5—Peace Love Books
Jan 6—Reading is Better with Cupcakes
Jan 9—Here’s to Happy Endings
Jan 10—WhoRU Blog
Jan. 11—Dazzled By Books
Jan. 12—It Starts at Midnight
Jan. 13—The Story Sanctuary – You are here!

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Author Interview with Madeline Dyer

Author Interview, News and Fun, , , , ,

Today I have author Madeline Dyer here to talk about her Untamed Series, what inspired her to write such a dynamic post-apocalyptic story and what comes next.

Hi Madeline! When I think about stories, I’m always curious what inspired the author to create them. Was there a question that inspired you to write Untamed or Fragmented?

In writing Untamed, I wanted to get my readers to think about several things:
– If you could, would you choose to never feel anything negative?
– Do you need to experience negative emotions to truly be human?
– And what negative effects do you think choosing to only feel positive emotions would have on you as a person? But would you be aware of these negative effects if you could only feel positive things? If not, would that mean you were negatively effected at all—or would only others be able to see the bigger picture?

So, when I began writing the first draft, I had these questions written on the first page of my notebook. I really wanted to explore what it means to be human—and whether man’s quest to improve the human condition could do more damage than good in the end. But would we even realize the damage it’s doing?

For me, this is a fascinating topic, as quite often an individual cannot see a situation clearly and rationally if they are too involved. This is definitely evident in my novels, as the Enhanced Ones believe their lifestyle is better as they can only feel happiness and other positive emotions, but they don’t realize that they’ve sacrificed their humanity for it, and can’t see how robotic they’ve become. It’s only the Untamed who can see the full picture—yet the Enhanced are seeking out the Untamed in order to convert them, believing they’re doing the right thing by ‘saving’ them because the Untamed can’t see how they’re ‘suffering’ because of their negative emotions… and thus there’s the risk that everyone could lose their humanity.

The question that inspired me to write Fragmented, the sequel to Untamed, is a little different. I still wanted to look at the topic of human advancement and how ‘advancements’ could cause degeneration within—and the loss of—humanity, but I wanted to look at it from a different angle and focus more on the oppressed groups.
Whereas Untamed shows things from both the Enhanced Ones’ and the Untamed people’s points of view, Fragmented is much more focused on the oppressed group, and explores the lengths the Untamed have to go to in order to survive when the Enhanced are hunting them down.

Seven and Corin join the Zharat, one of the last surviving Untamed tribes, but their lifestyle comes as quite a shock. The Zharat are all about planning and sticking to rules—they have a very strict culture which they believe has allowed them to survive thus far—and their main goal is to expand their group, through reproduction, as quickly as possible, to increase their numbers.

So, I guess the questions in Fragmented are: How does an oppressed and ailing race fight back? And when your life is so focused on maintaining the survival of your people, are you really living at all?

The emotional aspects were some of my favorite parts of Untamed. I like how exploring those questions led to new questions in the sequel! Is there a scene or moment in one of your novels that really sticks with you? Can you tell us a little bit about it?

I think my favourite scene from book one is when Seven’s kidnapped at the beginning and brought back to the Enhanced Ones’ compound. Suddenly she’s bombarded by their way of life and can’t help comparing it to her own experiences as one of the oppressed Untamed. Yet, she’s also aware of the costs that the Enhanced lifestyle has on a person—on their soul, their humanity, their personality. She’s fighting to look at it all with a clear mind, yet knows that because she’s been force-fed some augmenters (artificial emotions) she can’t truly be looking at things in an objective way, no matter how much she thinks she is. And it’s this internal dilemma—and the conflict it instigates inside my main character as the novel progresses because she is unsure as to whether she can really trust that her thoughts and feelings are her own—that really fascinates me.

Definitely a fascinating concept. I love stuff like that. You also created a unique story world with some pretty intense challenges as well. What inspired the story world for Untamed and Fragmented? How did you go about creating that part of the story?

The idea for the world for my Untamed Series came to me when I was at my Nana’s house. The music channel was on TV and I looked up and saw the market scene from “La La La” by Naughty Boy, featuring Sam Smith. In this scene, what appears to be a human heart is being sold and that really stuck with me. I began thinking about what a human heart could represent—love, lust, etc—and then thought: What if someone could buy emotions, just as easily as they buy food and clothes? And thus the idea for the augmenters—the chemical, artificial emotions that the Enhanced Ones take in order to ensure they only feel positive things—was born.

At this point, I made many notes, and I soon realized I also wanted addiction to be a big part of this world too. Making the Enhanced Ones’ augmenters highly addictive (to the point where if you took one and became Enhanced, you couldn’t ever go back to a true Untamed state, as you were constantly craving the next fix, and had also associated the augmenters with safety) opened up a whole new level to the world—even more so when the addiction causes the Enhanced to want to ‘help’ the Untamed too, and spread their addiction, converting everyone.

Sounds like a really in-depth process. I love that. So now that you’re finished with the Untamed Series, what comes next for you? Your blog mentions a new project for spring of 2017 for Lift 4 Autism. Can you share how you got involved with the project?

Yes! My gothic fairy tale retelling, “The Curse of the Winged Wight”, will release on April 1, 2017 in Ever in the After: 13 Fantasy Tales, a print and ebook anthology where 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Lift 4 Autism. I’m so excited about this as I love writing fantasy stories.

I actually found out on October 11, 2016 that I had been selected to write for this anthology, which was a great message to receive… but it also meant I had to come up with a standalone short story pretty quickly! I’ve had 17 other short stories published before, but this one was the first one where I was contracted on proposal of an idea (before I’d actually written the piece)! I’m currently finishing up revisions to my story, and I’ve had a lot of fun working on it.

That’s really exciting! Congratulations on being selected. Writing is a lot of hard work. Is there something you most hope readers take away from your novels?

If readers feel they’ve been entertained by my writing, then I’m happy. Even better if they keep thinking about my world and my characters, and questioning what they themselves would do in the situations that my protagonist, Seven, goes through!

It’s a great sign when readers have your story stuck in their heads afterward. It’s been a long time since I read Untamed and there are still moments that stick in my head, too. I’m sure you hear the same from your readers. What is one question about your novel you are often asked by readers?

It’s a close call between, “When does the next book in the Untamed Series release?” and “How long does it take you to write a book?”

In answer to the first question, I haven’t yet got an official release date for Divided (Untamed #3) yet, as I’m still working on edits before I send the manuscript my publisher, but I’m hoping for a late 2017 release, with the final book of the series releasing in 2018.

And how long does it take me to write a book? Well, I tend to write fast first drafts. I can get a 90,000 word draft done in about four-to-six weeks. After that, I leave it for a few weeks, and then spend two-to-four months editing and rewriting it. When I’ve got a draft I’m happy with, my beta-readers review it for around a month, and tell me anything that confused them or didn’t seem quite right. Following that, I typically do another round of edits and proofread it before sending to my publisher.

But that’s only the start really! Once it’s contracted, we typically spend another three months editing it together in-house, until everyone is satisfied that it’s the best it possibly can be.

Sounds great. Thanks again for taking the time to share with us, Madeline!

About Madeline Dyer

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Madeline Dyer lives in the southwest of England, and holds a BA honours degree in English from the University of Exeter. She has a strong love for anything dystopian, ghostly, or paranormal, and can frequently be found exploring wild places. At least one notebook is known to follow her wherever she goes. Her debut novel, Untamed (Prizm Books, May 2015), examines a world in which anyone who has negative emotions is hunted down, and a culture where addiction is encouraged. Her second novel, Fragmented, hits shelves in September 2016.

About The Untamed Series

Amazon | Goodreads

Untamed (Re-released 1/9/17)

As one of the last Untamed humans left in the world, Seven’s life has always been controlled by tight rules. Stay away from the Enhanced. Don’t question your leader. And, most importantly, never switch sides–because once you’re Enhanced there’s no going back. Even if you have become the perfect human being.

But after a disastrous raid on an Enhanced city, Seven soon finds herself in her enemy’s power. Realizing it’s only a matter of time before she too develops a taste for the chemical augmenters responsible for the erosion of humanity, Seven knows she must act quickly if she’s to escape and save her family from the same fate.

Fragmented (Releases late January 2017)

After the terrible battle against the Enhanced Ones, Seven and Corin find themselves on the run. With the Enhanced closing in, Seven knows they need to find other people on their side. So, when the opportunity arises to join the Zharat, one of the last surviving Untamed tribes, it seems like the perfect solution.

But the Zharat lifestyle is a far cry from what Seven’s used to. With their customs dictating that she must marry into their tribe, and her relationship with Corin breaking down, Seven knows she has to do something before it’s too late. But that’s easier said than done in a tribe where going against the rules automatically results in death.

 

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