Interview with Melissa De La Cruz

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to go to a signing with Melissa De La Cruz!! Walking in, I was suprised to find so few people there. It was really nice though. I sat around and chatted with all of the other Blue Bloods fans, some in costume, some that had travelled from a high school in Indiana, some just random people who were as excited to meet Melissa as I was. And then Melissa showed up with her gorgeous shoes that were deffinately not made for walking and we all got to chat about her books. After a very fun night of talking with Melissa, we all got our books signed and everyone else went on their merry way. I, however, stayed behind and was able to have a fabulous interview with Melissa!!

Before you start reading this, you may want to read my review of the Blue Bloods books and the ten things that I loved about Melissa's newest book, The Van Alen Legacy. Also, if you have not read VAL, this interview does contain spoilers!!!

I may or may not put up the audio of our interview because it was taken on a very ancient tape recorder. It also has many funny sounds of Melissa and I chewing our sushi on it, so we shall see. This is just the transcript!

Which one of your characters do you relate to the most?

I like all of them because they are all apart of my personality. Schuyler deffinately has a lot of my alienation and feeling of isolation when I was that age. Just the whole scene with her going to one of the dances with Oliver and everyone is holding a long stemmed rose, and she has a corsage. And I always felt like I went to this school with all of these social events but I would be so out of it! I would be wearing the wrong thing. When I went to prom I though everyone is going to wear a big satin ballgown so I wore a big satin ball gown but I went to this big private school and everyone thought that prom was this ridiculous notion. And I went to prom all the cool girls were wearing sweaters and skirts!! And you know, once again, fail! So I definitely wanted to write a character with that kind of experience. I think a lot of people feel like that. My school definitely had a lot of cliques and it was an all girls school with only 39 girls in my class. Half of them So they were all good friends and they all came from families that had know each other forever and it just seemed like they were apart of this club I was just not apart of. I thought that Schuyler could be that character who went to think cozy school. It is suppose to be a great experience going to these schools but when your not apart of this club it is very difficult.

Mimi is the one I enjoy the most because she is so fun and bitchy. I have always loved those kinds of characters. She is probably most like me when I was in college. People use to call me The Queen, which was the queen bee. So, I always though that was funny! People said I was always so bossy and that I always told people what to do and I was like Oh, No! So there is a lot of me that is always Mimi. And I sympathize with her because Schuyler is the rebel that is going to shake up all the blue bloods and Mimi is kind of the one who is trying to keep them together.

Bliss has grown on me. She is the hardest because she has the hardest story line to deal with, being the devils child and all. Bliss is getting her own series, with the werewolves, so that will be fun.

What is up next for Schuyler and the gang?

Schuyler and Jack are kind of together but there are new obstacles in what they find. Are they finding safety and shelter or did they just walk into some kind of dangerous situation at the end of the book. Mimi is trying to keep it together. Oliver is still around so they all kinda have to work together and there will be new characters and new dangers. And then we are going to find out about Allegra and what Allegra was like as a teen. A lot of the story takes place in the 1590s so part of it is more of a historical Renaissance novel which I am scared to write.

If you could pick one character from the Blue Bloods series to be real, who would it be?

Just one!?! They are all so great! That’s really hard. I think Schuyler because it would be really cool to hang out with her. Go to a goth club and stuff!

If you could be one character from Blue Bloods, who would it be?

I don’t want to be any of them because all of their lives are so difficult and fraught with danger. And drama. I would rather be a cool socialite who didn’t know what was happening. I don’t want to save the world.

The vampires in your book have a completely different spin! How did you come up with the idea for the books? Why did you choose to have them be wealthy NY socialites?

I wanted to combine things that I knew first hand. I covered that kind of world when I worked as a reporter. I did an article on private jets and I was asking things like “how do you use your private jet” and "what do you put on your private jet?" I was fascinated by that kind of world. It is all material and I wanted to use it. I know that some authors draw their ideas from other stories.

Were there any particular books that the Blue Bloods series was either based on or influenced by?

The Harry Potter Series. I think of the Blue Bloods books as Harry Potter mixed with Sex and the City. The Harry Potter books brought back the pleasure of reading. And New York was such a big influence. So a sexier, hotter Harry Potter.

In VAL, Schuyler and the gang travel all around the world. How many of these countries/cities have you been to?

I've been to all of them, actually! I have a friend in Buenos Aires and we went to Rio for the weekend. And I went to Venice. And Paris is just awesome. I don't get to go there often enough. Its fun because when I do my books I want to talk about the places I have have been and also give myself an excuse to go to those places. I want to go to shanghai and put that in one of the books. I want to do a city in Asia.

One of my favorite parts about VAL and the Blue Bloods books it the fact that you fit your stories into history, particularly American history, and Biblical stories. How did you come up with this idea?

One of my most vivid memories is my high school history teacher, who was great. World History and Roman history was one of her specialties and she really brought that world to life. As an immigrant, you don’t take American History for granted too much. And I always loved the stories from Christian mythology. The angels and stuff. Romance is a huge part of the Blue Bloods books and therefore it is littered with steamy and/or spicy guys. If you could pick one guy in the book for yourself, who would it be? Its funny because Oliver and Jack are both similar to my husband. I kind of split his personality in two. And that’s why I can’t chose! But they are both their own person. Oliver is a little bit based on my best friend from college. And jack is based on the hot unattainable guy that you always wanted.

Then we whipped out the sushi. Yum.

Another thing I really enjoyed, about VAL especially, is that even though these characters have lived before, there is still a level of teen angst. How do you find this balance?

I wanted them to be modern teenagers with all the relateable problems and the stuff that I went through but I also wanted to give them this layer of having lived for centuries and knowing more than there is. It’s like when you say someone is an “old soul,” they have more maturity. I just thought it would be cool, while they are growing into adolescence they also have this other thing, changing from human to vampire with all of the memories. It was fun because it gave them more depth and with Mimi you think she is just some stupid socialite but they it turns out that she is a *butt* kicking warrior.

I usually wouldn't sensor out swearing, but knowing that there are some elementary school kids who have been reading this blog...

How do you get the ideas for your characters? Are any of them based off of people you know?

Some of them are. Bliss is somewhat based off of one of my guy friends from Texas, I turned him into a girl. He has a big personality and all of these fun stories about him growing up in Huston and driving his dad’s Cadillac. I am fascinated by all of these people who were popular in high school because I wasn’t and so I wanted to find out what that was like. My sister was a cheerleader. It sounded like a cool life. As a writer I think that you are fascinated by people and their stories. All of the characters come from me. Oliver and Jack, as I said before, my husband and my friends from college.

And then we had a random tangent about goth clubs. It was entertaining.

And my dad showed up. It was mortifying.

How did your first book get published? What are some things that surprised you about the publishing and editing process?

My first book was published when I was 27, the Cat’s Meow. I had been trying to be published for six years. I was writing a column called the Cat’s Meow about socialites. When I turned in my first draft they said that it had no plot. I had to rewrite it. I quit my job and worked on it for three months and pulled it together. In the beginning I was very naive about sales. I just thought that if you had written a good book it deserved to be published. But the longer I am in the industry, I realized that you have to write stuff people want to read!

What is your full name?

Melissa Anne De La Cruz

Where did you grow up?

Manila until I was thirteen and then we moved to San Fransisco and I went to Columbia for college. I lived in NYC for 15 years. And then we moved back to LA. I think of myself as a New Yorker.

Do you have any siblings?

Yup, I have two siblings.

What are some of your favorite books/ authors of the moment?

I didn’t read a lot of YA. I just started reading it again and I just read King Dork and Sara Zarr. I have to read books that are very different than mine so that they take me to a different place. I read a lot of Julian Fellows. Anything Lionel Shriver or Kate Christianson.

What was your favorite and least favorite part about being a teenager?

My favorite part was not having to worry about bills. Having all this time for my art. I just remember having no responsibilities and having all this time. My least favorite part was not having a whole lot of confidence. I think you kind of grow into yourself. Some people are very confident but a lot of us are figuring out who we are and if we like who we are. I love being thirty. I think 13 going on 30 had it right on.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I like LA. We live between LA and NYC. So we really like where we are.

What is your favorite color?

Fuchsia! I have always like Fuchsia since I was teen. I like the way it is spelled. I like the F. I like the hot pink. I use to have a lot of Fuchsia outfits. Kinda frightening…

If you were trapped on an island and you could only bring one person and three items with you what would they be?

I would like to bring my Husband and my daughter. I cant bring one without the other. 1) A lot books. So maybe a kindle. 2) Something to eat. Asian food. It would have to be sushi or Ramen noodles. 3) A toy for Maddy, my three year-old.

Edward of Jacob? Edward. Gale or Peeta? I can’t decide!! I would say Peeta but then I feel bad for Gale! I guess when it comes down to it, Peeta.

What is your favorite movie/tv show/ music of the moment?

I watched Mulan Rouge five times in the theatre. I love Battle star Galactica. I love the 80s music. The Adventureland soundtrack is pretty much my ipod. I really like dance music. Techno and remixes.

And probably my favorite question of the evening:

If the world were being invade by aliens and you just one five million dollars in the lottery, what would you do with it?

Melissa: Oh, so we are going to die?

Mary: It’s a distinct possibility at this point.

Melissa: How long do we have?
Mary: Um.. Let’s say a week.

Melissa (in a very cheerful voice considering we are talking about our own impending doom): Oh, Okay. Well I would probably go on a big shopping trip in Paris. A lot of couture. Go to all of the wonderful restaurants. Stay at the Ritz. One million a day! Throw a lot of parties.

Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Melissa!! I had such a fun time with you! You can learn more about Melissa and her books by looking at her website, following her on twitter, or reading my review of The Van Alen Legacy and the Blue Bloods books.

More to come,

OfficiallyMRS

Interview with Rachel Hawkins and Review of Her Book HEX HALL

In late August, I was sent a package by one of my friends Molly Thomas at Disney Hyperion (Hi Molly! *waves* Thank you for this! I love you!!). In it, was gold. I mean, not literally gold. Books. Lots and lots of books. Included in this amazing pile-o'-books was the Advance Reader's Copy of HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins.
First of all, I love ARCs. Not only do I like knowing things before other people do (hehe), I also love feeling like in some way, I am apart of the process. ARCs are the things that first made me realize that I wanted to become apart of the writing and publishing world. I'm not kidding. This site was STARTED so that I could receive the ARC of E. Lockhart's TREASURE MAP OF BOYS (There you are folks, my secret confession. I would feel bad about it, but I kind of fell in love with blogging).

Below is a picture of me with my ARC co

py of HEX HALL. I personally cannot wait to see the real cover art!

I pulled out HEX HALL and read the back cover and wanted to start reading the book immediately. Here is a synopsis from the back of the book. (How amazing are my segways?)
"Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father- an elusive European warlock- only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.
As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her."

Unfortunately, society created this little annoyance called school and therefore I couldn't get through it as fast as I wanted to (even though I did have permission from the author herself to read in school). But then along came a golden Saturday where all I had to do was read. I sat down and finished HEX HALL in one hour, then ran up to twitter and have been gabbing Rachel's ear off about how amazing the book is. It has spawned an obsession in me equal to if not greater than those I hold for the Twilight, Harry Potter and Mortal Instruments Series.

But let's talk about the actual book instead of my obsession with it, shall we? Rachel has created one of the funniest books I have ever read while still maintaining a mature enough writing style that I feel like it is appropriate for me to be reading it. This is something I have found less and less common in the YA section of my local bookstore. Fans of The Mortal Instruments and Sarah Mylnowski's Bras and Boomsticks series will love this book. Full of suspense while still maintaining a level of teen aged angst, this book grabbed me and hasn't really let go of me yet.
The characters are some of the most realistic ones I have ever met. I feel like they really are my friends. I know them as well as I know most of the girls I sit with at my lunch table, if not better than those girls. I ask Rachel to send them my regards on Twitter (am I going crazy? It is possible. I am talking to fictional characters...). This is an incredible feat that requires superb dialogue, something that definitely is apart of HEX HALL, considering the book is narrated in first person by Sophie, the main character. Speaking of Sophie, she is one of the relateable characters I have ever met. While reading the book, I really "became her." I mean yes, she is a different person than I am. But I could just see myself saying the kinds of things she says, because I love sarcasm, and doing the kinds of things she does, like being completely awkward and getting away with it (most of the time) and just being a strong person. She made me feel like I could do anything I wanted to and let me tell you, that is an awesome feeling. She is very much a real, average girl living in a crazy, magical world. Sophie lands herself at a boarding school for wierdos and feels like she is "a freak among freaks." While learning about this magical world that she has been thrown into, she also learns about the father she has never met, and things about herself that were kept from her since birth.
She has a crush and an enemy who are in a relationship together (Why does this ALWAYS happen in real life? I don't understand it, but it sucks. A. Lot.), she has homework (this is one of the first books where the author actually took into account the fact that fictional characters cannot possibly have all of these adventures if they don't finish their homework!! Props to Rachel, the former teacher who knows that school isn't as easy many books of the age make it look.) and she has quirky friends (i.e. Jenna. Jenna, I love you. Don't let the world getcha down. See, I am talking to the people inside the book. HELP!).
Just a side note, one thing I really enjoyed about reading this book was that one of the "mean girls" of the book grew in complexity as the book goes on. You know when you meet someone and you really just can't help but hating them and then you realize that you actually can't help but like some of the things about them? Yeah, that's Elodie. Multi-layered antagonists are something I am starting to see more of in YA literature and it gives a book an extraordinary amount of depth.
And then there is Archer (*swoon*). The guy who annoys the h*ll out of you but you love them anyways and you don't exactly know why. He is cute (edit: hot) and sarcastic (*sigh*). You love him one minute and hate him the next. He is charming and cocky but he still cares, even when he doesn't show it. I am officially in love with Archer (*Archer- will you marry me?*).
In addition to my obnoxiously long review of this book (people, it is just THAT good. I. do. not. lie.), Rachel agreed to do an obnoxiously long author interview with me!!

RACHEL HAWKINS AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Speed Round Biography:

What is your full name? Rachel Moore Hawkins

Where did you grow up? Dothan, Alabama

How old are you? 29

Where did you go to school? Houston Academy in Dothan for HS, Auburn University in Auburn, AL for college.

Do you have any siblings? Nope! I'm an only, so it's all about ME ME ME! Just kidding. Kind of.

Legitimate questions about her book, HEX HALL, and being a writer:

Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer? What made you first start writing? I always loved making up stories as a kid; my first was a truly epic Barbie "play" involving divorce, kidnapped kids, and hallucinogenic drugs. I was about 5. No lie. I think a lot of writers are just "hardwired" that way. Our brains naturally make up stories.

What is your favorite part about being a writer? So many parts! My husband says that I get to live in two worlds, and that's probably the best part.

What advice can you give to young adults who want to write proffesionally when they are older? Read, read, read. And write, obviously, but reading is a HUGE part of developing your style as a writer. You'll figure out what you like, what you don't like, what kind of stories resonate with you. And do your research RE: the publishing biz. You can save yourself a lot of time by diving into things prepared!

How did you go about getting your book published? The traditional way. Wrote it, started querying agents, and was lucky enough to find one in about two weeks! (This is what I mean about being prepared!) I always like to stress that I knew NO ONE in publishing. I was a teacher in a tiny town in AL, writing the book at a folding table in my bedroom.

How did you come up with the idea for HEX HALL? I'd read Anne Rice's THE WITCHING HOUR, and I really dug the creepy, Southern Gothic vibe of that. Also, I was teaching 12^th grade English, so I was around a lot of teenagers and reading a lot of YA. All of those things, plus my love for a good old fashioned creepy boarding school story, contributed to making HEX HALL!

How did you come up with the characters for HEX HALL? Are any based off of people you know? No character has a direct correlation to anyone I know, but I think pieces and parts of my friends (and some people I DON'T feel so friendly about, haha!) made their way into HEX HALL. Some characters, like my main character, Sophie, came to me immediately and pretty fully-formed. Others, like Sophie's roommate Jenna, and her crush, Archer, only showed up after I'd written the first half.

Is there going to be a sequel to HEX HALL? If so, what and when should we look forward to seeing in it? There will be! Disney-Hyperion bought 3 HEX HALL books, so Sophie still has 2 more adventures to go! I see the books as one big story told over 3 books, so Book 2 will see Sophie dealing with a lot of the stuff that happens in HEX HALL, as well as some new threats.

Who is your favorite character in HH? My favorite character in HH is definitely Archer, the warlock Sophie crushes on. And it's not just because he's a hot guy, although that helps. ;-) he didn't exist in the 1^st draft, and when I came up with him, the whole book really came to life.

Who was your favorite character to write in HEX HALL? I love writing Elodie, Sophie's nemesis at HEX HALL. She's so different from me, so it was a good time getting into her head. Plus I enjoyed giving her a little more depth and substance than your regular mean girl!

If you could choose one character from HH to be real, who would it be? Cal, the "groundskeeper" at Hecate Hall. He has some pretty awesome powers that I think would come in handy!

If you could be one character in HH, who would it be? Sophie, of course! She's the star after all! (See above RE: only child.)

While reading your book, I could really relate to your character, Sophie. Sometimes she feels like she is an outsider, even among outsiders, she feels weird around the guy she likes (who doesn't), she is sarcastic and witty and as much as she might not want to, she cares what others think about her. Which of the characters in HEX HALL do you most relate to? First off, I LOVE that you could relate to Sophie! That was my goal in writing her, that she's a regular girl in a crazy, crazy world. So I think she's the one I most relate to, too. I'm not nearly as bold as she is- I never talked back to a teacher in my life!- but I was voted "Wittiest" in my Senior Who's Who. ;-)

What are you most excited to tell us about your book/writing/reading? I am excited about all of it, haha! Mostly I just can't wait for other people to meet Sophie and Co. Whenever people ask me what I want readers to get out of my book, I always say I want them to A) have fun, B)not regret wasting time/money on me! and C)wish they had more time in that world. That's the dream, right there!

What are some things you were surprised about during the publishing/editing process? That it is soooo slooow! Seriously, patience is a virtue if you want to be a writer! I sold in April 2008, and HEX HALL hits the shelves in March 2010. As for editing, I was surprised at how much FUN it was! I know that makes me sound ever-so-dorky, but I have a genius editor in Jen Besser, and all of her suggestions were made of win and covered in awesome-sauce. It was a ball to get back in there and feel like the book was such a collaborative effort.

There are many different kinds of Prodigium at Hex Hall: Witches, shape shifters, werewolves, vampires, faeries and more. If you could be any of those, which one would you be and why? Witch! Vampires have all those pesky restrictions, faeries are a little on the formal side, and weres/shifters? Yuck! All the hair! Or hairballs!

If you could cast any spell, what would it be for? I'm a Mama, so I would probably cast some sort of protective bubble around my kid so that he'd never get hurt. (Again, with the dorky! Sigh…)

Where did you get the background for your Prodigium and magical world? Did you make it up or were there fairy tales, books or folklore that you took from? Oh, wow, so many sources. Some of it was from Ye Olde Wikipedia, some from books (I've always collected books on unsolved mysteries/supernatural stuff), and a lot of it I just made up!

I know that some authors draw their ideas from other stories, such as Stephenie Meyer's New Moon, which was influenced by Romeo and Juliet. Were there any particular books that HH was either based on or influenced by? I don't think so. I mean, it's definitely in the tradition of spooking boarding school books, but I can't pinpoint one specific thing.

What are some of the books that have most influenced you as a writer/person? What were your favorite books growing up? What are some of your favorite books currently? Any favorite authors? I can't even start to list them all! There was the standard Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High. The Little House books were big, too, and a lot of Anne Rice/Lois Duncan. In fact, Lois Duncan is probably my primo influence. She should get more love, darn it! A GIFT OF MAGIC? STRANGER WITH MY FACE? LOCKED IN TIME? Classics!

Sophie magics up an incredible dress for the Halloween Ball. If you were going to the same ball, what would you have worn? Ooh, I would have to steal Sophie's dress, haha! It's insane and over-the-top, and that is SO my thing, too!

What should readers look forward to from HEX HALL? The funny! Seriously, if there's one thing I want people to know about HEX HALL, it's that it's funny! Okay, so there are scary things. And yes, some death. And angst and chaos. But there are laughs amidst all that, I swear! ;-)

Are there any character quarks you would like to share? For me or the characters? Ha!
Random personal questions:

What is your favorite movie? Favorite TV show of the moment? I'm weirdly obsessed with the TV version of 10 Things I Hate About You right now (Y HELLO THAR, PATRICK VERONA!) As for movies, there are lots, but the one that is in pretty regular rotation is Marie Antoinette.

What was you favorite/ least favorite part of high school/being a teenager? My favorite part was the anticipation. Life IS more exciting when you're a teenager. There's all this endless potential, not just for what you'll do with your future, but what could happen on any given night, haha! That zing when a boy you like shows up at a party, or the fun of driving around w/your friends, singing at the top of your lungs? That was awesome. But the flip side of that is all the uncertainty that comes along with the potential.

Favorite song/artist of the moment? Okay, looking at my iTunes, these 3 songs have been played an embarrassing amount of times: 1) "Luv" by Travis, 2) "Stay" by Safetysuit, and 3) "Bust Your Windows" from Glee.

Favorite color? Green

Have any pets? Nope! Had a cat, Nadia, from the time I was 13-26. When she died, it was just too hard to think about getting a new one. I may be a one-cat woman.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? London. I visited that city in 2001, and fell in love. Looooove. But only if I had enough money. London is quite pricey!

If you were trapped on a desert island and you could only bring 3 items and 1 person with you, what/who would they be? 1) A book, probably Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER, 2) some sun block (fair-skinned redhead) 3)my Velveteen rabbit, the imaginatively named "Velvy." (Shut up, I was 6.) As for a person, my husband. He's a hiker/kayaker/geologist/solider/Superman-type, and he would have us a raft made out of coconuts in no time!

If the world was being invaded by aliens and you just won five million dollars in the lottery, what would you do with it? Paaaartyyyyy! Seriously, I'd have the most fun feast/blow-out ever. I mean, why not?

I joke that Rachel could probably have written another novel in the time it took her to answer all of these questions. So thank you Rachel for providing epic answers to my epically long interview!! I really appreciate it as you have become one of my favorite authors! And thank you for writing this book! In case you haven't noticed, I loved it. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up having a cult following for this book. Thanks for letting me be one of the first screaming fan-girls.

You can find out more about Rachel on her blog or by following her on twitter.

100/10 stars. I'm serious. It's that good.

More to come,

OfficiallyMRS

P.S. There will be three books in Rachel's series as Disney Hyperion bought a 3 book deal!!

Interview with Victoria Schwab

And now for my first ever author interview... drum roll please....

Victoria Schwab is YA lit author who is represented by Amy Tipton at FinePrint Literary Management. Disney Hyperion just bought her novel, The Near Witch, the first of hers ever to be published!! She was nice enough to do this author interview with me!! So here goes...

What is your full name?

Victoria Elizabeth Schwab

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Sacramento, CA and my family moved to Nashville when I was three, then back to San Jose, CA, and finally back to Nashville. So I basically split my childhood between the two.

How old are you?

22

Where did you go to school?

After attending an all girls' southern prep school (don't laugh!) I just graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, with a degree in book design.

Do you have siblings?

I am an only child! But I try to be as much work as two or three children, to make the family feel bigger.

Now for some legitimate questions about her book and the writing industry:

Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?

I always wanted to work with words. I grew up on Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss, and then Blake, and when I was young I practically thought in rhyme. I didn't try my hand at fiction until I got to college, and I didn't try writing a book until my junior year. I tried every other genre first (poetry, screenwriting, short fiction) because I was determined I would be terrible at full-length fiction.

What is your favorite part about being a writer?

Aside from the incredible energy and enthusiasm of the writing community, particularly YA, I just love the way words sound. I love putting them together and listening to the way they work and flow. I love telling stories, and I love the WAYS you can tell them.

What advice can you give to young adults who want to write professionally when they are older?

I can't stress the importance of exposure. Expose your eyes and your minds to everything you can. Read books, of course, but also look around, and just generally be a sponge. Everything you encounter has a story, or can have one. I've been most inspired by the things I stumble on, from my morning walks to foreign cities to forgotten corners.

How in the world did you get published at 22!? How did you find time to write in college? Not even Meg Cabot got published until her thirties!!

The to-be-published at 22, NOT EASY. I didn't start writing full-length fiction until college, though (I wrote poetry in high school, much of it remarkably bad :p but it gave me a feel for words and the way they flow together that I try to capitalize on in fiction). In college, I took a few fiction courses, and between my Soph and Junior year I wrote a book! And I was happy, but it wasn't very good, and I put it away, and focused on school. The next summer, an agent named Nathan Bransford hosted a dialogue contest, so I pulled the book back out, and entered, and got third!
The prize was a query critique, but he loved the query and the story (I was 20 at this point) and he wanted to read the partial, then the full. During this time I polished up the book I'd shelved, and queried other agents, and thirteen days later I signed with Amy Tipton at FP, who I ADORE. But this book DIDN'T sell. It went on sub for months and months, and in February of this year, I started NEAR WITCH, to keep my sanity. And then in the summer, NW went out on sub! Right after my 22nd Bday. And then a couple weeks ago, it sold!

Well, by the time THE NEAR WITCH comes out, I'll be 23! Time flies.
I'll just add that I made time. If I had tried to find time, I never would have been able to. But it's almost always there, if you make it work. I set aside an hour here or there, and when I couldn't write, I thought about it. I joke that I did most of my plot work staring at the stripe on the swimming pool floor. If you can make space in your head to think about your stories, you can carve out time to write them down. That said, I didn't do much sleeping.

What are some of the books that have most influenced you as a writer and/or a person? What were your favorite books growing up? What are some of your favorite books currently? Any favorite authors?

Shel Silverstein influenced the way I saw the world, and still see it. As did fairy tales (I love fairy tales and folklore). The Giver, The Princess Bride, and the Secret Garden were some of my favorite stories (secret gardens seems to come up a lot in my writing, actually). I spent my teens with Harry Potter, so that definitely influenced me, too.

How did you get the ideas for your books? How do you come up with your characters? Do you base them off of people you know?

It's always a bit different, and I don't recommend my approach, but I always start with an image, or a line. I love words, and I love the way they sound, so I'll get a sentence sometimes that I love, and then unfold the story around it.
With my first book, the one that hasn't sold (my editor might decide she wants it), it is called THE SHADOW MILE. And it all started with an image of a door standing in an empty lot, without a room behind, just standing there, half-rotted. I walked past the door a few times on my daily walks in real life, and always wondered what it might have led to, once.
With THE NEAR WITCH, however, it was a line. The very first line of the book. "The wind on the moors is a tricky thing." I wrote that line, and had no idea what it meant. I went back to it six months later, and felt like the story was there, sitting and waiting for me.
It always starts its own way. You just have to keep your eyes open, and ask questions :)

My main characters are never people I know, though I do tend to base secondary characters on people I've met, teachers I've had, relatives...My main characters do, however, tend to embody something I don't, some trait I wish I possessed.

Tell us about Near Witch!! What should we look forward to seeing in this book? Will there be a sequel?

The Near Witch is fairy-tale like story set in northern England. Here's the shorter pitch:

There’s an old ghost story in the town of Near. It tells of a witch that lived
on the edge of the village, and gobbled up all the darkness, and sang the hills to sleep, and loved the children almost as much as the garden she kept beside her house.
Sixteen-year-old Lexi Harris, the daughter of a tracker, has heard
the stories her entire life, first from her father, and then from old Magda and Marta, who might be witches themselves. Everyone loves to tell the story, but everyone knows a different ending. Some say that the Near Witch blew away on a gust of wind. Others tell of darker things. Of murders and curses and buried bones.
To Lexi, they’ve always been stories, nothing more. But when a strange
and silent boy walks into the village of Near, and then the wind begins to lure children from their beds at night, she starts to wonder if there’s any truth in them. Could the Near Witch be more than a ghost story?

There is romance! And mystery. And suspense. There's also a different take on the meaning of "witch." In my book, it's not someone with a crooked nose who leans over a cauldron. It's something else. It has to do with the way we interact with the world. It's about the balance between man and nature, and those who are more earth and stone than flesh and blood. As far as sequels/prequels/companions, nothing official :)

Who is your favorite character in Near Witch?

I love all my characters :)

If you could pick one character in Near Witch to be real, who would you choose?

I would love it if the stranger, whose name is Cole, could be real. I have a crush on him :) I have a soft spot for wild + mystery + brooding.

If you could be one character in your book, who would it be?
If I could BE a character it would be my narrator, Lexi. I adore writing her, and she's a really strong, independent girl. I admire her.

What are you most excited to tell us about your book?

I just can't wait to share The Near Witch with you guys. I hope you fall for the characters and their world the way I did writing it. And I hope that, while you're somewhere between the two covers, your own world falls away. That's all I could ever want.

What are some things you were surprised about during the publishing/editing process?

It's a lot of work! And it's not all writing. AND even though it seems like it takes forever for a book to come out, there is a lot that has to happen, and the deadlines are pretty fast!

These are some goofy personal questions:

What is your favorite movie? Favorite TV show of the moment?

Movies: This changes ALL the time, so it's hard, but as far as shows: I am in love with Dexter, and True Blood, and So You Think You Can Dance. It's an eclectic mix :p

What was you favorite/ least favorite part of high school/being a teenager?

Well, I went to an all-girls southern prep school, and my favorite part was not having to think about what to wear (uniforms). My least favorite part was that I was one of the ONLY girls that wasn't a native Nashvillian, or a Debutante, so I often felt excluded.

Favorite song/artist of the moment?

My current obsessions: Blue Foundation, Tegan and Sara, A Fine Frenzy, Coldplay, Mirah, and Ludo.

Favorite color?

Slate blue.

Have any pets?

Haha, YES. I've always had animals growing up, and right now there are five. Three dogs: a golden retriever named Sammie, a terrier named Mitzi, and my 16-month-old puppy (a mutt including but not limited to golden, collie, and German Shepherd) Kuma. Two cats: Loki, and Oliver.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

England. No question. My mom's British, and I've always felt more at home on English soil.

If you were trapped on a desert island and you could only bring 3 items and 1 person with you, what/who would they be?

I'd bring The Princess Bride, a hunting knife, sunscreen (I am of the paler variety), and Bear Grylls, from the show Man vs. Wild. He seems like he knows what he's doing.

If the world was being invaded by aliens and you just won five million dollars in the lottery, what would you do with it?

I'd buy books! One, because I never have money to buy as many books as I'd like, and two, because maybe I could use them to barter with the aliens. I might also buy a place in England. And another cat.

Personally, I am really excited about this book! It sounds like it has all of the makings of what will be a fantastic story: suspense, romance, putting a new spin on what we think fairy tales and folklore are and that one creepy character that makes you wonder what the helk is going? on while still being drawn to them. My one disappointment: this book doesn't come out until 2011 :(. Still, I'm glad that I have something great to look forward too! Thank you Victoria for doing this interview with me!! I had a blast and you couldn't have been nicer! Keep me updated :P!! You can find out more about Victoria by reading her blog!!