Okay, Elana. Embarrassing moment. Go.
OH MY HECK – this just happened last week. I’d gone to California with my sisters, and we were walking along the pier. One of them ran into the railing, and we all laughed, and I told her that I tell my students that walking is an active activity. Blah blah blah, I’m telling them about it, and guess what?
I TRIP over my own feet.
The whole rest of the trip—and I’m sure my life—they were like, “Walking is an active activity.”
lol! That's hilarious. Sounds like something I would do!
Describe Possession
in just three words.
Mind-control vs. free-choice (those are hyphenated,
and only count as one!)
Awesome. I love the hyphenation! How did you come up with the premise for Possession?
I had just read UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld (back in 2007!) and I wanted to write a dystopian novel. I just needed the basis for my society. And I figured brainwashing would be a pretty good “Big Brother” to fight against.
So Elana, I, like many, fell in love with Jag, a bad boy with
surprising depth (oh, he's swoon-worthy). How did you come up with Jag's
character? Is he modeled after someone you know?
Jag’s not really modeled after someone I know, but
he’s bits and pieces of a lot of people. I sort of like guys with dark hair and
eyes, so I have a hard time envisioning my heroes any other way.
What I really wanted to do was created a “bad boy”
who’s actually good. One without that dark past that the girl has to look
beyond to find the jewels beneath. One that has many layers, sure, but not
necessarily sordid.
He’s super-cocky in some situations, but I think
that just adds to who he is. I hope!
What hidden talent do you possess
besides writing? Come now, don’t be shy!
Paper
crafting! I am killer with cards, scrapbook pages, cute boxes, etc. Fold it,
stamp it, love it.
Psh, okay, it’s settled. You are coming to my house
and helping me make something out of all that craft paper upstairs! Send some
of your paper-crafting skills my way for the holidays (I need it). Character, setting or plot:
which one is most important to you and why?
Character,
for sure. I don’t care where something takes place, or even what happens. I
want to connect with and care about a character. If an author can do that, I’ll
go anywhere and do anything with them.
Ooo, I want to add that last line to my “quote of
the day” widget! Well said. What are you
reading now?
TEN by
Gretchen McNeil. LOVE IT.
What project are you currently working on?
I am
dabbling in YA contemporary. I haven’t been writing for a while because my
story is still percolating. But I’m hoping to have it bubbling enough to write
for NaNo. It’ll be about a boy who has to hide the fact that he’s homeless from
the new girl at school who he’s fallen for—the same girl who lives in his old
house.
The new girl at school who lives in his old house…and
now he’s homeless and falling for her. I love it!
Last of all, do you have any advice to give
aspiring authors?
Write a lot. Write what you love. Take critique. Write some
more. Write what you love. Never give up.
Thank you so much, Elana! I look forward to reading more of
your work in the future, starting with Surrender (click here) and then Abandon (coming out in 2013)!
What do you think? Would there be benefits to a society that had total control over our thoughts and actions? Consequences (I think yes!)? Read Possession to find out!
I enjoyed this interview. I am interested in learning more about these books. I went to to Elana's website and the more I read the more interested I became. I may be one of the romance fans that could get interested in Science Fiction by reading Possession.
ReplyDeleteOh, good! Thank you for the comment :)
DeleteGreat interview! Surrender is on my 'want to read' list and I totally love Elana's comment about character. I, too, would go anywhere with an author, if I care about and love their characters.
ReplyDelete