Author interview: Colleen Clayton

Today I have the awesome Colleen Clayton! Enjoy!

Please introduce yourself.

Hi, my name is Colleen and I wrote a book! It's called WHAT HAPPENS NEXT and it's available on October 9th! :) Leona was my 100th Twitter follower so I sent her an ARC the moment they came in. She was the very first person, outside of my family, agent, and editor to read the ARC version. She liked it so well that she asked to interview me for her blog! So, here I am! (And can I just add that my main character, Cassidy Murphy, as well as myself are American-Irish so I was beyond thrilled to send the first ARC over the ocean to Ireland...)

What made you want to write a book that dealt with the issues raised in What Happens Next?

I wanted to write about drug-induced sexual assault because it happens. It was happening when I was a high school and college student and it still happens today. I wanted to write about a girl who is naturally outgoing and headstrong, who has very normal insecurities about her body but still, overall, is a very vivacious, outspoken, and sharply witty girl. But a girl who, despite being all these things, still falls victim to a predator and whose post-traumatic stress surfaces in not-so-textbook ways. 

Most people who are assaulted do not tell anyone or report their assault. Are they all shy and introverted? No. All types of people experience assault and don't tell. Also, I wanted to write about eating disorders that develop as a result of sexual assault. Lastly, I wanted to write about a girl who rediscovers her sexuality and sense of desire, post-assault, and does so in a healthy way. I wanted to write a story that is hopeful. 

What kind of research did you do for the book? 

I read a lot of articles that link sexual assault with eating disorders. Also, I visited my setting a lot. Lakewood, Ohio is a real city, most of the places mentioned in the book are real. 

  When did you first realise that you wanted to pursue writing as a career? 

Ha! Not til my mid-thirties. I come from a very working class background and was the first person to attend college in my entire extended family on both sides. Most of my family are factory workers, coal miners, waitresses, etc. Paying for college seemed like such a luxury and I've felt the need to have "A Real Job" my entire life in order to give my parents and myself a return on our investment.  "Being a writer" never even occurred to me until my mid-thirties. Pursuing writing (or the arts in general) just seemed like something mysterious, sove this. I want to work with you. I secured an agent, we worked on the manuscript for about

If you could have written a book that isn't yours what would it be and why? 

In YA, I'd say "Stolen" by Lucy Christopher. Oh, that book kept me up at night! What a voice. Chilling but profoundly moving. In adult: "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. His main character Ignatius C. Reilly is the funniest literary figure of all time, hands down.  And then anything by Jean Shepherd. I enjoy humor immensely (subtle, dark, tragic, satire, low-brow, standup, slapstick, whatever...) It's so tremendously hard to write humor and I respect the hell out of anyone who can do it well. 

How did you go about getting your book published? 

Querying the heck out of it! Being rejected over and over and over, until FINALLY someone said: I love this. I want to work with you. I secured an agent, we worked on the manuscript for about six months, then she sent it out on submission to about ten major publishing houses. I had an offer within a few weeks from Poppy/Little, Brown. 

  

What book are you looking forward to most in 2012? 

"My Life Next Door" by Huntley Fitzpatrick. I read an ARC of it a few months back and it was so, so good. Just lovely. I can't wait for it to come out this summer. 

What are you working on at the minute?

I am working on another YA novel set in Ohio. Not really a companion or sequel, but it is set in the same area: Lakewood High/Cleveland, Ohio and features a 16 year old girl named Julianne. Then, because it is set in summer, the setting moves to Middle Bass Island off Lake Erie and then Sandusky, Ohio at our world-famous roller coaster park, Cedar Point. I love writing about Ohio. 

Author Interview: Megan Miranda

Today I have the wonderful Megan Miranda, author of Fracture!

What made you want to become a writer?

I don’t think there was ever a moment when I thought “I want to become a writer.” I wanted to write, but being a writer seemed like such a dream. So I wrote, but mostly as a hobby. And then I had this “why not?” moment, and I think I became a writer right then. It’s when I started treating it like a job, writing every night, in the hopes it would eventually become my job. I wanted to write simply because I love to do it.

Where did you get the idea for Fracture?

It mostly stemmed from questions I had about the brain—especially from the stories I’d hear about people who had a tumor, or had a tumor removed, and their personalities would change. I wondered how much of us is the product of our DNA, and how much of us is something more. I wondered how others would treat a person who had changed. The plot, and Delaney’s “change,” all originated from these questions.

How long did it take you to write Fracture and did you do much editing with it?

It took me 3 months to write the first version, very little of which made it into the finished product. I had to rewrite it—twice—from scratch before it was “ready.” That took another 6 months. And then of course there were more edits after it was picked up by the publisher, trying to make it the best book it could be. I really enjoy the editing process… once I know what I’m doing. Now, I rarely show anyone my writing until I’ve done a fair amount of editing.

Tell us about your publishing journey with Fracture.

I ended up signing with my agent after that first version of Fracture – and then spent 6 months rewriting. After that, though, it sold pretty quickly to Walker/Bloomsbury in a 2-book deal. It’s been such a pleasure to work with them.

Did you have a favourite book or author when you were younger?

My very first favorite book was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Once I reached middle school, I started reading a lot of Michael Crichton and Dean Koontz. And I loved the darker classics that we read in high school (Heart of Darkness, The Stranger, etc).

What is your favourite book at the minute? Why?

It changes frequently, but at the moment it would have to be The Fault in our Stars by John Green. How could it not be? Gah. So good.

If you could change one thing about your book what would it be?

I changed the book a whole lot through revisions, and I’m really happy with how the story turned out in the finished product. There’s nothing I’d really choose to change at this point. There are some things I would’ve liked to explore more (certain characters’ back stories), but Fracture was Delaney's story.

Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?
Read a lot. Write a lot. Rewrite a lot :)

What are you currently working on now? Can you tell us anything about it?
I have a standalone YA psychological thriller set to come out in early 2013. It's about friendship, memories, and the fine line between the real and the imagined. I'm also working on 2 other projects that I'm pretty excited about.




Thanks for having me!

Pleasure was all mine Megan!

You can find out more about Megan and her books here.
My review of Fracture is here.

Author Interview Kelly Keaton

Today I have Kelly Keaton, author of Darkness Becomes Her and the upcoming sequel A Beautiful Evil. It is such a pleasure to have Kelly here as I am a huge fan of DBH!

Please introduce yourself. 

I'm Kelly. I write Young Adult books. *waves*

What inspired you to become a writer and where did you get the inspiration for Darkness Becomes Her?

I've always been inspired to tell stories. But I was inspired to write fiction as my profession when I was in high school. My English teacher had us turn in 2 pages every Friday of whatever we wanted to write about. At the time, I was reading Anne Rice, Mary Stewart, and Marion Zimmer Bradley and I just thought, "I want to do this, too."  I decided fiction was how I wanted to relay all my crazy ideas, and writing those Friday papers . . . something just clicked, I guess.
 The inspiration for DBH came from my personal loves and wanting to combine them. Mythology. New Orleans. Strange beings. It all sort of coalesced into what ended up being DBH.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?

As far back as I can remember, I have always created fictional things in my head. I think I was just born with a creative streak and a big penchant for daydreaming. I didn't know I wanted to express this creativity as a writer per se. When I was growing up, I expressed it in writing, drawing, putting on plays...  But high school is where I really started focusing on the written word and that's where I stayed. (Though I do still draw).

What is your schedule like when you are writing?
I'm not a very structured person. My writing time is from about 9am-3:30pm, because the house is quiet and my kids are in school then. Some of this time is taken up answering emails, and the promo and business side of writing, but I try very hard to parcel those out so that writing takes the majority of that quiet time. Sometimes when I'm under deadline or need to return revisions quickly, I write at night and weekends.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

I guess what surprised me most is how my writing process has changed, and how what works for me is always different for each book. Early on, before I sold, I wrote manuscripts in the same general way. Outlining, mapping character arcs, and so on. Now, I just let the story come however it wants to. If that means writing a few chapters and then outlining a few, that's what I do. If it means writing the ending first, I go with it and let the creativity come out how it wants. This has become my process, and if someone told me that's how it would be years ago, I'm not sure I would've believed them!

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Relax. Don't get so caught up in formatting, and perfection, and thinking you have to write a certain way in order to begin your book. Just write. Get words on paper. Get to the end. And then you have something to format, and something to craft into perfection. Everyone's process is different. And it's okay to skip scenes, or put in placeholders if you're not feeling it. Don't sit around and wait to be inspired by the next scene. Write another scene, write the ending, write "they fight" and move on if you're not feeling the fight scene yet. The thing about writing is that you're gonna go back and revise, revise, revise. The point is to have something to revise. 

 Have you ever suffered from writers block and, if so, how do you get around it?

Sure, but again, it's all about moving forward. Writers block is a block you simply move around. If I hit a wall and I don't know what to write, what should happen, or I'm not feeling it, I leave a note like: "Figure out later' or "They do x,y,z" (there have been times where I've written, "Blah, blah, blah"). And I move on. See ya, Block! :) Deadlines and contracts make it so that I can't give time staring at that block. You learn to write through the tough spots and return to it later. You'd be amazed at how you can see more clearly once the draft is done, and what now should happen in those 'blah' spots.

How many books have you written to date? Which is your favourite?

I wrote six novel length manuscripts before being published (none of which sold). And I've written six contracted novels to date (Four adults- the 4th to release this summer, and two YAs, the 2nd to release in Feb.).  My favorites so far is THE HOUR OF DUST & ASHES, which is one of my adult urban fantasies that I write as Kelly Gay. And I love A BEAUTIFUL EVIL, the YA sequel that coming out soon. 

If you had a chance to change anything in your books what would you change and why?

I'd change a lot of things. That's the thing about being a writer. There will always be a better word or better sentence or better way to show something. Having the distance of months and years, and then reading my work -- I'd always find something to change.   
 
What was the hardest part of writing your books?

Managing my time well enough to write them without waiting to the last minute like I always do. Not good.

What was your favourite book of 2011, apart from your own?

Too hard to answer! Loved CLOCKWORK ANGEL, GRAVEMINDER, HOUNDED, THE THRONE OF FIRE, INVINCIBLE...
 
Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

Thank you! I've been so lucky to have met, online and off, so many wonderful readers. The support for the series is enormously appreciated!! *Sends warm fuzzies*


Finally, where can we find out more about you and your books? You can check me out at www.kellykeaton.net. There you'll find links to FB, Twitter, and info about the books.

And thanks so much for having me Leona! :-)

You can read my review of Darkness becomes her here.