Kelley Armstrong Interview
4:50 PMHello everyone! I have something very exciting for you guys! What? Well I got an interview with the phenomenal KELLEY ARMSTRONG!!! Her new book The Gathering hit stores on April 12, 2011 and if you have not yet gotten a copy of this book, run and go get a copy. It was AWESOME. So let's get this show on the road...
1) What drew you to centering The Gathering around cougars?
After wolves, they’d be my favourite animal. I haven’t done big cats yet, so when I decided to add them into my world, cougars were the natural choice. With the Darkest Powers in particular, I would have made the ending to The Summoning a little less of a cliffhanger :)
3) Do you enjoy writing YA or adult more?
I don’t have a favourite. They’re alike enough that I enjoy both, but different enough to be a change of pace, so I don’t feel I’m writing the same thing all the time.
4) So far, have you enjoyed writing The Darkest Powers Series or The Darkness Rising Series?
I loved the Darkest Powers, but I’m so caught up in the world Darkness Rising that it’s my favourite…for now.
5) Do you look up to other authors?
My biggest writing influences were Stephen King (for his ability to make the supernatural seem natural) and Anne Rice (for showing me how to put the story into the words of the "monster").
6) When you started to write The Gathering, what was your first thought?
“How do I do the same basic plot as the Summoning—kids finding out they have supernatural powers—without writing the same book over again?” That meant very different characters, setting and plot points.
7) Where did you get the idea for The Gathering?
I don't typically have a single point of inspiration. I know the basics of what I want to do, which in this case was to focus on a second Edison Group experiment. Then it just unfolds through brainstorming--what do I want for characters, setting, supernatural content etc
8) Was it difficult to write your first YA book after writing only adult?
The only real difference is the age of the characters. However, while I cover a lot of narrator ages in my adult series, teens ARE a lot different. There’s the language of course—making the characters sound like teens. And when I’m writing adults, whether they’re 25 or 45, they’re dealing with a similar set of issues (jobs, finances, marriage & children) Teens are at a different place in their lives and the characters must reflect that. Random Question: What is your favorite TV show?
I think I’m in a bit of a TV funk. I have a list of shows that I DVR (House, Fringe, CSI, Supernatural) but there aren’t any where I’m eagerly anticipating the next episode. I just started Game of Thrones. That looks intriguing. The last show where I was watching episodes as soon as they taped was The Walking Dead.
Anything else you would like to say about yourself or you book?
Not really. LOL. Instead, let me give a couple of recommendations for great summer YA reads. Two very different books. Veronica Roth’s dystopian Divergent and Libba Bray’s “pageant contestants stranded on a desert island” Beauty Queens.
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