Q&A with Alyson Noël and W*n FATED #YA

I’m happy to welcome bestselling author Alyson Noël to the blog today. She’s been gracious enough to subject herself to the Preternatura interview and talk about her new book, Fated, the first in a new Soul Seekers series from St. Martin’s Press.

Alyson Noël is the New York Times bestselling author of more than eight NYT bestsellers, including her popular Immortals series and the Riley Bloom series. You can find out more about Alyson and her books at her website, www.alysonnoel.com.

Read on to meet Alyson and comment for a chance to win a copy of Fated!

Welcome, Alyson! Give us the “elevator pitch” for Fated:
Which floor are we on? Top floor headed for the Lobby? Okay, here goes:

            Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met, but who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead.
            There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness the powers of her ancestral legacy, but it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, when things take an alarming turn. Forcing Daire to discover if Dace is the one guy she's meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy. 

Favorite scene:

The one where Daire merges her energy with a cockroach. I had some big time fun writing from that point of view.

Hardest scene to write:

The one were Daire is having a major showdown with her nemesis. It was hard to write because I was so immersed in her character, I actually experienced all of the emotions that were warring inside her. When it was over, I was exhausted. I think she was too.

What’s on your nightstand or top of your TBR pile:

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice is at the top of the stack, and while I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it (pun alert!), at the moment I’m actually reading a book on Shamanism for research.

Favorite book when you were a child:
My mom was an avid reader who shared the magick of books with me early on. The gateway book was Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hatches the Egg (I still own that original copy!), which eventually lead to Charlotte's Web, and then books about horses! Misty of Chincoteague and Black Beauty rocked my world!

Your five favorite authors:
It’s impossible to limit to five, so here are five of my favorite dead authors:  JD Salinger, Truman Capote, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen.

Book you've faked reading:

Nearly all of my high school textbooks! I had a troubled adolescence and became a major class-cutter. But, the one class I never ditched was AP English, mostly because I had a really great teacher. Though while I read all the assigned books, when it came time to write the corresponding essays, I would write a short story and turn that in instead, and he’d grade it as though he’d assigned it. I think he recognized a kid in trouble and decided to meet me where I was at. Years later, when my debut novel, Faking 19, was published, I thanked him in the acknowledgments and returned to my high school to personally hand him a copy. It was one of the most amazing moments of my career.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Story by Robert Mckee and Save the Cat by Blake Snyder—I tell all aspiring writers to read them.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Keith Richard’s Life. I just wanted to see his adorable mug hanging around my house.

Book that changed your life:

At twelve I read my first Judy Blume book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and decided then and there that I wanted to be a writer. That book felt like it was written just for me, and my friends, and all the things we were going through. It made me realize how a story could be so much more. Later, in high school, I read Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger and that book confirmed I wanted to be a writer. Reading about Holden’s feelings of alienation made me realize I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

Favorite line from a book:

“Never love a wild thing, Mr. Bell,” Holly advised him. “That was Doc’s mistake. He was always lugging home wild things. A hawk with a hurt wing. One time it was a full-grown bobcat with a broken leg. But you can’t give your heart to a wild thing” the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they’re strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky. That’s how you’ll end up, Mr. Bell. If you let yourself love a wild thing. You’ll end up looking at the sky.” – Holly Golightly to Joe Bell in Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Shutter Island—now that I know the big plot twist, I can never read it the same way again.

Most horrifying moment while reading a book:

Being completely unable to keep from laughing out loud while reading David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day while traveling alone on an airplane.

Favorite book about books or writing:

Same ones I’m an evangelist for: STORY by Robert McKee & SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. I revisit them at the start of every new book I work on, and I highly recommend them.

Thanks, Alyson! Want to win a copy of Fated? (Yes, you really do! I mean, seriously, sharing energy with a cockroach? You gotta read it.) Leave a comment, and you know the rest of the drill. One entry for comment, another for blog follow, a third for a Twitter follow @Suzanne_Johnson, and a fourth for a Tweet or Retweet. The contest is international. Now...Go forth and comment!