More Author Insight: Story Secrets

Tell us a secret about your most recent book.

 
"A Touch Mortal started out as a short story I wrote nine years ago for a college class. The assignment was to write a story based around an overheard line.  Mine was “Skin and concrete do…not…mix.” The original short story is now part of Chapter 21." - Leah Clifford, author of A Touch Mortal.

"When I married my husband I walked down the aisle to the same piece of music that is The Mockingbirds' main character Alex's favorite piece of music - Beethoven's Ode to Joy from his Ninth Symphony" - Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds.

"Since The Mark came out, I’ve gotten at least six different emails asking if I have the same ability as the main character – knowing when it’s someone’s day to die – from people who say they do." - Jen Nadol, author of The Mark.

 

"There really was a great band in Columbus, Ohio called Monster Zero and they really were mentioned by a major entertainment magazine as a possible 'Next Seattle'. I was friends with the bassist, a beautiful redhead named Emily. They had these awesome t-shirts depicting them as the Fantastic Four, with Emily being the Human Touch (because of her hair and her temper). Sadly, the real Monster Zero broke up soon after that 'big break'." - Jon Skovron, author of Struts & Frets.

"I wrote Stork while suffering from a serious injury to my right arm. I typed and even scribbled left-handed. Even in pain, I was fueled by the story. I churned out a first draft in five months. Later, I ran across a tip to enhance your creativity. Apparently, using your non-dominant hand forces your brain to create new synapses. Whatever the scientific explanation, I had experienced a burst of creativity during the project." - Wendy Delsol, author of Stork. 

"My wonderful, new friend, Heidi who is one of the administrators on the Official Twilight Page sent me this, which I had no idea.

 So we discussed Lenah's name today and I wanted to show you what I had come up with when I was reading.
It seems that you've created a character that just can't die - ever! There is no possible way with her name!
Lenah Beaudonte - is light, beautiful, good, lasting and hellish! - ha
Excellent name for a vampire!
Lenah (German) - means light
Beau - beautiful/handsome/good/sweetheart
donte - lasting/enduring/hell

How cool is Heidi!?" - Rebecca Maizel, author of Infinite Days.

"There is a secret regarding the characters of Reynolds in Nevermore. The pocket watch holds a big hint. I say no more. - Kelly Creagh, author of Nevermore.

 

"In The DUFF - the 'piano rock' Wesley listens to is actually Jack's Mannequin. :-)" - Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF.

"Readers of We Hear the Dead may not realize that the love affair between spirit medium Maggie Fox and Arctic explorer Elisha Kane was THE celebrity romance of the mid-19th century. Newspaper reporters followed them everywhere, just like today’s paparazzi, printing gossip, trying to catch them together, and speculating on their possible engagement or marriage." - Dianne Salerni, author of We Hear the Dead.

"My book will be released November 30th, and something that I think is special about the book is that my seventeen-year-old sister, who I adore, read it and called me and said, 'This is my favorite book.' She is completely honest and when I hung up the phone after talking with her I just sat there and cried for a little while. I have been writing for a long time. I never knew if I would be good enough to try the national market again. She made me think that maybe I could try." - Ally Condie, author of Matched.

 

"I first tried to write Whisper as a straight contemporary. Joy and Jessica were just really smart, sensitive, insightful kids—not telepaths. But it didn’t work at all. So for the first time in my life, I tried to write a paranormal element into a story, shaping the magic and creating the mythology behind it. Now I’m absolutely hooked on writing paranormal." - Phoebe Kitanidis, author of Whisper.

 

 "While I write from multiple POVs, and my POV characters are of all genders and ages, I think the easiest character for me to write is my zombie teen hero, Bram. I wanted, very purposefully, to create a total 'white hat' good guy - there are so many brooding antiheroes out there - and yet I still find it surprising how easy it is to get into his headspace. It actually makes me long to get into my heroine, Nora's, head." - Lia Habel, author of Dearly, Departed.

 "People lose themselves, find themselves, and some people die." - Kami Garcia, co-author of Beautiful Creatures.

"Tessa was never in the outline. But here’s another…in earlier drafts, the book was actually set in Illinois. Since there’s a mountain cliff that’s integral to the story, when I realized Illinois has no mountains, I had to switch the setting to Oregon." - Denise Jaden, author of Losing Faith.

"I haven't said much about my next project yet, but I hope to be able to say more soon. For now, I'll say that I wrote it because I wanted to explore how people come back from the brink of something--if they're able to. The book does have another male narrator, and in many ways he's in more trouble than Colt was."- Jennifer Hubbard, author of The Secret Year.

 

Come back Tuesday to find out what fictional characters inspire our authors!
<< Previous