Author Interview: Ellen Hopkins - Triangles

Today my lovely readers, I have the honour of interviewing the New York Times Bestselling Author Ellen Hopkins. Ellen is the author of several Young Adult books and has just published her first book for adult readers. Triangles was released on October 18, 2011 and published by Atria Books. Today she stops by to talk a little bit about it.

N: Can you tell us who or what inspired you to write Triangles?

EH: Interestingly enough, the suggestion for a book about midlife crises came from a teen boy reader. I assume one or both of his parents was experiencing one (which also underlines the fact that all family members can be aware of and affected by them).

N: What was your favourite chapter (or part) of Triangles to write and why?

EH: Hard to choose one, but maybe the part where Marissa and her husband, Christian, go to Monterey for the weekend to try and rekindle their romance. My husband and I have spent several romantic weekends in Monterey/Big Sur, and if any place could inspire love, I think that's it.

N: Did you base any of the characters in Triangles on people from your own life? Why or why not?

EH: Holly and Marissa are both inspired by friends who hit huge turning points in their early forties. And there are little threads of me in all three women. Which, I guess, says I've got multiple personalities or something.

N: Is there a message that you want readers to take away after having read the book?

EH: I think it's okay to question ourselves and our lives. To reevaluate when we must. It's natural. Smart. So don't worry when it happens to you. But choose your direction carefully, especially when kids are involved.

N: Was it always in your plan to move into adult books and essentially grow with your readers?

EH: My life has been a series of unfoldings, as a woman, and as a writer. I didn't plan to write teen fiction until the right story hit me, and it had to be YA. Then I discovered a talent for and love of writing YA. Neither did I plan to move into adult fiction until the right story hit me, and it had to be aimed at older readers. I feel fortunate that as my readers have grown they have continued to embrace my writing.

N: When writing, do you plot our story or is it more of an organic process?

EH: I generally don't outline a book, but rather carefully craft characters, building their stories as I learn who they are, partially in the prewrite phase, but mostly letting them tell me which direction THEY would go as I write.

N: What can readers expect next from you? Are you currently working on another book now?

EH: The next YA, TILT (Fall 2012), is a companion to TRIANGLES, focusing on three of the teens in that book. And I'm currently writing the next adult, COLLATERAL (Fall 2012), about deployment and what that means to those left behind. I've been researching the topic for months, including interviewing military families.

N: If you had to recommend one book to another person, what would it be?

EH: ONE book? Wow. That's hard. Maybe WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.

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I would like to thank Ellen for stopping by and participating in the interview.  You can order a copy of Triangles here!

Be sure to connect with Ellen Hopkins online!

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook

Author Interview: Trevor Shane - Children of Paranoia

So today I am joined by Trevor Shane, author of Children of Paranoia.  He has graciously agreed to allow me to interview him about his debut novel.  Children of Paranoia is published by Dutton Books and was released on September 8, 2011.


N: What inspired you to become a writer?

T: Ever since I was a very young kid, I’ve been a gluttonous reader and an uncontrollable daydreamer.  The daydreaming has simply always been an integral part of how my brain works.  Not only have I always daydreamed incessantly, but all of my daydreamers take on a very vivid and often complex narrative.  So I didn’t really need any inspiration to write; the stories were already in my head.  I simply needed inspiration to overcome the fear of the rejection that is inherent in being a writer.  The inspiration to overcome that fear came from three things that hit my almost simultaneously: (1) a sudden realization that I was getting older and that the time I’ve been allotted is finite; (2) a day job that I hated; and (3) a story that I felt like I had to share with the world.  Children of Paranoia just happens to be that story.

N: What was your favourite chapter (or part) of Children of Paranoia to write and why?

T: Not to give too much away but there is a scene in Children of Paranoia where Joseph, the main protagonist, is on an island during a moonless night and is running away from people who are clearly out to kill him.  He eventually reaches a dead end on a beach and realizes that the only way he might be able to escape is to try to hide from them in the churning, black ocean water.  If you’ve ever swam in the ocean at night (or, failing that, if you’ve ever seen the first scene of Jaws), you know who scary floating in waves in the dark can be.  I tried to take that fear even further by forcing Joseph to plunge himself down into the water to avoid being seen by his chasers, leaving him floating in a black abyss.  A lot of Children of Paranoia was fun to write, but that scene probably tops my list because it is so visceral.

N: Was it a conscious decision to make this a series and not a standalone book?

T: From the moment that I conceived of it, Children of Paranoia was always the first book in a trilogy.  When done right, I love trilogies.  The key to a good trilogy to me is to have each part of the trilogy have a natural beginning and ending and to have each part tell a complete story but to have the three parts work together in a way that makes each part even more satisfying than it would be on its own.  With Children of Paranoia, I also saw a unique opportunity to tell each of the three books from a different perspective and to have each of the three books focus on a different character.  While that may have been done before, it’s a new concept to me and something that I’m really excited about.

N: Is there a message that you want readers to take away after having read the book?

T: I’m a firm believer that you can’t dictate the message in your writing.  If you try, your work is going to be much less compelling and you’re not going to convince people of your message anyway (though I’ll admit there are a whole bunch of Ayn Rand fans out there who would seem to prove me wrong).  Essentially, I believe that, once you publish your work, you don’t own it anymore.  Once it’s out there, it belongs to the readers and it’s up to them to find their own message.  All I’ll say is that I hope Children of Paranoia makes people think and that they find something in it that makes them look at the world a little bit differently.

N: If you had to go back to the beginning and do it all over again, is there any aspect of Children of Paranoia that you would change?  Why or why not?

T: This is a tough question.  I’m pretty sure my answer will be different ten years from now, but I can’t think of anything that I’d change in the final product.  I’m immensely proud of Children of Paranoia and incredibly happy with the feedback that I’ve gotten (you can read a bunch of the reviews here).  So, I guess the real question is the “why not” part.  Getting your first novel published by a traditional publisher is still an immensely grinding process.  I finished the first draft of Children of Paranoia in 2008 and it didn’t get published until 2011.  When I finished it, it had a different title, was 30% longer than the final product and wasn’t nearly as good.  I got lucky though and got to work with a wonderful agent and a great team at Dutton, all of whom really loved the book and understood what I was trying to do with it (so I never had to fight them on the things that I considered important).  All of whom also had opinions on how to make Children of Paranoia better.  I really think that the things that needed to be changed in Children of Paranoia were changed through this process and I ended up with a book that’s way better than I ever dreamed it would be.  So, no, I wouldn’t change a thing in the finished product and hope that most readers agree.


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I would like to thank Trevor for stopping by and participating in the interview.  You can order a copy of his book here!

Be sure to connect with Trevor Shane online!

• Website
• Twitter
• Trevor Shane on Facebook
• Children of Paranoia on Facebook

[Interview + Giveaway] Reena Jacobs , author of I Loved You First

Hi Guys!  So we have a big day on blog.  Reena Jacobs, author of I Loved You First has taken the time out of her seriously busy schedule to provide us with an interview.  She has also set up a giveaway of some super cool swag for us.  Seriously, how amazing is that?  

So without further ado, let's start the interview!

N: Nicole

RJ: Reena Jacobs

N: Tell us a little bit about yourself?

RJ: I'm not overly fond of animals, but for some reason they love me. I'm guessing animals sense I'm not one of those people who'll break into the "I'll love you and hug you, and I will call you George" routines. I'm safe, but if they need a little attention, I usually will give them a pat on the head... then find the closest place to wash my hands.

N: If you were going to pitch the book to someone to get them to read it, how would you do that?

RJ: If you love me... Oh wait! That only works on my husband. How about: I Loved You First takes a show like Queer As Folk and presents it entirely from the straight girl's perspective. Consider those times when Daphne was out of the picture. Now readers get to see what was happening in her life, discover her thoughts and feelings about the situation.

N: Who or what inspired you to write 'I Loved You First'?

RJ: The college rock station from the Sims 2 University. Some of the songs are even mentioned by title in the book, plus Steadman gave me permission to feature a few lyrics from their song Come On. Wicked cool!

N: What made you decide to put this twist on the theme of 'unrequited love'?

R: I honestly have no idea. I wish I'd written down what I was thinking at the time so I could share it with readers. Seth was straight and quite the womanizer in the original outline. My best guess is I might have been on a gay movie spree when I finally sat down to write.

N: I found myself feeling sympathetic for Seth even though for the most part I found his behaviour selfish.  Do you think that as a character, if he had been heterosexual instead of homosexual, that readers would have still felt that same sympathy for him based on his behaviour and treatment of others (namely girls)?

RJ: I don't know. From the feedback I've received, people aren't excusing Seth's behavior based on his sexual orientation. Gay, straight, or bi - a jerk is a jerk, right? I didn't realize his personality was so unpleasant until my beta reader mentioned it. I truly tried to temper his attitude a bit, but he wasn't having any of that. Some characters just know who they are.

N: I found that you tackled the issues of homosexuality, bigotry and self-discovery with a lot of tact and sensitivity.  How difficult was it to do that?

RJ: Let me just say, thank you for being kind. :) In truth, I didn't go out of my way to be tactful. Instead, I tried to write realistic characters and situations. There are no perfect solutions in life. People make mistakes, and people get hurt. My stories portray imperfect people in an imperfect world.

N: Watching Alex go through her journey of self-discovery was quite interesting.  How important was it to show that struggle and journey?

RJ: Extremely important. I don't think Alex's story is unique. I'm sure we'd find at least one girl in every school (high school and college) who settles for less than she wants. Despite being externally complacent with her situation, Alex truly wasn't internally. She wouldn't straight out admit to herself that she deserved a better life, and that caused her a bit of bitterness. Much of her growth focused on aligning the inner with the outer self and reducing some of the dissonance which held her back from being a whole person.

N: If there is a lesson you would like someone to take away with them after having read 'I Loved You First', what would it be?

RJ: Dare to be yourself. Not everyone is going to like the true you. Then again, not everyone will like the fake you either. So why not just let people get to know you for who you are?

N: Finally, what can we expect next from you?

RJ: The bane of my writing career is editing and polishing a work once the first draft is finished. Right now, I have the next two books of the Stripe Ones series written, but in desperate need of polishing. Likewise, I finished Control Freak: Regina's Story this week, and it also needs polishing. :) Once I get those out of the way, I plan to work on a Trilogy featuring Trinity. Her first book is partially written. It was a work I started before the muse called me to write I Loved You First.Thanks for having me, Nicole.

I would like to thank Reena for the interview.  If you haven't already picked up a copy of I Loved You First, you really should.  It's a wonderful read!

 On to the Giveaway!

Reena is offering up some pretty cool swag!  Included in the Swag pack is the following:

• A signed rack card

• Stickers

• Signed postcard

• Mini-bookmark

• A Magnet

This giveaway is open internationally (as long as the USPS ships to your country).  

This giveaway will run for exactly one week.  No entries will be accepted beyond Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 2 pm (EST)!

Enter Here!