And we're so very happy to have here today with us for an interview!
Here it is:
Hi Alma! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with us!
It's my pleasure. I love connecting with new readers through book blogs. Book bloggers have really helped get the word out on my two books, The Taker and The Reckoning, and I'm extremely grateful.
What inspired you to
portray immortality the way you did in your books?
It was definitely a way to up the
ante. In The Taker, the villain Adair gives immortality to people who have done
something spectacularly bad. They don’t know it at the time, but they’re being
punished. If your punishment was to be tied to this terrible man, imagine how
much worse it would be if you were tied to him forever, with no hope of escape, not even death? I guess I’m a fan
of the Faustian bargain, of making a deal with the devil. (I blame my Catholic
upbringing for this.) Only in The Taker, the heroine Lanny manages to get the
better of the devil, though she still doesn’t get what she wants. By the end of
the book she understands that it’s because she doesn’t deserve it.
If you were to
describe your books in only three words, what would they be and why?
Realistic, original and dark.
Realistic: Quite a few reviews have
said that The Taker was one book that made the supernatural feel possible,
which I take as a great honor. I think it’s because the characters are very
realistic. They’re complex, with complex reactions to the extraordinary
situations in which they find themselves.
Original: The most common reaction
from readers has been that the story was nothing like what they expected—for
which I’m very happy! It doesn’t have vampires or angels, none of the
horror/supernatural tropes that we’ve come to expect. Readers have also said
they’ve never read a book like it and couldn’t put it down.
Dark: Let’s put it this way: Thomas
Hardy is one of my favorite authors. Edgar Allan Poe is another. We all have a
dark side (some people more than others). People are more interesting in their
reactions to tragedy than they are when they are happy.
Were there parts in
your books that were harder to write than others? And why?
The scenes where Lanny is being
brutally emotionally honest were the hardest to write—for instance, the scene
the morning after she has brought Jonathan to live in Adair’s house. By
‘hardest’ here I mean technically difficult. I had to rewrite them over and
over to get the tone just right. And of course, the scenes of brutality or
violence are always hard to write, not so much imagining what would happen and
getting it all down, but dealing with the feelings of unease afterwards.
What is your
favorite part in the writing process? I heard those edits can be a demon...
I much prefer writing the first draft
to revision. The first draft is the time of discovery; it’s like when you’re
just falling in love. Everything is new, there are all these possibilities, you
find your characters utterly fascinating and want to spend all your waking
moments with them. Revision is the hard work; you’re yoked to this story and
you must do whatever is necessary to make it work, preferably without sucking
the joy out of it.
Which of your two
published books was more fun/easier to write? If you could change anything in
either, would you?
Even though The Taker took ten years
to write, it was the easier of the two. I only had about twenty months to write
The Reckoning. It went through many, many revisions. Both Adair and Lanny had
to go through this incredible emotional transformation, and it was difficult to
pull off. And yes, there are things I would change in both books, probably more
so in The Reckoning. But readers have told me they enjoy it more than The
Taker, so I guess I got some things right.
Quick Questions:
Angels or Demons?
Demons. I find the bad sorts more
interesting.
Vampires or
Werewolves?
Vampires. They’re sexier.
Fruit juice or soda?
Soda. Regular coke (I’m allergic to
Aspertame).
Comedy or Horror?
Real horror is hard to pull off, I
think—but horror.
Vanilla or
Chocolate?
Mmmm, vanilla in most things, but I love
milk chocolate.
Fiction or
Non-Ficition?
Fiction. Non-fiction feeds the
intellect, but fiction feeds the soul.
Thank you so much for stopping by our blog, Alma! Keep writing awesome books!
Thanks so much for your time, Sisters, and the vote of confidence. Just a little reminder, the last book in the trilogy, The Descent, is scheduled for publication May 2013. To stay up on the latest news of releases, contests (we give away monthly prizes) and other stuff, I encourage readers to join my mailing list at http://www.almakatsu.com/contact.php#mailing-list.
Yup! You are definitely reading right! We're hosting another giveaway! (YAAAY!) Since I loved this book so much, I decided to give away my...
SIGNED copy of The Taker by Alma Katsu
Yes, I love you guys THAT much. I've only had this book for about a week or so and since I already had a copy, I thought that I might as well give away my extra copy and spread (the) The Taker love. :)
DETAILS:
~ REQUIRED: You MUST be a follower for you to enter.
~ Must be 13 years old or older.
~ Open INTERNATIONALLY.
~ Winners have 48 hours to respond to our e-mail else we'll be forced to pick new ones.
Good luck and well wishes! :)
