What inspired you to write this book?
I had a nightmare about one of the scenes in the novel. It
was incredibly real and I when I woke up I jotted it all down in a journal I
keep by the bed. I was inside of Dahlia’s head in the dream, understanding
everything that was happening around me and terrified of what was to come. I
can’t say too much more without spoiling things, but I worked hard to convey
the adrenaline I felt in the dream onto the page.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I have the final book in my Stolen trilogy coming out March
23, 2021, titled Chosen. I’m working on finalizing edits for that book.
After that, I plan to write a full-length sequel to my now out-of-print
novella, The She-Wolf of Kanta. It was very popular with folks who got
to read it, so I’m excited to expand on the story.
I also have another YA horror novel I’m working on featuring some weird
creatures a family encounter while on vacation to a cabin. I’m also planning to
do a trilogy for a Snow White retelling where I tell the story from both the
perspective of Snow and the evil queen.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The
Seeking?
Carra is a tough city to live in. Each year they have The
Seeking, which means the children of the Exalted Family must hide or fear being
captured or killed by the townspeople. Whoever gets any of them wins The
Seeking, and then their family goes on to become the new Exalted Family. This
constant practice of pitting people against one another means that they’re too
focused on bringing down each other rather than focusing on the real threats.
The people are making the best with what they have, but they don’t have much
control over their lives.
How did you come up with the concept and characters for
the book?
We grow dahlias outside of our home and I’m always amazed at
how big they get during the summer, and then die back completely when it gets
cold. They get so big they almost look like bushes. I really liked using the
flower for Dahlia’s name because I feel like she has a big heart and can love
so much when given the right opportunities, but then when things get dangerous
she withdraws inward and has trouble sometimes connecting with people.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I love writing about monsters, especially ones that don’t
have any explanation. I love stories set in creepy woods and I really just
enjoy dystopian worlds. I think The Seeking is kind of a mixture of many
story pieces that I love and that comes across in the book.
Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?
Dahlia is the middle child of the Priest family, and the only
daughter. Since her family is the Exalted family, she has to help with
political procedures. She is also haunted by nightmares of the Gray People, the
strange protectors of Carra who can sometimes be seen watching from the woods
outside of the Boundary Line.
How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
I struggled with the title for Stolen. I’m notoriously
bad at figuring out titles, and it took me a while to realize I needed to do
research on what other authors titled their YA fantasy books so I could figure
out one for my book. Titles I decided against included such winners as The
Treehouse and Madam Cloom’s Garden.
Ultimately I chose Stolen because it got at the lore common in fairy
tales of creatures like changelings and the fae. It gets at the concept of
being stolen away into the fairy world without me having to come out and say
all of that in the title. I liked the subtlety and simplicity of it, especially
compared with the other terrible titles I had made up for it!
Who designed your book covers?
Shayne Leighton with The Parliament House Press designed the
cover for The Seeking! She also designed the covers for each book in the
Stolen trilogy, and they are absolutely gorgeous. Shayne has an incredible eye
and I’m always blown away by what she comes up with!
If you had to do it all over again, would you change
anything in your latest book?
If anything, I might think about making a sequel for it. I
find that tends to be something people ask me to do a lot when I write
one-shots just because they don’t want the world or the characters to end. The
only problem is that I have so many other books and worlds and characters I
want to create too. It is an endless author struggle haha.
Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent
book?
I’ve had many people call The Seeking a thriller
novel, and I can totally see that in retrospect. It’s constantly moving and the
situation is constantly changing. I think it has some of the best pacing of any
of my novels, and I learned a lot writing it. I hope to write more books that
have this thriller aspect to them, high energy but with a horror twist.
If your book was made into a film, who would you like to
play the lead?
I don’t have anyone specifically in mind for my novels.
Mostly I would want someone unknown or not well known to play Dahlia because I
think she has a range of personality and emotions that would really allow a new
actress to excel.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
I know The Seeking is fast-paced and intense but it’s
also great to savor. Each scene is carefully crafted and I purposely build
layers into my novels that I hope come out upon reading it.
How did you come up with name of this book?
The Seeking event in the book takes place on Halloween, and I
liked the idea of a take on hide-and-seek. Halloween is all about disguising
yourself so that evil spirits can’t recognize you. It’s also about trusting
your neighbors when you visit them going door to door trick-or-treating. But
with The Seeking, it’s designed to split the townspeople apart, to have them
constantly holding grudges and trying to trick each other into gaining power.
Even the power that they get isn’t that great, but when they’re always looking
up at the Exalted House on the hill, it reminds them of what they don’t have.
It plants the seeds of jealousy.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
I love the focus on family in The Seeking. I love the
banter between the siblings, the way that Dahlia and her brothers each have
very different personalities. I like that despite Dahlia having a girlfriend,
the focus of the novel is really on family. She wants to protect her family as
much as possible. Even when her family makes mistakes.
If you could spend time with a character from your book
whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
I’d like to spend time with Dahlia. I’d love to see the
places she likes to visit away from town and join her for a meal at Mr.
Eddington’s. I think it would be wonderful to hear the kinds of cases she’s had
to help with or what all she’s seen as part of the Exalted Family.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all
come entirely from your imagination?
All of the characters in The Seeking are from my
imagination. I don’t really base any of them off of real people. I will say
that I was also the middle child in my family, so I purposefully have Dahlia
pulled in various directions from her siblings which is pretty realistic.
However none of the characters are based on people in real life.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel
like you have the reigns of the story?
I have a general idea of where the story beats need to land,
but I generally let the characters drive the story. The benefit of that is that
the characters are more grounded and more real in my opinion.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes, I have! I wrote a YA horror novel featuring a girl
dealing with shape-shifting skeletons tentatively titled Suzie’s Nightmare.
It needs some major work though so for the moment it lives on my hard
drive until I feel like I can tackle it again. I channeled my childhood a bunch
with that novel, and while some scenes are fantastic others are just terrible.
It’s the first original book I wrote, but maybe one day I’ll pick it up and
rework it again!
If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
Pine, apple, and cinnamon.
What did you edit out of this book?
I tend to underwrite my first drafts, so I tend to need to
add more words as I edit rather than remove scenes. I think I had one scene for
The Seeking where Dahlia talks more about the Gray People and what she
heard about them as a child, but I end up sprinkling that throughout the book
instead of dumping it in a single scene.
Is there a writer which brain
you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?
Oh gosh, too many! Stephen King
would be incredible to talk to just to know how he creates his monsters and his
characters. I’d love to sit down with Cherie Priest and figure out where she
gets ideas for her novels. Also I’d love to ask Susanna Clarke to tell me all
about her historical knowledge of faeries and magic.
Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?'-type tidbits
about the author, the book or the writing process of the book.
So fun fact! I used the MyNoise app to create soundscapes for the world when I was writing The Seeking. My favorite sound generator included: Autumn Walk, Sled Dogs, and Dark Forest. I love that app because the sounds are randomized and make wonderful background noise for me to create a mood for my novels.
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