Blurb:Seventeen-year-old Aly Bennett has been in love with her friend Luke for years. She hasn't told him how she feels for two reasons. 1) She's the girl with HIV. 2) She lied about how she got it.Aly never meant to lie. The words just slipped out on her first day of a support group for kids living with life-threatening conditions. It was the day she met Luke and Caroline, who would become her best friends and the closest thing she has to a family. After so many years, Aly doesn’t know how to tell her friends the truth. So she paints and she runs and she tries not to think about the future she can’t have.But when a Boston prosecutor asks Aly to testify in a trial—and her relationship with Luke intensifies—things become complicated. If she testifies, Luke and Caroline will learn the truth—that Aly has been lying to them for most of a decade. If she doesn’t, a monster could go free, again.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
In both cases my advice would be the same. Don’t write in hope of strong critical reviews or high sales (though those are nice to have). Write because you love it. Anything you do from a place of passion will produce better quality and more enjoyment.
Favorite
childhood memory involving books?
My
uncle brought me a hardback of Ramona Forever inscribed with the words
“For Heather, just for being Heather. Love, Uncle Butch.” It wasn’t a birthday
or a holiday. He just thought I would enjoy it.
What’s
one movie you like recommending to others?
The
Princess Bride because
anyone who hasn’t seen it should.
What is the first book that
made you cry?
The Bridge
to Terebithia
How long, on average, does
it take you to write a book?
There is no
average! Life and Other Complications took me more than nine years. The
Legend of Hobart only took a few months.
How do you select the names
of your characters?
Some of my
characters come to me already named. For the rest, I use baby name websites to
get ideas and then make charts to make sure the names don’t sound or look too
similar to each other.
What book do you wish you
had written?
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. After so many years of
reading, it’s unusual for me to find a book where the plot surprises me and yet
ties together perfectly.
What is your favorite genre
to read?
It depends on the day. I
love contemporary novels, mysteries, fantasy novels, historical fiction, even
the occasional thriller or science fiction book.
When did you write your first book?
Elementary School. My parents still love to talk about the
first chapter book I wrote, a family saga about the Johnsons. (Those
poor characters. They had a rough
go of it.)
What sparks your creativity/how do you get your ideas?
I pick up ideas everywhere: conversations, news articles,
things I see.
My struggle is to decide which ideas to pursue!
Do you listen to music when writing?
Yes, but when I’m writing I find songs with words distracting.
So I typically listen to Pandora’s “Epic Soundtracks” or “Classical
for Studying” stations.
What fictional character
would you want to be friends with in real life?
Anne Shirley from the Anne
of the Green Gables series, or Lorelei Gilmore from “Gilmore Girls.” Both
are loyal, passionate, and prone to scrapes that lead to great stories.
this sounds like a powerful story
ReplyDeleteLoved your author interview! This was such a great book, coming from an intense soul.
ReplyDeleteElza Reads