Today I have Anna Silver on the blog answering some of my burning questions. In case you missed it, I reviewed (and LOVED)
her book over here. You should take the time to check it out, you won't be sorry.
Kay, did you? Are you back? I knew you would be!
Check out what Anna had to say about which character she identified most with and what three items she'd bring if she were stranded on an island.
1) Can you describe OTHERBORN in 140 characters?
Awakening under the sedated monotony of a reprocessed world, London and her
friends must dream their way to a New hope.
2) If London had a best friend from another YA book, who
would it be?
That’s tough. London’s edgy and she doesn’t make friends
easily but she also doesn’t take her friends lightly. I recently read PURE by
Julianna Baggott and I think London would have a lot of respect for a character
like Pressia, because she’s a survivor and London admires strength in others
and cultivates it in herself.
3) Can you share one of your favorite scenes or sentences
you wrote and why?
“It wasn’t her first kiss, but it was the first one that
mattered.”
This may be my favorite quote in the whole book. (Mine too. I read it twice!) It’s simple
and poignant. And haven’t we all been there? How many of us married our first
kiss? Very few, I’m willing to bet. For most people, those firsts aren’t the
ones that stick. For most of us, we have to kiss a few frogs to reach our
prince. But we all know the experience of that first kiss to really make us
weak in the knees. And it was probably our third, or tenth, or twenty-seventh
kiss. The point is, we know when it matters.
4) Have you read anything great lately?
Well, I mentioned PURE already, and it was great. Also, my
daughter and I both just finished SLATED and loved it, by Teri Terry. I also
just read THE FORETELLING by Alice Hoffman, which is several years old, and it
was excellent and beautiful.
5) Does OTHERBORN have a playlist or a song that represents
it to you?
I do have an OTHERBORN playlist which you can listen to here! Just scroll down for
the link; it’s on the right hand side. But I think one song in particular
represented OTHERBORN to me, and that’s Bastards
of Young by The Replacements. The chorus reads, We are the sons of no one… And that’s really the predicament for
London and her friends. They have families, but they are kind of forgotten and
orphaned by society. Plus, as Otherborn, they come from somewhere else
entirely, not really belonging to either world anymore.
6) What is your best piece of advice for aspiring writers?
Cultivate persistence! This is not an easy road, but it is
a wonderful journey. Hang in there, keep writing, submit until your fingers
bleed, and get out and mingle at conferences, conventions, and signings. Teach
yourself to keep going in spite of the rejection.
7) The setting of OTHERBORN plays a huge role in the novel.
What was the most fun discovery you made about your world while writing?
The Astral is such an interactive setting that it becomes
almost like another character. I loved that.
8) Which character in OTHERBORN do you most identify with?
Probably London. I’m not nearly so brash as she is, but I
get her. I get her vulnerability and her need to protect herself. And, coupled
with Si’dah’s wisdom, I get the full circle of her character.
9) If you lived in the world you created what item would you
most want to have to survive?
Books! Or a book,
if I had to do just one, but I don’t know how I’d ever choose which one. I
cannot imagine a life without books. To me, a world without books is the
ultimate dystopia.
10) If you were stranded on an island and could only have
three things, what would you want to have?
My iPhone, a cell tower, and one electrical outlet. Because
then I’d still have access to books, and music, and the web! But that’s
cheating, isn’t it? (I allow cheating!) Okay, in all seriousness, one good book, one big box of
matches, and duct tape. My son says you can survive anything with duct tape.
;o)
There you have it folks! And I'd like to encourage you to snap up a copy of Otherborn. I went out and bought one to support the author because the novel is really that good!
Here are the links:
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