Ask the Author: Lillian Clark
Answered Questions (30)
Lillian Clark
Thank you so much!!! <3<3<3<3<3
Lillian Clark
Love this question!! Since I have 5 MCs, I'll give you one trait for each.
Reese: Her sense of self.
Nari: Her ambition.
Bellamy: Her love of knowledge.
San: His passion.
Keagan: His loyalty.
Reese: Her sense of self.
Nari: Her ambition.
Bellamy: Her love of knowledge.
San: His passion.
Keagan: His loyalty.
Lillian Clark
Oh my gosh, I LOVE this question!! My answer is: Joy!
I've had a few people ask how I want people to feel when they finish my book, and while my secondary answers are things like "I hope you laugh, and that you're heart races a bit, and that you ask yourself some big questions about the gray area between some rights and some wrongs," my main answer is that I want readers to leave my book feeling *good*. I hope people finish IMMORAL CODE and feel wanted and possible and *happy*.
I've had a few people ask how I want people to feel when they finish my book, and while my secondary answers are things like "I hope you laugh, and that you're heart races a bit, and that you ask yourself some big questions about the gray area between some rights and some wrongs," my main answer is that I want readers to leave my book feeling *good*. I hope people finish IMMORAL CODE and feel wanted and possible and *happy*.
Lillian Clark
It does! Though only two, and even that’s a teensy spoiler :D.
Lillian Clark
Great question! First, that I get to publish a book at all! This business is incredibly difficult, and I am beyond delighted to get to be a part of it. Second, my fantastic agent and editor and team at Knopf BFYR. I could not ask for a better group of people to work with. It’s been a dream come true. And third, all of the amazing people I’ve met! Debut year has introduced me so many wonderful fellow writers, and I have made some fabulous friendships :):).
Lillian Clark
Love this! :D I'd say there's an even amount of both in IMMORAL CODE, ha. Definitely a few tricks (it is a heist after all!) but plenty of treats, too!
Lillian Clark
Thank you Gail!! I am actually not at all a computer whiz (ha, I probably lose points for even using the term "computer whiz"), so I had to research this pretty steadily as I wrote. I started by reading a fabulous book by Gabriella Coleman called HACKER, HOAXER, WHISTLEBLOWER, SPY: THE MANY FACES OF ANONYMOUS, and used that as my jumping-off point for research. Coleman's books was great for pointing me in the right direction for terminology and modes, which I then researched further online while figuring out how to apply them to the book itself. In the end, it's fiction of course, but hopefully *believable* fiction!
Lillian Clark
I love this question! Partly because it's tough, haha. I've been working toward writing professionally since I was 20, majored in English Lit, and managed a bookstore for most of my twenties, so you could say I've been all writing, all the time for over a decade. But! If I had to do something else, I'd probably paint. I love painting (acrylics on canvas), though I have approximately zero time for it these days. And I doubt I'd be able to make a career at it, since I'm pretty mediocre, haha. But I certainly enjoy it :).
Lillian Clark
Night! Though with life and kid, the reality is that I write whenever I can, I've fallen a bit in love with writing at night. Thanks to staying home with my then-tiny kiddo, I wrote the majority of IMMORAL CODE late at night, and the habit stuck! Now, I appreciate the quiet of it, even if it means losing some sleep :).
Lillian Clark
I absolutely had to learn about some aspects of hacking for Nari's character in IMMORAL CODE, mostly modes and terminology, which was fascinating! I started out reading a book called HACKER, HOAXER, WHISTLEBLOWER, SPY by Gabriella Coleman, then continued with pointed research online for the aspects specifically included in the book. It was really interesting to learn about!
Lillian Clark
I do not! Haha. I can manage alright with computers, but I am absolutely not an aficionado. Which meant I did A LOT of research for IMMORAL CODE. I started off by reading a book called HACKER, HOAXER, WHISTLEBLOWER, SPY by Gabriella Coleman, which was a great jumping-off point for modes and language, then I followed-up with more research specific to my book. In the end, it's fiction! But hopefully it's believable fiction :).
Lillian Clark
Hi Lisa! Thank you for the question :).
IMMORAL CODE has five main characters (Nari, Bellamy, Keagan, Reese, and Santiago) and alternates between each of their POVs. Writing it was definitely complex! I did a lot of outlining to keep the plot straight as it's told through five different voices. But getting inside each character's head was one of my favorite parts. After I wrote and polished the first draft, I went back and reworked each character's sections separately, focusing on voice and each MC's personal arc, as well as how they contribute to the book as a whole. In the end, the book is as much about these friends and their relationships as it is about the heist itself.
IMMORAL CODE has five main characters (Nari, Bellamy, Keagan, Reese, and Santiago) and alternates between each of their POVs. Writing it was definitely complex! I did a lot of outlining to keep the plot straight as it's told through five different voices. But getting inside each character's head was one of my favorite parts. After I wrote and polished the first draft, I went back and reworked each character's sections separately, focusing on voice and each MC's personal arc, as well as how they contribute to the book as a whole. In the end, the book is as much about these friends and their relationships as it is about the heist itself.
Lillian Clark
My office! Last year, I finally got my own space at home to write. I use my grandpa's old roll-top desk and my grandma's favorite chair and write surrounded by my book collection. It's wonderful, and I'm so grateful for the space!
Lillian Clark
Absolutely! I almost always listen to music while I write. My playlist for IMMORAL CODE has a lot of twenty one pilots, K.Flay, Lewis Del Mar, and Amber Run on it. I love finding songs that fit a scene's mood then listening to it on repeat while I write. Which usually means that after I finish the project, I can't stand my playlist for a few months afterward, haha.
Lillian Clark
This is a tough one! I read a lot as a teen but didn't necessarily have one favorite book. I stalked my local bookseller for years waiting for the third book in Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS series to come out, haha, so those were definitely a favorite. I also read ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST in high school for an English class (we got to pick our own book to read off a list) and that was one of the first books I read that proved how consequential fiction could be in real life. After the movie came out for CUCKOO'S there was a really shift in perception about mental hospitals and the treatment of patients therein, and I found that so powerful. I also fell in love with Kurt Vonnegut in high school.
Thank you for the question!
Thank you for the question!
Lillian Clark
Hi Kelly! Thank you for the question :).
Let's see... I can answer this in a few ways.
First, my family of course. They inspire me to work hard and keep going. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by readers. Before he went on to dental school, my grandpa studied Chaucer! (Who my English Major Heart still adores. The Canterbury Tales are fascinating, and super dirty and weird.) And both of my grandmothers were ecstatic and devoted readers. Now, thinking of my three year-old, I'm inspired to write books that he'll hopefully want to read someday!
Artistically, good books and beautiful writing will always inspire me. Authors like M T Anderson, Laura Ruby, Jandy Nelson, George Saunders, Vonnegut, Murakami, Leigh Bardugo, Laini Taylor, David Arnold, Nicola Yoon, Traci Chee, Philip Pullman, and so many more; across all age ranges and genres, brilliant and thoughtful storytelling inspires me like nothing else.
And finally, I find writing for teens incredibly inspiring in and of itself. Being a teen (even more so today, I think, than when I was one oh-so many years ago, haha) is so complex and exciting and terrifying and intense. It's often the first time you're faced with the enormity of figuring out who you are, what you stand for, what you want, and what the heck you're doing with your self and your life. It's daunting and thrilling at the same time. And I find that mix incredibly inspiring.
(Wow, I'm long-winded... I'll blame the whole "novel writing" thing, ha.)
Let's see... I can answer this in a few ways.
First, my family of course. They inspire me to work hard and keep going. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by readers. Before he went on to dental school, my grandpa studied Chaucer! (Who my English Major Heart still adores. The Canterbury Tales are fascinating, and super dirty and weird.) And both of my grandmothers were ecstatic and devoted readers. Now, thinking of my three year-old, I'm inspired to write books that he'll hopefully want to read someday!
Artistically, good books and beautiful writing will always inspire me. Authors like M T Anderson, Laura Ruby, Jandy Nelson, George Saunders, Vonnegut, Murakami, Leigh Bardugo, Laini Taylor, David Arnold, Nicola Yoon, Traci Chee, Philip Pullman, and so many more; across all age ranges and genres, brilliant and thoughtful storytelling inspires me like nothing else.
And finally, I find writing for teens incredibly inspiring in and of itself. Being a teen (even more so today, I think, than when I was one oh-so many years ago, haha) is so complex and exciting and terrifying and intense. It's often the first time you're faced with the enormity of figuring out who you are, what you stand for, what you want, and what the heck you're doing with your self and your life. It's daunting and thrilling at the same time. And I find that mix incredibly inspiring.
(Wow, I'm long-winded... I'll blame the whole "novel writing" thing, ha.)
Lillian Clark
Hi Astrid! I am terrible at comps, haha. My agent pitched it as BREAKFAST CLUB meets OFFICE SPACE, which I love! And I like to think anyone who loves ensemble casts with punchy dialogue and a good dose of humor alongside big moral quandaries will enjoy IMMORAL CODE.
It's a story about a group of friends who are ambitious and driven and devoted to each other, maybe (scratch that, definitely, haha) to a fault. A story that asks things like, just because you can, does that mean you should? And, if you're doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, are you still...right? But maybe my biggest hope for readers is that they finish the book feeling (as painfully cheesy as this is going to sound) like they've made five new best friends.
It's a story about a group of friends who are ambitious and driven and devoted to each other, maybe (scratch that, definitely, haha) to a fault. A story that asks things like, just because you can, does that mean you should? And, if you're doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, are you still...right? But maybe my biggest hope for readers is that they finish the book feeling (as painfully cheesy as this is going to sound) like they've made five new best friends.
Lillian Clark
Thank you! And thank you for the question!
The biggest challenge, by far, was differentiation. I knew I wanted to write an ensemble cast, but I also knew that writing five first person POVs was a risk! My biggest worry was the voices blending together, becoming indistinguishable from each other, so I spent a lot of time working on speaking and thought patterns, language usage, and how each character expresses their personality with the hope that each voice is readily recognizable. I also worried about balancing the voices, making sure each character takes up as much space in the narrative and feels as essential as every other, all while considering which of the five was the best mouthpiece for each part of the actual plot. It was a lot! But also so much fun. And in the end, I absolutely adore each character and am so excited for readers to meet them!
The biggest challenge, by far, was differentiation. I knew I wanted to write an ensemble cast, but I also knew that writing five first person POVs was a risk! My biggest worry was the voices blending together, becoming indistinguishable from each other, so I spent a lot of time working on speaking and thought patterns, language usage, and how each character expresses their personality with the hope that each voice is readily recognizable. I also worried about balancing the voices, making sure each character takes up as much space in the narrative and feels as essential as every other, all while considering which of the five was the best mouthpiece for each part of the actual plot. It was a lot! But also so much fun. And in the end, I absolutely adore each character and am so excited for readers to meet them!
Lillian Clark
Great question, Natasha, thank you!
Building a book idea from zero is such a weird mix of intention and instinct (I think!), so I'm never entirely sure how to answer questions about it, but when I started planning IMMORAL CODE I knew that I wanted to write a book where the characters and their relationships were equally as important as the plot. And as I started building this group of five friends, each voice remained as important as the four others. Within the dynamic, each friend plays a certain role (Nari, the ringleader. Keagan, the voice of reason. Santiago, the tension calmer. Bellamy, the motivation. Reese, the flare), and together they strike a balance, with each one being as essential to the narrative and their five-sided relationship as any of the others. So I ran with it! Keeping all five voices and trying my best to do them justice.
Building a book idea from zero is such a weird mix of intention and instinct (I think!), so I'm never entirely sure how to answer questions about it, but when I started planning IMMORAL CODE I knew that I wanted to write a book where the characters and their relationships were equally as important as the plot. And as I started building this group of five friends, each voice remained as important as the four others. Within the dynamic, each friend plays a certain role (Nari, the ringleader. Keagan, the voice of reason. Santiago, the tension calmer. Bellamy, the motivation. Reese, the flare), and together they strike a balance, with each one being as essential to the narrative and their five-sided relationship as any of the others. So I ran with it! Keeping all five voices and trying my best to do them justice.
Lillian Clark
Push through it. I've gone through phases where my productivity is pretty close to nil, or where nothing I manage to produce makes me happy or satisfied. But my answer is to simply keep working. And so far, each time I've hit a wall the inspiration and confidence eventually came flooding back.
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