Why Sophie? [edited]
“Never To Sleep” has been out for four days now in the US and Canada (and I’ve heard from a couple of people in the UK who’ve managed to buy a copy, though I’m not entirely sure how they made that happen) and I’m getting all kinds of messages from people about the story. So, I’m going to go ahead and post the answers to the most common questions I’ve been receiving--your one-stop spot for "NTS" Qs and As. Here goes:
"Never To Sleep" takes place in the middle of If I Die. Just over halfway through. It shows what happened to Sophie when Kaylee was busy with other stuff.No, you should NOT read “Never To Sleep” if you haven’t yet read If I Die. Trust me. “NTS” is intended to be read between If I Die and Before I Wake.No, “Never To Sleep” isn’t free, as was the original plan. I’m sorry. That decision was beyond my control. There's really no one to blame. It just didn't work out this time.Yes, since there’s no free introductory period, I really am donating the first 6 months’ worth of my royalties for the story to St. Jude’s hospital. That’s not a rumor. The details are here.No, “Never To Sleep” is not a full length novel. As stated on the cover, it’s a novella, which is between the length of a short story and that of a novella. It’s a long short story. Or a very short novel, with no secondary plot. Like “Reaper” and “My Soul To Lose,” it’s not supposed to be very long.No, “Never To Sleep” is not currently available in print, and I have no idea whether or not it ever will be.No, I don’t have any information at this time about foreign or audio releases.
But the most common message I’m getting about the story isn’t a question. It’s a statement from readers telling me how much they dislike Sophie. Some claim to actively HATE her.
I have a couple of points to make in response to that.
First, I’m thrilled to hear that I’ve written Sophie realistically enough to have drawn such visceral reactions about her. Seriously. My worst fear as an author is to hear that people don’t care about my stories and characters one way or another. Mediocrity sucks. (Though, to be honest, I also live in fear of being told that I simply can’t write and should give this career up altogether. That’s the actual material of my real-life nightmares.)
Second…Don’t worry if you don't like Sophie. You’re not supposed to love her. She’s the mean girl archetype. Making you love her was never the point of writing her novella. Does that mean you shouldn’t like her or find her POV funny? No. I think she’s funny, in a clueless, malicious kind of way.
Does she learn things and become a little bit of a better person after the events in "Never To Sleep?" Yeah. A little, anyway. Does that mean she's suddenly going to be Kaylee's new best friend? Um...no. That wouldn't be realistic at all. She's learning and maturing, but she's still Sophie. She's still Kaylee's literary foil, and she always will be.
So why did I write her story, if I don't expect you to fall in love with her? There are several reasons.
I first considered writing from Sophie’s POV when the senior editor for HQTeen requested it. But even with that request, if I hadn't felt like Sophie had something interesting to say, entertaining to do, or important to learn, I wouldn’t have written the story. Because the story wouldn’t have worked.
Fortunately, after giving it some thought, I realized that Sophie had both something to say (why she dislikes Kaylee, beyond the stereotypical contempt any mean girl has for another student) and something to learn (that there are more dangerous, important, and meaningful things in the world—in both worlds—than the reflection she sees in the mirror every morning).
Also, in the end, seeing things from Sophie's point of view was fun for me. And kind of funny. If you'll notice, Sophie's the most "normal" major character in the series. She doesn't know about everything that goes bump in the Netherworld, but (like Kaylee) she doesn't really believe that her cousin is crazy. And she knows there are things people aren't telling her. So what other conclusion is she supposed to draw, other than that Kaylee is trying to ruin her life on purpose?
So, after “Never To Sleep,” Sophie no longer lives in ignorance of all the scary stuff Kaylee’s known all year. But there’s still a lot she doesn’t know, including Kaylee’s part in all this. [Spoiler text removed. Click here to read the Wordpress entry with the spoiler text written in white.] That, my faithful readers, is an inside joke. Just between you and me.
Other non-spoilery things to think about within the novella:
You and Sophie met the new boy before Kaylee did.Did you recognize the guy Sophie and Luca saw alone in the hall? If so, and if you’ve lined up the events in your head, you know more of what to expect in Before I Wake than Kaylee does. That’s right. You’re welcome. ;)Did you catch all the cameo appearances? Find a familiar face from the past with a few jumbled up words of wisdom for Sophie?And if you’ve read If I Die, you know where Sophie’s adventure fits into the larger timeline, so you also know where Sophie winds up the night after she met Luca, and what happened on that night. And what she already knew (but no one knew she knew), before the poop hit the fan.
So, now you have the behind-the-scenes on "Never To Sleep." More questions? Leave them in the Wordpress version of this blog post.
"Never To Sleep" takes place in the middle of If I Die. Just over halfway through. It shows what happened to Sophie when Kaylee was busy with other stuff.No, you should NOT read “Never To Sleep” if you haven’t yet read If I Die. Trust me. “NTS” is intended to be read between If I Die and Before I Wake.No, “Never To Sleep” isn’t free, as was the original plan. I’m sorry. That decision was beyond my control. There's really no one to blame. It just didn't work out this time.Yes, since there’s no free introductory period, I really am donating the first 6 months’ worth of my royalties for the story to St. Jude’s hospital. That’s not a rumor. The details are here.No, “Never To Sleep” is not a full length novel. As stated on the cover, it’s a novella, which is between the length of a short story and that of a novella. It’s a long short story. Or a very short novel, with no secondary plot. Like “Reaper” and “My Soul To Lose,” it’s not supposed to be very long.No, “Never To Sleep” is not currently available in print, and I have no idea whether or not it ever will be.No, I don’t have any information at this time about foreign or audio releases.
But the most common message I’m getting about the story isn’t a question. It’s a statement from readers telling me how much they dislike Sophie. Some claim to actively HATE her.
I have a couple of points to make in response to that.
First, I’m thrilled to hear that I’ve written Sophie realistically enough to have drawn such visceral reactions about her. Seriously. My worst fear as an author is to hear that people don’t care about my stories and characters one way or another. Mediocrity sucks. (Though, to be honest, I also live in fear of being told that I simply can’t write and should give this career up altogether. That’s the actual material of my real-life nightmares.)
Second…Don’t worry if you don't like Sophie. You’re not supposed to love her. She’s the mean girl archetype. Making you love her was never the point of writing her novella. Does that mean you shouldn’t like her or find her POV funny? No. I think she’s funny, in a clueless, malicious kind of way.
Does she learn things and become a little bit of a better person after the events in "Never To Sleep?" Yeah. A little, anyway. Does that mean she's suddenly going to be Kaylee's new best friend? Um...no. That wouldn't be realistic at all. She's learning and maturing, but she's still Sophie. She's still Kaylee's literary foil, and she always will be.
So why did I write her story, if I don't expect you to fall in love with her? There are several reasons.
I first considered writing from Sophie’s POV when the senior editor for HQTeen requested it. But even with that request, if I hadn't felt like Sophie had something interesting to say, entertaining to do, or important to learn, I wouldn’t have written the story. Because the story wouldn’t have worked.
Fortunately, after giving it some thought, I realized that Sophie had both something to say (why she dislikes Kaylee, beyond the stereotypical contempt any mean girl has for another student) and something to learn (that there are more dangerous, important, and meaningful things in the world—in both worlds—than the reflection she sees in the mirror every morning).
Also, in the end, seeing things from Sophie's point of view was fun for me. And kind of funny. If you'll notice, Sophie's the most "normal" major character in the series. She doesn't know about everything that goes bump in the Netherworld, but (like Kaylee) she doesn't really believe that her cousin is crazy. And she knows there are things people aren't telling her. So what other conclusion is she supposed to draw, other than that Kaylee is trying to ruin her life on purpose?
So, after “Never To Sleep,” Sophie no longer lives in ignorance of all the scary stuff Kaylee’s known all year. But there’s still a lot she doesn’t know, including Kaylee’s part in all this. [Spoiler text removed. Click here to read the Wordpress entry with the spoiler text written in white.] That, my faithful readers, is an inside joke. Just between you and me.
Other non-spoilery things to think about within the novella:
You and Sophie met the new boy before Kaylee did.Did you recognize the guy Sophie and Luca saw alone in the hall? If so, and if you’ve lined up the events in your head, you know more of what to expect in Before I Wake than Kaylee does. That’s right. You’re welcome. ;)Did you catch all the cameo appearances? Find a familiar face from the past with a few jumbled up words of wisdom for Sophie?And if you’ve read If I Die, you know where Sophie’s adventure fits into the larger timeline, so you also know where Sophie winds up the night after she met Luca, and what happened on that night. And what she already knew (but no one knew she knew), before the poop hit the fan.
So, now you have the behind-the-scenes on "Never To Sleep." More questions? Leave them in the Wordpress version of this blog post.
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