Interview With... Shannen Crane Camp!
To all who are reading this,
This month's blog interviews kick off with YA author, Shannen Crane Camp, who is signed with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly.
So let's get this party started!
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Name: Shannen Crane Camp
Age: 25
Location: Utah
Hi Shannen, thanks for joining me! So what are three interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share with the readers?
1. I was born at midnight between October 7th and October 8th so my mom got to pick which day my birthday was on. So really I think that means I should get two birthdays, right?
2. I have a bad habit of reading and writing multiple books at one time. I've tried to get better about just focusing on one book to write at a time, but I still read way too many books at once!
3. And, I majored in film with an emphasis in production design, so I can do some wicked awesome special effects make-up!
What made you want to be a writer?
I've always been a reader, and when I was really young (like fourth grade) I knew I wanted to write my own books and stories to share with people the way my favourite authors did. It just seemed like an awesome world to be a part of, and I always had stories in my head so I figured, why not?
What motivates you to write?
This is just going to be a horribly constructed sentence... but I just can't not write (yep... double negative!). I get these story ideas all the time and they just bug me and bug me until I write them down. It's kind of an unhealthy addiction.
Do you have a particular writing process?
The more I write, the more my process changes to avoid mistakes I've made with past books. Like with my first book (The Breakup Artist) I didn't plan anything out. I didn't make a plot outline or anything. I had a vague idea of where it was going, and I roughly knew the ending, but that ended up meaning I had to cut a lot of slow unnecessary scenes when I went back to edit because you could tell the story didn't know where it was going. Now I plot everything out beforehand and I write out character descriptions right from the start... I had a bad habit of changing my character's eye colours in the past.
How do you manage the deadly problem that is writers block?
I used to wait until I was 'inspired' to write, but that led to months of not writing anything. Now I just push through and write even if it's the crappiest thing in the world. I can always go back and edit it. But I find that writer's block goes away a lot easier if I'm doing something about it and writing anyway. Then I just hope no one ever reads the stuff I write when I have writer's block... because it's truly horrible.
What is a piece of writing advice that you will always remember?
This might sound like a really basic thing, and it's weird that it's stuck with me because it was my fourth grade teacher who said it, but she told me to describe the scenes and locations in my book as if I were telling someone who couldn't see anything. I know. Basic. But I always remember that and it forces me to be really descriptive in my books. I hate when I read and a book and halfway through they finally say what the character's hair colour is and I'm like, "Oh really? I wasn't picturing that at all!"
What is the most influential book you have ever read, and why do you think so?
Probably The Great Gatsby, and it's just because his writing is so beautiful that it makes me want to be a better writer. It's not even my favourite book necessarily (though I do love it), but I just love the way he describes things and his wording. It's brilliant!
Have you ever derived inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?
All the time! I'm terrible about putting real things in my books. Half of my books are based in California, in the various cities I've lived. I love putting little details in my books that local people will recognise. Not to mention the fact that it's just harder to write about a place you've never been. In my book Pwned my main character lives in Oregon, where I've visited only once when I was really little, and it made it so much harder to write the location. I was worried that I was making things up too much the whole time so I ended up not talking about her home town much.
Your most recent publication is Sugar Coated. Have you had any publications prior to this?
I have! My first book is The Breakup Artist, followed by Finding June, and Pwned.
What is Sugar Coated about? It certainly sounds interesting!
Here's a little book blurb:
An unhealthy addiction to sugar cubes, a deep-seated fear of water, and universal luxury - these are the simple things that make up 18-year-old Brynn's Utopian existence. Why, then, is her perfect life also plagued with unanswered questions?
Like every other resident of the planet Halcyon, Brynn's home provides everything she needs, money is unheard of, and life is perfect. But unlike the rest of Seaside's residents, Brynn has questions. Why can't people leave the city? Why does the ocean fill everyone with terror? Who are the Workers? Not only is Brynn curious where others are compliant, but she suffers from chronic nightmares of an angelic woman torturing her for information she doesn't possess. But these are more than just figments of her imagination; they're memories of things that never happened.
When Brynn meets Jonah, a brilliant, library-dwelling boy who shares her questions and her curiosity, they formulate a plan to find answers. Somewhere, the perfect veneer of Halcyon's instant gratification hides a city that only Brynn knows about - a city she and Jonah are determined to find. But will finding the city give them answers, or simply uncover the horrific truth behind the perfection?
What drove you to write Young Adult Fiction?
I love to read Young Adult Fiction. It's just so fun, and you can do so many different things with the genre. It's a transitional period of time in your life so it makes everything that happens at that age so life changing. Everything seems important and everything is so new. It's fun to write.
What was it about dystopian fiction that led you to try your hand at writing it?
It's the same as the YA genre. I had been reading a lot of dystopian books and just loved them. I'd only written contemporary YA prior to that and I thought it would be fun to completely build my own world that had its own rules. It's very liberating to write a book where anything can happen.
What does the future hold for you as a writer?
Well Sugar Coated will come out September 6th, then I have Chasing June (the sequel to Finding June) coming out in December, and Under Zenith (a new adult speculative fiction book) on February 11th. It's going to be a busy few months but I'm so excited to be getting more stories out there! I love these characters and want to share them with people!
Thanks for such a fantastic interview, Shannen!
Be sure to check out Sugar Coated on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com on September 6th! Paperback versions will be available from Barnes & Noble after September 13th!
You can also find Shannen here:
https://www.facebook.com/shannencbooks
https://twitter.com.ShannenCbooks
http://shannencbooks.blogspot.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5045068.Shannen_Crane_Camp
---
Yours, with eternal ink,
Zoe
---
Currently reading: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
This month's blog interviews kick off with YA author, Shannen Crane Camp, who is signed with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly.
So let's get this party started!
---Name: Shannen Crane Camp
Age: 25
Location: Utah
Hi Shannen, thanks for joining me! So what are three interesting facts about yourself that you'd like to share with the readers?
1. I was born at midnight between October 7th and October 8th so my mom got to pick which day my birthday was on. So really I think that means I should get two birthdays, right?
2. I have a bad habit of reading and writing multiple books at one time. I've tried to get better about just focusing on one book to write at a time, but I still read way too many books at once!
3. And, I majored in film with an emphasis in production design, so I can do some wicked awesome special effects make-up!
What made you want to be a writer?
I've always been a reader, and when I was really young (like fourth grade) I knew I wanted to write my own books and stories to share with people the way my favourite authors did. It just seemed like an awesome world to be a part of, and I always had stories in my head so I figured, why not?
What motivates you to write?
This is just going to be a horribly constructed sentence... but I just can't not write (yep... double negative!). I get these story ideas all the time and they just bug me and bug me until I write them down. It's kind of an unhealthy addiction.
Do you have a particular writing process?
The more I write, the more my process changes to avoid mistakes I've made with past books. Like with my first book (The Breakup Artist) I didn't plan anything out. I didn't make a plot outline or anything. I had a vague idea of where it was going, and I roughly knew the ending, but that ended up meaning I had to cut a lot of slow unnecessary scenes when I went back to edit because you could tell the story didn't know where it was going. Now I plot everything out beforehand and I write out character descriptions right from the start... I had a bad habit of changing my character's eye colours in the past.
How do you manage the deadly problem that is writers block?
I used to wait until I was 'inspired' to write, but that led to months of not writing anything. Now I just push through and write even if it's the crappiest thing in the world. I can always go back and edit it. But I find that writer's block goes away a lot easier if I'm doing something about it and writing anyway. Then I just hope no one ever reads the stuff I write when I have writer's block... because it's truly horrible.
What is a piece of writing advice that you will always remember?
This might sound like a really basic thing, and it's weird that it's stuck with me because it was my fourth grade teacher who said it, but she told me to describe the scenes and locations in my book as if I were telling someone who couldn't see anything. I know. Basic. But I always remember that and it forces me to be really descriptive in my books. I hate when I read and a book and halfway through they finally say what the character's hair colour is and I'm like, "Oh really? I wasn't picturing that at all!"
What is the most influential book you have ever read, and why do you think so?
Probably The Great Gatsby, and it's just because his writing is so beautiful that it makes me want to be a better writer. It's not even my favourite book necessarily (though I do love it), but I just love the way he describes things and his wording. It's brilliant!
Have you ever derived inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?
All the time! I'm terrible about putting real things in my books. Half of my books are based in California, in the various cities I've lived. I love putting little details in my books that local people will recognise. Not to mention the fact that it's just harder to write about a place you've never been. In my book Pwned my main character lives in Oregon, where I've visited only once when I was really little, and it made it so much harder to write the location. I was worried that I was making things up too much the whole time so I ended up not talking about her home town much.
Your most recent publication is Sugar Coated. Have you had any publications prior to this?
I have! My first book is The Breakup Artist, followed by Finding June, and Pwned.
What is Sugar Coated about? It certainly sounds interesting!
Here's a little book blurb:An unhealthy addiction to sugar cubes, a deep-seated fear of water, and universal luxury - these are the simple things that make up 18-year-old Brynn's Utopian existence. Why, then, is her perfect life also plagued with unanswered questions?
Like every other resident of the planet Halcyon, Brynn's home provides everything she needs, money is unheard of, and life is perfect. But unlike the rest of Seaside's residents, Brynn has questions. Why can't people leave the city? Why does the ocean fill everyone with terror? Who are the Workers? Not only is Brynn curious where others are compliant, but she suffers from chronic nightmares of an angelic woman torturing her for information she doesn't possess. But these are more than just figments of her imagination; they're memories of things that never happened.
When Brynn meets Jonah, a brilliant, library-dwelling boy who shares her questions and her curiosity, they formulate a plan to find answers. Somewhere, the perfect veneer of Halcyon's instant gratification hides a city that only Brynn knows about - a city she and Jonah are determined to find. But will finding the city give them answers, or simply uncover the horrific truth behind the perfection?
What drove you to write Young Adult Fiction?
I love to read Young Adult Fiction. It's just so fun, and you can do so many different things with the genre. It's a transitional period of time in your life so it makes everything that happens at that age so life changing. Everything seems important and everything is so new. It's fun to write.
What was it about dystopian fiction that led you to try your hand at writing it?
It's the same as the YA genre. I had been reading a lot of dystopian books and just loved them. I'd only written contemporary YA prior to that and I thought it would be fun to completely build my own world that had its own rules. It's very liberating to write a book where anything can happen.
What does the future hold for you as a writer?
Well Sugar Coated will come out September 6th, then I have Chasing June (the sequel to Finding June) coming out in December, and Under Zenith (a new adult speculative fiction book) on February 11th. It's going to be a busy few months but I'm so excited to be getting more stories out there! I love these characters and want to share them with people!
Thanks for such a fantastic interview, Shannen!
Be sure to check out Sugar Coated on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com on September 6th! Paperback versions will be available from Barnes & Noble after September 13th!
You can also find Shannen here:
https://www.facebook.com/shannencbooks
https://twitter.com.ShannenCbooks
http://shannencbooks.blogspot.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5045068.Shannen_Crane_Camp
---
Yours, with eternal ink,
Zoe
---
Currently reading: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
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