Clare dooley
asked
Gabrielle Zevin:
Will there ever be anymore books in the series " In the Age of Blood and Chocolate "? I love all your writing, well that's a slight fib I consider you an author who's novels I can pick up to get lost in a whimsy twist on life , when I saw " the holes we dig " , it was so dark. Such an accurate portrayal of where alot of ppl are in life current day. But I must admit it made me sad to think you may put the whimsy away?
Gabrielle Zevin
This is actually several questions! 1) I doubt I will ever write more Anya Balanchine books. I've talked about this a few other places, but in short, the series had disappointing sales. It came out during a time where there were many dystopian books on the market, and on some level, the books were confusing to an audience who was hungry -- ha ha -- for books like The Hunger Games and Divergent. Anya's story was more of a coming of age story and it wasn't really a dystopian novel in the way people thought of them at the time. And so, even though I feel like I could probably write more Anya (Anya as an old woman or a mother is still interesting to me), I doubt I ever will. However, there has been discussion of turning it into television, and it could be fun to revisit her then. 2) I wrote The Hole We're In from 2005-2008 (it published in 2010) long before I wrote the Anya books. Obviously, this was a novel for adults, and it was a political book and a social satire and very, very dark. So, if you consider books like A.J. Fikry and the Anya series to fall on the more "whimsical" side of things, then rest assured, I have already gone back to things with a higher "whimsy" quotient. I don't ever set out to be dark -- the books I write reflect to an extent how I am feeling about the world. However, the older I get, the more I feel it's a personal responsibility to write honestly, but also, to attempt to see the good in the world and the people who live in it. 3) I don't know that it's either possible or desirable to put whimsy away for good. That said, I know I have changed since my first books came out. I started publishing when I was in my mid-twenties and I recently turned forty. So, I think it's natural that my books have changed and grown with me. Be suspicious of authors whose books always stay the same... (I'm just kidding. ) (But maybe, it's true.) 4) Thank you for reading my books. Thank you for being willing to try things like The Hole We're In. I am so grateful for readers like you.
More Answered Questions

A Goodreads user
asked
Gabrielle Zevin:
Hi Gabrielle, thank you so much for writing Young Jane Young. I LOVED it. Having said that, I am curious why Aviva doesn't confront Jorge about the baby or (and) reveal who the father is to her daughter. If it were the Congressman, I wouldnt have been surprised by her reticence. What's the rationale for this scenario?
Sean Flynn
asked
Gabrielle Zevin:
AJ's favorite short story is "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" I love this story myself because it raises the kinds of deep, philosophical questions that intrigue me -- particularly the ineffable nature of love. I have to know -- has this story always been his favorite? Or did it become his favorite through his experiences with the different types of love he finds in your book?
Gabrielle Zevin
18,644 followers
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