Chat With Kiersten White

[Colleen]

Welcome to the group! Kiersten will be answering questions in July in this thread only. In the meantime if you have a question for the author or just want to introduce yourself feel free to do so in this thread.

[Tonnie]

Who is your favorite character? Is it one of yours?

[Ashley]

I really enjoyed And I Darkened, where did you get the idea for the story?

[Shay]

I know Paranormalcy has been out forever....but I love it. Is there a specific person in your life who gave you Evie's character? She's hilarious and spunky.

[Ashley]

I can't wait for Now I Rise!!!

[Kiersten]

Colleen wrote: "Welcome to the group! Kiersten will be answering questions in July in this thread only. In the meantime if you have a question for the author or just want to introduce yourself feel free to do so i..."

Hi, all! And thank you for having me, Colleen! You're the best.

[Kiersten]

Tonnie wrote: "Who is your favorite character? Is it one of yours?"

Oh man, favorite character of all time? That's impossible! Though Anne Shirley will always be very close to the top. She's the first character I saw myself in as a child.

[Kiersten]

Ashley wrote: "I really enjoyed And I Darkened, where did you get the idea for the story?"

Thank you so much!

I got the idea from history itself. I've actually been to most of Vlad Dracul's historical sites. As I was thinking about how he was connected to brilliant Mehmed the Conqueror, the sultan who overthrew Constantinople and ended the Roman Empire at just twenty-one years old, I was amazed at how often in history these larger-than-life, incredible people rise up to fight each other. How much of what they did was because of each other?

And then as I was wondering how normal people get to the point where they can justify atrocities in the pursuit of their goals, I thought--what if Vlad had been a girl? Suddenly everything made sense to me, and a whole story opened up in my mind!

So, it's inspired by and loosely based on actual history, with massive liberties taken.

[Kiersten]

Louise wrote: "As a fan of Buffy, are you able to give any hint or indication as to whom will be featured in Slayer. If not, is the book in first or third person?"

SLAYER will come out next fall. I'm in the middle of working on it right now, and it's been so fun to deep dive into the world of Buffy and carve out my own little corner of the Buffyverse!

The book is first person POV from a brand new Slayer. Though she wasn't in the television series, she has a surprising connection to Buffy...

[Kiersten]

Shaylee*cheeky* wrote: "I know Paranormalcy has been out forever....but I love it. Is there a specific person in your life who gave you Evie's character? She's hilarious and spunky."

Thank you! I love Paranormalcy. It will always be special to me!

Evie is cobbled together from a lot of things that I love (including Buffy, ha!), but she was most heavily inspired by my youngest sister. Lauren is joyful and exuberant and silly and very, very blond. I borrowed a lot from her for Evie!

[Kiersten]

Ashley wrote: "I can't wait for Now I Rise!!!"

Thank you so much! I'm so proud of book two in the trilogy. It's out now, and I hope you enjoy it!!

[Colleen]

So what is the biggest change for you since your debut? Is a writing career what you expected it to be?

[Colleen]

Do you write from home or do you prefer outside the home?

[Colleen]

Favorite writing conference?

[Colleen]

Favorite bookstore?

[Kiersten]

Colleen wrote: "So what is the biggest change for you since your debut? Is a writing career what you expected it to be?"

I think the biggest change is just the gradual evening out of my reactions to things. In the beginning of my career, everything was THE BEST or THE WORST. Now I know that publishing is a weird industry. There will be highs and lows and mostly in between. I write because I love it, and that's what I hold onto. I'm super fortunate to do what I love and get paid for it, so I've learned to make it work no matter how I'm feeling in general! I'm a lot better at just writing and letting go of all the outside stuff that was so distracting in the beginning. (Deadlines help, ha!)

[Kiersten]

Colleen wrote: "Do you write from home or do you prefer outside the home?"

It changes. With the AND I DARKEN trilogy, it was much easier for me to write at Starbucks. But my last couple of books I've written entirely at home. I find the process shifts with every book, and what works for one doesn't work for the next! So convenient ; ) But I'm also the full-time caregiver for my three kids, so working from home is both a necessity and a huge bonus. I did splurge this year on an armchair recliner! ...and I still usually just write in my little chair in my bedroom anyway.

[Kiersten]

Colleen wrote: "Favorite writing conference?"

I really like any conference or festival geared toward teens specifically. There's such an incredible energy there, and getting to meet and talk to these incredibly talented and motivated teens is always inspiring for me!

[Kiersten]

Colleen wrote: "Favorite bookstore?"

I love so many! Tattered Cover in Denver, Kepler's in San Francisco, Malaprops in Asheville, Changing Hands in Phoenix, on and on. But my two favorite are The King's English in Salt Lake City--it's in this funky old house and is just such a fun one to get lost in!--and my own hometown indie, Mysterious Galaxy. They're always so great with recommendations, and they do all the vending for the big festivals and conventions in this area. They really do a fantastic job and I always love seeing them!

[Kylie]

What's your favorite restaurant, food, and drink?

[Kiersten]

Kylie wrote: "What's your favorite restaurant, food, and drink?"

Ooh, that's tough! Restaurant, probably Blue Ribbon Pizza in Encinitas, California. Food, probably pizza. And drink, definitely Dr Pepper which I am trying to cut out ; )

[Jennifer]

Hello

Was it more difficult to write And I Darkened since you usually write stories with paranormal and magic ? Like don't you have scenes you imagined a little with magic even if it is completely unrelated? Or all the historic facts you had to take in account? Or is harder to make a magical/paranormal world?

Do you play board games? If so, what is you favorite one?

[Joanna]

What made you want to write such a politically and religiously charged book?
How much of the "languages" and references to particular words/phrases are based in reality? Are these historic or present-day language references?
Why this time era?
Are themes found in this book reflective of events/experiences in your own life?

When not writing, what do you do for recreation?
What series is "next" for you? Or, would you rather write a one-book story? Or would you find a one-book story too challenging to convey what a series might?

[Colleen]

Thanks for joining the chat with Kiersten White! The winner this month is Kylie! A message has been sent to your inbox. Remember that we msg the winner so if you have blocked the msg feature, there's no way for us to contact you and let you know that you won, so we end up picking a new winner in that case. Don't forget to join the club next month. We'll be reading books written by Gwenda Bond!