David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! discussion
Author Q&A
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Neal Shusterman (Author of the Unwind series) Q&A--Sept 29-Oct 2nd!
Ooh, this is gonna be good. Can't wait! :)
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Prepare for complete fangirl freakout!!!!
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Bruiser's still on my Kobo waiting to be read. I must get to it soon!
super excited!!! only read unwind but I loved it. I really need to read the others in the series
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I'M SO EXCITED! He's one of my favorite authors. I haven't read a book by him that I haven't loved!
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was truly amazing!
WHAAAAAT. *falls over* Oh my gosh I'm so excited!
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Is this going to be a chatroom or a webcam or something? Oh my gosh he's my HERO! I want to be just like him writing style wise I have so much to ask!
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Karen wrote: "No webcam, Storm. Sorry. We'll be asking our questions in this thread. You'll see how we do it once the Q&A starts. Easy peasy! :)"Alrighty, I'm just jotting down some questions real fast on a google doc so I don't forget what I wanna ask.
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If you somehow developed superpowers, would you don tights and a cape and go by the name Shuster Man?
David wrote: "Welcome to the Q&A, Storm!! Great to have another Shusterman fan with us!"Thanks! Eager to join you all, he's my number one favorite author. ^^ I recommend his books to everyone I know. (I've gotten every single one of my friends to read Unwind... Except for one... He's stubborn.)
Karen wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Bruiser's still on my Kobo waiting to be read. I must get to it soon!" was truly amazing!"You will be sorry that you didn't read it much, much earlier.
Unfortunately, this particular day I will be without Internet and in addition I will be in another time zone - in Russia. Can I ask my question now? If yes, here it is: Dear Mr Shusterman, how did the monstrous idea of "unwinding" came into your had?
Людовика wrote: "Karen wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Bruiser's still on my Kobo waiting to be read. I must get to it soon!" was truly amazing!"You will be sorry that you didn't read it much,..."
Oh yes, I agree here. I read Bruiser in one sitting, one of my favorites of his, and my only Shusterman book on Kindle. (XD; I have a thing, if I have a book by a certain author in paper/back hard cover I have to get ALL the books in that series on hardcover/paperback.)
Here's a question! I'll ask more when I think of them.In the Unwind series, you put a lot of your characters through very harrowing situations. How can you tell which ones are going to survive and become stronger, and which ones are going to break? Do you pull the strings, or is it your characters?
OHHHHH THIS IS AWESOME!!! Neal Shusterman is brilliant!!!Do you ever find a particular type of character difficult to write?
what do you think is the most important thing someone should know/do, if they wanted to become an author?
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Wait are we supposed to post our questions first or wait til the actual day? o.o I'm confused.
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Jenny wrote: "You can post your questions anytime Storm! I just won't be listing them at the top and Neal won't be answering them until the Q&A starts :)"Then I think I'll wait until late tomorrow night. XD; I don't wanna miss out.
Storm-arashi wrote: "Jenny wrote: "You can post your questions anytime Storm! I just won't be listing them at the top and Neal won't be answering them until the Q&A starts :)"Then I think I'll wait until late tomorrow night. XD; I don't wanna miss out."
I think she meant that you can post it now, then she will go back and add all the already asked questions to the list once the Q&A officially starts. So if you were to ask now, it would still be a part of the Q&A.
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Jenny wrote: "That's exactly what I meant Tommy! Thanks!"I got your back, Jenny from the Block.
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I got your back, Jenny from the Block."
LOL, Tommy! :)
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Thank you so much for doing this Neal!Ok, so my questions are...
1. If you could cast your characters from Unwind (or Everlost, if you want to touch on that too), who would you cast?
2. Did you draw on any other literary works for inspiration while you were writing? For example, I drew quite a few parallels between Unwind and 1984 in its scary world building.
3. What is your single favourite thing about being a successful and recognized author?
Thank you for coming here to answer our questions! I can't wait to read
!
And this is to the Mods:Would it be too much to ask that
be added as a BOTM in either October or November? It's out on 10/14.
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BUT I can guarantee you when Undivided comes out, there will be a buddy read. Several members of this group are eagerly anticipating it! So you should have no trouble finding people to read with :) I myself am behind on the series, but hoping to get caught up by the end of the year.
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releases!! Can't wait! Eeeppp! I have
on audio now so plan to reread for our BotM going on now!!
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Is Unwind being made into a movie?
What are you currently working on?
I see that you go out to your fans on Facebook to pick your character's names. Have you always done this? That's soooo cool by the way!
Here's a few more!Which book(s) that you've written are you most proud of?
Which of your characters do you relate to the most? Are any of them based on real people?
I've never read any of these books, but it seems from the response of some veteran readers we've got here that they are beyond amazing. It looks like I'll have to kick myself in gear and pick up some of these gems to read! Thanks for coming to the group, Neal!
I really love your world-building, especially in the Unwind and Skinjacker books––it's very detailed and unique! Where did you get inspiration for worlds like those, and how did you go about designing them?(Thanks for joining us! I'm a huge fan!)
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There are so many great questions here!
David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite!
Books mentioned in this topic
UnDivided (other topics)UnDivided (other topics)
UnDivided (other topics)
UnDivided (other topics)
Unwind (other topics)
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And if you haven't checked out his books yet, I encourage you to try them! They are great reads!
A reminder to try to post your questions in bold so I can find them easily! Thanks :)
Great news everyone! Neal is donated a signed copy of
Thank so much Neal!
Questions:
1. Tommy--If you somehow developed superpowers, would you don tights and a cape and go by the name Shuster Man?
2. Людовика--Dear Mr Shusterman, how did the monstrous idea of "unwinding" came into your head?
3. Kritika--In the Unwind series, you put a lot of your characters through very harrowing situations. How can you tell which ones are going to survive and become stronger, and which ones are going to break? Do you pull the strings, or is it your characters?
4. Natalie--Do you ever find a particular type of character difficult to write?
5. Cindy--what do you think is the most important thing someone should know/do, if they wanted to become an author?
6. David--Bruiser was absolutely brilliant, my favorite read of the year. Where did you get your inspiration for the character of Bruiser?
7. Yamile--Did you always imagine Lev in the story?
Was he always a 13-year old boy?
Why do you think authors tend to pick older YA characters for stories and not so much insightful, smart, younger ones?
8. Brittany--What was the most challenging aspect in concluding The Unwind Dystology?
9. Brittany--As an author, how hard is it to write a conclusion to a story that you think most readers/fans will like? Is that even a consideration as you are writing?
10. Brittany--Because Cam is a Rewound, I sometimes find it hard to think of him as a human being. He was made, and not born. How do you classify Cam? Human being or just a successful science experiment?
11. Daniel-- If you could cast your characters from Unwind (or Everlost, if you want to touch on that too), who would you cast?
12. Daniel-- Did you draw on any other literary works for inspiration while you were writing? For example, I drew quite a few parallels between Unwind and 1984 in its scary world building.
13. Daniel--What is your single favourite thing about being a successful and recognized author?
14. Karen--Is Unwind being made into a movie?
15. Karen--What are you currently working on?
16. Karen--I see that you go out to your fans on Facebook to pick your character's names. Have you always done this? That's soooo cool by the way!
17. Kritika--Which book(s) that you've written are you most proud of?
18. Kritika--Which of your characters do you relate to the most? Are any of them based on real people?
19. Yamile-- Do you have an all-time favorite book?
20. Yamile--Do you plan on writing more realistic fiction (in the lines of "What Daddy Did").
21. Yamile--I was also wondering about the (view spoiler)[ unwinding scene (hide spoiler)] in the first book. It impacted me as being both one the most compelling and one of the most disturbing parts of the book. Can you remember how you came up with that?
22. Torrin--How did you decide that you wanted to be an author? and how do you deal with everyone judging your work, in good and bad ways?
23. Torrin--Also do you prefer books with multiple POV's or just one (in writing and reading)?
24. Brigid--I really love your world-building, especially in the Unwind and Skinjacker books––it's very detailed and unique! Where did you get inspiration for worlds like those, and how did you go about designing them?
25. Storm--What would happen if an Unwound teen became an Afterlight? Would they be a whole Afterlight or would all their parts just be floating around Everlost in a jumbled mess?
26. Storm--Speaking of Everlost, is it possible for Afterlights to reappear during certain times where some legends say the veil between our world and the world of the dead is thin? Like the Day of the Dead, or Halloween?
27. Storm--I read your short story collections Darkness Creeping and Mind Storms, both had tales that just stunned me to the core and made me cry with how beautiful they were. But the one that stuck with me the most was Growing Pains… Was that part of your inspiration for Unwind?
28. Storm--Speaking of… Was it hard to change writing style for the Unwind Dystology as everything is in Present Tense instead of past tense?
29. Storm--I want to write a novel one day… But problem is I do have trouble with writers block a lot. What do you do to get over your writers block if you get it?
30. Storm--Sorry, Storm, this question was a big spoiler so we had to remove it.
31. Storm--And finally… As a fellow writer we all have characters we make that we love… And that we love to hate. Do you have any characters that you loved to hate while you wrote them?
32. Harlee--what is the weirdest thing you've ever had to research for a book?
33. Torrin--when you write do you ever question your work? Like do you ever question if it is good or not? Do you just write what you want to write or do you consider what everyone else wants?
34. Natalie--Favorite snack to eat while writing a book?
35. Vicki--What would you tell a freshman in high school that you would like him or her to know about Unwind before reading it? Is there anything specific that you'd like them to learn from it, such as a life lesson?
36. JP--Did you always plan to make Unwind a four-book series, or did the story just need four books?
37. JP--What was your favorite book as a teenager?
38. JP--Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
39. Kellen--How do you find inspiration for your novels?
40. Alison--How did you come up with the concept for unwind?
41. Alison-- At the moment what is your favorite book or book series.
42. Alison-- Why did you decided to write YA books?
43. Seanna--What made you decided to add the red Half border with you name in it, on some of your books? is it sort of your own way of being unique?
44. Seanna-How long does it normally take you to write a book? (like how many hours do you just sit down and write for?)
45. Seanna--If you had to pick one theme for the Unwind dystology what would it be?
46. Seanna--And for the skinjacker trilogy?
47. Seanna--Did you have a ending for Undivided, when you were still writing Unwind?
48. Seanna--Do you prefer doing collaborations with other authors or just doing solo books (like you are the only author, besides the editors and what not.)
49. Seanna--Who is the first person to read your books in there finished product?
50. Seanna--Adults tend to hate on young adult books, if you could say one thing to them what would it be?
51. Seanna--Is being a author a full time job? does it involve more then just writing the book? (sorry if its to personal, i am just curious and understand if you do not answer.)
52. Seanna--I know fans have been going crazy about a Unwind and ever-lost cross over. But if you could make one character from each book meet each other, who would be best friends? and worst enemy's?
53. Seanna--Will you be coming to Canada? I am dying to ask you more questions personally, and would drive a long ways to see you. PLEASE COME VISIT US.
54. Michael--Which environments do you write in the most (quiet study room on a desk), in the park, in a cafe, etc...?
55. Michael-- Were any of the characters influenced by real-life figures (example: maybe starkey was influenced by your high school nemesis or Sonia by a family member, etc...)?[/b]
56. Michael-- Will there be something chronogically after Undivided (I've heard rumors about novellas)?
57. Yamile--what you like best about writing YA books, and I wonder: did you write about kids and teens when you were that age (I read you started writing as a child) and then kept writing those kinds of stories, finding you were interested in exploring themes from that perspective?
58. Yamile--What kind of stories did you write when you started writing (I'm assuming your first writing was of short stories, as I don't know yet of a case of someone who started writing novels right away :)
59. Stacy-- Young adult literature is a fairly new genre, arguably within the last 130 years or so. What led you to choose this genre for your works?
60. Storm--In a fight to the death, who would win... Connor...Or Starkey?
61. Storm--And on another note, in a fight for Risa's heart, in the most ridiculous ways possible, including bands, dancing, and ridiculous montages... Would Cam or Connor win?
62. Storm--On the more serious, would Wil act as a sort of guardian spirit for Lev after what happened to him, or would he watch over Cam since Cam got his hands?
63. Jen--I'm wondering not how you came up with the concepts for Unwind and Skinjacker - but how you accomplish all the small details. I mean, storking? Who thinks of that? (obviously you do)! And the idea that ghosts get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, and sinking, and the features getting exaggerated. And chiming! Hilarous! Such fantastic things that add to the stories and so distinctive. How in the world do you think of this stuff?
64. Jen--I also want to let you know that as an audiobook fanatic, I have to say that one of the reasons the Skinjacker series is one of my top favs of all time is Nick Podehl. Wow. Just, wow. The guy is amazing and I think probably one of my favourite characters of any book is The Magill. He just made me laugh and laugh and laugh, primarily because of the way Nick voiced him.
65. Jen--One last thing - how have you handled the idea that the unwinding chapter in the first Unwind book is so disturbing? I couldn't read it; got to about the end of the first page and just skipped to the next chapter. Even tho I didn't like the character at all, it was just so gruesome. Do you get any flack from educators about that?
66. Torrin--do you listen to music when you write? if so what kind of music?
67. Kynndra--Where do you hope to see yourself as an author go?
68. Seanna--What was your first book? Unpublished and published.
69. Seanna--Do you have a mailing address in to which we can send you fan mail?
70. Seanna--In your two series (Everlost, and unwind) you don't have Pets included(or that I can remember, correct me if I'm wrong, sorry, ) Can pets cross into Everlost also?
71. Seanna--Are pets still a important part of the unwind society as it is in ours today? And if so have they ever unwound a cat or dog?
72. Seanna--On the topic of pets. Do you have any?
73. Seanna--Also can babies ( just born) cross into Everlost ?
74. Alison--So did you totally freak out when u found out they were going to make unwind into a movie?
75. Alison--Are you going to be able to be a big part of it?