Today marks the opening of Like a Virgin pitch contest for NA/YA. And since I have a NA/YA and no agent, I'm participating as a contestant! Kinda scary.
1. How do you remember your first kiss? Like a dream.....
2. What was your first favorite love song? "I'll Never Break Your Heart" by the Backstreet Boys.
I mean, really it was probably "The Deeper the Love" by Whitesnake--but I was like three and I only know the stories of my obsession with Whitesnake. (Blame my uncle.)
3. What’s the first thing you do when you begin writing for the day? I just write. I don't get to write every single day and I'm not really a ritual writer. I've probably had coffee, because I can't survive without it. I guess I re-read a little so I can get into the voice. Sometimes I have to read a sentence or a paragraph, and other times a whole chapter or two. It depends on my headspace and where I am in the story/how connected to the character I am at the moment.
4. Who’s the first writer who truly inspired you to become a writer? Jennifer Donnelly. I read A NORTHERN LIGHT in college and it completely changed my life, pushed me to write and I have been fawning over ever since. Some day I will get the courage to email her. (I don't have it yet.)
5. Did the final revision of your first book have the same first chapter it started with? The first book EVER? The one that lives in my closet? Yes. I don't think it changed. But I didn't revise that much....it was a learning book.
FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS had approximately 15 opening chapters. That was the hardest beginning to nail down. SALT has the same chapter, with very few tweaks actually.
The one I'm entering in this contest is the same, but it's been expanded.
6. For your first book, which came first: major characters, plot or setting? I always get a voice first, and usually a line. Some character will say something in my head and then bam - story. The plot and setting usually develop later.
7. What’s the first word you want to roll off the tip of someone’s tongue when they think of your writing? Haunting.
