Author Interviews Archives - Page 12 of 13

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Shivaun Plozza

Apr 22, 2016

I love Aussie YA. I love reading books from authors that live in the same country as me, that know things that people out of Australia might be so confused about. I love how sometimes they can incorporate this into their book and it is fabulous.

So in saying that, I have decided to start a new feature on Angel Reads spotlighting Australian YA Authors. Each Friday for the next couple of months, I am going to interview an OZYA Author. I thought it would be a fun way to share my love for Australian Young Adult authors with not only fellow Aussies, but everyone around the world. I want more Australian YA books to be read, because they are amazing.

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, followed Fleur Ferris, then last week Will Kostakis. This week we have the lovely Shivaun Plozza. Shivaun is the author of Frankie (Penguin Australia, 2016).

Hi Shivaun, and welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I grew up on a sheep farm in southwest Victoria, which might explain why I’ve been vegetarian for over twenty years! I moved to Melbourne for uni where I studied Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing. I worked as a teacher for a while and lived in London for a few years and now I work as an editor and manuscript assessor whenever I’m not writing. I’m a tennis fanatic, craft enthusiast and crazy cat lady in the making.

What has your writing journey been like? Where did you start? Why?

I decided I wanted to be a writer after reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams when I was fourteen. I’d always been an avid reader but this was the first time I’d completely fangirled over a book. I knew that I wanted to be someone who could create stories and characters that people would fall in love with the way I’d fallen for that book. I studied creative writing at uni but my writing wasn’t initially well-received – in fact, I got some seriously negative feedback that made me doubt my abilities as a writer. I kind of lost my way a bit at uni, trying to emulate the style of writing the university wanted rather than being true to who I was. It took me ages to come back from that. I was working as a teacher and was in the library one day with a class of year eights quietly reading. I picked up a book to read too – it was On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, one of the best examples of contemporary YA you will ever come across. I completely fell for the story – Taylor and Jonah for ever! – and it reminded me why I wanted to be a writer and how I wanted to write.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

It took me around four years to complete Frankie. She actually started out as a character in a different story. And she wasn’t half as awesomely bold, sassy and kickarse as she is now. But I worked hard to make her the kind of character I wanted her to be and eventually she outgrew the original story. So I started again and wrote the story that she deserved. I made use of short courses (mostly through the amazing Writers Victoria) and my writers’ group to get Frankie ready for submission to publishers. I pitched the finished book at a Literary Speed Dating event in Melbourne, where you get to three minutes to talk to a room full of publishers. From there I had a couple of requests to read the whole book and then Penguin offered me a deal.

What has your journey been like after getting the deal for Frankie?

It takes at least a year from when you get the publishing deal to the book arriving in bookstores. It’s been an exhausting but exhilarating time. I really enjoyed the editing process – working with a talented editor to make sure the book was the best it could be. And getting to see drafts for the cover design was so much fun – I’m so proud of the final cover. The best part was when they told me Melina Marchetta would be reading Frankie and supplying a quote for the cover. To have an idol read and actually enjoy my story left me weak at the knees. I don’t think anything will ever top that. The publicity side of it has been surprisingly fun. I’m actually quite a shy person so I was really dreading it but everyone has just been so supportive and the response to Frankie has been overwhelmingly positive.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

So many! It’s going to be hard for me to keep it to just a few but I’ll try. On the Jellicoe Road (Melina Marchetta), Everything Beautiful (Simmone Howell), Finding Cassie Crazy (Jaclyn Moriarty), The Protected (Claire Zorn), In the Skin of a Monster (Kathryn Barker) and Six Impossible Things (Fiona Wood). This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are sooooooo many great OZYA books. I think we do the best YA in the world (but I could be a little biased!).

You can find Shivaun at @ShivaunPlozza on twitter, shivaunplozza.com and add her book to your goodreads. My review for Frankie will be up in the next couple of weeks.

Frankie by Shivaun Plozza

Pages: 314
Publish date: March 23rd 2016
Publisher: Penguin Australia
ISBN: 9780143573166
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Frankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend or her aunt who’s tired of giving second chances…When a kid shows up claiming to be Frankie’s half brother, it opens the door to a past she doesn’t want to remember. And when that kid goes missing, the only person willing to help is a boy with stupidly blue eyes … and secrets of his own. Frankie’s search for the truth might change her life, or cost her everything.

***

Thank you Shivaun for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Shivaun and Frankie? I hope you enjoyed it. Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Will Kostakis

Apr 15, 2016

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, then Fleur Ferris, and this week it’s the ever so amazigng Will Kostakis. Will Kostakis is the author of YA novels Loathing Lola (Pan MacMillian, 2008), The First Third (Penguin Australia, 2013) and Sidekicks (Penguin Australia, 2016)

Hi Will, and welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Will Kostakis, a 26-year-old author from Sydney. I’ve written four books – three are young adult novels. I’m also a freelance journalist.

What has your writing journey been like? Where did you start? Why?

It started in primary school. I just always enjoyed creative writing, and was encouraged by teachers to keep at it. One urged me to try writing a novel. I did, in Year Seven. It was mostly terrible, and when a publisher got back to me, they confirmed it. But I kept at it, writing and rewriting, and rejigging the book as I accumulated more life experiences. Then, in Year Twelve, I pitched it to a few publishers, and one loved the idea. It was released two years later.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

There was a lot of rejection, but the more I wrote, the more my confidence improved, and the better the story became. While at the beginning of the process, all I wanted was to get published first-go, by the end of the process, I was thankful it took a while. I wasn’t ready as an 11-year-old. And who is? I don’t even think I was ready at 17 when it happened.

Was it different when getting your proceeding books published?

Loathing Lola was a modest seller, but not a runaway hit, so I took some time off, finished uni, and came back with a story I really believed in. And it was tough – figuring out what my second book would be and making sure it was good. I changed publishers, and they made me work for that book deal. While I earnt the Loathing Lola deal off a synopsis, for The First Third, half of it had to be written, and it had to be good. Again, I wish it happened instantly, but I’m glad they took their time and pushed me. It was a similar process with The Sidekicks. I’m not at that stage where my work will be accepted sight unseen, but that’s a good thing. It forces me to consistently up my game.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

Oh there are too many to say. I am a huge Barry Jonsberg fan (his whole body of work is stellar). I love Ellie Marney’s Every series, and Amie Kaufman is on a roll at the moment, if Sci-Fi is more your thing. Gabrielle Tozer and Melissa Keil are also definite-reads.

You can find Will at @willkostakis on twitter,willkostakis.com and add his books to your goodreads.

The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

Pages: 256
Publish date: February 29th 2016 by Penguin Australia
Publisher: Penguin Australia
ISBN: 9780143309031
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

The Swimmer. The Rebel. The Nerd.

All Ryan, Harley and Miles had in common was Isaac. They lived different lives, had different interests and kept different secrets. But they shared the same best friend. They were sidekicks. And now that Isaac’s gone, what does that make them?

Will Kostakis, award-winning author of The First Third, perfectly depicts the pain and pleasure of this teenage world, piecing together three points of view with intricate splendour.

***

Thank you Will for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Will and his books? I hope you enjoyed it. Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Fleur Ferris

Apr 8, 2016

Last week I interview Sarah Ayoub and this week I am interviewing Fleur Ferris. Fleur is the author of Risk (2015, Penguin Random House) and the upcoming novel Black (2016, Penguin Random House.)

Hi Fleur, welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hello! I write fiction. My debut book, Risk, was published last year by Penguin Random House. It was a contemporary thriller/drama for young adults. My next book, Black, is another stand alone, and is also a contemporary thriller for young adults and will be out July this year.

What has your writing journey been like? When did you start? Why?

I’ve kept journals since primary school, however I started toying with getting my work published when I was 25. One of my short stories was published in Woman’s Day Five Minute Fiction. After that I started writing longer works, teaching myself to write novels. While I worked and studied in various fields, I wrote a number of full length novel manuscripts before seeking publication.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

Getting published is tough! After attending many festivals and listening to publishers, editors and authors, doing workshops, and reading everything I could about the industry I formulated the idea that if I wanted to be published three things must happen (this is my opinion only):

The right manuscript
Must land on the right desk
At the right time

I had no contacts in the industry and therefore didn’t know how I was going to line up these three magical components. To give myself the best chance I felt I needed a good agent.

I can’t remember who said it now, but at a festival a publisher gave some great advice. She said, “Research who you want to send your work to and shoot like an arrow to that person.”

This is what I did. I researched agents and found that the agent I wanted (and representing authors with books similar to mine) was running half hour pitch sessions at the Write Around the Murray Festival in Albury, NSW. My application for one of these pitch sessions was successful. The agent requested to read my full manuscript and a number of weeks later offered representation.

I edited my manuscript with my agent before it was sent out to publishers. While publishers were considering my work I began writing my next book, Risk. The book that was on submission was rejected, but one publisher liked my work enough to read and consider Risk. This publisher was at Penguin Random House and they offered me a contract. I immediately began the editorial process with my editor and it was released July 2015. The whole process took about eighteen months.

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?

Yes and no. Yes it was different because I had developed a good working relationship with my editor and publisher. My publisher was able to look at my other work and choose the strongest book to follow on from Risk. The title of this book is Black. But from there on it was the same. Black was taken to an acquisition meeting and went thought the same assessment process that Risk went through before a contract was offered.

What was the difference between getting your books published here in Australia and internationally?

Risk was published in France (March 2016) and Germany (release date not yet disclosed). When the contracts were signed all of the work was already done, so I didn’t go through an editorial process with my international publishers. They were sent straight off to be translated.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

Cooper Bartholomew is dead by Rebecca James, Ellie Marney’s Every Series, I’m loving Rachael Craw’s trilogy (I’m claiming NZ books!) – Stray, Shield and I’m waiting impatiently for her third book!

I loved The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer, The Whole of My World by Nicole Hayes, The Pause by John Larkin and Pieces of sky by Trinity Doyle. I know Two wolves by Tristan Bancks is for slightly younger readers, but it is brilliant and suitable for any age.

I’m also a big fan of Skye Melki-Wegner’s Chasing the Valley trilogy and Vikki Wakefield’s All I ever wanted. I have so many favourites!

You can find Fleur at @FleurFerris on twitter, fleurferris.com and add her books to your goodreads.

Risk by Fleur Ferris

Pages: 279
Publish date: July 1st 2015
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780857986474
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Taylor and Sierra have been best friends for their whole lives. But Taylor’s fed up. Why does Sierra always get what – and who – she wants? From kissing Taylor’s crush to stealing the guy they both met online for herself, Sierra doesn’t seem to notice when she hurts her friends.

So when Sierra says Jacob Jones is the one and asks her friends to cover for her while she goes to meet him for the first time, Taylor rolls her eyes.

But Sierra doesn’t come back when she said she would.

One day. Two days. Three . . .

What if Taylor’s worrying for nothing? What if Sierra’s just being Sierra, forgetting about everyone else to spend time with her new guy?

When Taylor finally tells Sierra’s mum that her daughter is missing, Taylor and her friends are thrown into a dark world they never even knew existed.

Can Taylor find Sierra’s abductor in time? Or should she be looking for a killer?

Black by Fleur Ferris

Pages: –
Published Date: 26th June 2016
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9781925324976
Purchase: Book Depository – Dymocks

Ebony Marshall is in her final year of high school. Five months, two weeks and four days . . . She can’t wait to leave the town where she’s known only as ‘Black’. Because of her name, of course. But for another reason, too.

Everyone says Black Marshall is cursed.

Three of her best friends have died in tragic accidents. After Oscar, the whispers started. Now she’s used to being on her own. It’s easier that way.

But when her date for the formal ends up in intensive care, something in quiet little Dainsfield starts to stir. Old secrets are revealed and terrifying new dangers emerge.

If only Black could put all the pieces together, she could work out who her real enemies are. Should she run for her life, or stay and fight.

***

Thank you Fleur for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Fleur and her books? I hope you enjoyed it. Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.