Author Interviews Archives - Page 13 of 13

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Sarah Ayoub

Apr 1, 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.

To open this new feature I am interviewing the lovely Sarah Ayoub. Sarah is the author of Hate is Such A Strong Word (2013, HarperCollins Australia) and The Yearbook Committee (2016, HarperCollins Australia). Let the Interview begin.

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

Hi everyone! I’m a Sydney-based journalist and author of two novels published by Harper Collins (Hate is Such a Strong Word and The Yearbook Committee). I teach Journalism at the University of Notre Dame Australia and run writing workshops in high schools. My work has been published in Marie-Claire, Sunday Style, CLEO, Girlfriend, Cosmopolitan, Shop Til You Drop, Yen, Frankie and more. I wanted to be a journalist from the age of 10 – I was a big fan of Superman and basically wanted to be Lois Lane. I love cake and afternoon tea, am a hopeless Francophile, and often feel like I was meant to be born in a different time. I’m definitely an old soul, with a big sense of wonder and wanderlust.

What has your writing journey been like? When did you start? Why?
I suppose I started writing in my late teens, but I wrote a lot of rhyming poems that were very ‘young’. I went to university thinking I would wind up in PR, before realising in third year that I was a hopeless suck up and sales person and that my sense of curiosity and unabashed penchant for asking questions would suit feature writing better. I didn’t plan on writing books – they were never a part of my ‘plan’ – but I started writing Hate on a whim and eventually had ten chapters to show an agent. I just felt like Sophie’s character was strong and she had an important story to tell.

What was the process of getting your first book published?
I was really lucky in that it happened without too much effort on my part. I had ten chapters which I took along to a manuscript assessment day at the NSW Writer’s Centre. Following my session (which had its fair shares of compliments and criticisms), I sent my ten chapters to an agent I had been introduced to and she immediately said that while the story had potential, my writing needed a lot of work. I hadn’t studied creative writing so there was a lot of trial and error. I wrote my manuscript three times (the third time on trains as I travelled round Europe) before sending it to the agent from a remote village overseas. I returned home two weeks later and found that I’d had an offer from a publisher. It was all incredibly exciting for me.

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?
Writing my first book was simpler because I had no expectations. I just wrote because I didn’t know what would come of it. I wrote with complete freedom. Writing the second book was harder – I wrote it in a short space of time because by then I had the creative writing skills (showing not telling) that I had not had before – but this time I had a publisher who had expectations so I didn’t know if I was meeting them. It was a very anxious time.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?
I love Australian stories and I love that Australian YA leads the charge in areas of diversity and intelligent books for its readers. I loved reading John Marsden (So much to tell you, Letters from the Inside, Winter etc) and Jaclyn Moriarty (The Brookfield/Ashbury stories) in my teens and Melina Marchetta’s books are constant faves (I seriously can’t choose between Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, and On the Jellicoe Road). Lately I’ve loved Kirsty Eager’s Summer Skin, Fleur Ferris’ Risk, and Claire Zorn’s The Protected.

You can find Sarah at @bysarahayoub on twitter, sarahayoub.com and add her books to your goodreads

Hate is such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 256
Publish date: September 1st 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296846
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

I hate being invisible.

I hate that I still can′t fight my own battles.

I hate that I can′t keep up with the demands of high school.

Sophie Kazzi is in Year 12 at an all-Lebanese, all-Catholic school where she is invisible, uncool and bored out of her brain. While she′s grown up surrounded by Lebanese friends, Lebanese neighbours and Lebanese shops, she knows there′s more to life than Samboosik and Baklawa, and she desperately wants to find it.

Unfortunately, her father has antiquated ideas about women, curfews and the Lebanese ′way′. Bad news for Sophie, who was hoping to spend Year 12 fitting in and having fun – not babysitting her four younger siblings, or studying for final exams that will land her in an Accounting course she has no interest in.

Just when it looks like Sophie′s year couldn′t get any more complicated, Shehadie Goldsmith arrives at school. With an Australian father and a Lebanese mother, he′s even more of a misfit than Sophie. And with his arrogant, questioning attitude, he also has a way of getting under her skin…

But when simmering cultural tensions erupt in violence, Sophie must make a choice that will threaten her family, friends and the cultural ties that have protected her all her life.

Are her hates and complaints worth it? Or will she let go … and somehow find her place?

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 304
Publish date: March 1st 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296854
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Five teenagers. Five lives. One final year.

The school captain: Ryan has it all … or at least he did, until an accident snatched his dreams away. How will he rebuild his life and what does the future hold for him now?

The newcomer: Charlie’s just moved interstate and she’s determined not to fit in. She’s just biding her time until Year 12 is over and she can head back to her real life and her real friends …

The loner: At school, nobody really notices Matty. But at home, Matty is everything. He’s been single-handedly holding things together since his mum’s breakdown, and he’s never felt so alone.

The popular girl: Well, the popular girl’s best friend … cool by association. Tammi’s always bowed to peer pressure, but when the expectations become too much to handle, will she finally stand up for herself?

The politician’s daughter: Gillian’s dad is one of the most recognisable people in the state and she’s learning the hard way that life in the spotlight comes at a very heavy price.

Five unlikely teammates thrust together against their will. Can they find a way to make their final year a memorable one or will their differences tear their world apart?

And that is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Sarah and her books? I hope you enjoyed it. 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.

Author Interview: Chloe Miles + Giveaway

Jun 18, 2014

Today, I have the lovely chance to interview Chloe Miles, an Australian Young Adult Author. Chloe is the author of the Faded Trilogy, Including Faded, See No Evil and Ever After. Check out the information for book 1 Faded below.

Faded by Chloe Miles

Pages: 392 (paperback)
Publish date: August 24th 2012
Publisher: Self
ISBN: 9780987392312
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

“Savannah wanted to kiss him, but she had never even kissed a human guy before, let alone a ghost. How was she supposed to kiss him if he wasn’t really there?”

Savannah has never been in love before, but she’s in love with Hunter Emmerton. He’s cute, funny, charming … and a ghost. How can you date someone if nobody else can see them?

When seventeen-year-old Savannah Fraser and her three friends are killed in a car accident, they are given a second chance at life by a group of century-old earthbound spirits who need their help.

Savannah learns she is a Chosen One, which means she can switch between human and spirit form, heal people, and control the weather—and she is also now invincible.

The Chosen Ones are the only ones who can defeat The Forces—a trio of evil half-spirits who are slowly destroying the perfect little town of Fort Everwick with violent storms and not-so-natural disasters—and stop them from harming everyone they care about.

The Forces are set on destroying everything Savannah knows and loves, but they also have a more sinister plan—they want a new member to join them. They won’t give up until they get the one they want—and they have Savannah firmly in their sights.

But what Savannah didn’t count on was falling in love with Hunter. She’s never loved anyone the way she loves Hunter, and she knows he loves her, too. But how can they be together forever if he no longer exists and she’s the only one who can see him?

Will Savannah have enough belief in herself to defeat The Forces, or will they be able to lure her to the dark side and turn her against her loved ones—and tear her and Hunter apart?

Interview with Chloe Miles

1. How did you come up with the concept for the Faded Trilogy?
I wanted to write a paranormal romance that was a little different to everything else that’s already been written. I loved the idea of earthbound spirits protecting the town from evil. And, being a hopeless romantic, I loved the idea of eternal undying love, especially between two characters who are so young but whose love is so rare and beyond their years.

It happened to be storming when I was coming up with the idea for the series, so that’s the inspiration behind the power over the weather that the characters possess and the unpredictable storms terrorising the town.

2. What is Savannah (the main character) like in the Faded Books?

Savannah is a little shy and reserved and more at home with her nose buried in her textbooks than confronting a room full of her peers … let alone coming face to face with The Forces and having to protect her entire town!

We slowly see her emerge further and further from her shell as the series progresses, guided in the most part by Hunter’s unconditional love and undoubting belief in her.

She isn’t your typical butt-kicking heroine in the beginning of the series … but by the end … well, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say that she could give the best of the butt-kicking best a run for their money!

3. Who are your most loved and most hated character in your books and why?

My most loved character would have to be Hunter Emmerton. He’s kind and gentle and hopelessly romantic. He would do anything just to see Savannah smile and keep her safe from harm. He has the selfless power to heal, and his days are spent protecting innocent strangers. What’s not to love about him? (I’m still waiting for my own Hunter Emmerton to teleport himself into my life any day now.)

The most hated characters would have to be The Forces. It is their mission to destroy Fort Everwick and to tear Savannah and Hunter apart by luring Savannah to the dark side. They know that Savannah has the potential to be powerful, and with her as one of their own, they know they would have complete power on their side.

4. How do you just sit down and write?

I usually have a general outline of the storyline and what will be included in each of the chapters. Then I usually just start writing from there. Sometimes I’ll write from beginning to end, and other times I’ll have an idea for the end chapters first and then come back and write the first chapters. None of the three books were written the same. I just wrote whatever inspiration struck me at that moment.

5. If you could go anywhere in the world, real or fiction, where would it be and why?

Disneyland. I’ve always wanted to go there but haven’t had the chance to yet. Visiting The Happiest Place on Earth just seems like something so magical that everyone should experience at least once in their life.

6. If you were stuck on a deserted Island, what are the 5 books that you would have with you and why?

I know they are all from the same series, but I would have to say any five books from the Harry Potter series. I would find a stick to use as a wand and try to cast a spell that could help me get off the island!

About the Author

Chloe Miles is a twenty-something author, dreamer, shameless chocoholic, and hopeless romantic.

When she’s not writing or daydreaming, she loves escaping reality with her favorite playlists, eating too much chocolate, and curling up on her couch in her PJs with a good TV show and a cup of tea. The Faded Trilogy is her first series.

Giveaway Time

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Interview with Sarah Alderson

Mar 17, 2014

The other day the lovely Sarah Alderson author of the YA Series Lila, (including Hunting Lila) tweeted asking if any bloggers wanted to interview her for her up and coming release Out of Control coming out in May. I was very lucky and saw the tweet during class and tweeted her back straight away. I came home to email from Sarah confirming this Interview.

I loved Sarah’s Hunting Lila and am just super excited for Out of Control. So enough of this chatter and onto the interview.

How did you come up with the idea for Out of Control?

I wanted to write about human trafficking because it’s such a pressing issue and I also wanted (and was contracted) to write a thriller. I was inspired by the movie Drive about this guy who drives getaway vehicles (Ryan Gosling – hot!) and also by the classic movie Terminator.

What is Liva (the main character) like in Out of Control?

She’s grown up overseas in a very privileged but highly protected and fairly dangerous world. Her father owns a private security company and for most of her life she’s been surrounded by bodyguards and living behind walls. She’s a loner. She has a few skeletons in the closet and has put up a lot of walls to stop people getting close. She’s obsessed with following the rules but she also struggles with that because it doesn’t come naturally to her.

She’s very smart, independent, she’s a dancer and very fit. She also knows how to shoot straight and play poker.She’s a good contrast to Jay, who’s a street smart kid from the wrong side of the tracks, always breaking rules and who really lives for the moment and takes risks. They have a lot to learn from each other.

Who are your most loved and most hated character out of all your books and why?
I love Demos and Lila and Alex of course from Hunting Lila. Demos because he’s got such depths that no one I think but me realises yet! Alex because he’s my dream man!I think my most hated character would be Victor or Caleb from Fated – I mean, they’re two twisted individuals.

How do you just sit down and write?

Well, firstly I’m paid to! And secondly I love it. It’s not a hobby though, it’s a job. I work 8 hours a day at least.

How do you know when you have ‘finished’ writing a book?

Because it all comes together and you get this buzz in your stomach that tells you it’s done.

If you could go anywhere in the world, real or fiction, where would it be and why?

Ooooh right now I’d go to the US. I’d hang out in New York where Out of Control is set. It’s one of my favourite cities in the world. Then I’d go to Colorado and hang out with two of my best friends who live there, drinking wine and watching the stars.

Thank you Sarah for letting me interview you.

I have been waiting for The Sound for quite a while, another Sarah Alderson novel. And if the synopsis is not interesting enough to convince you, check out some of the photos Sarah has been posting of the book trailer.