OZYA Interviews Archives - Page 6 of 8

#LoveOZYA Interview: A.J. Betts

May 27, 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, then Fleur Ferris, followed by Will Kostakis, then Shivaun Plozza, and Gabrielle Tozer, followed by Jay Kristoff, then Kylie Fornasier. This week we have A.J Betts author of Shutterspeed (2008, Fremantle Press), Wavelength (2010, Fremantle Press) and Zac and Mia (2013, Text Publishing).

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

Hi there. I’m an author and teacher who lives in Perth. I love cycling, travelling, bushwalking and living by the sea.

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

Writing was always a passion of mine. As a young adult, my main interest was poetry, and I had a number of poems published in my early twenties. My first novel, Shutterspeed, evolved out of a short story I’d been working on. I had the idea in 2000, and it was published in 2008.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

I entered Shutterspeed into a major writing competition, which I received excellent feedback and encouragement from. On the judges’ advice, I sent the manuscript to Fremantle Press, and it was fortunately picked up by them. I guess my story is quite straightforward and positive, compared to most

Was it different when getting your next books published?

Every book has a different process, in terms of writing and publication. My next novel, Wavelength, was also sent to Fremantle Press. My third, Zac & Mia, was entered in the Text Prize as an unpublished manuscript. I’ve never been contracted to write work, and I don’t want to. I still prefer to write independently and privately, then seek the best avenue for the manuscript. While it may be easier to be published now (as a previously-published author) I think the process is equally tough. Each novel should be viewed as a complete work in the best version it can be, rather than an extension of a writer’s oeuvre.

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

They’re very different, and I have less power/involvement in the publishing process overseas (as it’s handled by my rights manger at Text Publishing). Every country makes their own choices about their intended market, and will package the novel accordingly, including some alterations to the manuscript.

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

At the moment, anything by Fiona Wood, Vikki Wakefield, Julia Lawrinson and Cath Crowley.

I have read Zac and Mia and really loved it. You can find A.J. Betts at @a_j_betts on Twitter, ajbetts.com and you can add her books to your goodreads.

Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts

Pages: 310
Publish date: July 24th 2013
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 9781922147257
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

“When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics.”

So says seventeen-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment in Perth, Australia. A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him to the presence of Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door. Once released, the two near-strangers can’t forget each other, even as they desperately try to resume normal lives. The story of their mysterious connection drives this unflinchingly tough, tender novel told in two voices.

***

Thank you A.J. for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of A.J and her books?

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 Interview: Ellie Marney

May 20, 2016

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, then Fleur Ferris, followed by Will Kostakis, then Shivaun Plozza, and Gabrielle Tozer, followed by Jay Kristoff and then last week Kylie Fornasier. This week we have none other than Ellie Marney author of the Every Series (2013, Allen and Unwin).

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

Hey Angel, thanks for having me to visit. I’m Ellie Marney, I’m a teacher and a writer of YA fiction – I wrote a YA crime series, the Every series (Every Breath, Every Word, Every Move) that has gone out to readers in eight countries – yay Rachel and Mycroft!

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

I started writing in primary school, so yes, I caught the bug early. I think it was a direct consequence of being a big reader. I think my writing journey looks – from the outside – like a fairly straight line, but from my end it looks more like a twisty turny caterpillar trail. Every Breath was a bit of a hit, but like I said, I’ve been writing a very long time. I wrote stories as a kid, then when I went to uni and studied literature, I became very intimidated, so I stopped writing altogether for years.

I got back into writing through fanfiction – it’s a great way to write anonymously, get feedback, and (as Amie Kaufman once said) ‘build your writing muscles’. I wrote about seventy fic stories, publishing them under a pseudonym, before I got my mojo back and started writing originals again. Then I entered some stories in competitions, to test the waters…and I won the Scarlet Stiletto Award in 2010 (through Sisters in Crime Australia). Everything took off after that.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

I wrote Every Breath in about six months, then spent about a year polishing it (as you do, when you have no obligations re: deadlines) before submitting it to publishers and agents. It was accepted by Allen & Unwin, the first publisher I approached, and I ended up being represented by Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management, the first agent I approached. I think that qualifies as a bit of a dream run with a first book.

Was it different when getting your proceeding books published?

Why YES, it’s interesting you asked! Allen & Unwin really got behind Every Breath in a big way; well before the book was published they were championing it all over and generally being awesome, and they asked me to write a sequel. Which was good, because I already had half a book’s worth of sequel ready to go! But the timelines for each subsequent book got shorter – I had nine months between each release – which was very demanding, especially for Every Move, when I had to write and edit a book, and prep it for publication, inside nine months. It was such a hard book to write and I was frantic right up to the to-print date.

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

When the books went international, the covers were changed – they were hardcovers, for a start (why don’t we have hardcovers for YA in Australia? I don’t know. Maybe people don’t think Oz teens can look after nice things!), and the designs and taglines all changed. They also changed some of the lingo, like asphalt for bitumen, and flashlights for torches, and flip flops for thongs etc – but that was mainly to clarify meaning for overseas readers (you can particularly understand about the thongs). Most of the Aussie content was retained, which really surprised me, so there are still references to all the Melbourne locations, like the MCG and Sydney Road, and all the swearing is still authentically Aussie, which made me very happy.

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

Is this where I get on the desk and shout ‘MELINA MARCHETTA FOREVER’? Because she is like my OzYA superhero. I’ve also been in love with John Marsden’s Tomorrow series since they were first published (Homer ftw, by the way), Simmone Howell’s work, and I’ve always loved Cath Crowley and Leanne Hall’s This is Shyness duology.

New YA is much harder to nail down, because there’s so much great stuff out there…but I think some of the coolest OzYA books I’ve read recently are Summer Skin (Kirsty Eagar), Illuminae (Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff), Calypso Summer (Jared Thomas), Black Spring (Alison Croggan) and Clancy and the Undertow (Chris Currie).

I have read all three books in the Every Series and gosh did I love them. They are fantastic, engaging, full of romance and crime – it’s brilliant. You can find Ellie at @elliemarney on twitter, elliemarney.com and add her books on your goodreads.

Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Pages: 335
Publish date: 5th Spetember 2013
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 1743316429
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Rachel Watts has just moved to Melbourne from the country, but the city is the last place she wants to be.

James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old who’s also a genius with a passion for forensics.

Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. He’s even harder to resist when he’s up close and personal – and on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer.

When Rachel and Mycroft follows the murderer’s trail, they find themselves in the lion’s den – literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again…

***

I have meet Ellie quite a couple of times name and she is just fantastic. She is amazing to listen to and always has something to bring.

Thank you Ellie for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Ellie and her books?

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 Interview: Kylie Fornasier

May 13, 2016

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, then Fleur Ferris, followed by Will Kostakis, then Shivaun Plozza, and Gabrielle Tozer, And last week Jay Kristoff. This week we have Kylie Fornasier the young adult author of Masquerade (Penguin Teen, 2014) and The Things I Didn’t Say (Penguin Random House,2016).

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

Hey guys! Important things first: I love Pretty Little Liars and The 100, though I’m not up to the episode that has a lot of people angry at the show; I am currently obsessed with Peck’s cheddar flavoured rice biscuits, like I go through a pack every few days; and I’m not quite sure if I’m using punctuation currently here, that’s why I have an editor! I live in the Hawkesbury which is west-ish of Sydney. It’s definitely not the “country”, like some people think, though I do have four chickens.

Other things you should probably know about me is that I write books for children and young adults. In 2014, my young adult novel, Masquerade was published by Penguin Books Australia. It’s Gossip Girl meets Downton Abbey set in 18^th century Venice. And my newest YA book, The Things I Didn’t Say, is being published by Penguin Random House this May. It’s the love story of the girl who doesn’t speak and the boy everyone talks about.

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

It’s been a bit like the Rainbow Road level in Mario Kart. If you’re not familiar with Mario Kart, it’s this level:

It’s been amazing and exhilarating and like nothing I could’ve imagined. Most of all, an absolute roller coaster! I started writing in my teens and got published in my early twenties. I didn’t study writing and my day job (teaching) doesn’t have a lot to do with books. But writing is what I’ve wanted to do since my teens. When you think about getting published, you think that the hardest part is going to be writing the book or getting the publishing contract but for me, they were the easier parts. Navigating the world of being a published writer, the incredible highs and the lows have been the more difficult part for me. But it’s the whole experience of the writing journey that’s shaped who I am and the books I write.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

The first book I had contracted for publication was actually a children’s picture book (The Prince who Shrank). My story came to the attention of an editor who attended one of my writers’ group meetings and from there I was offered a publishing contract. Joining a writers’ group was the best thing I could’ve done. You meet people with the same interests and develop friendships, you get feedback on your work, you learn to give feedback and improve your editing skills, you develop networks and opportunities. If you are an aspiring writer and not already part of one, join a writers’ group!

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?

My next book that was contracted was a children’s chapter book (The Ugg Boot War), which was found in the slush pile. Following that, my first young adult novel, Masquerade, came to the attention of an editor from Penguin Books at the Sutherland Shire Writers’ Festival during a paid publishing consultation. From that I got a full manuscript request and from that a publishing deal. My newest young adult novel that is released in May, The Things I Didn’t Say, was probably the most straight forward book to get published. I sent the first draft to my editor and publisher who I’d worked on with Masquerade and waited to hear if they liked it and wanted to publish it – they did. The writing, editing and publishing process was much different with this book, though. Because it had been contracted from a terrible, shocking first draft there was a lot of work to do on it in an incredibly shorter timeframe.

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

Oh gosh, I can only pick some?! Ok, my recent favs are Yellow by Megan Jacobson, Frankie by Shivaun Plozza and The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis. They will always and forever be my #YASquad2016. I also will never stop raving about The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta and anything by Amie Kaufman. Oh, and Spark and Stray by honorary OZYA author, Rachael Craw.

I have read both of her books and you can read my reviews of Masquerade and The Things I Didn’t Say and I lets just say I love them. You can find Kylie at @KylieFornasier on twitter, kyliefornasier.com and add her books on your goodreads.

The Thing’s I Didn’t Say by Kylie Fornasier

Pages: 320
Publish date: May 2nd 2016
Publisher: Penguin Teen Australia
ISBN: 9780143573630
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

I hate the label Selective Mutism – as if I choose not to speak, like a child who refuses to eat broccoli. I’ve used up every dandelion wish since I was ten wishing for the power to speak whenever I want to. I’m starting to wonder if there are enough dandelions.

After losing her best friend that night, Piper Rhodes changes schools, determined that her final year will be different. She will be different. Then she meets West: school captain, star soccer player, the boy everyone talks about. Despite her fear of losing everything all over again, Piper falls in love – and West with her – without Piper ever speaking one word to him. But will it last?

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Thank you Kylie for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Kylie and her books? I was lucky enough to meet Kylie a couple of months ago at the #YASquad2016 and she is so lovely.

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.