If you didn't know (and you really should because it is an awesome event) YALLFest is a great YA Author Festival held in Charleston, South Carolina hosted by Blue Bicycle Books. Still a baby, with 2013 being it's third year, YALLFest brings some of the BIGGEST names in YA books together for one day of ridiculous amazing fun. To get people excited, they have picked bloggers across the internet to host interviews with the authors attending the festival. I am one such lucky blogger!
Check out the rockstar author that will be gracing us with her presence at the festival down below and keep checking back as the countdown to YALLFest keeps going! And you can always follow ALL the updates by checking out their twitter: @YALLFest
The Interview
What one thing do you need to have when you write?
Fear. Sometimes rage. I find that to truly focus I need to feel panic, and then suddenly everything in my manuscript becomes clear. I work best under duress, which is something my editors have learned and they're quite good at instilling fear in me. J I appreciate that! I also work well with many distractions, I think it's because I had a day job for nine years and had to write my books in the middle of doing my real work.
Describe your book in 5 words
FROZEN: Post-apocalyptic. Zombie. Dragon. Pirate. Fantasy.
What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
The first, definitely.
Best writing tip you ever received?
To introduce the love interest in the first 30 pages, not that specifically but learning that there was CRAFTING involved in writing a novel, not just voice.
What one young adult novel you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?
Harry Potter. Because! I don't think I have to explain.
Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
1. I was a child model.
2. My favorite One Direction guy was Harry, but now it is Louis.
3. I have a Maltese named Mimi. She is not named for Mimi Force, our kid named her.
4. I learned to drive at 34.
5. I like savory treats better than sweet.
Where's your favorite place to write?
In a cubicle, surrounded by softly ringing phones and people murmuring. Sadly this is no longer possible for me.
What are you working on now?
My new series THE RING AND THE CROWN coming next spring from Disney-Hyperion.
What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
YA Fantasy and Paranormal. My favorite genre to read is "literary" fiction, but I would have to say I really enjoy bestsellers just as much, I like popular fiction, no matter what genre, I like to read what a lot of people are reading and take the pulse of the culture. But for my own taste, I love smart angry women writers like Lionel Shriver and Kate Christensen. Also cookbook memoirs.
At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?
When we've sold it!
Fear. Sometimes rage. I find that to truly focus I need to feel panic, and then suddenly everything in my manuscript becomes clear. I work best under duress, which is something my editors have learned and they're quite good at instilling fear in me. J I appreciate that! I also work well with many distractions, I think it's because I had a day job for nine years and had to write my books in the middle of doing my real work.
Describe your book in 5 words
FROZEN: Post-apocalyptic. Zombie. Dragon. Pirate. Fantasy.
What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
The first, definitely.
Best writing tip you ever received?
To introduce the love interest in the first 30 pages, not that specifically but learning that there was CRAFTING involved in writing a novel, not just voice.
What one young adult novel you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?
Harry Potter. Because! I don't think I have to explain.
Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
1. I was a child model.
2. My favorite One Direction guy was Harry, but now it is Louis.
3. I have a Maltese named Mimi. She is not named for Mimi Force, our kid named her.
4. I learned to drive at 34.
5. I like savory treats better than sweet.
Where's your favorite place to write?
In a cubicle, surrounded by softly ringing phones and people murmuring. Sadly this is no longer possible for me.
What are you working on now?
My new series THE RING AND THE CROWN coming next spring from Disney-Hyperion.
What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
YA Fantasy and Paranormal. My favorite genre to read is "literary" fiction, but I would have to say I really enjoy bestsellers just as much, I like popular fiction, no matter what genre, I like to read what a lot of people are reading and take the pulse of the culture. But for my own taste, I love smart angry women writers like Lionel Shriver and Kate Christensen. Also cookbook memoirs.
At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?
When we've sold it!
The Books
Heart of Dread series
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| Blue Bloods series |
Meet Melissa De La Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat. Her newest book for teens is Frozen, book one in the Heart of Dread series.
Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch Heels and Faux-Pas. Her newest adult series is the Witches of East End, now a television series on Lifetime!
Melissa lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her family.
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