I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the last post with Marissa Meyer. It was a fantastic opportunity to talk with her and get to meet a couple new authors on the scene. I met Marissa last year at the PNWA Conference in Seattle along with Richelle Mead, Gwen Hayes and a few others. Of course, I had my copies of Cinder and Vampire Academy there for them to sign, and my camera to get picks of them signing my books. Yeah, I know. I'm a derp. When I considered Richelle for a blog interview, I went to her website, and sadly discovered she rarely does interviews...but she does have the most commonly asked questions answered on her site. So, with vague hope, I shot an email to her, fully not expecting to hear back from her anytime soon, if at all. So. The fan girl/derp thing hit me once again the next day when, lo and behold, in my inbox was an email from none other than the lovely Richelle Mead herself. Yeah, okay, so it was quick and to the point, very business-like, but she did inform on some info from her 'commonly asked questions' that was incorrect and out dated. And I'm so excited to share that news! But not just yet...
Her letter read thusly,
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| Isn't she pretty? |
Hi Su, Thanks for writing! You are definitely welcome to re-post info from my website--that's what it's there for. :) Just make sure to mention that's where it came from, and you're all good.
So, with that in mind, here are the answers to some of her Most Commonly Asked Questions.
How did you get started writing?
I've wanted to write for my entire life. When I was little, I used to design my own picture books. As I got older, I began trying to write short stories. During high school and college, I fell away from writing and ended up getting degrees in other things and becoming a middle school English teacher. Not long after that, I started writing a sci-fi book as a hobby. Nothing ever came of it, but it trained me up to write Succubus Blues. I sold it relatively quickly, and from there, I began writing my other series.
Where do you get your ideas from? Are your characters or books based on real life?
None of my characters or situations are based on anything in real life--it all comes from my head! That being said, the things in my head are fueled by the world around me. I do a lot of mythological research, and often that triggers an idea for a book (like how the Romanian myth of Strigoi and Moroi inspired Vampire Academy). Sometimes tiny little things I observe in the world will spark an idea too. Writing and story creating is so complex that there's no one good answer to say where a book comes from.
I want to be a writer. Can you give me writing advice or tell me how to get published?
Getting published is a complex process that would take pages to explain. Fortunately, author Holly Lisle has created pages to explain it! Check out her site here for a comprehensive FAQ. Author Tamora Pierce also has a really excellent website on how to get an agent and get published, with specific information for young writers.
If there's a Vampire Academy movie, can I be it? Will you let me audition?
Aw, this is nothing I would have any control over! If there was a VA movie (and like I said, there are no plans right now), it would all be in the film company's hands. This is very common, despite rumors that JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer picked their casts (they didn't).
And this the bit that needs updated on Miss Richelle's site:
Good luck with everything!
Thanks,
Richelle
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| That's my copy of Cinder in her hands |
The sorta un-interview with Richelle Mead, author of the Vampire Academy series and the Succubus series. Richelle is a very sweet lady, and completely beautiful. I just couldn't get over how YOUNG she and Marissa Meyer were. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to meet them at last year's conference. It was worth just for that.
That is so cool! Great un-interview! :D
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