FEATURE: Interview with Author Jessica Spotswood

Hi Swooners!

I'm happy to welcome Jessica Spotswood to Lexi Swoons! I read her novels Born Wicked and Star Cursed, both part of the Cahill Witch Chronicles, and I absolutely LOVED them!!! I'm so happy that she was able to answer a few questions for me and give us all a chance to get to know her better. Hope you all enjoy!!

1. Do you have a favorite character to write and if so, who?

I love writing Rory Elliott. She and Sachi were originally very minor characters, but they really took hold in my imagination. I love that they teach Cate that girls can love fashion and gossip and be very feminine, and also be incredibly canny and clever and loyal, because Cate is really judgmental about that. Rory is a much-needed dose of humor despite her sad story; I love that she says what she thinks. I also love writing Rilla Stephenson, Cate's roommate in STAR CURSED. She's this bouncy little chatterbox who wants to take care of everyone and loves romance novels and hot chocolate. She's probably the character most like me. In SISTERS' FATE she gets a sort of love interest and they banter a lot, and it was so fun to write.

2. Are any of your characters based on real people?

Maura and Tess aren't based on my sisters, but they are definitely influenced by my relationships with them. My middle sister and I are three years apart and grew up fighting over everything. We defined ourselves in opposition to each other: she was the messy one and I was the neat one; she was temperamental and I was revoltingly cheerful; she liked blue and I liked pink, etc. My little sister is eight years younger than I am and we didn't have any of that sense of competition; I just always felt very protective of her. Cate's relationships with Maura and Tess are definitely informed by that.

3. Do you have any writing rituals or quirks?

I like to have tea - iced herbal tea in the summer and Earl Grey in the winter, usually - and I need it to be pretty quiet. I cant write with music or the TV, and if i'm in a noisy coffee shop, I have to wear headphones with a white noise app. I also write best very late at night - from midnight until about 4AM. When i'm on a tight deadline, I become entirely nocturnal.

4. Without spoiling SISTERS' FATE, what was your favorite part of the novel to write?

The Cahills celebrate Christmas in SF, and that was super fun to write. That chapter was one of the first scenes I wrote, actually, even though it takes place halfway through the book. It's a nice, happy interlude amidst a lot of dreadful things!

5. Describe SISTERS' FATE in 3 words:

Death & Fire & Christmas!

6. After "The Cahill Witch Chronicles," what's next? Are you working on any new projects that you can share?

I am working on something new - a sort of Southern Gothic ghost story. I love it and am putting together a proposal for my agent, but we'll see if it ends up being my next official book. I have a few other projects marinating as well.

7. What are you reading right now?

I just finished Andrea Cremer's THE INVENTOR'S SECRET, which comes out next April and is a wonderful YA steampunk adventure. It's got incredible, imaginative worldbuilding and a fantastic plucky heroine and I loved it.

8. What gave you the idea for Born Wicked?

I had a dream in which my sisters and I were fighting over a magical locket from our mom. The idea of writing about that mix of love and rivalry between sisters with a complicated magical inheritance stuck.

9. If you could coauthor a book with any author of your choice, who would it be?

Eep. Honestly i'm not sure I would be very good at coauthoring. I'm a little bit of a control freak! My favorite author right now is Kristen Cashore; I'm in awe of her worldbuilding and the way she creates such amazing, independent, clever, flawed heroines. I would be far too intimidated to work with her, though.

10. Who is your favorite swoony boy? (Can be real or fictional)

Ooh, I love this question! Po from GRACELING is probably my very favorite, but I also love Brigan from FIRE, Eldric from CHIME, Joe Fontaine from THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, Cricket Bell from LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR...I have a whole stable of book boyfriends!

 

Well, that's it swooners! I hope you enjoyed reading this review as much as I enjoyed giving it!

Check out my reviews for BORN WICKED and STAR CURSED, and the synopsis for SISTERS' FATE, which is expected to release on August 14, 2014.