Alyson Noël is the #1 New York Times best selling, award-winning, author of FAKING 19, ART GEEKS AND PROM QUEENS, LAGUNA COVE, FLY ME TO THE MOON, KISS & BLOG, SAVING ZOË, CRUEL SUMMER, FOREVER SUMMER (a LAGUNA COVE/CRUEL SUMMER 2-in-1), KEEPING SECRETS (a SAVING ZOË/FAKING 19 2-in-1), the IMMORTALS series including: EVERMORE, BLUE MOON, SHADOWLAND, DARK FLAME, NIGHT STAR, and EVERLASTING, the IMMORTALS spin-off and the RILEY BLOOM series.

She is currently working on a new series for teens, SOUL SEEKERS, which debuted with FATED, and will be followed by ECHO, MYSTIC, & HORIZON in 2012/13.

1. Alyson, you’ve now completed two YA series, and are working on your third (The Soul Seekers). When you’re planning a series, do you have a clear idea of the start and finish points, or do you begin with a concept and just see how it evolves? Also, how difficult is it to leave a set of cherished characters when it’s time to wrap up a series?

With my first series, The Immortals, I didn’t actually envision it as a series until I reached the end of the first book, Evermore, and realized it was less of an ending and more of a jumping-off point for a much bigger journey. For both The Riley Bloom and The Soul Seekers series I’ve plotted them through to the end, so that each successive book leads to the ultimate climax.

Initially, I was surprised by how I attached I became to certain characters, and how much I missed them when a series ended. When I finished Everlasting, the final book in The Immortals, I was struck by an unexpected sense of loss, fueled by the realization that it was time for my characters and I to part ways. I’d spent so much time with Ever and Damen over the years I probably talked to them more than I did my own husband! Though luckily, it wasn’t long before I was able to turn my attention to Daire and Dace from THE SOUL SEEKERS, and I’ve grown so fond of them I suspect I’ll go through the same sort of loss when that series ends too!

2.   Dramatic rights for both your Immortals and Riley Bloom series (a 10-book deal, no less!) have been optioned to Summit Entertainment. Your adult novel, Fly Me to the Moon, was snaffled up by Ridley Scott’s production company, with Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones’ Diary) lined up as director. Congratulations! It’s obviously unbelievably mind-blowing news, but how nerve-racking is it to imagine your brainchild being interpreted by another person, in another medium? Do you get to have much input into the adaptations?

Along with the above mentioned deals I’m thrilled to announce that all four books in The Soul Seekers series- Fated, Echo, Mystic, & Horizon – were recently optioned by Cheyenne Enterprises! And as excited as I am by all the film deals, I’ve learned to divorce myself from any expectation for the outcome. Film is such a different medium that it’s never going to perfectly mirror the books. And while I’ve been in contact with Sharon Maguire a few times, it was mostly to answer a few industry questions as I was a flight attendant for over a decade, much like the protagonist in Fly Me to the Moon. Other than that I remain outside of the process. Though I am really eager to see the worlds I’ve created come to life on the big or small screen!

3.   You wrote a number of ‘stand-alone’ novels before you began writing series. What was the catalyst for that change of format, and can you see yourself continuing to create series in the future?

Most of my books are inspired by events in my own life. My motto is: If an experience didn’t kill me, I will find a way to write about it! A few years ago I went through a time of deep grief when I lost three loved ones in five months. Then just six months later my husband was diagnosed with leukemia and I nearly lost him as well. Going through that time of loss got me thinking a lot about mortality, our life’s purpose, the soul’s journey, the enduring nature of love, and so I began writing Evermore as a way to grapple with my questions and deal with my grief.

Since then, I’ve found that I really enjoy writing series as it allows me to spend much more time with the characters and to send them on a much bigger journey than I can in the span of a single title. Though that’s not to say I won’t write more stand-alones in the future, I’ve got a few ideas I’m itching to explore.

4. Which of your fictional characters Burns Brightest in your mind and why?

I’m really enjoying Daire Santos. She’s a complex character with an amazing journey ahead of her. When I first began writing her, I admit to being a bit jealous of her life. Raised on movie sets with her make-up artist mother, she’s spent her entire life traveling the globe and hanging with celebrities—the kind of life I would’ve loved as a teen!

But as I continued to write her, I realized how lonely that nomadic lifestyle has made her. She’s never been to a real school, never had a real home, and never made any friendships that lasted past the final take on the movie set. And while that life has made her fiercely independent, worldly, and sophisticated, it’s also left her quite lonely as well. She’s so used to saying good-bye and changing her address that she’s built up a pretty tough emotional guard to spare her from heartbreak. But all of that’s about to change when she moves to the tiny town of Enchantment, New Mexico to live with the grandmother she’s never met, begins her initiation as a Seeker, and meets the dreamy Dace Whitefeather . . .

Alyson’s photo is courtesy of Nancy Villere

1. Hi Helen, thank you so much for dropping by and visiting Burn Bright.  The second book in the Wall of Night series, “The Gathering of the Lost” has recently been released. Can you tell us a bit about the series for those of us who haven’t yet experienced life with Malian?

Helen: Hi Cels, it’s lovely to be here with you today on Burn Bright. Now, for a bit about the series…

The Wall of Night is a quartet and what I call epic or high fantasy. It’s about a world of shadow and conflict where the alien Derai people are locked into aeons-old conflict with an ancient enemy, the Swarm of Dark (or Darkswarm)—but have been divided by civil war with its legacy of prejudice, suspicion and fear. I wanted to explore that ‘fatal flaw’—so although the Derai vs Darkswarm conflict is still important and has its own twists and turns to play out, the focus of the story is as much on the Derai’s internal conflicts and their relationships with other societies. It’s also very much a story of alarms and battles, adventure and mystery, friendship and love, as well as what Robin Hobb has called “strange magic, dark treachery, and conflicting loyalties.”

The first book, THE HEIR OF NIGHT, centres on Malian, the Heir to the warrior House of Night, who discovers both the full bitterness of that legacy and realizes that she has to resolve it. The second protagonist is Kalan, a young man thrust into a hateful life who is fighting to break free. The reader’s knowledge of both the wider world of Haarth and the main characters should deepen in THE GATHERING OF THE LOST although a central question is whether Malian and Kalan’s interests, after five years’ separation, remain as aligned as they were in THE HEIR OF NIGHT. Kalan, for example, hated the life forced on him by Derai society, so why would he want to return? While Malian, at the end of the first book, pledged her word that she would try and save their world – but she still lacks allies, as well as the hero’s weapons of power. Other fears revolve around whom, in a world of conflicting ambitions, she can truly trust – and even whether, given her great power, she can trust herself? As well as just how much she is prepared to sacrifice, including others and their aspirations, to fulfil her duty to the Derai Alliance and save Haarth.

Don’t get me wrong though, this is still a story of tournaments and flights by night, plots and magic, duty and honor—as well as romance. The characters are five years older you see…

2. I was instantly enraptured with “The Heir of Night” and for me it certainly hit all the high notes of an epic fantasy. You describe yourself on your website as “a lover of story” and it certainly shows in your own writing. Most avid readers have that one book that changed their life and started their love affair, which book was it for you?

Helen: Cels, I am so glad that you enjoyed HEIR—with it recently making the shortlist for the Gemmell Morningstar Award, which as you know is reader voted, I am discovering that quite a few other people have as well, which is always nice for an author to know!

But in terms of a book that changed my life—you know, I don’t think I can point to just one: there are so many books that I love and in many cases have loved for a long time. I am, I fear, a pluralist!

But one of those special books is Roger Lancelyn Green’s Tales of Troy and Greece, which I was given at around age 10. I was already an enthusiast for both Greek and Norse myths and legends, but there was something particularly real and compelling in Green’s retelling of several of the major stories. I have read many versions of those same stories, and many other classical works and reworkings since then. But I still feel that Tales of Troy and Greece was the route marker that set me firmly on the path to short stories such as The Brother King and Ithaca, and to poems like my Ithaca Conversations sequence, as well as establishing the strong mytho-heroic influences on my novels, Thornspell and The Wall of Night series.

Another special book is Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, which was the very first retelling of the Arthurian legends I encountered—and I loved it! I was enthralled by its interweaving of Celtic myth and real history, and the combination of politics and battles and magic, romantic and sexual relationships—but most of all that the entire story was told from the perspective of the women in the Arthurian cycle. That was definitely a first for me in my Fantasy reading and one I liked, opening up the notion that women’s history and women’s voices in storytelling had something to say: something that mattered.

3. Not only are you a published author but you’re an accomplished poet as well. Is there any chance we may see a project from you blending the two crafts even further?

Helen: I suppose it’s possible, but I do think of my novels and my poetry writing as diverse forms that may arise from the same creative impulse but evolve in very different ways. I tend to write poems in response to a specific moment of seeing or feeling. Prose works may spark in the same way, and usually there is an initial image or idea, but taking that flashpoint to a novel length work requires long hours of committed discipline. So I think the main connection between the two is a love of story and language arising out of the same creative well. This may lead to a project drawing on both forms “one day;” I certainly don’t rule it out but I can’t see it happening in the immediate future.

4. Which of your fictional characters “burns brightest” in your mind and why?

Helen: Well, I really don’t have any one favourite character because I find that whichever character I am working on at a particular time is the one I am most interested in. Some characters are definitely easier to work with than others, but often you appreciate what you have achieved with the difficult characters more. The Earl, for example, was a difficult character to write, because I wanted to convey the shadings in a personality who is not necessarily that likeable at face value. So he was hard work—but at the same time I appreciate the character because of the hard yards required to get him right. Conversely, I have a fondness for Asantir because she stepped into the book more or less fully formed and told me that she was important to the story, so I had better pay attention. Needless to say, I have been paying attention ever since!

Cels and Marianne—thank you so much for having me to spend time with you here on Burn Bright.

Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. A full-time writer since 2001, he has worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s books include the award-winning fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen; and the cult favourite YA SF novel Shade’s Children. His fantasy novels for children include The Ragwitch; the six books of The Seventh Tower sequence, and The Keys to the Kingdom series. More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, his books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian and The Australian, and his work has been translated into 37 languages. He lives in a Sydney beach suburb with his wife and two children.

1. Thank you for dropping by Burn Bright and congratulations on the release of your latest novel A Confusion of Princes. For readers who haven’t yet entered the Empire, how would you best describe Khemri’s tale and his world?

I don’t think I could do better than to quote the last line from possibly the best book review I’ve ever had from KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Space battles! Political intrigue! Engineered warriors! Techno-wizardry! Assassins! Pirates! Rebels! Duels! Secrets, lies, sex and True Love! What more can anybody ask for? (Science fiction. 14 & up)”

Returning to my own words, A CONFUSION OF PRINCES is a YA space opera, a coming of age and a ‘becoming human’ adventure story set in a vast galactic empire that is ruled by 10 million artificially augmented superhuman princes who are constantly competing with each other in the hope of becoming the next Emperor. Khemri is one of these princes, and the book is told in the first person, in his voice, as he discovers that being a prince isn’t necessarily all it’s cracked up to be, that life is more complicated than he thought, and perhaps being superhuman isn’t always better than being human.

2. You’re also the Co-founder of Creative Enclave and not only can we experience the adventure alongside Khemri, we can try our hand at the princely life ourselves in the beta version of Imperial Galaxy. Are you an avid gamer yourself?

I am avidly interested in games and game design, and I look at lots of them, but I don’t play anywhere near as much as I would like because I simply don’t have time. IMPERIAL GALAXY is, unfortunately, pretty much a stalled beta test, because we ran out of money several years ago and weren’t able to raise more to continue development. So it is only a kind of limited taste of what we hoped to achieve.

3. You are currently working on CLARIEL: THE LOST ABHORSEN which returns readers back to the Old Kingdom and is slated for a 2013 release. Are there any plans to continue with the series after Clariel?

Yes. But if I told you, then I’d have to . . . actually, it has been previously announced that I am going to do another Old Kingdom novel after CLARIEL, one set soon after ABHORSEN. The events in CLARIEL take place several hundred years before SABRIEL when the Old Kingdom is peaceful and settled, at least on the surface, so in some ways it is more of a standalone novel that shares the setting.

4. Which of your characters burns brightest in your mind and why?

They all take turns to burn brightly! I guess they are brightest when they are being written, so whoever is currently mid-story shines the most brilliantly. So at the moment, that would be Clariel. But I’m also working on a few other projects at the same time (not literally at the exact same time, I juggle things around) so that sword and sorcerous duo Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz are also prominent in my mind right now.

You know how much we love Yunyu’s music!

To celebrate her latest project Twisted Tales, created in collaboration with manga artist Queenie Chan -and the fact that she’s just a great Aussie talent – we’ve got a whole lot of Yunyu love for you today. Starting out we’ve posted her latest interview with Cels Jansink, and then we have a preview of her first single Dorothy, and an intro to the Twisted Tales collaboration. Yunyu’s song Bluebeard, written for Marianne’s book, Angel Arias, will be released later this year.

Big 4 with Cels

1.      Firstly congrats on the release of “Dorothy” the first single from your new album “Twisted Tales”- a modern twist on some classic fairy tales. You teamed up with renowned manga artist Queenie Chan for this project and the end result is absolutely breathtaking. For those who haven’t yet discovered the Yunyu experience, how do you describe your particular brand of music?

It’s like reading science fiction and fantasy…packaged in world-traversing, genre-crossing 4 minute songs.

2.      You have also previously released two singles to coincide with the Burn Bright series (Angel Arias and Bluebeard) and collaborated with Marianne on the Ixion fairy tales performance. What was it about the world of Ixion that drew you in so completely?

Ixion is a colourful world about hedonistic decadence and a dark price to pay … kind of like the dark twisted fairytales that I like.

3.      Are there any plans for a tour in the near future?

Oh yes. See here. more coming in a bit. Tours for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney have been planned …

http://yunyu.com.au/tour

4.      And lastly one just for fun. You’ve found the keys to a time machine and have just enough time for one trip before you’re discovered. Where would you go and why?

I’m quite liking this timeline that I’m on …warts, financial crisis and all, better the devil you know I say. But for the sake of some adventure … I’m going back to tell my younger self to throw my uni savings into a start-up called Google AND Apple. This way, I can make afford own time machine and not have to steal it for this one trip … time travel is a technology too good to be only used once.

My next trip would then be to Mr Schroedinger to steal his cat. That scientist is making zombie cats that are alive and dead at the same time and this abomination is very unacceptable.

Lauren says: I was born in Queens and raised in Westchester, New York, in a small town very similar to the one depicted in Before I Fall. My parents are both literature professors, and from a very early age, my sister and I were encouraged to make up stories, draw, paint, dance around in costumes, and essentially spend much of our time living imaginatively. Our house was old and full of art and towers and towers of books, and that’s still the kind of house I like best. Read more…

Cels:

Thank you so much for dropping by Burn Bright as part of your Australian release tour and congrats on “Pandemonium” hitting the shelves.  This is the second in the “Delirium” trilogy, for those who haven’t yet entered the world, what can they expect?

Lauren:

Delirium takes place in a world in which love has been declared a contagious disease (known as “amor deliria nervosa”). Scientists have mandated a cure. In Pandemonium, we see a society on the verge of revolution, as both sides–the proponents and resistors of the cure–come into head-to-head conflict.

Cels:

Delirium has haunted me ever since I read it and the idea of a society without love is truly frightening. If you were forced by societies leaders to forfeit one emotion for life, which one do you think you could live without?

Lauren:

Guilt, definitely! If I were forced to do without a positive emotion? I’m not sure. I could never do without joy. I might be able to exist without contentment, as long as I could have love and passion.

Cels:

You’ve also branched out into the younger market with your fairy-tale adventure, Liesl and Po and soon to be released “The Splinders”. Did you have a favourite fairy-tale world as a child you wished you belonged too?

Lauren:

I loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I would have gladly moved to Narnia as a child.

Cels:

Which of your fictional characters burns brightest in your mind and why?

Lauren:

Hmmm. That’s a great question. I really think it changes. It evolves as I begin work on something new; I become completely wrapped up in my newest characters, and they tend to displace the old ones. But I do love Po, from Liesl & Po. I think the ghost is one of my favorite literary inventions. I’m not sure why. I just find Po’s existence comforting.