Interview with Lauren Oliver, Author of the Delirium Trilogy and Before I Fall, and International Giveaway

That said, I am soooo thrilled to introduce Lauren Oliver, one of my all time favorite YA authors. One of my new favorite indie authors, Andrea Colt, is giving away Before I Fall as part of her current giveaway.

 

Goodreads Book Description: What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

AUTHOR BLURB:

Lauren Oliver captivated readers with her first novel, the New York Times bestseller Before I Fall, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. She followed that up with Delirium and Pandemonium, the first two books in her bestselling trilogy, which concludes with Requiem. Delirium has been optioned for film by Fox 2000 Pictures. Oliver is also the author of two luminous novels for middle-grade readers, The Spindlers and Liesl & Po, which was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. A graduate of the University of Chicago and NYU's MFA program, Lauren Oliver lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Author Interview
Lauren, first of all, thank you so much for joining us on my blog, Ensconced in YA. It is such an honor to have you here!

1. I was hoping that you could tell my readers a little about how you started writing and who you drew inspiration from (perhaps, your father? ;-)).

My father has certainly been a role model and taught me a lot about

work ethic; I still like to bounce ideas off of him, and he’s one of

the people I share early drafts with. But I primarily started writing

because I loved reading so much. When I finished a book I loved, I’d

start writing its sequel so I could stay in the world a little longer.

2. I am always struck by how wonderfully drawn your characters are. You now have several books out now. Do you have any favorite characters? Did any of your characters surprise you?

I love writing about people. I’m a super character-based author, if

that makes sense. It’s really hard for me to pick a favorite character,

but I do like writing about the “supporting” characters, like Hana

in Delirium and Lindsay, Elody, and Ally in Before I Fall. Maybe it’s

because I’ve always had such a strong network of friends, and I think

my identity has truly been shaped by the people I’m close to.

3. What is the craziest thing a fan has ever said? What was the most moving?

The craziest thing a fan has ever said…is that he was looking at my

house on google earth during a fan chat. Creepy! I hear many moving

things from my readers—I certainly can’t pick only one! But I love it

when my readers tell me that my books helped them get through a

difficult time. That’s the best thing about books—they’re a shelter and

a safe place.

4. How do you come up with your characters' names? Do they have any special significance?

It depends! I keep lists of names I like—but my main character’s

names tend to just “occur” to me. And I named Magdalena, in the

Delirium trilogy, after a close friend.

5. For our aspiring writers-- I believe that having a good critique partner is essential to writing a book. Can you tell us a little about your experience with peers who have edited/critiqued your work?

I participated in the master’s program at NYU University, where over

two years I intensively workshopped a variety of my pieces. I think

one of the most valuable things the experience taught me was how to

take criticism, period—how to sit with it, and incorporate it, and learn

from it. It’s not easy to submit to criticism about work that feels so

personal, but it’s necessary; no writer gets it right the first, or even

the fifth, time.

6. I recall when you came to visit Saint Louis, that you said one of your first books was full of 500+ pages of gorgeous description... without a plot. Can you tell us a little about how you structure your books now? Do you outline or do you start with some great characters and go for it?

I usually write between 10K-15K words and then I pull back and

definitely try and draw up an outline; otherwise, I’ll get lost in a maze

of words. I usually start by identifying a “three-act,” and trying to pin

down how the major climactic tensions will manifest. Then I break it

down even further into a chapter-by-chapter outline. But of course, as

I go, the outline often gets revised.

7. What is your favorite YA book of all time? What is your favorite YA read of the past year?

All time—Harry Potter (it started as children’s but I consider the

series as a whole YA).

Last year—oof. Hard to say! But I really liked Cinder, by Marissa

Meyer.

8. Delirium is your only current trilogy. How was the experience different for you, going from a stand alone book to a trilogy? What was better and what was harder about it?

It’s totally different, and I would probably approach it differently if

I had to do it again. It’s a very different scope, plot-wise; you have

to think about how your decisions in one book will affect your

imaginative landscape several years, and books, down the line.

But it’s also comforting to live with a set of characters, and within

a certain world, for so long. I was really upset when the trilogy was

finished—for a long time, I thought I would never have another idea!

9. Now that your Delirium trilogy is almost over (so sad!!!), what else do you have on the horizon?

I have a realistic YA novel called PANIC coming out in 2014; I’m super

excited about it. I’m also writing a book for grown-ups for ROOMS

and I’m working on a super secret middle-grade series, too.

10. I have to ask, do you still write chapters on your Blackberry on the subway? I'm still so floored by how you wrote most of BEFORE I FALL like that!

I do! Although I’m so furious with my cell phone service I may be

forced to switch to an iphone soon…I don’t know what I will do then. I

can’t type on an iphone! 

What an awesome interview! Now, enter to win BEFORE I FALL or a signed copy of TORCHED by Andrea Colt!

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