Chatting with Soman Chainani

So today I am chatting with the fabulous author of The School For Good and Evil series, my friend Soman Chainani, who’s second book, SGE 2, A World Without Princes, is coming out on April 15th. 

If you haven’t read the first SGE book, what are you waiting for? Go read it! It isn’t a NYT bestselling book for nothing! I rhapsodized over how much I loved this book in this earlier post (link here). And today we are going to have a giveaway for A World Without Princes! All you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win the sequel. So let’s get chatting!

Ellen– Soman, you have your second book coming out now. One I have been dying for since I read the first book last year. And you teased and tortured me this entire time! Tell me, what the experience was like for you writing the second book as opposed to how you wrote the first one.

Soman – First off, I have to tell you how much I love your PROPHECY series. What I loved most about Kira's journey in the book is her emotional complexity and fallibility. She's prone to impulse and misinterpretation, like every volatile teenager. Your hero feels fully three-dimensional and I can't wait to see what happens in the final volume.

Ellen – Aw, thank you, Soman, it is always lovely to get Prophecy love!

Soman - On another note, I was raring to do this chat with you, because I always feel like you're one step ahead of me in your experience as a debut author -- your books always come out first -- so you can give me a peek at what I can expect, what I should avoid, and how to keep my mental sanity. 

Ellen – Are we supposed to keep our sanity? Isn’t book 2 where most authors usually lose their grip on reality? At least that’s what happened to me, and I’m not quite sure I ever regained all my senses.

 

Soman – The funny part about Book 2 is I tried to outline and organize it ahead of time, like a good student. When I started writing, though, I ended up accomplishing practically my entire outline in the first 50 pages. Talk about panic. But somehow here it is…

Ellen – Panic in the Sequel. Isn’t that a song? I think panic actually might be good for us.  Or maybe I’m fooling myself… Anyway, personally, I learn a lot from you and how hard you work on promoting your book. I find it really impressive.

Soman – It’s so funny, because I’m horrible at promoting me as a personality or anything about my personal life. I have no interest at all in people knowing anything about me. But when it comes to the work, I’ll stand out there on Queens Boulevard and shove it into people’s hands if I have to. I learned that from my Dad, who is a master at separating his own ego from the product.

Ellen – Dude, you need to teach me how to do that. I can’t even ask people to pay me back money they owe me. Look at us digressing again. Let’s go back to the second book…

Soman - First off, I found writing the second book in a trilogy at once easier and yet much more difficult than the first volume. On the one hand, I felt much less pressure writing A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES -- partially because I had put so much pressure to make THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL perfect. Such a silly thing to do, of course, but with your first novel, it's so easy to get worked up and believe that if you make even the slightest mistake, your career will implode before it's ever started. (I was the kind of student in school who thought he failed if he got a 92.) If there's one thing that irks me about my first book is that sometimes it feels too controlled, when I wish I had been just a tad more reckless. So with Book 2, I tried to just quiet my thinking mind and let my unconscious run. Perhaps it's why I like the second book more than the first.

Ellen – Me too! I do love my second book, Warrior, even more than Prophecy.

Soman - That said, on a practical level, there was much more time pressure for the second book -- only about ten months to write it versus the 18 months I had for the first book. But perhaps a focused deadline forces you to be more linear and drive through the story. With A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES, I found myself worried where and when to end it, since the middle volume of a series so often withers because it can't find any meaningful conclusion. But the time pressure really let me just feel my ending and commit to it without the usual hemming and doubt that comes with having too much time to work on something. What was your experience like writing WARRIOR? 

Ellen – I had the same time constraints. I mean I had years to rewrite Prophecy and literally months to first draft and edit Warrior. And yet, I loved it more. I do well under deadlines anyway. I think it makes me a more efficient author. Ok now I want to talk about the trailer for World of Princes. Let’s share it here:

I love this trailer as much as the first one! Was it fun working with your producers? What guidance did you give them on both of your amazing trailers?

Soman – I think one of the bigger lessons in life I’ve learned as an artist is that when you collaborate, it’s so important to find people who care as much as you do. And the two guys who do the trailers – Manny Palad and Michael Blank – are not just geniuses, but they live and breathe these things. As for guidance, I just send them a list of images in my subconscious and they use it as a kind of brainstorm bank. Speaking of book promotion, what have you learned from your experience with the Prophecy series about the need for an author to be a businessman as much as an artist?

Ellen – Well, I do think that there is only so much an author can do unless you are willing to put a lot of money behind your book. Which is why it is usually the big books with the big marketing push of their publishers that make it on to the lists. Having a small book means doing everything in my power to garner as much attention as I can. But I am a realist. I wrote a fantasy novel with Asian mythology and set it in ancient Korea. Plus I’m an author of color. These are not easy things to overcome in our very western centric society.

Soman – I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on how you perceive marketing in the YA genre. Chad Harbach (author of the blockbuster THE ART OF FIELDING) recently edited a book called MFA vs. NYC about the split in publishing between literary fiction and commercial fiction, and how your book either ends up siloed into one of these categories, often artificially. In children’s Middle Grade books, there is the stereotype of the same split – where books are either considered ‘high’ literature and thus pushed towards teachers, librarians, and the so-called ‘gatekeepers’, or considered ‘popular’ fiction, and marketed directly at the kids. But I don’t know if it holds true anymore. Plenty of schools have been teaching THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, despite its controversial elements (or perhaps because of them) – and we ended up creating a Common Core-aligned discussion guide to facilitate it. In the past, that might have been less of a possibility because SGE is fairy-tale themed. Growing up, I felt like all the books we read in school were either Newbery-award winners or had that same kind of lofty feel. But with so much competition for kids’ attention these days, perhaps some teachers feel it’s worth teaching something they know will engage them, without necessarily sacrificing language, themes, etc.?

Ellen –I’m so glad schools are teaching SGE! Man, I would have loved to have been in that class! The split you are talking about has always irked me because it doesn’t feel true to what our kids are really reading or interested in. Sometimes it feels as if the gatekeepers are reading these books as adults and not with their inner child. What makes a work of popular fiction any less worthy than one which is a so called “literary” book? There should be no true division in that sense. It’s different in YA. While there is definitely a separation of “literary” vs “popular”– there isn’t the same issue with gatekeepers. But in some ways I think it is also harder to promote yourself directly to the readers in the oversaturated world that YA has become. I don’t know that there is anything that we can really do except write your next book.

Soman – Speaking of which, we should probably get back to it. What’s next for you?

Ellen –Finalizing book 3! I should be seeing first pass pages soon, I think, which is always an exciting time. And there are a few fun projects that I’ve been working on that I love. What about you?

Soman – Because Middle Grade is more tour-heavy than YA, I’m literally packing for a 2 month tour around the country and then to Canada and the UK. (My mother’s been barking at me to pack light this time, because of my overpacking last year. I think at one point I yelped over the phone, “I REFUSE TO WEAR THE SAME OUTFIT TWICE.” After that, she lost all respect for me.) When the tour’s over, I’ll hide in a cave and write Book 3, which is out in October 2015. Or maybe I’ll come to your cave and write there. I go through Ellen withdrawal if I don’t see you for too long.

Ellen – Oh you should have me pack for you! I’m the most efficient packer. And I would happily have you come to my house and write if you weren’t on deadline – because you know you won’t get much writing done as we would spend all the time talking and eating! But wouldn’t that be so fun anyway! Speaking of fun, note to self, must schedule NY trip to see Soman after his book tour!

Ok Soman, thanks for being on the Inkpot again. Next time let’s share crazy family relative stories like the time your grandmother took you white water rafting even though she refused to row and how my mother forced me to eat the same plate of broccoli for a week because she wanted me to lose weight. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Soman – My mother made me drink nonalcoholic beer in high school, hoping it would make me GAIN weight, since my father got fat from drinking beer. So I totally understand your pain. Until next time Ellen…

So that's the chat! Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget, leave a comment below for a chance to win the exciting sequel – SGE2 A World Without Princes!

Interview with Ellen Oh, author of WARRIOR

It's always a great day at the Inkpot when one of our favorite people publishes another book--and the Inkpot throws parades and launches fireworks when it's a second book in a series that is as good as the first one (because we know how hard that is), so we are truly cheering and dancing today for Ellen Oh, whose thrilling WARRIOR grabs the story her PROPHECY started and runs off with it at a sprint!

Here's what the back of the book has to say: "Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer who fiercely protected her kingdom--and the crown prince--has been proclaimed the Dragon Musado of the prophecy. With the help of the first lost treasure, the legendary tidal stone that controls the seas, she defeated the evil shaman. But her quest is far from over. Her father always said one person can change the world. Will it be Kira?"  

What do think? Will it be Kira? Will it? Will it? Why, yes!

Anne, on behalf of the Inkpot: Oh, Ellen, how much did I love this book? A dragon's worth! As I started reading, I noticed that PROPHECY's characters and places had stayed with me so vividly that I didn't have any trouble figuring out where we were and what was up at the start of Book Two. That's hard to pull off. Could you give us a glimpse of how you handled writing a sequel, not to mention a second book in a trilogy? How did you go about giving just enough backstory so that your audience is caught up, but still managing to dive right into the new story? Any tricks or tips for would-be series writers?

Ellen Oh: To be honest, I probably gave too much backstory and relied on my editors to trim it down for me. And I also relied on notes from my editors that would say things like "Here's a good place to remind readers what happened before!" So i can't take the credit for it, that is the work of amazing editors. 

Anne: What I think you do so beautifully in these books is combining action (and not just a little action, but lots of it), with a real sense of the bonds that hold a family together. Kira's brothers can be blunt with her, but you can tell they love and respect her (and that respect grows over the course of the story). Do you have brothers of your own?

EO: No, but I always wished I had an older brother. I'm the oldest and I had too much responsibility piled on to me. So the idea of a big brother who teaches you and guides you and looks out for you is so very appealing. In real life I know brothers can be just as annoying as sisters, if not worse, but for me, I guess it is the appeal of what I don't have.

Anne: Seems to me your heroine Kira, even though she's not technically an older brother, has got those "teaching and guiding and looking out for you" skills woven deep into her nature! Kira's relationship with her young cousin Taejo, who is also the future king she is sworn to protect, is really touching. They really care about each other, and Taejo is slowly maturing over the course of the books. Again, the way the characters care about each other makes us care deeply about them, too. That is not just true about Taejo and Kira, but about almost all of WARRIOR's positive characters, many of whom could be described as "fiercely protective." What do you think the ideal proportion of fierceness versus tenderness is in a heroic character--so that we not only admire her/his prowess but care deeply about her/him, too?

EO: I think it is just a representation of people's capacity to love and care for each other. And above all, especially in Korean culture - honoring your elders, looking out for your younger family members, and being loyal to the family is an absolute. that's how I was raised and so I don't know any differently. When you truly love someone, you would do anything for them. And that is why "fiercely protective" shouldn't be at odds with love and tenderness, if that makes sense.

Anne: Yes, I can see that. Of course, to bring out that loving/tender/fierce protectiveness, you have to put your poor characters into jeopardy! There are some very creepy scenes in here--deserted villages in the snow, zombie-like creatures marauding, demonic children.  Did you have to tone the horror elements up or down as you were revising? Did anything get nixed because it was too scary for kids, or did you find your story becoming more frightening, from draft to draft?

EO: Actually, I toned down PROPHECY as it was originally more violent, more frightening, and actually had a lot more death in it. I was not shy about killing characters off. It was actually my oldest daughter who demanded that I not kill a few key people off which changed the course of that novel. So for me, WARRIOR and KING (the 3rd book) follow completely in line with the level of violence and scariness of the first book. At least that is what I think. Now I'm curious, did you think WARRIOR was scarier? 

Anne: Good question. I think they're scary in different ways: in PROPHECY the scariness comes from Kira's being torn away from her family and thrown into very difficult and unsettling situations--it's all new for her, and disorienting, which of course is frightening. But the actual dangers in WARRIOR are perhaps scarier! She's more equipped to deal with them by now, but as a reader I kept ducking behind her and peeking over her shoulder, with my teeth rattling.

Okay, let's move from terror to beauty: I love the way you use the landscapes and mythology of an ancient/mythological/alternative Korea in your books! Have you had any reactions from readers in Korea yet? Are there zombie-like creatures in Korean mythology, or did you make that up? How about that absolutely fabulous nine-tailed fox demon, the kumiho? Is she a creature we might find in other Korean stories?

EO: Well the kumiho and the dokkaebi are definitely creatures straight out of Korean mythology and I loved being able to work them into WARRIOR. I believe that they were by far my favorite parts of writing WARRIOR. Anything regarding the demons and half-breeds were purely from my own twisted imagination. :o)

Anne: And speaking of the kumiho, another thing I love about Warrior is the way you give depth to your portraits of dangerous characters: demons, dragons, and villains are not all one-dimensional in your books. Kira seems to be learning that the world is far more complicated than any black-and-white theories would suggest: sometimes even villains may redeem themselves. Does this mean that Kira will end up questioning some of the things she has held sacred all her life, as we get into Book Three? Do you think the world is developing more "gray areas" for Kira as she gains experience?

EO: I will only say this. Something majorly unbelievable happens to Kira in book 3 that will test her like nothing else ever has. And I definitely think it takes her into a new area of gray that she must learn to navigate or die trying.

Anne: !!!!!!!!!!! 

Anne again, still slightly trembly: Speaking of Book Three, what is its title, and when can we expect to find it on the shelves? The ending of WARRIOR does not leave the reader in a comfortable place for waiting and waiting, you know . . . . 

EO: I don't believe in cliffhangers for the first book in a series. I think it is kind of a mean thing to do. But I'm a big Empire Strikes Back fan so a cliffhanger in the second book is I think the best place to put one. :o) I know it is still mean but it was inevitable. KING comes out December 31, 2014. And like I alluded to before, there is something that happens to Kira that no one will ever guess. NO seriously, if anyone could guess it, I would buy them a box of donuts and ship it to wherever they were. .

Anne: Really? Donuts??? You're in trouble now, Ellen. Guesses are going to be pouring in like there's no tomorrow. But I'll sneak mine in before the crowds arrive: taking your Star Wars reference as a clue, I assume we discover the demons are green-tentacled alien invaders from a different planet--right? Right? Ellen? .  . . Don't look at me that way . . . . Okay, okay, no donuts for me . . . .

So, what else have you been working on recently? What can we look forward to reading, someday, from Ellen Oh?

EO: I've been finishing off KING and have been working on a few projects that I love. One is a contemporary horror using a Korean Shaman as the main character. The other is an epic fairytale creatures war novel set in Washington DC. I am enjoying the mash up of fantasy and modern world as it is so different from the PROPHECY world.  

Anne: Those sound extremely fabulous. I'm ready! Another question: what kind of response from a reader moves you the most?

EO: Any response I get moves me. I love them all. I love the emails and fan art. I love the cards and the torn pieces of paper with writing or doodles on them. I love hearing about it in person. It never gets old. 

Anne: Do people really send you doodles? That's really, really lovely. Of course, once you have a nine-tailed fox demon show up, doodles have GOT to follow. 

Anne, after a few minutes spent attempting to doodle a nine-tailed fox demon--not a success, I'm afraid!: Food gets a lot of loving attention in this book! What's a real comfort food for you? If you were slogging through the snow and arrived finally at a snow-bound village, what would you be hoping for for supper?

EO: Steak and potatoes. Most favorite thing to eat in the whole wide world. But I eat it Korean style. I like it with rice and kimchee, ha ha. Other than that, shoot, it would be so hard to pick. I'm such a foodie. I just love to eat way too much. I'd be pretty happy with any good hot home-cooked meal.  

Anne: Kira is incredibly brave and very loyal. If you were her age and met her by chance, do you think you'd get along well, or would there be some clashes? 

EO: I would be best friends with her! I'm biased cause I created her but I really like her a lot and think she would be the friend you would want to have all through life because she would always have your back. always believe in you.  

Anne: I think she would love you, too, Ellen! How about places: what location (or scene) did you most wish you yourself could magically visit, as you were writing about it?

EO: In PROPHECY, that would be when I wrote about the Diamond Mountains where the Heavenly maidens reside and in WARRIOR it would be Mount Baekdu. They are real and both are actually in North Korea, which is not safe to visit. But some day I hope I will see them with my own eyes.

Anne: Until that day comes, you have given us all glimpses of beautiful, dangerous places we may not have thought about before, so thank you!

And thank you for being such a fabulous interviewee and writer, Ellen Oh! Try those cookies over there--I put some caramelized ginger in them, so they're a combination of scary and warm, like your books. :) Good luck to you and to all the PROPHECY novels!

Hero author Alethea Kontis

Today the Inkpot has the pleasure of bringing you the incredibly talented Alethea Kontis, author of Enchanted and it’s sequel, Hero. I am a huge fairy tale fan so when Enchanted came out last year, I barely waited a millisecond to click buy on my Nook reader. And boy was I ecstatic! I adored Enchanted! I love the Woodcutter family and this fabulous cast of characters Alethea brings to life in her novel. So I was incredibly happy to meet Alethea in person, (she is as fun in real life as her books are!), and have the opportunity to read Hero, which stars the fantastic Saturday Woodcutter.

Hero
by Alethea Kontis
Hardcover, 304 Pages
To be published October 1st, 2013 by Harcourt Books

Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. 

Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?" 

As in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.

Please welcome the enchanting Alethea to the Inkpot today! Alethea, you are like the queen of the modern fairy tale, as far as I’m concerned. Tell me first how you became a writer.

AK -  I was born into a half-Greek, half-French family of storytellers, so I've always loved stories. I started reading at the age of three, so I've always loved books. And when we started writing poetry in class somewhere around the age of eight, the world just all fell into place for me. I wrote all kinds of things--greeting cards, pamphlets, mostly poetry--and I submitted everywhere I could find a contest. TV Guide, Reader's Digest, cereal box, Marion Zimmer Bradley Fantasy Magazine...you name it, I submitted. I would keep my rejections in a shoebox, and once a year I would throw away all the rejections (because they made me sad) and start again. Mostly, I wrote stories for my friends. One day, many years later, one of those friends forwarded the story to a friend of her who worked at Candlewick Press...and they called me on the phone and offered me a book deal.

Ello -  What made you decide to write these wonderful fairy tale retellings?

AK – Also when I was eight (1984 was a big year for me), my maternal grandmother gave me a giant tome of unexpurgated Grimm and Andersen Fairy Tales. My parents were probably just grateful that the book was large enough to keep me occupied for a while--they had NO IDEA what those stories were actually about.

As a little girl, these stories became sort of a religion for me. I believed in being strong and clever and motivated enough to seek out my own fortune. I believed in putting kindness and generosity out in the world, because I never knew when my path would cross that of an evil fairy. Above all I kept my mind open to the possibility of magic, because I didn't want to miss it when it finally found me. And, in many ways, I think it has.

So when I say that it's a dream come true for me, writing stories in a setting  where all the fairy tales come from one family, you know what I mean. The Woodcutter Sister Series are the books I've been waiting to write my whole life.

Ello – And I've been waiting my whole life to read!! Now I have to say that it would be hard for me to pick a favorite character out of the Woodcutter bunch, but I think Saturday tends to edge her sisters and brothers for me. I loved her in Enchanted and was thrilled that she had her own story. Do you have a favorite?

AK – Have you ever read Tanya Huff's The Last Wizard? (Gorgeous book; I highly recommend it.) In the book, the titular wizard has several goddesses trapped inside her head, and she can take on the aspects of each one at a given time. I feel this way about the Woodcutter sisters--in a way, each one is just a different facet of me (even Monday, who is very much based on my eldest sister, Cherie).

Now, there's a character I sort of can't wait to write about...she first appeared in a short story I wrote for an anthology called DEMONS. You can actually still read the story online here for free (they used it as a teaser for the book): http://www.scribd.com/doc/70431258/The-Unicorn-Hunter

Ello – This is so awesome! Thank you for sharing that! And what an unusual romantic interest for Saturday!  A cross-dressing hero?! Love it!

AK - Well, when one has a blind witch to play with, one takes advantage of the situation! What better way to play with emotions and stereptypes than a girl mistaken for a boy and a boy cursed to look like a girl? Cross-dressing and costumes are very fairy tale in nature--I originally wanted to name the hero Orsino, after Twelfth Night, but it would have been too obvious. Instead I named him Peregrine, a nod to M. M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess. (But "Hero" is still technically a Shakespearean character--and a girl, to boot!--so we cross-dressing drama nerds still have the bard hidden there.)

Ello – I did catch the Shakespearean nod, btw. Very nicely done! Now I know we can’t be spoilery, but I have to tell you that I’m pins and needles to find out what happens next – and to learn all about Jack, the oldest brother! Can you give us a wee hint as to what we can expect in the next book?

AK – Beloved is a parallel novel to Hero, chronicling the adventures of Friday and the rest of the Woodcutter crew back in Arilland, in the tragic aftermath of the appearance of Saturday's "impossible ocean." Apprentice seamstress Friday becomes a leader of the children (because that's Friday's thing), and gets caught up in trying to break a curse involving seven swans, a mute girl, and the need to weave seven shirts out of stinging nettles.

I've always loved all the bird-tales ("The Goose Girl" is my favorite) and I have to say...I am SO IN LOVE with writing this book. Beloved is such an appropriate title.

Ello  - CAN NOT WAIT!!! Ok, since we are talking about fairy tales and magic and fantasy, I only feel it is fair to ask you a magic question. If you could have one magical talent, what would it be? (and no cheating and saying you’d be a wizard and do it all!)

AK – I'm still waiting on my power over gravity. I think my order got lost in the mail.

Ello – :o) Here's a harder question for you. If you were on a deserted island and could fill a magical suitcase (think Hermione’s purse with the extension charm) with 5 items, no matter how big, what would they be?

AK -  Sunday's neverending journal (1) and a pen that never runs out of ink (2), an iPod filled with all my favorite songs that will never run out of battery life (3), sunscreen with no aloe (I'm allergic--4), and the complete works of Rudyard Kipling (5). I actually have a set of the last one that I inherited from the same grandmother who gave me the fairy tales--I've just been waiting on that island.

Ello -  Ok last question, if you had a chance to talk to your younger teenage self, what one thing would you want to tell her?

AK - You know, I wrote a letter to my younger self for "Dear Teen Me" a while back -- you can read it here, complete with vintage Alethea pictures and secret codes. LINK HERE.
If I only had the chance to pick one thing, it would be the first one on the list: Everything's going to be okay. Sometimes we just need the GPS of our life to reassure us that we're still on the right path, and I would wish my younger self that confidence. 

Thank you so much for joining us today, Alethea! Now go finish book 3 of the Woodcutter saga before I burst! :o)

Alethea Kontis

New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a goddess, a force of nature, and a mess. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, turning garden gnomes into mad scientists, and making sense out of fairy tales.

Alethea is the co-author of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Companion, and penned the AlphaOops series of picture books. Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines. She has done multiple collaborations with Eisner winning artist J.K. Lee, includingThe Wonderland Alphabet and Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome. Her debut YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award in 2012 and was nominated for both the Andre Norton Award and the Audie Award in 2013.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea now lives in Northern Virginia with her Fairy Godfamily. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.

Tour-Wide Giveaway
Sept 22 - Oct 17

Fairy Tale Gift Basket (US only): Signed copies of both Enchantment and Hero by Alethea Kontis plus swag!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

The School for Good and Evil-Interview with Soman Chainani

I have fallen madly in love with a book. From its stunning cover to each magic laden page inside, I’m just absolutely crazy about The School for Good and Evil. It even has the most epic trailer I’ve ever seen for a book! 

So how awesome is it that I get to present Soman Chainani, author extraordinaire, to the Inkpot, and also a chance to win a SIGNED hardcover of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL! I admit that I’ve been quite shy around him. Soman is basically a genius. He is a Harvard summa cum laude and a graduate of the MFA Film Program at Columbia University where he walked away with the school’s top prize, the FMI Fellowship for Writing and Directing. See what I mean? He’s totally brilliant and he wrote this marvelous book I adore and admire so much. Kind of how I feel about J.K. Rowling is also how I feel about Soman. But how lucky am I that we have the same wonderful editor at HarperCollins, which meant I got to read an ARC early on and get my own personal introduction! And what I found was that this brilliant author is also a really nice, awesome guy. Even in the midst of preparing for his big 11-city tour and writing the screenplays for the movie adaptations of SGE as well as finishing up book 2, he still made time to stop by the Inkpot. So please welcome Soman!

(EO) - Hi Soman! Thanks for stopping by the Inkpot! You know how much I love your book. I pretty much twitter stalked you obsessively after reading it. And after reading SGE, I found myself running to the library and taking out all the Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books again, the ones that came in all the colors. I felt so nostalgic for them. Did you read those as a child?

(SC) – First off, let me say that long before we made contact, I’d heard so many wonderful things about you, as both a writer and a person, that I felt quite honored when you read my book, let alone enjoyed it. So it’s quite a privilege to be here at Enchanted Inkpot.

I feel quite ashamed to say I haven’t read Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books, even though I was deeply obsessed with fairies as a child. I used to make paper doll fairies out of tissue paper, slather them with glitter, and enact grand melodramas with them under the bed. My mother couldn’t understand how I could go through an entire box of tissues a day, but just learned to put up with it. I think she always did – and continues to – find me quite mysterious.

Your question brings up another funny story. When I was in England a few years ago pitching new project ideas, the studios over there kept demanding I do “something like ‘the Fairy Books’” because they were apparently a cash cow. I heard it about ten times before I trekked over to Foyle’s, the massive bookstore in Leicester Square, and discovered the Rainbow Magic Fairy Books… which look EXACTLY to me like Andrew Lang’s, now that you mention it. In fact, I can’t quite tell the difference between them. So like werewolves and vampires, it seems like fairies are constantly rebooted these days too. However, the fairies at the School for Good and Evil, as the trailer points out, are much trickier creatures. For one thing, I wouldn’t get too close to them. And second, I have boy fairies, which are non-existent in most fairy books. (Ludicrous!)

(EO) – Oh the Rainbow Magic Fairy Books ARE the same thing! Ok so, when I heard that you wrote your thesis at Harvard on why evil women make such irresistible fairy-tale villains, I immediately thought, now there’s a thesis that I want to read! So I have to ask you, who are these irresistible fairy tale villains to you and why?

(SC) - To me, I never understood why Disney used female villains so sparingly. In the 50 or so animated films they’ve made, only six or seven have wicked women – but these are the ones we love the most. Ursula, Maleficent, Cruela, the Wicked Queen… (not to mention the rather effeminate qualities of Scar and Jafar). What makes female villains so alluring is the fact that they cannot rely on brute strength. Instead they must deliciously manipulate – through subterfuge, seduction, and disguise. Only with the females do we really sense the attraction of Evil and the sheer charisma, cleverness, and force of personality it requires to vanquish Good.

(EO) – Yes, Malificent was always my favorite villain and really the only reason I liked the Sleeping Beauty film, to be honest. I do think that a great villain can make a story great. But in SGE, you muddied up your own thesis by playing around with the idea of good and evil! You have the classic battle of good versus evil, and yet nothing is as it seems. It’s like you took all our fairy tale notions and said “OK, let’s have some fun with this!” And then you literally let all hell break loose. I bow down to your genius, by the way. While the idea of playing with the fluidity of good and evil is not new, this is seriously fantastically original stuff. And it’s definitely more Brother’s Grimm than Disney. I love that! So what came first for you? The plot, the character, the world?

(SC) – It’s funny, I started writing THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL about six months before the fairy tale craze started happening in Hollywood and in publishing – and I remember asking myself the same questions everyone is asking now. Why do fairy tales matter so much? Why do we respond so deeply to them in every age? And I think the answer is that they feel like a Survival Guide to Life, no matter what age you are. They present such a clear-eyed view of the world, without Disneyfied happy endings or even the expectation of happy endings. At the end of the Grimms’ stories, kids often end up baked into pies, losing tongues, or being turned into birds, just for making poor decisions.

So with THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, I wanted to start in that kind of world with true consequences – and where there is balance between Good or Evil (which is in fact the reality of our world today. Balance might even be called optimistic.) And I wanted to deal with the notion that Good has been winning everything… and what did that mean? Why does Good always win these days in stories? And is that what children really need to learn?

So just by starting with fundamental questions, I realized I could actually conceive a school around these principles. And so the book begins with the quite provocative idea that every child’s soul fundamentally skews towards Good or Evil, that each child is born the inclined to create… or to destroy.

(Which seems quite accurate to me, by the way. To play with this idea, I created the entrance exam to The School for Good and Evil on the book’s website, which tests what percentage of your soul is Good and what percentage of your soul is Evil. Over 10,000 people have taken it so far… and it’s pretty balanced between Evers, or those that skew Good, and Nevers, or those who skew Evil.)

To take the exam - go here. 

(EO) – Speaking about your main characters, I seriously adore Sophie and Agatha. I think you have accomplished so much in this brilliant novel, but what I love the most is how you literally had me switching my allegiance from Sophie to Agatha, back to Sophie, back to Agatha, and then the absolute best, most satisfying conclusion I could have ever hoped for! Can you tell us a little about how you came up with your two main characters? Who are they like? Who did you channel?

(SC) – This question makes me light up, precisely because one of my biggest goals in the novel was to keep the ground shifting under your feet. Disney films always open with the blond princess singing her big ‘I WANT’ song, where she speaks of her wish for true love, or a new mother, or a different life – and Sophie practically opens the novel the same way. So subconsciously, readers invest in her as the protagonist. It’s been fascinating to watch the reactions once Agatha is introduced and she and Sophie begin their fraught relationship. Certainly some readers are uncomfortable with shifting allegiances (they want their Good Good and their Evil Evil) – but I wanted to tell a story where you’re forced to judge the characters’ actions instead of investing in an abstract archetype.

As for who they’re like, it’s not a coincidence that the SGE Playlist that Amazon.com is hosting is littered with Madonna songs and videos. There’s a lot of Blond Ambition in Sophie. My family, meanwhile, would answer your question differently. When my brother was reading the book, he called me up and said “You know this Sophie girl… She’s the real you.” Though it’s a rather uncharitable assessment, I have to say that writing Sophie is the highlight of my day. She delivers monologues as if the whole world is listening and I relish the tightrope act of making her at once ludicrous and alluring. In fact, Sophie was born first – I heard her voice for weeks, bawdy, cooing, and warm. In time, Agatha’s began to answer her, throaty, brutish, and cold. I wanted to create the ultimate odd couple – the idea that they’re at once inverses of each other and yet can’t live without each other.  

(EO) – Also, I want to say off the bat that anyone trying to make any comparisons to another magical school for children couldn’t be more wrong! The School of Good and Evil and the fairy tale creatures that inhabit it is both a dreamland and a nightmare, on both sides! Its more Wonderland than Hogwarts because everything is so strange and wondrous and also quite terrifying. I kept wondering, what was Soman thinking when he came up with this?

(SC) – One of the strangest elements of writing a fantasy novel is that you have to abandon all control. I can’t even begin to tell you why the world looks like what it does. It’s just how it surfaces in my imagination as I write – and I try not to doubt it. But I remember looking at Iacopo Bruno’s mind-blowing full-color map that opens the hardcover edition – and having this moment where I had to admit to myself… This world doesn’t exist. It’s all in my head. It was a sad moment, actually.

I think the biggest relief so far is that no one has compared this book to Harry Potter at all. And you hit the nail on the head – I think the reason why is because in Rowling's series, we know who our protagonist is. We know what Good and Evil is -- and Hogwarts is a safe place of learning and good intentions, for the most part.

At the School for Good and Evil, all of that is destabilized. We have no idea who's Good. We have no idea who's Evil -- and we're not even sure which one is supposed to win. There's nothing even remotely safe about this world. You choose to attend Hogwarts. You're kidnapped to the School for Good and Evil.

(EO) – This next question is a bit of a spoiler so I'm going to change the font very light. If you want to read it, just highlight it. I do want to talk a little about one of my absolute favorite scenes of the book. Agatha has always thought she was ugly and she undergoes a makeover, or so she thinks, and believes she is beautiful. But in actuality, nothing physically had changed, except her confidence. To me, this was a powerful message. When you are always told you are ugly, you come to believe it. But when you are self-confident in your worth, than you are beautiful. This is such an important message and you captured it brilliantly.

(SC) – I remember in my notes for the outline, I had that she comes out of the Groom Room ‘changed.’ In my head, I always assumed she’d have a makeover. So when I wrote that scene, I started envisioning this physical transformation – and felt myself nauseous over it. I just couldn’t do it. Then I realized why I’d been so vague in the outline. My subconscious knew all along – this was the story of a girl who had discovered beauty from the inside out. But would audiences believe it? That was the difficult part. So I really had to dig in and make Agatha feel so deeply, so honestly that you put yourself in her shoes.

And honestly, I think her transformation is far more authentic than a Pygmalian makeover. I always thought of myself as a bit of an Agatha growing up and despised the way I looked. But I fought past it, accepted myself… and realized that the world just mirrors back how you feel about yourself. I had a line that I had to cut, but I’m sure will show up somewhere else: “Even the boys started smiling back at Agatha. Like monkeys, they reflected the face you gave them.”

(EO) – I completely agree with you and I thank you. There’s so much I want to talk about, and yet I can’t because it would be too spoilery. But I just want to tell everyone to please, please read this book and when you get to the gargoyle scene, you’ll know when you get there, please come back and comment here. Because it is the scene where I cried. I think you win the award for best gargoyle use in a fantasy book.

(SC) – That scene was never in the outline. I was in a hotel in Boston, having just finished this emotionally grueling tennis tournament and was writing Chapter 8, which just wasn’t going in the direction I wanted to. I remember fighting and fighting myself and then being too tired to fight… And the entire rooftop episode came spilling out: the wish fish, the stampede, the gargoyle… All in one go. I remember going to sleep that night thinking, “My god. Why am I trying to write this book consciously? Let go.” It was such an important lesson. Just let go and let the elves do their work. 

One of the things that I love about Phoebe Yeh, our mutual editor, is that she trusts an author’s intuition. She knows when I’m doubting myself and won’t have it. What’s so remarkable about her is that she’s 100% dedicated to making sure the book turns out the way the author wants it – so she’s constantly asking questions and probing to make sure each scene achieves the effect we want. In a way, she’s a bit like that mirror barrier on Halfway Bridge, constantly testing if we’re staying true to ourselves.

(EO) – Oh yes, I think we are so fortunate to have Phoebe and Jess and the fabulous Harper team! OK, I need to talk a little bit about the conclusion. There’s so much I want to say about it, and ask about it, but I can’t because it would spoil the book. But there’s just no words to express how much I loved it. And I wanted to thank you for the unexpected and yet perfect ending. Did you know how it would end when you first came up with the idea or did it come out of writing the whole thing?

(SC) – I did. It was the ending that made me know I had to write the story. Because no one could possibly predict it! It just felt like an opportunity to really bring two girls on a massive journey to a brand new place, both literally and emotionally.

(EO) – And you do a magnificent job! Now I know you are working on the screenplays for the movie version, which I can’t wait for because this is a book that BEGS to be made into a film! And you are also working on book 2. Can you tell us a little of what comes next?

(SC) - You know, it’s a funny thing, because I’d love to – but Harper will kill me. To even tell you who’s in the sequel will spoil the surprises. But let’s just say you can’t possibly predict what’s going to happen in this one either. It’s an even wilder ride than the first, with a lot more provocation, mischief, and intensity. It isn’t your classical Year 2 book, that’s for sure. And the truth is, where writing the first book was a bit daunting, I’m having a blast with the second one. I’m sure you’ll agree with this, Ellen -- once you’re done writing the first book, you can spread your wings and just fly.

(EO) – Oh kill me now! I can't wait. Thank Soman! I don’t know if you set out to do this, but you have written a wonderful tale of girl friendship, strength and empowerment. SGE is a wonderful Girl Power book and one I would gladly give to my daughters and buy copies of to every girl I know. And I, for one, seriously can’t wait for the next installment!!

(SC) And I can’t thank you enough for your support and encouragement. For such a talented writer to help other writers get their work read is a testament to your character, energy, and passion for good books. Thank you so much for having me!

My wonderful editorial team at HarperChildren's has very generously provided a SIGNED hardcover copy of THE SCHOOL OF GOOD AND EVIL for one lucky Inkpot winner! All you have to do is leave a comment about what your favorite fairy tale is and why!! One random winner (US only) will be chosen. Enter as many times as you want! The contest will run for two weeks and the winner announced at the following Shameless Saturday post!

Happy Shameless New Year!!!

2012 was a banner year for the Inkpot - releases, awards, new book sales, critical acclaim.  How can we possibly top that?

Our bi-monthly shameless posts will show you!!!!

Case in point, or first shameless post of 2013 is just chuck full of awesomeness.  Don't believe me?  Take a look!

Starting off with a bang, featuring the cover release for Dawn Metcalf's INDELIBLE, he first in a new series from Harlequin Teen, which will hit shelves July 2013!

There's a new blog on the scene for 2013!  Lisa Amowitz, along with author Michelle McLean, has founded the new Scene 13 blog to showcase and highlight 2013 releases. In total there are 29 members including Inkies Lena Goldfinch, PJ Hoover, Ellen Booraem, Lisa Gail Green and Hilari Bell.

Speaking of Lisa Gail Green, she recently announced her 2013 debut THE BINDING STONE, the first in her Djinn series. Check back here for more updates!

We love collaborative Inkie efforts here in the Inkpot, so we're proud as punch about all the rave reviews for DIVERSE ENERGIES, a multicultural YA dystopian anthology featuring works by Cindy Pon and Ellen Oh.  Here are the latest reviews:

from VOYA:

Teen angst in the future makes for a very popular genre and this well-written collection should prove popular if promoted to the The Hunger Games or Divergent series crowd.

from Publisher's Weekly:

While there's not a single misfire in this anthology, particular works stand out. Ellen Oh's "The Last Day" takes place in a world torn apart by a decades-long war...and Cindy Pon's "Blue Skies" is almost painful in its longing for escape. Not only do these stories feature racially diverse casts, set all over the world or in space, some have gay and lesbian protagonists, giving readers plenty with which to identify.

Amazing!

More accolades for Anne Nesbet's THE CABINET OF EARTHS which appears on the Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" list for 2012 and is a Finalist for the 2012 Cybils award for Fantasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade), along with Jennifer Nielsen's wonderful book, THE
FALSE PRINCE.

And to top it all off, Shannon Hale just put THE CABINET OF EARTHS on her list of "'Girl'
books that boys love"!

Which dovetails into our big finale here with perhaps the most exciting news of all. Paramount Pictures has announced it has contracted with Bryan Cogman, story editor for HBO's GAME OF THRONES series, to adapt the screenplay for Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE.  HBO?  GAME OF THRONES?  OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See?  2013 is going to give 2012 a run for it's money...  :)

Happy New Book Year!

Happy New Year! This is one of my favorite times a year; fat with promise, with hopes and dreams and goals...and fat with BOOKS!

SO MANY good books coming out in the next few months! I've asked the Inkies to help me get my TBR list all nice and corpulent and oozing with stories I can't wait to read. So here goes (I'll start):

In case you missed it, the first book on my list was featured last week on the Inkpot: PROPHECY, by our own super-awesome Ellen Oh. Go read the interview, and then go buy the book!

It's a good thing my signed copy of PROPHECY is winging its way to me right now, because all the other books on my list are SO FAR AWAY. *cries* I fell in love with TYGER TYGER a hundred years ago and have been waiting impatiently for the completion of the series ever since. Only five months to go for the release of WHEN THE STARS THREW DOWN THEIR SPEARS!

Another one that's even FURTHER away *shakes fist* is the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan's unassailable gothic trilogy, UNTOLD (UNSPOKEN, the first book, is made of so much awesome it hurts my brain...it hurts it and then my brain is like THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU MORE PLEASE). (and, thanks, Masters of the Book-Release Universe, that's the only semi-coherent link I can find because it doesn't come out until SEPTEMBER)

GRR. Let's move on to what everyone else is looking forward to. I need to be cheered up.

Lisa Amowitz:

Well, mine for starters!

BREAKING GLASS comes out in July 2013 from Spencer Hill Press and I may have another one to sneak in, but that's still up in the air..

But I am also seriously looking forward to the next installment in Laini Taylor's DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE trilogy, PRODIGY from Marie Liu (that's not out yet, is it?) THE GATHERING DARK, by my good friend Christine Johnson, and the next installment of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boy series. And anything that John Green puts out--as they say--I will read his grocery list. :)

Just started Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy (SHADOW AND BONE) and I LOVE IT--also loving Will's GOBLIN SECRETS--too much to read!!! Not enough time!!!

TRUTH. Looking forward to more Grishas and Ravens, myself.

More delicious books under the jump!

Ellen Oh talks about PROPHECY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  The Inkpot is thrilled, delighted, and jumping up and down today, because one of the books we have been looking forward to for years is finally out in the world!  PROPHECY, by our own Ellen Oh (whom we know and love as "Ello") has a story to tell that grabs you and does not let go:  "The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms . . . is a girl with yellow eyes.  Kira's the only female in the king's army, and she's also the prince's bodyguard. She's a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she's their only hope. . . ."

Anne, on behalf of the Inkpot:  I enjoyed PROPHECY so much!  I was going to say I gobbled it up in one gulp, but maybe it's more accurate to say it swallowed me.  There's not a slow moment in the whole book, and Kira the girl warrior is a such a sympathetic character, as well as being so very strong and mighty.   And there's a lovely map!  Perhaps I'll start my questions by asking about the map.

Ello: Thank you! The map is by my dear friend, Virginia Allyn, who is the most talented illustrator in the world! Ok so I may be a little biased in my statement but I would show my map as Exhibit 1 and our very own Inkpot header as Exhibit 2. Plus you can go here to see just how incredibly talented she is!

Anne:  Of course I had to pull out a map of modern Korea and compare it to your "Seven Kingdoms"!  (I was thrilled to find a picture of the "Nine Dragons
Waterfall" online--so I guess it really truly exists, though I gather it's hard to get to, being over the border of North Korea.)  Are those "seven kingdoms" historical fact?  Or part of Korean mythology?  Or made up by you?  And have you ever been to any of these dramatic and beautiful places you describe?

Ello: Yes, the Nine Dragons Waterfall are in the Diamond Mountains of what is now North Korea. At the top of the waterfall are a series of interlocking jade pools. When North Korea opened its borders to allow visitors to these famous mountains, South Koreans went in droves, determined to see what they believe is the most divinely beautiful place on earth before they die.  Take a look:The Nine Dragons Waterfall!! http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_4_12_12_2.jsp

I’ve never been there. In fact, I’ve not been back to Korea since I was a baby. I would love to go and see all these places in person and not just by video and photographs.

I decided to base Prophecy loosely on the time period between 300 and 360 C.E. in ancient Korea, when there were many walled city-states and warring kingdoms. Some of these city-states became famous kingdoms of ancient Korea. They were Koguryo, Paekche and Shilla - known as the Three Kingdoms.

So for the Seven Kingdoms of Prophecy, this is what I did:

Hansong Kingdom - based on the walled capital city of Paekche called Hansong. It is the location of modern day Seoul. But the sewer tunnels are completely fabricated!

Guru - based on Koguryo, the largest of the Three Kingdoms.

Kudara - based on Paekche, one of the Three Kingdoms.

Jinhan - based on Shilla, one of the Three Kingdoms.

Kaya - sometimes referred to as the fourth kingdom, Kaya is based on the kingdom of the same name.

Oakcho and Tongey are both walled city-states of the same name.

Anne:  I hope you do get to travel to Korea and see these places in person!  Inkpot Expedition, maybe?  Let me ask you something about your characters:  Kira is isolated by looking and being different from the people around her (how many of us have a nose for demons?), but I loved the way she was also surrounded by good friends, not to mention helpful brothers.  It's nice to see her looking out for young Taejo, whose own situation as political pawn and princeling is not enviable.  I can imagine a middle-grade version of this story from Taejo's point of view!  Were you ever tempted to try that? And did the story or your heroine come to you first?

Ello:  Yes! In fact, the first version of Prophecy was from Taejo’s POV. I wrote it from the viewpoint of a young prince who is said to be the hero of legend but then he is stunned to find out that the true hero is not him but his older girl cousin, Kira. So I wrote it first as a middle grade novel, which is fitting in that it was always my intent to write a book for my daughters. It became young adult when I changed the POV to Kira and when the book itself became darker and more violent. But still, not what I would call an older YA.

Anne:  Your fight sequences are wonderfully precise.  Do you have any martial arts experience yourself?  Your characters really seem to know what they are doing!

Ello: I had only a little bit of tae kwon do training myself. It was too expensive to train with a master. But I had plenty of fighting experience. I fought a lot growing up in NYC. I was always in trouble. I have always had a very smart mouth; the only difference now is that I’m better at keeping it shut. But when I was young, I was not known for discretion. And the one thing that would set me off was and still is, a racial slur of any kind. It didn’t matter how much bigger the other kid was or how many of them there were, I heard the slur and my mouth would go off. They were rip-roaring ugly fights. Nothing pretty or fancy or well choreographed. Just grab what you can and punch, bite and kick the hell out of whoever comes near you. Fast and dirty. That’s how I write my fight sequences. Someone criticized my fight scenes for being boring and over too fast and I just had to roll my eyes. That person clearly has never been in a real fight (When I say “real fight” I don’t mean a hair pulling cat fight or some drunken brawl.) I’ve had knives pulled on me twice (ran like a crazy person both times), I’ve had bones broken, and cigarettes burned into my skin. Real fights don’t last that long. That’s the truth of it. Someone is either running the hell away or getting their ass beaten. I’ve experienced both.

Anne:  Ello!!!  There's so very definitely a whole book right there, in the "rip-roaring ugly fights" of your childhood!  Maybe when your children are a little older?   . . . . Another aspect of your story that rings true is the political complexity of it.  I liked, for instance, the ambiguous and powerful uncle, who manages to be helpful and selfish at the same time.

Ello: I’m so glad you got that! That was what I wanted to come out of him because that felt right about royalty during ancient and dangerous times. There is no such thing as the perfect benevolent monarch. Both of Kira’s uncles are powerful kings who are flawed in very different ways. King Yuri of Hansong is small-minded and biased and insular in his thinking while King Eojin of Guru is power-hungry and ambitious.

Anne: Did you think up your title, or was that your publisher's choice?  Is PROPHECY also the name of the series, or just this first book?  What is the second book's title and when does it appear?  By the way, I thought you did a perfect job of ending at a satisfying point, while still leaving enough strings dangling to make us hungry for Book Two:  good job!  That's hard to do!

Ello: Well, I originally queried it as The Seven Kingdoms. Graceling hadn’t been published yet and we were in between the Song of Ice and Fire books 4 and 5. So it was The Seven Kingdoms when it sold. And then my editor asked for some new names so my agent and I brainstormed and came up with Prophecy, Warrior, and King, the Dragon King Chronicles. But then we dropped the Dragon King Chronicles and it became the Prophecy series.

Anne: You have encouraged so many would-be writers over the years!  Was there any particular piece of advice or comfort that kept you going, when times got rough or the waiting seemed particularly endless?

Ello: My personal mantra is more true now than ever before “Don’t let the Naysayers get you down!” There’s always someone trying to put you down. I don’t know what it is about human nature that likes to hate on people. It tends to trouble me because I truly love to celebrate people’s successes. But there is always going to be someone out there who feels like it is their job to put you in your place. Like you don’t have the right to try for a dream or succeed. Sometimes that person is yourself. You have to find some way to turn that voice off and just not listen to it.

Anne:  That's so true.  Every writer should have the entire previous paragraph taped to his or her wall! 

Kira has a tiger spirit that inspires her during hard moments.  If you had an animal spirit of your own, what do you think it would be?

Ello: Oh, I definitely relate to the tiger spirit. You see when my Mom was pregnant with me, she had a dream about a tiger. She was sitting in a meadow, perched on a rock when she noticed yellow eyes gleaming from the bamboo patch. The next moment a great big tiger leapt out of the bamboo and raced toward her. She fell off the rock and flung her arms over her head, thinking she would be eaten, but nothing happened. When she sat up, she found the tiger in front of her, just staring at her. It lifted up a paw and placed it on her knee and in its claws was a red peony. She went to a fortuneteller who told her that the tiger was the spirit of her baby, who would be a strong spirited child. That was me. Well, at least that’s what my mom always said.

Anne:  While I'm waiting IMPATIENTLY for book two (and hoping there will be more Jaewon in it), are there other good books about or set in Korea or fictional Korea-like places that you might recommend?  Your locations were so vivid that I really did not want to close the book and "come home."

Ello: Oh boy, I was immersed in a lot of history books and art books so it is hard for me to answer this question. To be honest, other than Linda Sue Park’s award winning book The Single Shard, I can’t think of any books like mine set in Korea. It is really a strong reason as to why I wrote my book. But my friend, Christy Farley’s fantastic book Gilded, which I was so lucky to read early on and is coming out this year, will also be set in both contemporary and mythical Korea. So maybe Christy and I can start a new trend!

Anne:  And now . . . the lightning round:

1. What are you working on just at the moment?

Ello: Revising book 2 and drafting book 3.

2. What books are you reading right now?

Ello: I beta for Marie Lu so I got to read the last of the Legend series and I want the world to know how AWESOME it is! I can give absolutely nothing away except that it is sheer and utter BRILLIANCE! And I have a bunch of books on my TBR pile that I’m just dying to get to like Throne of Glass, Days of Blood and Starlight, Girl of Nightmares, and so many more! I just need more time during my day just for reading!!

3. What other book out there do you wish you had written?

Ello: There are so many books that I jealously wish I had written but the one that makes me insanely jealous would have to be Robin LaFevers's Grave Mercy. I just adore that book so much!

Anne: (Oh, YES!  Grave Mercy just sweeps a person away!)

Thank you so much, Ello, and CONGRATULATIONS on this wonderful, amazing, fun
book you've written!

Ello: Thank you so much! I’m just overjoyed and thrilled every time I hear that someone enjoyed Prophecy. It feels like a dream come true.