1.If you could inhabit any of the worlds you have created in your novels, real or otherwise, which one would you choose to live in and why?
I’m a big fan of this world, actually. The world that I created for Trial by Fire is absolutely terrifying to me! I would definitely not like living there. I think if I could get to be a witch (or a demigod) without having to deal with the Woven in one world or the Furies in the other I’d do it in a second, but I create way too much conflict in my stories for my personal comfort. I’m perfectly happy being a boring novelist in this mundane world.
2.Which books have inspired you to become a writer, and are there any books you think "I wish I'd written that".
I read Anne McCafferey’s Dragonriders of Pern series when I was about 13 or 14 and I got hooked. I also read a lot of Greek mythology (shocker, right?) and of course, romance. Jane Austen was big in my family. Those three things together set me on my path for loving romantic fantasy.
Whenever I’m asked which series I wish I’d written, I always say the same thing—Harry Potter!
3.Which of your characters are you most similar of dissimilar to?
I go in phases when I think I’m like one character, and then I think I’m like another. For a long time I felt like Orion was the one character that I understood the most. The truth is, there’s a little bit of me in all my characters, but it would be me at my most heroic or my most dastardly. I’ve never actually faced a life or death choice. I hope I’d be as brave and as selfless as Helen and Lily are, but I don’t know. I’ve never been tested as they have.
As for who I think is farthest from me—Carrick. He has no empathy. I tried to imagine what it would be like to feel nothing for others, no emotional connection, and it was hard.
4. How did you come up for the premise of Trial by Fire, and how did you devise the idea for parallel worlds?
The premise was a combination of 2 things that have always interested me. As a tip for new writers trying to come up with a premise of their own, combining two interests that may seem to have nothing to do with each other is a good way to get thinking outside the box. I grew up in Massachusetts, surrounded by the history of the Salem Witch Trials and I’m fascinated by the possibility that our universe may actually be part of a multiverse. I’m also a rotten sleeper.
One night I got thinking about The Crucible, Aruthur Miller’s brilliant play, and at around 3:00 in the morning the multiverse concept popped into the mix, and I started thinking that if I met another version of me, we’d be mortal enemies (disturbing concept, right?) Then Bingo. Well, not instantly. I mulled all this stuff over for a few months and decided it was a great way to combine my fascination with the Salem Witch Trials and parallel universes. Then Bingo.
5. If you could have any of your books turned into a film or tv show which one would you choose and why? And do you have a dream cast?
All of them. I love movies. I love TV shows. The problem is finding a way to make good movies and good TV shows. It’s harder than magic, I think. And no, I don’t have a dream cast. I did a lot of theater when I was younger, and one thing I learned it that you have to see an actor in the room, working with the director and the other actors to find the right cast for anything.
Everyone calls it chemistry, but I’ve always thought of it as alchemy. You really are making gold, and the result is more than just the sum of its parts. If you think about it, that sort of explains why you can love an actor in one thing and not like them in something else that’s similar. It’s not just about the role—its about the whole culture on set.
6. If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and why?
I’m not really a collaborator when it comes to writing novels. While that may sound selfish, I think everyone should know her limits. I need to write alone in order to stay focused. Heck, no one even sees what I’m working on until I’ve finished the first draft of a manuscript—not even my husband or my agent reads one word of my writing until its done. I can’t imagine trying to write a book with someone else.
7. Starcrossed has garnered legions of fans, do you ever plan to write anything else with those characters?
I do have something else in mind, actually. I started writing a prequel from Daphne’s POV. It’s about her love story with Ajax, and how she came to be the character she was. (So heartbreaking!) It’s half done, but I put it aside for a bit to write The WorldWalker Trilogy first. I also have at least one more book for Helen and Lucas. They both still have debts to pay—Helen owes the Titan Hecate three favors. That could even be three more books if I really sat down and thought about it, but we’ll see if readers are interested in that or not.
8. If you were a bookseller recommending Trial by Fire to a customer, how would you describe it to them to try and hook them?
Oh wow, that’s a hard question! I am absolutely stumped. I guess I’m going to have to leave that to a professional bookseller.
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A big thanks to Josephine Angelini and My Kinda Book.
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