1. Describe your new book in 3 adjectives.
Regency sci-fi romance.
2. What were the challenges of writing this novel?
I had to do a lot of historical research as the book contains two plotlines in the past, one in 1745 during the Jacobite Uprising and one in 1854 during the Crimean War. Writing it was a very messy process involving a lot of Wikipedia and trawling through history books.
3. Which new up and coming authors do you like?
I love Catherine Doyle, Alice Oseman, and Louise O’Neill. Brilliant young authors who are also very cool!
4. Who is your favourite character in your book?
I don’t know if I can choose between my main characters Kate and Matt . . . this is too hard! They are the best as a pair.
5. Do you have any weird writing habits?
I write at night. I’ve tried writing during the day, but I’m totally unproductive until the sun has gone down!
6. We've had vampires, witches and demon hunters – what do you think will be the next YA trend?
Mental illness seems to be the new trend, like the recent books
All the Bright Places and
I’ll Give You The Sun.
7. If your novel were to be adapted would you prefer movie or TV series? Do you have a dream cast?
I’d prefer a TV series just because I’m greedy and would want it to be as long as possible! I spend a lot of time thinking about my dream cast, it’s probably unhealthy. I see Kate Finchley as a young Gillian Anderson, Matt Galloway is Ben Whishaw and Tom Galloway is Dylan O’Brien.
8. Why do you think YA fiction is so important?
Young Adult fiction has the huge responsibility of being read by teenagers. The right book can shape a young person’s ideas about important issues like feminism, homophobia, sexual assault and mental illness for the rest of their lives. If you read the right book at exactly the right age it can stay with you forever, and YA does that really well.
9. What can you tell us about your next project?
Right now I’m working on the sequel to The Next Together, which has an LGBT protagonist! I wrote a blog post about it
here. I can’t say much more than that without spoiling something though, sorry!
10. Recommend your novel in one sentence:
Love transcends time and space and social constraints, even when the world is working against it.
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