You guys remember how I loved, Loved, LOVED Nightshade by Andrea Cremer? Well guess what?! She agreed to have an interview with me and I'll be giving away some sweet Nightshade stuff. Read on to learn more!

Andrea's Website
Nightshade's GoodReads page

First, do you have any interesting birthday stories? Embarrassing? Perfect? Terrifying?

I really love birthdays; I’m a Leo, which means I like attention, but I was raised to believe that self-importance is a nasty characteristic – so my birthday is the one day where I feel like I can act all “me! me! me!” without feeling guilty. My favorite birthday was when I planned an entire day of different activities tailored to suit all my friends – for the morning people there was brunch, for outdoorsy types there was an afternoon hike, and for the nightlife guys and gals there was salsa dancing. It was a blast and meant I got to hang out with different people all day long; three birthdays in one!

In NIGHTSHADE, Calla is often saying that they aren’t werewolves, they’re guardians. Why did you feel like this was an important distinction to make?

It’s common to refer to NIGHTSHADE as a ‘werewolf’ book because that’s the dominant placeholder for wolf/human shifters in our culture. The reason Calla objects to the label is that werewolves are usually a mix of human wolf that looks like a mutation (think The Howling or Wolfman). Guardians really are fully wolf and fully human. They’re able to shift from one form or the other at will. Calla thinks that being called a werewolf is derogatory because she considers herself to be a wolf, plain and simple. She just has a human form too.

If you were a member of the NIGHTSHADE or BANE packs, who would you be and why?

I’d probably be Calla’s younger brother, Ansel, because he’s the only character I based on a real person. Ansel is loosely modeled on my own little brother; he and I are a lot alike, which means we’re both a bit like Ansel.

If you were to describe your writing process in three words, what would they be?

Obsessive, rapid, engrossing.

Is there anything you need in order to write? (ie Chocolate, quiet, music)

Coffee!

Did writing YA fantasy come naturally to you? Have you considered writing other YA genres?

The best piece of writing advice I’ve heard is ‘write what you love.’ I know it sounds clichéd but it’s absolutely true. I grew up reading any fantasy I could get my hands on. My world was shaped by Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Peter S. Beagle, Piers Anthony and other fantasy authors. When I started writing my novel I knew without a doubt it would be fantasy.

My next project is a YA steampunk series that I consider ‘historical dystopia,’ but it’s got a lot of fantasy elements at work. It’s my opinion that dystopia, science fiction, and fantasy have a lot in common and each of those genres appeals to me.

Nightshade is your first published YA book, but is it the first YA book you’ve written?

I have two ‘practice’ novels that will never leave my writing desk. I wrote them when I was first trying my hand at novel writing, trying to get a sense of whether or not it was something I could do.

When I started writing Nightshade, I knew it was ‘the one.’

Finally, some fun from random plot twist generator!

You’re walking along the streets when, Without warning, a sinister reporter arrives, with several children in tow. What’s the story he’s investigating?

The reporter is not actually a reporter. He’s an agent of Queen Mab, trying to gain access for the Dark Fey court to human children via orphanages. He’s using the reporter angle to get orphanages shut down because of scandals he publishes and the fey are taking over the orphanages, and rounding up the children, once they’re closed.

Anything else you'd like to say?

Thanks so much to everyone for their incredible enthusiasm for Nightshade. I can’t wait for October. And Happy Birthday, Enna!

Thanks, Andrea!



GIVEAWAY TIME

Today you have the chance to win a preorder of Nightshade (coming out in October) as well as some cool swag from Andrea herself! Cass from Words on Paper is hosting this contest! Go over to her blog and enter, quick!