Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Richelle Mead Spotlight

It was my pleasure to have interviewed Richelle Mead for my Author Spotlight feature recently. Richelle is a paranormal author. Or rather, she is an author of the paranormal! LOL. (Yeah, I know, don't quit my day job.)

Anyway, read on to find out more about Ms. Mead.

Which of your books has been the hardest to write? Why?
My YA book Vampire Academy has actually been the hardest because YA gets put under a lot more scrutiny than adult fiction does. That’s not to say I was forced into writing what I didn’t want to; there are just a lot more guidelines to keep in mind. Plus, it took me a while to realize that teen voices aren’t too much different than adult ones. The writing was slow-going until I accepted that.

What do you feel is your strength as a writer? What do you do best?
I believe hands down that I do dialogue and characterization the best. So much so, in fact, that I sometimes let other details slip through. I’ll get so caught up in some wacky conversation that my editors have to reign me in and say, “Hey, describe the setting already!”

If one of your books was made into a movie, who would play the lead characters? Why?
This alarms a lot of people, but Denise Richards is probably the actress that most resembles Georgina the succubus physically. That wasn’t my intent—just something I noticed one day. As for who could really *play* her personality-wise…hmm, that’s one I’ve got to think on.

Tell me something about you that very few people know.
I love entering contests. It’s like a passive-aggressive response to my deeply-buried thrill-seeking nature. I get the same rush when one of my books goes on submission. Will I win the raffle—or the contract—or won’t I?

What is your favorite romantic movie with a bittersweet ending? What about a happy one?
Wow, it’s actually been a while since I’ve seen a romantic movie. I think my favorite happy ending one would be Amelie, and I’m not just saying that to sound all artsy and stuff. It’s such a wacky and whimsical movie…just the way love should be.

My favorite bittersweet one is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I’ve only seen once because it’s so heartbreaking. Nonetheless, the movie is amazingly done…and also painfully realistic.

What was your last purchase?
A pair of jeans with sequins on the pockets designed for someone half my age. Yeah, I know.

Is there a skill you don’t have, but wish you did?
I wish I could sing. Correction: I wish I could sing well. I actually break out into song all the time around my house when I’m by myself. My cats seem to be particularly fond of show tunes. Unfortunately, they’re not very astute critics.

If you had to leave Seattle forever and move to another country, which would you choose and why?
I’d move to Canada, specifically Vancouver. Vancouver’s a lot like Seattle, except with better public transportation and night life. Plus, they do all sorts of adorable things in Canada. Like, they put hockey players on their money and teach their children about important political issues and world affairs.

What was the worst job you ever had?
Selling New Age hypnosis classes on the telephone. Please don’t make me elaborate on that. I’ve almost got it blocked out.

I read the blurb for Succubus Blues and noticed the drink reference. What a coincidence! When I’m not writing, I’m pulling espresso at Starbucks. Is your favorite drink the White Chocolate Mocha?
No, but strangely, whenever I write any of the succubus books, I really start craving mochas. When I write about Eugenie in Dark Swan, I crave her vice: Milky Ways. Thank goodness my book about a drug-abusing womanizer never went anywhere—there’s no telling what I’d be into then.
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Heh heh. It's been a while since I interviewed an author due to tight deadlines and my online class, so it's been fun getting back into it, made even more fun by the funny Richelle. Check out her Succubus Blues, out now from Kensington, her blog, and her beautiful website. If you go there, tell me if you don't see a resemblance between the author herself and the heroine on her book cover...

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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kate,

This is Michele Masarech from your WW Class. Great Blogsite! Such a wealth of info.

Love the art reviews and the WW reviews, too.

Great interview by the way.

I'll be sure to stop by, often.

Michele

12:04 PM  
Blogger Anna J. Evans said...

What a great interview! I want to be her friend! Richelle, want to be my friend? Lol.

I really enjoyed that Kate. I'm just starting to sub my YA project so it was nice to read about another author successfully genre hopping.

Hugs,
Anna

1:50 PM  
Blogger Kate Willoughby said...

Thanks for stopping by, you two! Richelle was very funny.

8:55 PM  
Blogger Richelle Mead said...

Thanks, all. Anna, we can totally be friends. :) And no, I had nothing to do with the cover art. I don't think she looks like me, though my family has a different idea.

1:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fun interview. I really enjoyed it and will have to check out Richelle's books. I think Samhain editor Angela James mentioned the release of Succubus Blues on her blog because I recognized the name immediately. It's a catchy title.

Btw, congrats on the EC sale. Can't wait to hear more about that.

3:37 AM  
Blogger Kate Willoughby said...

Thanks, Gabriella! I'm hard at work on rewrites. It's nice to have the extra room to develop the relationship, but I sure wish I could have done it the first time around. I write from the seat of my pants and sometimes it's hard to interrupt the flow of what you've already written to insert something. But then again, that's one of the reasons writing is a craft. It ain't easy, as I'm sure you know!

8:37 AM  

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