Interviu cu o autoare: Cynthia Leitich Smith

Vin cu un nou interviu, de data aceasta cu autoarea romanului „Blessed” ( care suna exceptional 😀 ). Cynthia Leitich Smith a fost foarte draguta sa imi raspunda la cateva intrebari, fapt pentru care ii multumesc mult. Thank you!

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With a wink and a nod to Bram Stoker, New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith unites the casts of Tantalize and Eternal in a delicious dark fantasy her fans will devour.

Quincie P. Morris, teen restaurateuse and neophyte vampire, is in the fight of her life – or undeath. Even as she adjusts to her new appetites, she must clear her best friend and true love, the hybrid werewolf Kieren, of murder charges; thwart the apocalyptic ambitions of Bradley Sanguini, the seductive vampire-chef who „blessed” her; and keep her dead parents’ restaurant up and running. She hires a more homespun chef and adds the preternaturally beautiful Zachary to her wait staff. But with hundreds of new vampires on the rise and Bradley off assuming the powers of Dracula Prime, Zachary soon reveals his true nature – and a flaming sword – and they hit the road to staunch the bloodshed before it’s too late. Even if they save the world, will there be time left to salvage Quincie’s soul?

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Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of TANTALIZE, ETERNAL, BLESSED, DIABOLICAL and TANTALIZE: KIEREN’S STORY (Candlewick). Her award-winning books for younger children include JINGLE DANCER, INDIAN SHOES, RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (all HarperCollins) and HOLLER LOUDLY (Dutton).

Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer’s Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children’s/YA publishing community in the SCBWI „To Market” column.

1. First of all, thank you very much for granting me this interview. I was wondering whether you would like to tell us something about yourself.

Thank you! I was raised an only child in Kansas City, which is the heartland of the United States. Growing up, I journeyed every Saturday morning to the local public library for books to read and began writing at an early age.

I went on to major in journalism at The University of Kansas and then earn a law degree from The University of Michigan Law School. I began writing full-time in my late 20s.

To date, I have published ten books, with another four under contract. I’m also well published in the short story. I write for kids and young adults and am best known for my humor, Native American themes, and Gothic fantasy adventures.

2. Can you tell us what inspired you to write “Blessed?”

Blessed is the third book in the Tantalize quartet. It begins right where book one left off, though all of the stories can stand alone. Essentially, Blessed asks the question of whether someone else’s actions can define us. It was inspired by Abraham Stoker’s 1897 classic Dracula, and presumes that his novel was loosely based on truth. The world in which I’m writing is a contemporary one, influenced by that history.

3. What can you share about your novel?

The book is a Gothic fantasy set in a multi-creature-verse. It’s a genre bender with strong elements of suspense, romance, horror and some humor. There’s definitely a girl-powered slant to its sensibility as well, very much in the Joss Whedon tradition.

Or, put another way, Quincie P. Morris has been turned against her will into a neophyte vampire, and the monster that made her has set in motion a plan to both turn countless more and unleash the power of the famed Count, Dracula Prime.

4. I believe all readers and perhaps the writers as well imagine what would happen if they were granted a few hours with a character of their choosing. If you were to spend some time with your characters where would you go and what would you do?

I would dress in gown worthy of Countess Elizabeth Bathory herself and dine at Sanguini’s. I would order the wasabi deviled eggs, the West Texas rattlesnake ravioli marinara, the Chianti-marinated wild mushrooms, and the kumquat sherbet with frozen eyes of newt.

For dining companions, I would select Quincie herself, her hybrid werewolf boyfriend Kieren, the guardian angel Joshua, and dishwashers Aimee and Clyde, who’d of course be given the night off. And of course the evening won’t be complete without an appearance by chef Nora or serenade by Freddy. Ah, delicious.

5. Do you have a favorite author?

I have too many to mention. Setting aside my very cute husband (and sometimes co-author) Greg Leitich Smith, a few of my favorites include Robin LaFevers, Y.S. Lee, Libba Bray, April Lurie, Arthur Slade, Brent Hartinger, Alex Flinn… The list goes on and on.

6. You have a time capsule and the possibility to preserve three books for the people of the future. What books would you choose?

I’m guessing someone else will stash away all the holy texts, so with that caveat:

Oh, the Places You Will Go by Doctor Seuss

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Every Time a Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams-Garcia

7. You are able to go back in time and take part in one particular historical event. What would that be and how would you change it?

Let’s pretend the butterfly effect is not, well, in effect.

I would urge the indigenous nations of the Americas to join together in face of advancing populations from other continents.

8. You have a mirror that shows you a person of your choosing from the past and/or present. That person can be anyone: a president, a king, a queen, a writer etc. You can ask him or her only one question. Who would it be and what would you ask that person?

Will Rogers: how did you know humor was the best way?

9. Scientists have managed to create a machine that allows you to jump to the future. What year would you like to discover?

I’d rather go to the past, to the Cretaceous, just so I could tell my husband all about it.

10.   Would you like to add anything else?

Thank you!