Interviu cu o autoare: Aimee Agresti

Cred ca la momentul de fata majoritatea au auzit de Illuminate si au suferit dupa coperta absolut superba ( eu una stiu ca da ). Autoarea romanului, Aimee Agresti, a fost foarte draguta si mi-a oferit un interviu pentru blog. Thank you very much!

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?

Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.

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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 so much for having me! Let’s see, what shall I tell you? Well, ILLUMINATE is my first novel, but I’ve been writing for a long time: I went to journalism school and spent years writing for entertainment magazines!

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

I wanted to write the kind of book I would’ve loved as a teen: something with romance, mystery, fantasy, adventure and a strong heroine. Another fun scoop: the story itself is an update of one of my favorite books, „The Picture of Dorian Gray” with some angels and devils thrown in!

3. What can you share about your novel?

On the surface, ILLUMINATE is about a teen angel who’s forced to battle a pack of devils and falls in love with one. But what it’s really about is a girl learning to have confidence in herself.

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?

If I was hanging out with MY characters, I would love to get a photography lesson from Haven, bake with Dante or go museum-hopping with Lance. But if I could spend time with ANY character, I would really love to solve some mysteries with Nancy Drew. She was my favorite as a kid, I devoured that series!

5. Do you have a favorite author?

I have so many favorites! J.D. Salinger is probably my all-time favorite. But then, of course, there’s Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Jane Austen, Roald Dahl, the Brontes, Lewis Carroll, so many!

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

What a fun question! I would choose three of my favorite classics: „The Catcher in the Rye,” „War and Peace,” and „Pride and Prejudice.”

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?

I would really just like to go back to Paris in the ’20s and hang out with Hemingway and all those great writers and artists and just have some fun!

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?

I’d love to ask Dorothy Parker for some sassy writing tips!

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

Hmmm, I wouldn’t go too far, maybe just a couple hundred years and have a look around at how things have changed, that could be fun!

10.  Would you like to add anything else?

It’s so nice to be featured on a Romanian blog: my grandmother was Romanian and she would be so proud!