Interviu cu o autoare: Janet Fox

Prin aceasta postare voi incepe o rubrica noua, si anume „Interviews”.

Janet Fox, autoarea cartilor Faithful, Forgiven si Sirens a fost foarte draguta si mi-a acordat primul interviu pentru a putea da startul acestei rubrice. Janet, thank you very much for the interview! Voi primi in curand si niste swag-uri pentru un giveaway, deci, stati pe aproape!

1.    Hello Janet! Thank you for granting me this interview. I’d like to talk first about your recent fantasy book, Sirens. How did this story come into being?

JF: Hi Roxana! Thanks for having me. SIRENS isn’t really a fantasy – although there is a ghost, and there are some magical elements. But more importantly it’s about two girls living in the 1920s, which is a time period with so many echoes of today. Can a girl be independent, or does she have to conform to what’s expected? Does a girl have to “obey” her boyfriend? Can Jo and Lou find happiness, even when they don’t do what’s expected?My publisher asked me to write about the 1920s, but I was thrilled to be able to do so, because I think the lessons and questions raised in those wild years still apply today.

2.  What was the most challenging aspect of creating this character of Josephine Winter?

JF: I wanted her to find out what it meant to be independent. So at the beginning of the story she can’t be too brave – she has to figure it out. But she also can’t be too wimpy – she has to have a core of steel. It took me a few drafts to strike a balance so that Jo could grow into the strong and independent girl I wanted her to be at the end.

3.  How did you approach the research needed for this book?

JF: I think I’m always doing research of one kind or another. J I remember one night listening to a radio program about the 1920s’ magician Howard Thurston, and I ran out and found the book about him the next day, because what he did was so strange and fit with the story. That’s what I mean – things tend to pop into your life when you need them. I read a lot of books about the time period I’m writing about; and I also try to read things published during the time period, too, because that gives me a flavor of what it was really like.

4.  What are your current/future projects?

JF: I’m working on a science fiction novel right now – a real departure in some ways, but actually the world building is very similar. Only there are no books for me to read about my future world; I have to make it all up myself. I’m having a lot of fun, even if it comes to nothing.

5.  If you had to be one of your protagonists, who would it be?

JF: Oh, good question. I think Maggie Bennet, from FAITHFUL. I would love to be able to see Yellowstone and the American west in 1904. What a fantastic time to be here.

6. Who are your favourite writers and why?

JF: I love fantasy, so JRR Tolkien is one of my all-time favorites. But I also love history so I like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. In contemporary authors, I love Suzanne Collins, and I think Maggie Stiefvater is amazing. Oh, and Libba Bray, and Laurie Halse Anderson and Judy Blundell and Mary Pearson. All of them know how to craft a great story and use language.

7.  What was the book that most influenced your life — and why?

JF: I would say LORD OF THE RINGS. I read it when I was 14, and it stuck, and I’ve read it about 8 times since. LOTR has it all – great characters, driving plot, beautiful language, imaginative world.

8. What are your 5 favorite books —and why?

JF: Right now (and this changes every couple of months): Maggie Stiefvater’s THE SCORPIO RACES because it is the best kind of magical realism. Laurie Halse Anderson’s FEVER, 1793 because it is the best kind of historical fiction. Suzanne Collins’ THE HUNGER GAMES because you can’t put the books down. Beth Revis’ ACROSS THE UNIVERSE because she builds an amazing new world and she has the most astonishing opening scene ever written. And RJ Palacio’s WONDER because it is so beautiful and I cried through the whole thing.

8. What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career as an author?

JF: Doubt. I doubt myself every day. I doubt my ability, and my craft. I have to fight it to get things done, to just believe. It’s a tough struggle and it never ends.

9.  Describe your writing room

JF: Hah! Well, at the moment I have a small desk in the bedroom, because we are living in a tiny cabin. But any day now we’ll be moving into a house we’re building and I’ve got a beautiful new space and I can’t wait. I’ll have a desk and separate tables, and most importantly a wall where I can hang up my projects and story concepts, because that’s how I plan and think through my projects.

10. Take us through a typical day in the life of Janet Fox.

JF: I write every day, for from 4 to 6 hours at a stretch. I spend too much time on the internet…I walk every day, to think and for exercise. I don’t watch TV, and I don’t play games, and we don’t go out much, so I write a lot. When I’m not messing around on Pinterest.

11. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

JF: Just, thank you! Keep reading. Work hard but also enjoy life. Find your dream and aim for it and never give up.