Niteblade

Posts Tagged ‘Carrie Jones’

Straight up, I adore Carrie Jones. She’s clever, compassionate, funny and a damned good writer so when I heard she had a new book coming out I used it as an excuse to interview her 😉 Enjoy!

Can you tell Niteblade readers a little bit about NEED?

Sure. Zara is a Charleston runner who collects phobia. She never knew her real dad. Her stepfather just died. Her mom is mourning big time and she’s sent Zara to live with her grandmother in Maine so she can recover and stay “Safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother just can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination or some random stalker. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings who hangs out with Peter Pan. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

She also falls in massive like with a guy named Nick so there’s some romance thrown in, because I am all about the love connection. 😉

And that cover! Oh my goodness, it’s awesome. Did you squeal with delight when you first saw it?

Oh! Thank you for liking it. Yeah, I pretty much passed out when I saw it. The cat revived me by pawing my hair. Then I hyperventilated. Then I sort of staggered around the kitchen explaining to the dog how cool it all was. The dog wagged her tail, but I think she was just humoring me because she was hoping for some fine beef-flavored doggy treats.

I’m sure that somewhere in there I squealed so loudly that people in Oklahoma could hear it. I do know the police were called.

There was a story you told on one of the blogs you post at, about the man who inspired your pixie. I have been trying to think of a clever way to ‘trick’ you into telling it again, but I fail. Will you please share that with us here?

I was at the Common Ground Fair, which is this huge, cool fair in Maine that’s sponsored by Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA). To get to the main part of the fair you have to walk about a half mile through this sweet trail that curves through these tall spruce trees.

Right in front of me was this guy. He had a weird vibe. He was wearing all corduroy – blazer, pants. And sticking out from his blazer was this long tail-like appendage that was wrapped in different colored earth-toned cloth. I guess he could tell I was checking him out because he turned his head and looked at me. His eye was this startling silver color.

How startling? So startling that I actually gasped and got creeped out.

Then when we were in line to pay we made eye contact again and his eyes were brown.

I know! I know! I probably imagined the silver eye color.

It doesn’t matter. That was one of the main things that got me started. Then, I just had this image of a man standing outside an airport pointing at an airplane this girl was on.

It also creeped me out.

So, I started writing.

Did you find it difficult to go from writing realistic fiction to writing NEED where you’ve still got the ‘normal world’ but enhanced with magic?

I’ve always loved magically enhanced worlds, so for me it was this massive pleasure to be able to try to write NEED. The hardest part was going from really character-propelled writing to a more plot-based writing with so many external elements. My first three books were really focused on internal changes.

That was also why it was so much fun to try. I get bored sooooo easily and NEED was an experiment really. I wanted to see if I could do it. Hopefully I did.

It seems to me that comparisons between NEED and Twilight are inevitable. How does that make you feel?

It makes me feel a whole lot of complex things.

I’m honored because TWILIGHT is such a compelling read and lost of people adore it. I mean I think it’s amazing to have my book mentioned in the same breath as a book that people love so intensely.

The comparisons also worry me because I don’t want people to expect Zara to be the same as Bella. Zara has really different motivations than Bella and a really different character. She wants so badly to conquer her fears and to be a hero. She’s not someone who is easily satisfied. So, I worry that because of the comparisons TWILIGHT fans will read NEED and think: Zara is so not Bella. Yuck. I think that would give Zara hurt feelings.

Finally, I’m frustrated because there’s a whole series of literature before TWILIGHT that NEED could also be compared to and that TWILIGHT could be compared to. There’s a lot of books about girls being thrust out of their element and put some place different and scary and cold (or wet for TWILIGHT). Gothic romances abound with it. I worry that people are forgetting the literature of before, the literature that influenced NEED and TWILIGHT and so many other books. I want those books to be honored and not forgotten.

What was your favorite thing about writing NEED? The most challenging?

I loved finding out what was going to happen next and I loved the challenge of writing from a plot-suspense perspective.

The hardest part was ending the book. I didn’t want to end it. I wanted to keep writing it.

While I can’t imagine NEED not being a resounding success, I bet you’re incredibly nervous, what are you doing to try and stay sane?

You are way too nice to me, but thank you. Well, seriously, I can REALLY imagine it not being a success at all, so I am beyond scared.

I think I’m pretty far from sane normally, I mean, I do have my dog and cat post blog entries for me. The way I keep from totally losing it and not running naked down the Main Street of Ellsworth, Maine screaming “I’m a sucky writer and please don’t flush my book down your toilet” is:

1. I pretend it’s not happening.
2. I pretend it’s not happening more.
3. I refuse to self google.
4. I work REALLY hard on this super secret project I’ve got going.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Just thank you so much for interviewing me. It was really kind of you, and to thank people for reading the whole interview. That was really kind of them.

While I can’t speak for everyone reading this interview, I have to say I enjoyed conducting it and I hope we’ll be able to do another someday. Good luck for lots of sales and for staying sane 🙂

Need hits the shelves today. Today. So if you’re intrigued you can pick up a copy for yourself 🙂