Today you're lucky enough to get to read an interview with YA author, Emily Craven!
A Teen Bookworm- Hi Emily, how long have you been writing for?
Emily Craven- I've been writing ever since I was 13. I was inspired by one of my favourite authors, Isobelle Carmody, who started writing her Obernewtyn series when she was only 14. I wrote all through high-school, university and my first job. It was the only thing that kept me sane! If you call sitting at a computer 8 hrs a day scene.
ATB- Who/what inspired you to write?
EC- Isobelle Carmody was my biggest inspiration. She started her first published book when she was back in high-school and I thought if she can do it, so can I! She has written almost 30 novels since then and won tons of awards. I've also had the good fortune of being able t0o met her, and she even mentored my writing for 12 months, both of us working on the manuscript I started when I was 13. It was the most unreal experience I've ever had.
ATB- Have you got a favourite author?
EC- I have five (and you can't force me to choose between them!!). I love Isobelle, Garth Nix, Sean Williams, Tamora Pierce and Diana Wynne Jones. All of them are amazing fantasy authors (three Australian, one American and one British). If I were to pick one series to start on for each they would be:
- The Obernewtyn series for Isobelle
- The Abhorsen series for Garth
- The Twinmaker series for Sean
- The Alanna series for Tamora and
- The Dark Lord of Derkholm series for Diana
And if you're looking for an author that writes similar stuff to my Madeline Cain series definitely turn your eyes towards Meg Cabot, a great writer of kick-ass female characters.
ATB- Should we look forward to another Madeline Cain book?
EC- Yes indeed you should, in fact, the second one came out just after Christmas last year! Called 'Madeline Cain: Adventures in Fashion' it follows Madeline's final 6 months in New York. For those of you who don't know, The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain series follows the quirky Madeline, an Australian girl who moves to New York City for a prestigious photography course. But unfortunately Madeline is a chaos magnet and attracts more than her fair share of weird and wacky in her adventures in the big smoke. But rather than give too much away, I'll let Reese tell you all about her thoughts on the first Madeline Cain book on her blog. You can find out more about the series at the Madeline Cain website:
http://www.madelinecain.com
ATB- Any tips for writers who want to follow in your footsteps?
EC- Get started early. Make a plan about who your characters are, what their quest is and get writing. But most importantly, make sure you finish any story you start. It took me a while to finish my first book 5 years of high-school in fact. And there were months when I couldn't write a thing, I had no idea what happened next. But then I would read another book and be inspired. I'd go and change my book plan and then start adapting and writing the story into something I was excited about. I think I changed directions in the story about three times, but at least I finished the book.
- so step one, make sure you plan,
- step two, write about something that makes you super excited,
- step three, finish it!
Also, I have heaps of free tops on writing on my blog The Original Fantasy so check them out. They go into super detail about editing and the like, but all of it is aimed to make you a better writer (yep, you heard it hear first, writing isn't a talent, you've got to learn it. So go forth and take as many courses as you can.)
Thanks Reese for having me on your blog!
Warmly,
Emily.
ATB- Thanks Emily!
Emily's Social Medias
Twitter: @TheMadelineCain
Facebook: The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain: Photographer Extraordinaire
Blog: theoriginalfantasy.blogspot.com
Thanks,
ateenbookworm.blogspot.com'
LOOK OUT FOR- a review on Emily's first book !
QUOTE OF THE POST- "I stop rain, not stupidity."
- The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain: Photographer Extraordinaire, Emily Craven.
QUESTION OF THE BOOK- are you going to read Emily's book ?
