Today I'm delighted to welcome Elana Johnson to A Reading Daydreamer for the joint Possession and Surrender blog tour! She is stopping by for a short interview which you should definitely read! And don't forget to enter the awesome giveaways she has kindly put together.
Possession is a pretty complex book, what was the hardest part of writing it?
The timeline,
for sure. When everything happens, when that person goes missing, when this and
when that. It was really challenging – and I’m still dealing with it, as I try
to make the third book in the series (ABANDON, coming on June 4, 2013) match up
with everything that’s already in black and white.
So definitely
the timeline of events. There’s just so much of the past in us, you know? And I
think characters should base their decisions on who they are. And they become
who they based on where they’ve been, and what they’ve experienced. So the past
events are important.
All dystopians need to have original 'worlds', how did you come up with the idea of the 'Goodgrounds' and the 'Badlands'?
There’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek stuff in
Possession, including the “Good”ground and the “Bad”lands. I wanted to have two
places that were direct opposites, and have Vi explore what truly made someone
or something good. It was an exploration of labels.
Do you have any memorable moments of when you were putting all your thoughts and ideas on paper?
I remember needing a name for my male lead,
and not having one. So I used “Jag” as a placeholder. By the end of the book, I
loved it, and didn’t end up changing his name.
What's your favourite scene from the Possession?
There’s one I almost cut, but decided to keep, and it’s when Vi makes
herself the birthday cake as she and Jag cross the desert. I don’t know why I
like that scene so much, but I do. Maybe I just love birthdays!
Were any of the characters inspired by the people in your life, or even yourself?
Sort of.
Mostly, Vi gets to say and do things I wish I could say and do. I’m so
non-confrontational, that I don’t say anything to anyone about anything. I want
everyone to be happy, and I want to treat others kindly. That usually means
that you don’t get to speak your mind, you know? And Vi gets to do that. So I
sort of live vicariously through her.
If you lived in Vi's world, would you rather be a Goodie or a Baddie?
Oh, I’d rather be a Baddie. I’d rather get to
go out with my friends and wear whatever I choose.
Can you give us a sneak peek of Surrender?
Author Bio: Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist. School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers. Blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com FB: http://facebook.com/possessionthebook Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElanaJ
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Really glad Elana kept Jag's name! I remember loving it when I was reading Possession.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the fun interview, Bev!
I haven't read this series yet, but I've been hearing some interesting things about it.
ReplyDeleteI read the first book and loved it! I am soon going to be reading Surrender(:
ReplyDeleteI read the beginning of the first one and I could tell it wasn't for me but there were some aspects that I liked so I may give it another try one day.
ReplyDeleteHahaaa I think I'd want to be a baddie as well :P I can't wait to start this series one day :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the giveaway
ReplyDeletekmichellec87(at)yahoo(dot)com
That's very interesting that Jag was just a placeholder name because I think it fits so well!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting a tour stop!
Jag was originally a placeholder name? It's great to hear it stuck! And I think I'd rather be a Baddie too. ;)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant interview, ladies! Thanks for sharing. :)
Ha, love that "Jag" stared out as placeholder and then just grew into that name :D I also love that she gets to live vicariously through Vi. I mean, what are those fictional voices in your head FOR if you can't live out your fantasies?! :P
ReplyDeleteAwesome interview, ladies!!! I so need to read Possession SOON!
Oh this is a fab interview Beverley, I love getting to know a bit more about an author's influences in writing their book. This book sounds awesome, how did I ever overlook it before?
ReplyDeleteLovely interview, Bev and Elana! I haven't read any of the books from this series although I did come across of it a lot of times. Dystopians and I don't seem to click lately but when I get to be in the mood for some I would definitely consider this one. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely be a baddie too!!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! I really want to read Possession, it sounds amazing. Thank you so much for posting :D
ReplyDeletePS. I accidentally entered the US one instead of the INT at first *facepalm* so please could you just ignore my entry on it? I have done the international one now, so I have entered one. Sorry :P