The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead is King. Rose is my absolute favorite YA heroine. In other series, the girls tend to be huge wimps and always have to have the big-brooding-albeit-super-hot guys save them, Rose can kick some serious *%@! She's smart, a smart-ass, and super sexy. But she's also loyal, funny, and very very "human". She also happens to have a super-sexy and older love interest, a powerful/vulnerable best friend, and a slew of really great friends and enemies. It's like I said about the Mortal Instruments, if you're not reading this series, you're crazy. Read our 10 questions with the author Richelle Mead just under the book description for Frostbite (which will soon be available to SDCL, but you can go out and buy it now!) and you can request the first book in the series, Vampire Academy here.
Rose Hathaway's got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian. (So not cool).
Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians--including the legendary Janine Hathaway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose--and her heart--are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...
Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians--including the legendary Janine Hathaway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose--and her heart--are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...
1. "If you could choose one fictional character to bring into real life, who would you choose?"
Ooh...hypotheticals are so hard for me! I might bring Beatrice from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. She's so feisty and funny that I'd bet she'd be super fun to hang out with.
2. "How did you survive being a teen?"
Great question. My friends really helped. Each school I moved up in (elementary to middle to high school) brought larger and larger student bodies. And when there are more students, you're more likely to find people like you. That happened in high school, and it was great. I was never overly popular or unpopular--just somewhere in the middle--but none of the matters if you have people you connect with. College was even better!
3. "Have you ever written something that you feel uncomfortable writing,knowing that your family and friends will probably end up reading it?"
Anything involving sex is always kind of hard. Now that I see at as part of my job, writing it doesn't bother me so much, but it's always a little weird knowing my family will read it. A lot of them aren't really into paranormal stuff either, so that's a little strange too. Even so, they all support me no matter what I write and are happy for me.
4. "What do you think are the biggest issues that teens need to be thinking about today? Do you think teens today are looking for quality in the books they read, or just to live vicariously through superficial characters?"
I think teens need to recognize the importance of finding their identities and accepting who *they* are. The media--especially TV and magazines--show a lot of images that trick you into thinking *that's* how you're supposed to be. It's not true. We all have our own unique selves. We need to accept that and embrace that and remember that we'll eventually find people who accept us and love us for that uniqueness too.
As for the books, I think teens read for both reasons--I certainly do! We all want to be entertained, but if we really connect with great characters and learn something about ourselves, that makes it all the better.
5. "How have the books you've read inspired the books you've written, if at all?"
I think the books I read as a teen unconsciously influenced my writing style today. Now that I'm older, the books I read tend to inspire me to write better and better! I'll read something really wonderful and think, "Wow, OK. Time to step up my game!"
6. "What is the strangest thing you have ever gotten inspiration from?"
Once I was at a Starbucks inside a Barnes and Noble. They were short-staffed and had asked one of the book workers to help with the coffee. She'd never done it before, and the results were so comical, though she had a great attitude about it and no one minded! I ended up writing that into one of my adult books. Very memorable and fun.
7. "Many writers say parting with a character is hard. Do you ever look back on a character and wish you had changed something about him or her?"
No, but then, I haven't had to part with any main characters yet. And the beauty of writing really strong characters is that you can make them grow and develop as a series progresses. So, that gives me the chance to change little things as I continue writing them.
8. "What is the one thing such as, sky diving or any other daring thing, that you would love to do but you are too afraid?"
I would love to travel to some far off country that requires a long plane ride. I HATE flying. For years I refused to do it. I do it now, but it still scares me. So far, the most I can do is a cross-country trip in the US, but I'm hoping to be able to do longer and longer ones.
9. "What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?"
The hardest part is just getting published. Writing a book, unfortunately, isn't enough. You have to get a literary agent to sell fiction, and they are flooded with manuscripts every day. So they're pick and turn down a lot of people. Rejections can be daunting, and many writers give up. The most important thing is to keep trying and trying.
10. "What do you do when you are faced with writer's block? What helps you get over it?"
Just waiting it out usually works. It's important not to panic. Give it time, and the inspiration will come. The hard part with this strategy is that if you have a deadline tomorrow, you don't have the luxury of waiting!
Ooh...hypotheticals are so hard for me! I might bring Beatrice from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. She's so feisty and funny that I'd bet she'd be super fun to hang out with.
2. "How did you survive being a teen?"
Great question. My friends really helped. Each school I moved up in (elementary to middle to high school) brought larger and larger student bodies. And when there are more students, you're more likely to find people like you. That happened in high school, and it was great. I was never overly popular or unpopular--just somewhere in the middle--but none of the matters if you have people you connect with. College was even better!
3. "Have you ever written something that you feel uncomfortable writing,knowing that your family and friends will probably end up reading it?"
Anything involving sex is always kind of hard. Now that I see at as part of my job, writing it doesn't bother me so much, but it's always a little weird knowing my family will read it. A lot of them aren't really into paranormal stuff either, so that's a little strange too. Even so, they all support me no matter what I write and are happy for me.
4. "What do you think are the biggest issues that teens need to be thinking about today? Do you think teens today are looking for quality in the books they read, or just to live vicariously through superficial characters?"
I think teens need to recognize the importance of finding their identities and accepting who *they* are. The media--especially TV and magazines--show a lot of images that trick you into thinking *that's* how you're supposed to be. It's not true. We all have our own unique selves. We need to accept that and embrace that and remember that we'll eventually find people who accept us and love us for that uniqueness too.
As for the books, I think teens read for both reasons--I certainly do! We all want to be entertained, but if we really connect with great characters and learn something about ourselves, that makes it all the better.
5. "How have the books you've read inspired the books you've written, if at all?"
I think the books I read as a teen unconsciously influenced my writing style today. Now that I'm older, the books I read tend to inspire me to write better and better! I'll read something really wonderful and think, "Wow, OK. Time to step up my game!"
6. "What is the strangest thing you have ever gotten inspiration from?"
Once I was at a Starbucks inside a Barnes and Noble. They were short-staffed and had asked one of the book workers to help with the coffee. She'd never done it before, and the results were so comical, though she had a great attitude about it and no one minded! I ended up writing that into one of my adult books. Very memorable and fun.
7. "Many writers say parting with a character is hard. Do you ever look back on a character and wish you had changed something about him or her?"
No, but then, I haven't had to part with any main characters yet. And the beauty of writing really strong characters is that you can make them grow and develop as a series progresses. So, that gives me the chance to change little things as I continue writing them.
8. "What is the one thing such as, sky diving or any other daring thing, that you would love to do but you are too afraid?"
I would love to travel to some far off country that requires a long plane ride. I HATE flying. For years I refused to do it. I do it now, but it still scares me. So far, the most I can do is a cross-country trip in the US, but I'm hoping to be able to do longer and longer ones.
9. "What was the biggest obstacle you faced in becoming an author and how did you overcome it?"
The hardest part is just getting published. Writing a book, unfortunately, isn't enough. You have to get a literary agent to sell fiction, and they are flooded with manuscripts every day. So they're pick and turn down a lot of people. Rejections can be daunting, and many writers give up. The most important thing is to keep trying and trying.
10. "What do you do when you are faced with writer's block? What helps you get over it?"
Just waiting it out usually works. It's important not to panic. Give it time, and the inspiration will come. The hard part with this strategy is that if you have a deadline tomorrow, you don't have the luxury of waiting!
Thanks Richelle!
