Author Interview and Giveaway - Fallen by Lauren Kate

Okay, so I would like to thank Lauren from Radmon House for organising this for the blog and also to Lauren Kate, who was lovely enough to answer my questions, so here goes:

How did you get into writing professionally?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer and always found myself in bookish situations. My first job out of college was working as an editor at a publishing house in New York. I was trying my hand at short stories, but I didn’t have enough time to work on a longer novel. Then, much to my entire family’s horror, I quit my good job and moved to California to go to a Masters Program in Fiction (which is a fancy way of saying: here’s two free years to write). By then, I’d met so many great people in publishing--my former boss became my agent. He helped me get Fallen into the right hands, and the rest has been sort of a whirlwind!

Where did your inspiration for the come come from?

I first got the idea for Fallen when I came across a line in Genesis, which tells about a group of angels who fell in love with mortal women. In the bible, these renegades are casts out of heaven, end of story. But for me, that was only the beginning. I started thinking about how a normal girl would respond to an angel having a crush on her. Imagine the baggage he must have! And what would her seriously overprotective father think? From there, a whole world unfurled in my mind—only it wasn’t just angels anymore. Demons, secret sects, reincarnations, and the End of Days were also all battling for a piece of the action.

Who is your favourite character from Fallen and why?

Arriane! I have so much fun writing the Arriane scenes. Sometimes I have to rein in the jokes. She’s vibrant and spunky but she also has a lot of heart. I think that makes her a great foil to Luce’s character. I also love Penn, who reminds me of several friends I had growing up. Luce can come off as a bit serious (I guess she goes through a lot, what with dealing with those pesky shadows and all), and I think her gravity is essential to the books, but I like pairing her with funny characters to lighten the mood as often as I can.

What are some of your favourite YA books/authors?

I adore Frances Hardinge. Right now I’m reading her book, The Lost Conspiracy. Terrific! I love Louise Rennison, Meg Rosoff, John Greene, Maureen Johnson, Melissa Marr, Lois Lowry, Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald. The list is endless, and I’m always looking for new favourites.

Can you reveal anything from Torment?

I’m having so much fun writing Torment that it’s hard for me not to spill everything right now so I can say, “Aren’t you excited? Won’t this be great?” But my publisher would probably have my head. So in lieu of that, I’ll reveal just three things:

1. As Luce learns more about her past, she comes into a host of powers she never knew she had—and they might involve the shadows.
2. After the second book comes out, a prequel (which will span thousands of years!) will follow before the final book in the series.
3. Even though, of course, Daniel is Luce’s one-and-only, a very interesting new male character is introduced in Torment that offers him some stiff competition.

THANK YOU LAUREN! :-)

You can find Lauren Kate on Twitter here

The lovely Fallen website

Download the Fallen Widget

Also, her fabulous website right here

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I have three finished copies of Fallen to giveaway to you lovely people.  Here are the requirements:-

All you need to do is post a comment in the comment section

You don't have to be a follower to enter

In the interests of Privacy, please do NOT leave your email address, I will contact the winners and it will be announced here

Open Internationally

Contest ends 12 noon GMT on Monday 7 December

Good Luck everyone!!