SST: Interview with Aprilynne Pike + GIVEAWAY

Sunday Street Team comes from the fabulous brain of Nori over at ReadWriteLove28. Basically we act as a street team for a particular author (or authors) every month, promoting their book and basically flailing about (we do that right?). To learn more about it you can visit the Sunday Street Team page over on Nori’s site.

I am so excited to have Aprilynne Pike on the blog today. Her book, Glitter, is definitely one that I am looking forward to this fall. With a plot that seems so unique I really found myself drawn to this book, and I think you will love getting to know the author behind the book just as much as I did.

And now…to Aprilynne.

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1. How did you know you wanted to write as a career?

It took a while, actually. Like, a few years after I got my degree in Creative Writing, go figure. I toyed with the idea and even started a book, but it really wasn’t until I met my first author that it really entered into my scope of reality that a regular, normal person could be an author. After that, I finished my first attempt at a novel, and it was about three years and two book later that I managed to get a publishing contract.

2. What was your inspiration for writing Glitter?

I really enjoyed watching the series Breaking Bad, but the first half of season five was a letdown for me. I felt like the characters were acting in ways counter to four seasons of character development, and the plot was a little mushy (it came back in the second half and totally redeemed itself!!) but at the moment, struggling through the season, my writer’s ego kicked in and I turned to my husband and said, “I just think I could do better.” Then I thought, but you know what I’d really like? To write about girls in pretty dresses. And thus, the idea for GLITTER was born.

3. What is your favorite thing about writing YA fiction?

I love writing about teens and big firsts fun drama, but as an author, my very favorite thing about writing YA is that I can write all sorts of sub genres within that umbrella. I have been able to write paranormal romance, a quirky sort-of ghost story, horror, and now a sci-fi … sort of. If I were an adult author it would be very hard to put out so many sub genres.

4. Where is your favorite place to write?

I’m so boring–at my desk. At home. I’m such a homebody.

5. How do you conquer writer’s block?

I get the question all the time and I have the most unhelpful answer ever. I don’t believe in it. The denial is very strong. If I don’t believe in it, it can’t hurt me. That doesn’t work for other people, but it works for me. However, it’s not a *helpful* answer.

Fun Questions:

1. If you could live in a book, TV show or movie, what would it be?

*koffkoffblushkoff* Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. For, um, reasons. *shifty eyes*

2. If you could be any animal, real or mythical, what would you be?

Weirdly, a gazelle. I’ve always loved to watch gazelles run and leap, and as I’m a runner myself, that comparison has always resonated with me.

3. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

Flying. I’ve dreamed about it since I was a kid. I know there are cooler powers, but I still love that one.

4. If you could time travel, where would you choose to go?

I would go back to the early 1700s France. To the Palace of Versailles. With the option of coming back at any time.:D

5. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Crazy? Well, I don’t know that I’ve ever really done something crazy. I do bold things. I’ve had all four of my children out of the hospital, I’ve completed two Tough Mudders and loved every second of them, I got a tattoo that says faerie in Japanese calligraphy after Wings was published, and I walked up to Jim Gaffigan in a restaurant, talked too fast, and asked for a picture.

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Glitter by Aprilynne Pike came out on October 25th! Be sure to get your copy!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike comes a truly original new novel—Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette in a near-future world where the residents of Versailles live like it’s the eighteenth century and an almost-queen turns to drug dealing to save her own life.
Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.
When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.

Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.
But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.

About the Author

Critically acclaimed, #1 New York Times best-selling author Aprilynne Pike has been spinning tales since she was a child with a hyper-active imagination. At the age of twenty she received her BA in Creative Writing from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. When not writing, Aprilynne can usually be found out running; she also enjoys singing, acting, reading, and working with pregnant moms as a childbirth educator and doula. Aprilynne lives in Arizona with her husband and four kids; she is enjoying the sunshine.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE GIVEAWAY!