Hello everybody. I recently had the honor of interviewing one of the ever so awesome Tenners. YA author Dia Reeves's debut novel Bleeding Violet will be releasing January 5th, 2010. She is here to tell us a little bit about herself and her writing experience. So everyone give a warm welcome to, Dia Reeves.~~~~~~~~~~
TBP: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
DR: My name's Dia. I like snacks, but I just got braces so snacking has become very tricky. I read. I write. I work at a library. And, oh yeah, I hate talking about myself.
TBP: How old were you when you realized that being a writer was what you wanted to do?
DR: About twelve or thirteen. That's how old I was when I read It by Stephen King and decided hey I wanna do that too. (I wouldn't read 'It' now much less at 12 or 13. lol.)
TBP: What do you love most about writing?
DR: Revising, weirdly enough. That's the stage where you really get into the meat of the story and start carving out the stuff that doesn't work and spicing up the stuff that does. I don't ever feel truly creative until I start revising.
TBP: How did you come up with the title 'Bleeding Violet'? (Great title by the way.)
DR: Thanks! But I totally can't take credit for it. My friend Susan Byerly Smith came up with the title based on the color imagery in the novel--the main character Hanna likes purple and her mother likes red. And, um, there's lots of blood and stuff. ;)
TBP: What inspired the idea for Bleeding Violet?
DR: I was just sitting around trying to think of something good to write about, and since I like crazy people and monsters, that's what I decided to go with.
TBP: Do you have a favorite scene or line from Bleeding Violet? What is it?
DR: My favorite scene is the one where Hanna's boyfriend, Wyatt, is showing off this supernatural ability he recently learned, and the two of them are just hanging out in this vacant lot, having fun. That scene always makes me smile.
TBP: Can you tell us if there is something else you are currently working on?
DR: I'm working on Strange Fruit right now--I'm almost ready to show it to my agent. It's about the two sisters of a convicted serial killer who fall in love with the sons of their father's last victim. So serial killers, monsters, romance--sounded like a great combination to me. ;)
Also, during NaNoWriMo 2009, I'm planning to bang out a rough draft of a third Portero book tentatively called Heartless. It's about a girl who was born without a heart who has to steal them from living people in order to survive. I haven't even written it yet and I can tell it's going to be freaky. (I'm so excited!)
TBP: What is your favorite comfort food?
DR: Donuts, cookies, hot chocolate, chili, cheese. The real comfort is that somehow, I'm not the size of a house. ;)
TBP: Where is your favorite vacation spot?
DR: God, I haven't been on vacation in FOREVER. Anywhere outside of Texas would be nice for a change. Outside of the US would be even better. I'm in serious need of some culture.
TBP: If today were your last day, how would you spend it? Why?
DR: Just chillin' probably. Seems kinda stupid to spend my last day on Earth running around
trying to skydive and, like, run naked all across town. I'm all about taking it easy.
TBP: Anything else you'd like to say before you leave?
DR: Erm...no. xD
DR: My name's Dia. I like snacks, but I just got braces so snacking has become very tricky. I read. I write. I work at a library. And, oh yeah, I hate talking about myself.
TBP: How old were you when you realized that being a writer was what you wanted to do?
DR: About twelve or thirteen. That's how old I was when I read It by Stephen King and decided hey I wanna do that too. (I wouldn't read 'It' now much less at 12 or 13. lol.)
TBP: What do you love most about writing?
DR: Revising, weirdly enough. That's the stage where you really get into the meat of the story and start carving out the stuff that doesn't work and spicing up the stuff that does. I don't ever feel truly creative until I start revising.
TBP: How did you come up with the title 'Bleeding Violet'? (Great title by the way.)
DR: Thanks! But I totally can't take credit for it. My friend Susan Byerly Smith came up with the title based on the color imagery in the novel--the main character Hanna likes purple and her mother likes red. And, um, there's lots of blood and stuff. ;)
TBP: What inspired the idea for Bleeding Violet?
DR: I was just sitting around trying to think of something good to write about, and since I like crazy people and monsters, that's what I decided to go with.
TBP: Do you have a favorite scene or line from Bleeding Violet? What is it?
DR: My favorite scene is the one where Hanna's boyfriend, Wyatt, is showing off this supernatural ability he recently learned, and the two of them are just hanging out in this vacant lot, having fun. That scene always makes me smile.
TBP: Can you tell us if there is something else you are currently working on?
DR: I'm working on Strange Fruit right now--I'm almost ready to show it to my agent. It's about the two sisters of a convicted serial killer who fall in love with the sons of their father's last victim. So serial killers, monsters, romance--sounded like a great combination to me. ;)
Also, during NaNoWriMo 2009, I'm planning to bang out a rough draft of a third Portero book tentatively called Heartless. It's about a girl who was born without a heart who has to steal them from living people in order to survive. I haven't even written it yet and I can tell it's going to be freaky. (I'm so excited!)
TBP: What is your favorite comfort food?
DR: Donuts, cookies, hot chocolate, chili, cheese. The real comfort is that somehow, I'm not the size of a house. ;)
TBP: Where is your favorite vacation spot?
DR: God, I haven't been on vacation in FOREVER. Anywhere outside of Texas would be nice for a change. Outside of the US would be even better. I'm in serious need of some culture.
TBP: If today were your last day, how would you spend it? Why?
DR: Just chillin' probably. Seems kinda stupid to spend my last day on Earth running around
trying to skydive and, like, run naked all across town. I'm all about taking it easy.
TBP: Anything else you'd like to say before you leave?
DR: Erm...no. xD
~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you so much for letting me interview you. I can't wait to have a chance to read Bleeding Violet.
that's cool that her friend helped her come up with the title.
ReplyDeleteHi Briana & Dia :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the interview. I love revising too! The title BLEEDING VIOLET is awesome. *thank you Susan* I love the cover too. I'm looking forward to getting & reading it.
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
Crazy people and monsters-great inspiration! Super interview. I can't wait to read and review this book!
ReplyDeleteElie (Ellz Readz)
Great interview. Love the carving/spicing meat analogy for her revision process. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteCrazy people, monsters, and lots of blood, sounds good to me. Strange Fruit seems like such an interesting story, as well.
ReplyDeleteVery nice to hear from Dia. Congratulations to her on her book. Look forward to her 2010 publication.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me, Bri! And IT is good at any age. ;)
ReplyDeleteAbout nano, though. I'm totally in the fail zone. :( I'll probably try to go it alone during December.
Thank you)) I think it's very nice interview=)
ReplyDeleteAwesome interview - I can't imagine being 12 or 13 and already knowing I wanted to be a writer. That kind of thing was so far from my mind then. . .
ReplyDeleteyay for crazy people and monsters!!
Duuuuude Niiiiice!
ReplyDeleteI likie the interview, and I don't like a lot of interviews.
Great interview, I really wanna read this book!
ReplyDelete"the real comfort is that somehow, I'm not the size of a house." LOL!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I'm excited about Strange Fruit now! ;)