Monday 16 September 2013

Laurie Crompton Interview



 debutauthorsbash-250



* Blogger has been giving me lots of problems, so I apologize if the font is weird or if there are random spots of white. I'm working on fixing the problem.

I'm so excited to interview with the fabulous Laurie Boyle Crompton, author of Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillians), as part of the 2013 Debut Authors Bash.


Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) 
 Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...







 Q & A with Laurie Crompton Boyle

BP:  Could you give us an "elevator pitch" of Blaze?

LBC: When 17-year-old Blaze creates a comic about her evil ex, he retaliates by posting a ‘sext’ of her online and an epic battle begins.

BP: What inspired you to write Blaze?

LBC: Blaze came into my mind fully formed as this comic-obsessed girl who was completely stuck in her life but making the best of things. I immediately knew I wanted to set her free. Unfortunately, once I started writing her story, I discovered things get much, much worse for her before they get better! The comic book element was definitely drawn from my life since I was a bit of a comic book nerd back in high school. Also, Blaze gives her minivan a fun makeover in the novel, which was actually inspired by my spray-painting my first car hot pink when I was seventeen. My friends from high school still talk about that car, and I'm so glad I was able to pay homage to it in a book.

BP: What is your writing process like? Do you have a favorite place or time of day to write? Do you outline? Do you listen to music or anything when you write or do you need silence?

LBC: I'm not exaggerating when I say I can write anytime, anyplace. I've written chunks of text on my cellphone while waiting for my kids to et out of school and snippets of ideas are on index cards all over my house. I love to have silence when I write, but I live on a noisy corner next to a train station in Queens, NY, so I'm accustomed to writing with a lot of noise. 

BP: Which do you like better, writing or revising, and why?

LBC: I enjoy all stages of writing. There's nothing quite lie exploring a shiny, new idea, but so much great stuff comes out during revisions too. My favorite art is usually whatever I happen to be working on at the moment.

BP: Could you please explain your journey to publication? Was Blaze the first novel you wrote? Was it difficult to find an agent?

LBC: Blaze was actually the third novel I wrote, and I can attest that having the right agent is absolutely crucial to an author's success. I go more in-depth about my (winding!) journey to publication here in an interview I did with Writer's Digest. Digest.

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/debut-author-interview-laurie-boyle-crompton-author-of-blaze 

BP: Is there a specific scene or chapter that was your favorite to write? 

LBC: There's a scene on page 52 of the finished book that was a lot of fun to write It was a chance for me to really channel my inner fan-girl in a way that felt more romantic than pathetic. It has all the perfect elements for a comic book geek's first kiss, but of course, doesn't go the way you'd expect. 

BP: What has the response been like from readers? 

LBC: I've really enjoyed hearing from those readers who could relate to Blaze. My favorite response was from a girl who found Blaze's situation at home familiar and thanked me for writing the book. The fact that Blaze deals with slut shaming has brought its share of controversy, but I'm glad that is has served as a springboard for important conversations about that issue. 

BP: What are you working on now? Can you tell us anything about your sophomore novel? 

LBC: I'm just finishing copy edits on my next book with Sourcebooks Fire title THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH to be released in February 2014. IT's a dark comedy about reality shows with a Mean Girls twist, and it's lots of fun. Then in Fall 2014, I have ADRENALINE CRUSH being released with FSG/Macmillian. It's about a thrill-seeking girl who has an accident one fateful day and must learn to live with the consequences. 

BP: Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? 

LBC: Spend as much time writing as possible. Do a lot of reading, and limit time spent on the internet. Seriously, I saw a pie-chart claiming that writing was 90% ignoring the internet. I'd  say it's more like 98%. 

BP: What's one thing you've learned since publishing Blaze? 

LBC: Writing books is only one aspect of being a published author. Doing interviews, blog post, vlogs, and book signings are all part of building towards a successful carer. The thing that make all of this totally cool, of course, is getting to write more books. 

BP: One final question: What's one thing you wish you knew before you started writing your novel? 

LBC: Since I wrote Blaze without a contract, it would've been nice to know beforehand that it was going to be published! It takes a lot of faith to write a whole book that you only hope will find a publishing home. I had faith in Blaze and am definitely grateful that her story has been able to reach readers.

BP: Thank you so much for your time!

LBC: Thank you so much for having me!

For more info about Laurie's books, check out her website: http://www.lboylecrompton.com, and be sure to pick up a copy of Blaze.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif

1 comment: