Author Interview: Kiersten White

As the release date for Kiersten White's Paranormalcy closes in on us (Are you excited? You should be. I've read it and I'm excited!), I figured now was as good a time as any to share my interview with this fantastic author. If you follow her on Twitter, you'd already know takes a few minutes each day to subtle- and comically- push people to preorder her book with her #everytimeyoupreorderparanormalcy hashtag which quite frankly, I'm amazed she's still coming up with things nor has she reverted to lame things like a pig finally flew. So what can you expect from an author who can keep something like this going, plus maintain her own quite comical blog? Great things, my dear readers. Great. Things.


If you were a paranormal in Evie's world, what kind would you be?

A hag. But seriously...well, no, probably a hag. If I had a choice of what I'd be, it'd be kinda fun to be a selkie or a huldra. Less pulling children under the water to eat them, more being in tune with nature and beautiful and interesting. Definitely better than a hag.

Of the entire world you created for Paranormalcy, what was the most challenging aspect?

Evie's mythology. Everything else I could play with within an existing historical framework, but I had to figure out the rules for how Evie fit into that world. It was definitely difficult, but always fun.

Is there anything that didn't make it into Paranormalcy that you're willing to share?

Ack...see, everything I was going to share would make perfect sense to someone who had read it, but would be a potential spoiler. I did have an extended scene where Evie meets with The Supervisors, the head honchos of IPCA, but like everything else I cut from the first draft it didn't move the plot forward and so was cut.

Here's a bit of trivia for you, though. Steve the vampire is actually named after someone I know in real life whom I like very much. In the first draft he didn't meet the same fate he did in later drafts...

Sorry, friend in real life.

Though there is very little of yourself in Evie, did you find that parts of you showed up in other characters? Or maybe a little bit of Hot Stuff in Lend?

This is my big secret: all of my love interest draw very, very heavily from my husband. There you have it. What can I say? He's perfect. I totally stole Lend's sketching ability from Hot Stuff. Lend is, however, my first love interest not to have dark hair and big blue eyes. Hot Stuff got off the hook for physical descriptions this time.

If you could pair Evie and Lend with any character from any book, what would be your picks for them?

You mean to hang out with, or to date? Probably for Lend a balrog, because I'd be filled with righteous anger over him seeing someone other than Evie and would not feel bad that he got incinerated.

Just kidding, Lend. I'd totally feel bad.

But I'd love to send them on a double date with Anna and Etienne from Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss. I also think they'd be very good friends with Sophie from Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall. Evie and Sophie would totally sit at the same lunch table.

What is the most private thing you're willing to share here?

My social security number. Ready? It's-- Wait. Hmm. I'm rather fond of my credit score. How about this. The last two years have been an absolute whirlwind of good and bad. It all started with losing a pregnancy. Some people have remarked that if I hadn't lost that pregnancy (and had to have emergency surgery so I wouldn't bleed to death) I wouldn't have written Paranormalcy and none of this would have happened. I'm thankful every single day for my book deal and for the dream of being an author coming true, but I'd give it all up if it meant having that baby.

Alas, much as I continue to argue my case, the universe keeps informing me that I'm not in charge. So I'm grateful for the things I have and try not to dwell too much on the things I still don't. And I think that's about all any of us can do in this crazy life.

What kind of cake/confection would you describe your self?

Chocolate chip cookies. Preferably the dough--it could make you sick, but odds are against it, and the sweet with just a hint of salt and a dash of semi-sweet chocolate so as not to overwhelm--what's not to love?

Thanks so much, Kiersten! Make sure you guys go out and preorder Paranormalcy now! It is definitely a book you want, trust me!