Finding Fright in Books: Interview with Sarah Alderson

Hey bibliophiles! It's Mel here! Today, I am with an interview with Sarah Alderson. She is the author of many novels, including the Lila series, Fated series and most recently, The Sound (which is out in the US in May next year). They are all Halloween-time worthy reads, so while it's October, go and grab a copy of one of these thriller-y romance-y novels! We also have an international giveaway at the end of this post.



 

Hi Sarah! Welcome to the blog! Your latest novel, The Sound is rather different to your previous books which are all paranormal. What helped/made you decide to write a YA contemporary thriller?

The publisher told me to. That’s the short story. I love writing paranormal and dystopia but they felt that that was on a down cycle. Whatever I write though all my books are thrillers to some extent. I love writing action and I love writing romance. I don’t really mind what genre that’s in. A story is a story.

Who would be your favourite character in The Sound? Describe them, Twitter style! (140 characters or less)

Jesse: Plays guitar, gives books as gifts, brooding, smart, great with his hands, loyal, protective, self-less, sexy as hell and a phenomenal kisser.

Ren: English nanny, music blogger, wannabe journalist, feminist, asthmatic, book-lover, in the sights of a serial killer.

Which character, out of all the books you’ve ever written shares similar traits/personalities to you? 

I think all my characters have some elements of me within them, obviously, seeing how they came from my head. I’m probably most like Lila though, or I was when I was younger; a little impulsive, led by my emotions, loyal to a fault, a little too obsessed when it comes to love. I also share a sense of humour with her. That dry British humour is something I miss very much living abroad and it’s one of the main reasons I like to make my main characters at least part-British.

You’ve written quite a number of novels; does it get easier each time? Any writing habits?

Writing definitely gets easier with practice, like most things. I don’t have any habits other than I sit down and write every single day and treat it like a job. I write my books within a month to three months and that takes hard work and dedication. You show up. You put words on the page, you live the story until that final page. I’m lucky that my job is also my passion so showing up isn’t hard to do.

It’s Halloween! Tell us about your scariest experience!

I won’t go into details but it involves possession (or what some people call entity attachment). Up until then I hadn’t believed fully but after this experience my mind was much more open. I live in Bali. Black magic and spirits are very much an accepted part of the culture and if you come here not believing then within a few years you’ll most likely change your mind. I’ve seen stuff and heard stuff that would definitely give you goosebumps.

This or that:

Reading or writing?

Oh both, I don’t think you can be a good writer if you don’t read.

Paranormal fantasy or contemporary thriller?

Totally depends on the writer.

Coffee or tea?

COFFEE!

Thanks for stopping by, Sarah! You can also find Sarah on her website, her blog, and on twitter!

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