Pay It Forward Author Interviews - Andrea Cremer

You should already know the drill by now. Interviews! Awesomeness! Inspiration! The Royal We! It's a week of wow here at Chez Harris.

Seriously. Wait 'til you read my news on Monday. I'm very excited. And yes, I'm taunting you. Taunt taunt taunt. Which is different from tauntaun tauntaun tauntaun. No, really. It is.

Today's interview is with the really REALLY awesome Andrea Cremer. Andrea's book Nightshade has one of the most gorgeous covers ever, with a photo by my absolute favorite photographer ever. (Suza Scalora. *sigh*) Anyway, Andrea's character Ren has haunted my dreams (not that I'm complaining). That's right. I got an ARC! Taunt taunt taunt! (But not tauntaun tauntaun tauntaun.)

1. Tell us about your book. (And by "we" I mean me and Richard Simmons and all our loyal subjects.)
Nightshade will be in stores October 19, 2010 (Philomel/Penguin). The first in a gritty and spellbinding series, the world of Nightshade is filled with living shadows, sinister forces, and dangerous magic. Alpha Guardian Calla Tor must discover secrets long hidden that will lead her down a path of love and treachery.

2. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication (finding an agent)?
There's a myth among aspiring writers that you can't get published without connections. It really is a myth. When I made the commitment to publish Nightshade even if it took everything I had, I didn't know anything about that world. I did research. I learned about agents, practiced writing queries. Submitted to the agencies that seemed the best fits for my work. And my ms was pulled out of the slush pile. No connections whatsoever. To get published you need patience, an iron will, and belief in the value of what you've written.

3. Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?
I never got to the point of wanting to give up - becoming a novelist and continuing to write for the rest of my life had just become too important to me once I was in the writing trenches. However, there were many times when I thought "This is NEVER going to happen," and I'd cry and call a loved one and they'd cheerlead me back into hopefulness. If you're trying to break into the publishing world you must understand it's an uphill battle. There will be rejection. There will be despair. It's up to you to decide how much it's worth to you, because the climb is not an easy one. I always knew once I started down this road, giving up wasn't an option. I wanted it too much. But there were times when I thought it might cost me my sanity. Seriously.

*****

Thanks so much for the interview, Andrea. And for Ren. Aaaah, Ren.

Visit Andrea on the web at:
Website: http://nightshadebook.com/
Blog: http://blurredhistory.blogspot.com/

And you should totally check out the other interviewers this week. MORE questions! MORE awesomeness! MORE royal 'we'! How can you resist? Well, you can't.

Elana Johnson
LiLa Roecker
Beth Revis
Leah Clifford
Victoria Schwab
Kirsten Hubbard
Kim Harrington
Suzette Saxton/Bethany Wiggins
Amy Holder
Tiffany Schmidt
Susan Adrian
Dawn Metcalf
Kathy McCullough
Gretchen McNeil