Book Nerd Interview
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Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but there was a time in elementary school when I wrote a book called PRINCESS PRIMROSE. It starred a wizard named Gandalf and I insisted that I had made him up and that anybody else who happened to be writing about a wizard named Gandalf was copying ME. I stand by this claim. (Well, not right by it…)
Tell my Book Nerd community a little about Icons.
Icons is a near future love story about four special teens who discover their own emotions – rage, for one, fear or love or sorrow for the others – can literally kill. If they can uncover the mystery of their own origins, they may be able to discover how to save the future. It’s also a story about family, about political conspiracy, about alien life and humanity. I had a lot of fun with this one.
How did you come up with the idea of the Icon Children?
Icons is a story about Big Feelings. I’ve always felt like that – like I was afraid to let myself feel things, because what I felt could destroy me. But you know, what we feel can also save us. What we feel makes us human. I think this book was the place where I got to own all of that, and those are sort of my core issues. Also, each book takes place on a different continent, and I am really passionately committed to that. I just came back from Southeast Asia where I was working on Icons 2 – and research took me to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. I love my job!
Why did you decide to write in the sci-fi genre?
Ah, you’re looking at a geek girl, someone who spent sixteen years making videogames and who can recite parts of Dune by heart. I’ve been to the last three Pokemon World Championships. Between the 3-D printer and the unmanned drone on our dining room table, you’d be lucky to get to sit down to eat your take out. But sci fi isn’t just for the hard core nerds. I think Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins have done for sci-fi what Stephenie Meyer did for fantasy. We’ve come from the fringe into the mainstream, and that’s good for everyone.
If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book, who would it be and why?
I think I fell in love with Diana Wynne Jones’ Chrestomanci – powerful magic user, keeper of the Castle of Chrestomanci - when I was a girl. I’ve actually sort of been waiting for him to show up for my entire life. (Him or the Tenth Doctor or Damon Salvatore…) So I would introduce Dol, my narrator, to him. I think he’d sweep her off her feet and solve all her sci fi problems the way they should be – with proper magic! Enough with these mortal boy problems already!
Your heart beats only with their permission.
Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.
Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.
She's different. She survived. Why?
When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy.
Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.
Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts -- in order to save the future.
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I think I fell in love with Diana Wynne Jones’ Chrestomanci – powerful magic user, keeper of the Castle of Chrestomanci - when I was a girl. I’ve actually sort of been waiting for him to show up for my entire life. (Him or the Tenth Doctor or Damon Salvatore…) So I would introduce Dol, my narrator, to him. I think he’d sweep her off her feet and solve all her sci fi problems the way they should be – with proper magic! Enough with these mortal boy problems already!
Your heart beats only with their permission.
Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.
Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.
She's different. She survived. Why?
When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy.
Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.
Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts -- in order to save the future.
You can purchase ICONS at the following Retailers:
Great Interview! :) I have been really DYING to read this book! The cover sold me before I even knew what it was about, then I read the description and I was defentely HOOKED! Amazing giveaway! :) Good Luck with Icon's 2 and have fun visiting the world, Your SO LUCKY! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, these were some really awesome questions!!! Also, how cool is it you get to travel the world for your job!? Super cool!
ReplyDeletepeachandblue2(at)aol.com
So excited to read this! I love the Beautiful Creatures series, so I'm sure I'll love this too!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Leanne
Thanks for the interview. I cannot wait to read this book!
ReplyDeleteAwesome interview! I want to read the book already!!
ReplyDeleteFabulous interview!! I'm getting so excited to read this :D
ReplyDeleteSci-Fi/Fantsy Geeks UNITE!!! Loved the interview. Can't wait to read ICONS.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for this!! :)
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to read Icons from the moment I knew it was happening. But this quote from the interview above makes me want it even more. "Icons is a story about Big Feelings. I’ve always felt like that – like I was afraid to let myself feel things, because what I felt could destroy me. But you know, what we feel can also save us. What we feel makes us human." I know this feeling exactly, and it was awesome to read it in Margaret Stohl's interview! Thanks so much for participating in this awesome tour!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so good. All the blogs are giving it very positive feedback.
ReplyDelete