What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
Augusta Blythe/ Stratford, NJ, USA/ England.
Do you work
another job as well as your writing work?
I'm
a full-time mom to two young children. I previously worked as a lawyer
and contemplate going back to the law every other day. If I could work as
a lawyer, author, and have time for my family, I would jump all over it.
What is the name
of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what
would you say?
My latest book is a middle
grade fantasy adventure entitled In The Land of the Sapphire Sea. It's
about a scared 12-year-old girl who must rescue her little sister from the clutches
of an evil Imp queen.
My most recent YA urban fantasy is Ravenstoke, the
sequel to Winterborne. It's hard to describe without giving away spoilers
in Winterborne, but it involves lots of fantastic powers, a trip to England and
a school musical.
How long does it
usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing
it?
I tend to switch back and forth between
books so it's hard to say with certainty. I'd say 3-4 months on average.
What can we
expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of
a different genre?
I have the third and final
Universe Unbound book, The Yawning Void, hopefully out in the Fall. This
summer I'm publishing a humorous women's fiction book called The Mother Load
about three women and their perpetual insanity. That's written under the
name Keeley Bates.
What made you
decide to write that genre of book?
I try to
write what I enjoy reading. The trouble is I have eclectic taste so I end
up writing in multiple genres. As a teenager, I loved Lois Duncan's
young adult books and those stay with me even now. I also like reading
women's fiction. Even though it's non-fiction, I loved The Battle Hymn of
the Tiger Mother.
Where do you get
your book plot ideas from?
My ideas come from
everywhere -- a sign I pass on the road, a garden I see in a magazine, my
grandmother. I'm not actively scouting for ideas but when they hit, I
grab 'em.
Do you have
anybody read your books and give you reviews before you officially release them?ie.
Your partner, children, friends, reviewers you know?
It depends on the book. For Winterborne, I hired a
professional editor to make sure it was up to snuff. For my recent middle
grade book, In the Land of the Sapphire Sea, I had a few 10-year-old Beta
readers that were children of my friends. My husband hasn't read anything
I've written and I think that's probably for the best. He's an academic
and a highly critical reader.
Do you read all
the reviews of your book/books?
Not anymore.
Once I was sure that I didn't suck.
How do you come
up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover
of your books?
My brother-in-law designs my
covers and I provide him with a brief description of the book and some images
I'd like to include. We're on the same wavelength.
Do you choose a
title first, or write the book then choose the title?
Both. With Winterborne and Hostel Takeover (written
under the pen name Keeley Bates) the titles came first. With Ravenstoke
and In the Land of the Sapphire Sea, the stories were almost written before I
chose a title. With The Yawning Void, I have the title, the
summary, and the outline but that's it.
How do you come
up with characters names and place names in your books?
Choosing names is one of my favorite parts of writing a
book. When I was young, I had a baby name book that I used to learn about
name origins. I think my parents were a bit concerned to see their
adolescent daughter dragging around a book entitled '1,000 Baby Names.'
Loie (the main character in Winterborne and Ravenstoke) isn't in any baby
name books, though. I took that one from the name of a bar.
Do you decide on
character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or
as you go along?
It depends on the character.
Loie and Mia are foils so Loie was the self-esteem suffering shy girl and
Mia the confident social butterfly. It was necessary to the story.
Minor characters tend to develop their personalities as I write. I
knew Cian (in Ravenstoke) was going to be a cocky, bantering hot guy before I
started and he was a hoot to write for.
How do you
market/promote your books?
I try everything.
Reviews, blog, Twitter, Facebook, forums, GoodReads, Shelfari, paid ads.
I'm still trying to figure out what works best. If I don't promote,
the books stop selling!
What do you
think makes a book a really good/bestseller?
I
wish I knew. I've read some hot sellers and, I have to admit, I'm
baffled.
Have you ever
based characters on people you know or based events on things that have
happened to you?
Yes. I've written a
guest post on this topic somewhere. In Winterborne, there's a scene where
Loie is riding her bike through a field in the dark and a herd of deer charge
around her. That happened to me. When I was growing up, there was a
family joke about ravens stalking me because wherever we went on vacation,
there would be large black birds nearby. In Arizona, one of them
divebombed the pool at the hotel. That inspired the scene with the rooks
in Winterborne. Loie's Gran is loosely based on my grandmother as well.
What is your
favourite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?
I love The Blind Assassin by Margaret
Atwood. She's amazing. I've read it twice.
Do you think
books transfer to movies well?
I see the
Universe Unbound series (Winterborne, Ravenstoke and The Yawning Void) more as
a television show like The Vampire Diaries. I've written plenty of
screenplays and it's a completely different style of writing.
Do you think
children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do
Imaginative writing?
I think it depends on
where your kids go to school. I know some kids who read at school every
day. My kids read at home every day so I'm less concerned about how many
times a week they read at school. Not every child has that, though.
Did you read a
lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in
your life?
I read obsessively to the point
where I would get in trouble by my parents. Who gets in trouble for
reading?? I also used to fold over looseleaf paper and write stories and
illustrate them. I loved making chapter headings.
Is there a book
you know you will never read? Or one you tried to read but just couldn't
finish?
I've been trying to get through Lord
of the Rings. I love the films and the Hobbit was easygoing. I
haven't made it through yet, though.
What do you
think about book trailers?
I think it would
be fun if I had the time to figure out how to do a good one. Right now
I'm trying to help my son make a Lego stop-motion video for youtube with his
Ninjago characters. It's not easy!
Augusta Blythe on GoodReads and
Shelfari
Print copies are available on CreateSpace and
Amazon.
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