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| photo by Darren James |
I'm honored to have Cath Crowley here for a World's Quickest Interview (WQI). I read her book, A LITTLE WANTING SONG, and raved about it >>here<<. Cath has a beautiful, amazing voice and her characters are unforgettable. A LITTLE WANTING SONG reminded me why I love reading (and writing) contemporary YA.
GRAFFITI MOON is Cath's newest book and will be available in the US on Feb 14 (Valentine's Day release date - how awesome is that!), but it's already out in Australia where it's picking up awards right and left.
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| Australian cover. |
Describe GRAFFITI MOON in one sentence.
Light-scattered dream.
How long have you been writing?
About ten years.
Who or what inspired GRAFFITI MOON?*
Graffiti Moon is a story about a group of teenagers who are outsiders. They spend one night together, out in the city, and it changes things for them. They don’t work out who they are – that would be hard in one night – but they work out that it’s okay to be different.
Shadow and Lucy, the main characters, connect through art. So the conversations they have are inspired by the artists I love - Mark Rothko, Sam Leach, Rosemary Laing, Jeffrey Smart, Pablo Picasso, Johannes Vermeer, Michael Zavros, Rosalie Gascoigne, Bethany Wheeler, Ghostpatrol and Miso. I wanted to write about two people who speak through images as well as words.
Poet is my favourite character. He mostly comes from my imagination, but he’s partly inspired by all the teenagers I’ve worked with who say they can’t write and then they produce these amazing lines.
The inspiration for Shadow and Lucy’s love story was the painting The Lovers by Magritte; it’s of two people kissing through sheets. I thought that first dates might be easier if people couldn’t see each other.
How long did it take you to write it?
About two years.
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| US cover. |
Besides writing, what do you like to do most?
Reading.
Grilled chicken, fried chicken or no chicken?
Grilled chicken.
What's your favorite holiday and why?
A mix of lazing around reading and going out and seeing things that inspire me to write.
Watch sports or play sports?
Not really. I like Pilates and walking.
One wish. What is it?
More empathy in the world. And that there would be another series written by Aaron Sorkin. Oops. That’s two. But one wish is never enough.
Any advice for aspiring writers?
Read. Study great writers. Write every day to find your own style. Be curious about the world. Write about thing things that matter to you.
Thank you, Cath! In our back-and-forth email exchanges, Cath has been a huge encouragement to me. I'm so thrilled she could be here to share a little bit of her wisdom. I hope you're all salivating over GRAFFITI MOON like I am! And if you haven't read A LITTLE WANTING SONG yet, add it to your TBR list.
If you get a chance amid holiday festivities, leave a comment and let Cath know how awesome she is!
*I decided not to hold Cath to the Twitter-length answer for this question. For one thing, I forgot to mention the short-answer thing when I asked Cath to do the interview (this is when I pull the I'm-a-mom-with-tons-of-little-kids card and claim scatter-brainedness). Then, after I read the answer, I thought it was so cool, I didn't want to cut it down at all. Nobody minds, right? :)
The last time I spend one night out in the city, I got mugged who kept telling me, "Calm down, man! Calm down!" Needless to say, the blade he was pointing at my liver failed to sooth me.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
He's So Out He Stays In
Wow! Great interview. I just ordered this book because of this. Nice.
ReplyDeleteAwesome WQI, and I love the concept. As for Graffiti Moon, it sounds amazing! I love Cath's advice about writing and focusing on what interests you. Best of luck to her w/the book! :o) <3
ReplyDeleteI love the US cover. I'm amazed I haven't heard about the book before. I'm adding it to my list.
ReplyDeleteLove the pint-sized interview!!!!
And yay for grilled chicken. (Wow, I am tired. At first I wrote 'grilled children' Ewwwww)
Oh, the description of Graffiti Moon reminded me of The Breakfast Club. It sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interview - nice to meet you, Cath!
the title 'a little wanting song' is so intriguing! I've heard great things about it (maybe even from you?) but haven't read it yet .. must correct that over this holiday break!
ReplyDeleteGRAFFITI MOON sounds great. I enjoyed reading this interview, and I love Cath's advice! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays, Amy and Cath!
Awesome interview, and very inspiring. Thanks to both of you!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing Cath to me.
Sounds like an interesting book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing Cath to me.
What a great interview. I think that's excellent advice for aspiring writers. And what a magnificent wish. If only there were more empathy in the world...
ReplyDeleteI love interview questions that give us a great snippet of who the author really is :) and how great for her to encourage you!!
ReplyDeleteI did buy A Little Wanting Song, per your recommendation, and can't wait to start it!
I really enjoyed this interview, Amy, and you've certainly got me wanting to read Graffiti Moon. Glancing over your comments I can see I'm not the only one. Thanks for introducing me to Cath.
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing me to Cath. I just added Graffiti Moon to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays, Amy!
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ReplyDeleteWonderful interview! Graffiti Moon sounds super.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful New Year's Amy!