I had the pleasure of being a part of Penguin Canada’s first blogger event last week with authors Adrienne Kress (The Friday Society) and Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms). Arriving in the conference room, it was filled with excited, chattering bloggers. It was awesome seeing a few familiar faces and getting to know new ones.
While nibbling on some delicious pizza and colourful cupcakes, everyone listened as an interviewer from Faze Magazine began an informative but informal interview with the authors.
Each author shared their writing processes. Adrienne did quite a bit of research for her book, which takes place in 1900 England, but she mentioned she likes to work with a loose plan to keep it open to change. Meanwhile, Morgan prefers to outline each of her chapters.
Adrienne confessed that the idea of The Friday Society was inspired from the movie Suckerpunch. She wanted to incorporate Steampunk and loved the idea of young girls finding their own way in the world. She also shared that she doesn’t intend to have any of the girls have any romantic relationships with their respective bosses.
Morgan even mentioned a few interesting tidbits too. In her planned four book saga, she introduced a birdlike race called the Watchers, however they never existed in her first draft. Her editor brainstormed the concept with her.
When asked about killing characters in their stories, this was their responses:
Adrienne said the idea of killing a character off tends to simply pop inside her head and it just feels right for the story. When she writes the death scene out, she uses her experience as an actor to get inside the mindset of the witness and the dying. It can be quite the emotional rollercoaster ride.
Morgan joked around that she was okay with killing characters off. She actually enjoys it!
Now, listen up writers! The authors gave some advice for aspiring writers.
Adrienne and Morgan both believe you should read widely, try new genres out (whether you love them or hate them), and learn from your reading experiences on what makes or breaks a story from being a good one. Also, if you want to be a writer, write and write often!
When the interview ended, the bloggers were welcomed to meet the authors and get their books signed. How cool is that?
The night ended with some very cool swag from Penguin, fresh snow on the ground, and a promise of a few new books to read.
Thanks again to Morgan Rhodes, Adrienne Kress, Faze Magazine, and especially the team from Penguin Canada for such a great night with the best kind of people, book lovers.
Great recap! It was so nice to see you again too!