 |
| Terra Elan McVoy & Brittany Geragotelis: Authors and friends |
I’m gonna let you all in on a little secret. When we’re not on panels and speaking in public, authors actually do sit around and talk about writing and the industry and readers….and it’s really fun.
This got me thinking…if I find our convos interesting, maybe you all would too! And you might just learn a little something about some of your fave authors. So, I decided to start a column here on my blog called Author to Author where I chat with other writers and you get to read all about it. Sort of like you’re a fly on the wall or eavesdropping….only, you’re not going to get in trouble for it!
For my first Author to Author sesh, I caught up with my new writer friend Terra Elan McVoy! Terra is the author of Criminal, Pure, BeingFriends with Boys, and The Summer of Firsts and Lasts. And on top of that, she’s wicked cool. She also has a great sense of self, a strong and independent personality, a caring heart, and works in (duh) a bookstore!
I hope you enjoy my first Author to Author: Terra Elan McVoy. I sure did.
________________________________________
Thursday, October 10, 2013 8:30 PM
Terra Elan McVoy
Hey girl!
I’m so excited to be chatting.
Brittany Geragotelis
Me too!
I'm so happy that you wanted to
do this!
Terra Elan McVoy
I think this is a brilliant idea.
Brittany Geragotelis
Awesome! Okay…
Sooo, I didn't tell you this when
we first met, but I'm sort of
totally into your book, CRIMINAL.
The fact that you were intrigued
by this true crime story.
And I love what you've had to say
about just wanting to know more
about the reasoning behind why
people do things.
Terra Elan McVoy
Well, reading is all about using
your imagination to understand
something unfamiliar, right?
Other worlds, other lives, even
our own thoughts/emotions . . .
And I feel like more and more,
we surround ourselves with the
familiar and block out what is
different or uncomfortable.
Brittany Geragotelis
Totally
Terra Elan McVoy
A lot of people read CRIMINAL
and say they hate Nikki at first,
and I'm like, “Yeah, duh! She
makes bad choices!” But it’s
more about what she does after
those choices.
Everyone makes mistakes. No one
has clean hands.
Brittany Geragotelis
Omigosh, that's a topic I want to
talk about in a few minutes...the
unlikeable characters thing...
but right now, do you kind of feel
that as writers, we're actually
drawn to the reasons people do
things? Their motivations? Wanting
to understand what drives people?
Like, confession time....I'm
OBSESSED with serial killers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm terrified
of violence and crime. I'm the
girl in the back of the crowd
crying while a fight’s going on.
But I'm SO fascinated with what
drives people to do these horrible
things.
Terra Elan McVoy
Absolutely. As writers we’re drawn
to human emotion and psychology.
And that serial killer obsession
is interesting. :)
As storytellers we definitely need
to understand character and motivation.
Brittany Geragotelis
I’m not obsessed in a scary way....
I swear.
*Cue creepy music*
Terra Elan McVoy
Hahaha.
Brittany Geragotelis
I feel like a lot of my books center
around feelings, and writing is my
way of trying to make sense of the
world around me.
Terra Elan McVoy
Yes, absolutely. It's where
storytelling started, way, way, way,
way back.
We're trying to understand, articulate,
explain, and then, most importantly,
share.
Brittany Geragotelis
What did you find about yourself or
others through writing CRIMINAL?
Especially when it deals with some
seriously violent, sad, complicated
situations…
Terra Elan McVoy
One thing I learned for sure is that
there are LOTS of people in Nikki's
situation. There are people with no
resources, who don't see that they
have other choices.
And that’s sad but also empowering
to me, because it means there are
so many other people we can reach
out to, to try and connect with
and help.
Author’s note: CRIMINAL was inspired by a true story of a guy
who ropes his mistress into killing his girlfriend’s dad.
Brittany Geragotelis
In CRIMINAL, your main character,
Nikki, helps her boyfriend commit
murder.
Terra Elan McVoy
Yes, Nikki is the one who helped.
Nicole is the one whose dad was
killed in the book. She's the
“other woman” as far as Nikki
is concerned.
Brittany Geragotelis
Interesting.
Terra Elan McVoy
I’m always interested in the small
moments between people.
 |
| Terra and I on a school tour |
Brittany Geragotelis
Was it a stretch for you to think
of what Nikki was thinking and
feeling while making the choices
she made?
Terra Elan McVoy
I learned that even though this
book is very “different” from my
others, I'm ultimately interested
in writing about the moments that
help us define ourselves as people.
And more often than we think, we
have choices about that.
In terms of the difficulty of
writing Nikki, that wasn’t the
difficult part once I figured out
the other details.
It was imagining backwards from
this crime I knew about and trying
to figure out how you’d get to that
place.
Brittany Geragotelis
Do you ever scare yourself with
your writing?
Sometimes I write scenes and I
freak myself out. Like, wow, that
came from me?
Terra Elan McVoy
Hahaha. Yeah I totally know that.
For me it happens more on the
sentence-level than the scene-level,
but yeah.
It’s so weird, isn’t it?
This thing that COMES from you but
is definitely NOT you.
Brittany Geragotelis
I totally know what you mean!
I have this thing where I feel 100%
that the stories I come up with
aren’t coming from me, but I have
been chosen to tell them.
I only wish I also remembered that
when the reviews came out. Like,
“Well, go ahead and insult the
UNIVERSE, people!”
Terra Elan McVoy
Hahaha.
Yeah, it’s a special thing that I
don’t think people get all the time—
that you, as a writer, are a vessel
through which the story comes.
Brittany Geragotelis
Yes!
Terra Elan McVoy
Not to say you don't throw in your
own personal bits as it’s happening…
Brittany Geragotelis
Absolutely. And I think what compels
us to keep at it and write it down
is our need to better understand the
world around us.
Terra Elan McVoy
Yes, totally. Even the most crazy
sci-fi or fantasy book is about that
attempt to understand and articulate.
I like to say that mainly I’m the
observer and the recorder of what’s
going on with my characters. But I
have to do some serious case studies
with them first.
Brittany Geragotelis
It’s like, through working on these
stories, we’re working through things
ourselves.
Terra Elan McVoy
Heck yes.
The second half of this conversation will appear in a separate entry. CRIMINAL is available in a bookstore near you or online here, and you can learn more about Terra and her books on her website.
My books LIFE'S A WITCH, WHAT THE SPELL and KI$$ & $ELL are all on sale now, too!
5x5,
B.
B.
_________________________________________________________
CONTEST!!!! CONTEST!!!! CONTEST!!!!
In honor of my first Author-2-Author post, I'm hosting a giveaway. Here are the deets:
WHAT'S UP FOR GRABS: 5 random YA books from my own bookshelf; an autographed copy of my book WHAT THE SPELL; and a LIFE'S A WITCH t-shirt! Five lucky people will win.
HOW TO ENTER: Tweet about this blog entry, tagging @thebookslayer & @TerraMcVoy and you'll be entered. Winners will be chosen at random. Contest ends on Friday the 13th at 1PM EST.
1 comments:
Can't wait to see who the winners are! Fingers crossed.
-Brandon// Wattad=Tenuous.
Post a Comment