Author interview: C.J. Redwine

Today on the blog I have debut author, C.J. Redwine for an interview. Defiance is published by Atom as a paperback original and an eBook on the 6th September 2012, £6.99

Synopsis

Rachel’s world is confined to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain, and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.

When Rachel’s father goes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.

Her only chance at escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice, and now her only protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.

Please describe your book in 5 words.

Swords, action, romance, monsters, and fire.

What kind of research did you need to do for Defiance?

The easy research involved determining what the world would look like fifty years after all infrastructure and major cities were destroyed. (Hint: Mother Nature says GIVE IT ALL TO ME) The hard research involved almost every single thing Logan does. :) He's an inventor, and I had to figure out what technology could survive the destruction of factories, electricity, and anything digital. I had to look up how to make batteries, bombs, and other weapons from scratch. I'm probably on any number of government watch lists just for those internet searches alone!

Were any of the characters or their traits inspired by people you know?

Not inspired by, but I certainly draw from what I've experienced and observed in both myself and in others when I write my characters.

Some authors do certain things while they write like listen to music etc. Do you have to do anything like this while you write?

I listen to a playlist I build for that specific book. After a few weeks, just listening to those songs in that particular order instantly puts me deep into the world of the story.

Which YA (human) character would you love to be and why?

Hermoine Granger. Girl has brains AND magic. What's not to love?

Which YA (non-human) character would you love to be and why?

I don't really want to be a non-human character. I want to be Batman. Can I be Batman? *crosses that off the bucket list*

What is your favourite book of all time and why?

Ohhhhh. I just made a sound that was somewhere between being stabbed in the heart and choking on a chicken nugget. I have to choose ONE??? *thinks hard* I'm going to say Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (even though my brain is busy throwing titles like Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and others at me!) because I read and re-read that book so much when I was younger that my copy literally fell to pieces.

When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

After I finished reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in second grade and realized that someone had to think of the story and write it down for me to be able to read it. I started writing stories and haven't looked back since.

Thanks so much for stopping by C.J. Defiance sounds so exciting and I can't wait to read it!