Read For Your Future: Interview: Laurie Boyle Crompton author of: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains)

April 17, 2013

Interview: Laurie Boyle Crompton author of: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains)

Today we have Laurie Crompton stopping by to share more about herself and whats happing in her world with us. Thank you Laurie for being here...

I want thank you for having me on Read for your Future! I'm very excited that my debut, Blaze, releases this week and thank you so much for the great interview questions! I've pasted my answers below.

1. How did you come up with the concept of this book?
I was a bit of a comic book geek in high school and I always wished I could draw comics. I figured the next best thing was creating this character with all the drawing talent that I lack.

2. How did you come up with the names for the characters?
Blaze’s name just sort of came to me and felt right. It wasn't until later that I realized it actually made perfect sense that her father would name her after a superhero like Ghost Rider’s Johnny Blaze. It was one of those nice coincidences that happens sometimes with writing. The rest of the characters were similarly named things that ‘felt right’ but Blaze is definitely my favorite name in the book. (Good thing, too, since it’s the title!).

3.How much are you and the characters alike?

I was definitely a fangirl in high school and also got stuck shuttling siblings about. The bond between Blaze and her little brother is one I share with my younger sister and brother. Also, I did spray paint my first car hot pink which is similar to the makeover Blaze gives her minivan. I also dated my share of semi-supervillains, but fortunately the similarities stop there.

4.Do you read a lot and what are you reading now?

I read tons of fiction as well as non-fiction and right now I’m enjoying Jeannie Ryan’s 2012 debut NERVE.

5. What made you decide to go Young adult?

Growing up, I thought Judy Blume was a total rock star and I've always loved reading and writing YA.

6. How did the cover come about?

Originally the book was titled FANGIRL and had a completely different cover with a girl wearing a superhero mask. It was seriously awesome and I was sad to see it go, but I feel like the new cover my publisher designed is an even better fit. There’s a post over at Emu’s Debut’s a couple weeks ago week (http://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/) where my editor talks about the decision to make the change. (Posting January 29^th in case you’d like to create a direct link.)

7. So what is your next project and when is it due out?

My next book with Sourcebooks is scheduled for Feb 2014 and is titled The Real Prom Queens of Westfield High. It’s a reality show farce that is lots of fun. I also have a book coming out with FSG/Macmillan in 2014 (tentative title; Adrenaline) that is about a risk taking girl who is injured while rock climbing and must learn to overcome her fears.

8. Do you have a daytime job or are you a full time writer?
I'm happy being a full time writer :)

9. How did you get into writing novels and were you worried about peoples reactions to your books?

I've always loved writing and wrote for several trade magazines, but once I tried my hand at fiction I was totally hooked. It’s natural to worry about people’s reactions to my work (we writers are notoriously insecure), but I can't live in that place of worry or I’ll be afraid of taking risks. Writing without risk would be boring.

10. One last thing do you collect anything personally?

I go hiking a lot with my family and am always picking up unusual-looking rocks. At the end of very long hikes I absolutely wish I collected something lighter!