Interview Evermore Author Alyson Noël
Young Adult Author of Nine Published Books Talks Writing
Aug 12, 2009
Alyson Noël, a talented Young Adult author whose ninth book, Blue Moon [St. Martin’s Press 2009 ISBN 9780312532765] released in book stores July 2009, talks about the Immortal series and out of all her books, which character she relates to the most.
A lot of author’s tend to put a little, if not a lot, of them into a character. Do you see a lot of you in Alex (the main character in Faking 19 [St. Martin’s Press 2005 ISBN 9780312336332]?
Although her experiences are fiction, Alex is definitely me back then. I was completely lost, wandering way off the trail, and had no idea what my future might bring, and no real safety net to catch me if I fell. Those were tough times indeed, but, like Alex, we both made it through!
Out of all your characters, which ones do you relate to the most?
I put a little bit of myself into most of my characters, but the ones I relate to the most are probably Alex in FAKING 19 for the reasons mentioned above, as well as Echo in SAVING ZOË and Ever in THE IMMORTALS series—they’ve experienced a fair share of pain, loss, and abandonment, and writing their stories helped me come to terms with my own.
Evermore [St. Martin’s Press 2009 ISBN 9780312532758] was Alyson’s first break into Paranormal Fantasy. It’s all about 16 ½ year old Ever who, after being the only one to survive her family’s car wreck, is left to live a strange life of abilities that go beyond telepathy and being clairvoyant. She tries to hide and avoid her weirdness, but when the mysterious boy, Damen, enters her life, it seems to get ten times stranger.
The twist you gave to Damen’s character versus the trend that’s making rounds in teen books today was enjoyable. Without giving too much away (for those who haven’t read the book yet) what made you come up with these different ideas?
After going through a tremendous period of grief a few years ago where I lost three people I loved in five months and then nearly lost my husband to leukemia (he’s in full remission now!), I found my way through it by delving into my work, and reading loads of metaphysical books on ghosts, psychics, mediums, reincarnation, near death experiences, angels, chakras, crystals, etc—all subjects I’ve always been interested in—all of which I used to build Ever and Damen’s story.
Blue Moon continues Ever’s adventure with Damen and the world of Immortal’s. Give us a few lines about Ever’s new struggles in the second of the series.
In BLUE MOON Ever really starts to come into her own, testing the limits of her new immortals gifts and finally getting comfortable in her skin. She’s also getting to know Damen a little better who was kept purposely mysterious in EVERMORE.
But just as her powers are increasing, Damen’s are decreasing. And when she travels to Summerland to search for a cure to save him, she discovers the workings of time and is forced to make a heart wrenching choice between going back to the past to save her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the future and saving Damen . . .
Alyson Noël is also the author of Art Geeks and Prom Queens [St. Martin’s Press 2005 ISBN 9780312336363], Fly Me to the Moon [St. Martin’s Press 2006 ISBN 9780312355081], Laguna Cove [St. Martin’s Press 2006 ISBN 9780312348694], Kiss & Blog [St. Martin’s Press 2007 ISBN 9780312355098], Saving Zoë [St. Martin’s Press 2007 ISBN 9780312355104], and Cruel Summer [St. Martin’s Press 2008 ISBN 9780312355111].
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