If you missed book club last week, you missed our exciting chat with Courtney Summers. Fortunately, she's given us permission to reprint the chat. Here's a little insight into her book, Fall For Anything, a bit of talk about RPatz, and a look into the publishing process -- something that will interest any aspiring writer! all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: first question: where did your idea come from?
courtney: Hi! The idea for Fall for Anything sort of happened a little after my Grandfather died. I always knew I wanted to write a book about death/grief, but I kept putting it on the backburner. After he passed away, it was sort of cathartic to explore the topic. The specifics about the idea--the photography, the suicide etc--just kinda happened!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what character is most like you/do you most relate to in the story?
courtney: Hmm. That's a good question! I try not to cop to being like any of my characters, just so I can keep people's ideas of them separate from me. The ones I relate to most--I think Eddie. She has a hard time letting stuff go! I'm like that and understand it. I think her father, Seth, had a complicated relationship with art that I can relate to (though I do not relate to the lengths he went to... at all!).
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: well that's good.
courtney: Definitely!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: are any of your characters based on anyone you know?
courtney: Nope. Although I do sometimes insert the names of family + friends to fill in for minor characters.
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: we're impressed how everything is off the top of your head -- "it's crazy!"
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: next question!
courtney: Hee!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: Was Culler a good guy or a bad guy?
courtney: I think Culler was good! But I know a lot of people think he's bad. But I always see Culler as someone who is really struggling with the loss himself. Seth validated him as a photographer, which was important, and in losing Seth he lost a bit of his spark. I really think he believed he was helping Eddie, or didn't anticipate how badly it would go because he romanticized the outcome, like he romanticized his photographic process. So I think he's a good guy who did a not-so-smart thing.
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: that was a great answer
courtney: Thank you. It was a great question.
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what interests you about the topic of teen relationships?courtney: Hmm! In terms of my own writing--I am interested in how fragile and volatile they can be, how uncertain, but that could because I throw my teen characters into volatile situations that make them fragile. It's exciting to write about how many times characters can screw up before they get it right (or they don't!).
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: do you think the situations in fall for anything could really happen?
courtney: I think they are certainly within the realm of possibility... but maybe they wouldn't all happen at the exact same time. But then--life is often stranger than fiction!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: if your book were to be made into a movie, who would play the main characters?
courtney: Aaah, so difficult to answer! I'm not sure. I'm bad at casting--my characters are vague in my head. St. Martin's got Eddie exactly right on the cover but as far as I know that model isn't also an actress. I always pictured some kind of young James Dean look-a-like. Milo's a blank for me! And this was not a real answer to that question. Sorry!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: we have a protest that you cant even see the face of the model. one of our teens suggests: wynona rider for eddie since shes good at broken characters
courtney: Awww! Well.... when I picture my characters, I usually just see hair color in my head above all else. So... she works for me!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: and
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: robert pattinson for culler because he's creepy
courtney: HAH.
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: BUT DEFINITELY NOT TAYLOR LAUTNER
courtney: What about Robert Pattinson for everyone???
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: we're all uncomfortable here
courtney: We can just a wig on him or something to play Eddie.
courtney: Aw.
courtney: It would be unintentionally art housey and brilliant.
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what teens are you aiming at (this is our second to last question)
courtney: Any teens that feel ready to read my books, really. I write to the upper end of the YA spectrum though. I used to think 14-15 and older was best, but I started getting emails from 13-year-old readers, which reminded me that teens are great self-censors + know best what they want to read or not read.
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: "darn right we do" - justin
courtney: :)
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: last question!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what was the publishing process like? we have interested writers.
courtney: It's intense! It's slow but it's also fast, once things start rolling. Once a book is accepted for publication, it goes through a lot of steps to become a book. It's edited (I'm in the thick of edits now for my next book), it's copyedited, proofed... I read my books so much to prepare them for publication by the time they ARE published, I never want to look at them again. That's pretty vague, I know. If there are more specific Qs about the process, I am happy to take them but there's a summary!
all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to chat with us!
courtney: Thank you for having me! The questions were great!
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