Currently Reading

Ashley's Book Montage

I'll Give You the Sun
Merciless, The
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories


Ashley's favorite books »

July 26, 2014

XY Blog Tour Interview

Interview with Shanta Everington, Author of XY


“A highly original and thought-provoking dystopian novel.
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it!”

Luisa Plaja, Chicklish, the UK’s Teen Fiction Site

About Shanta Everington


Shanta Everington is the author of seven books, including three young adult novels – Give Me a Sign, Boy Red and latest release XY (joint winner of the Red Telephone Books YA Novel Competition). She has had all sorts of jobs in the past, from baking vegan muffins and working as a private tutor to appearing as a guest agony aunt and running a teen sexual health helpline. With an MA in Creative Writing with distinction, Shanta currently teaches Creative Writing with The Open University. She lives in London, UK, with her husband and two children. Visit www.shantaeverington.co.uk

1) Do you plan first or just write and learn where your characters go?

I am definitely a character-led rather than plot-led writer. For me, a story always starts with a character in crisis and evolves from there. Having said that, I do appreciate the importance of a strong plot in YA fiction. Sometimes, if characters lead me astray, I have to step back and rework the story. With XY, I had a rough idea of where the story might go before I started. But the characters still had me jumping through hoops!

2) What inspires you most to write?

Voices in my head… Characters build up inside my mind, at first whispering, then chatting, and finally shouting!

3) Growing up what were your favorite authors/books?

The first books I remember owning are traditional fairy stories - Cinderella, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast.  It amazes me how certain stories endure. As a teenager, I loved reading Judy Blume - her characters spoke to me as a girl going through adolescence.

4) Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?

Read a lot and write the type of stories you like to read but don’t copy others or try too hard to follow trends. Find your own voice.

5) If you could be reborn in a different era when would you choose?

I don’t think I’d like to go backwards in time because, by and large, I think life has improved for women as time has gone by. Maybe I could be reborn in the future. I kind of like the idea of reincarnation actually. Maybe I’ll come back as a lizard or something!

6) What is your favorite line from the book?

‘If half of you dies, is there half a soul left floating somewhere?’
Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions.


About XY

Would it possible to live without gender?

Fifteen-year-old Jesse lives in a world where babies are born neither male nor female - Compulsory Gender Assignment is carried out at birth. Will the secret she closely guards be found out? Boyfriend Zeus, mother Ana's Natural Souls, and new friend Ork, leader of We Are One, pull Jesse in different directions, forcing her to make her own mind up about who she really is.  

XY by Shanta Everington is out now in paperback or on Kindle


Links



Hope you guys go and check this out. I shall be soon and will let you know what I think.

TTFN,
Ashley

2 comments:

Thank you for commenting. I reply to comments the end of every week. You are amazing readers :)

Labels

Review Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Saturday Teen Top Ten Tuesday Monday Top Ten update 4 Star INterview Friday Sunday 5 Star Debut Books 3 Star 4.5 star Challenge Discussion 2015 Armchair BEA Meme TBR Guest Post BEA 2015 Boyfriend DNF Holiday 5 Stars Authors Beth Revis Book haul Book tour Brian Challenges Goals New Years Recap Teaser Tuesday reading 2 Star ARC Adult Audiobook Author Event Bout of Books Christmas Covers Debut Author Feature Giveaway NYC Terah Edun Tour Twitter Video halloween 1 Star 2016 3.5 Stars 6 Star Adventure August Book Divas Characters Cover Reveal Katie Sise Kerstin Gier Life March Matched Ally Condie Melissa Marr Merciless New Releases News Questions Quick Read Read-a-thons Reviews Synopsis Tourist 101 2.5 Star 4-Star A Tear Jerker ARCAugust About Me Absent Adaptations Adrianna James Adventure Tuesday Alice in Wonderland Alsaid American gods Anna Banks Arrows Assassin`s Heart Attachments Audiobooks BEA 2014 BFFS Back To School Bedtime Birthdays Blast Blind Stitches Blitz Bloggers Book release Brain jack teaser YA lending Break Breathe Bumped YA McCafferty review Business Cards COYER Calleriro Catch-up Chat Child Cline Cody College Books YA Goals reviews College Books lists Companions Condie Confessions Courtlight Crown`s Game Danielle Vega Day One Delany Dewey Doppelganger Dragonet Prophecy Dreamland Dreamstrider Drizzt Dumplin Dystopian Ebooks Eliza Tilton Enchanted Entwined Events Every Last Word Falkoff Fangirl Feed Firsts Flynn Meaney Forgotten Realms Gift card Gifts Going Vintage Grave Mercy Hafsah Laziaf Hawkins Heather Dixon Help Hiatus History Holidays How to Hang a Witch Hybrid Fiction Incarceron book 2 Intoductions Jackson Pearce James Dashner James Frey Jessica Darling Kat Zhang Kids Kimberly Kontis Krystal Wade LEAP Laini Taylor Leah Rae Miller Leigh Bardugo Leila Sales Lizzie Jones M.T. Anderson Marie Harbon Marisa Martian May Maze Runner McKinney Memes Mermaids Metaltown Mind Games Mini Monthly Movies Nevernight New Adult Night Circus Nightfall Organization Paperback Parade Paradox Party Playlist Poseidon Q&A Quotes Rabbit Rainbow Rowell Rapture Read ReadOn Ready Player One Rebel Rebel belle Reign of Shadows Release Request Resolutions Retelling Reveals Robert Paul Weston Robin LaFevers Romina SHINE Salvatore Sanctuary Bay Santa Sapphique Sarah Sarah Crossan Schedule September September read goals fantasy YA Series Shades of Earth Shadow Bright and Burning Shadow Queen Shawn Stern Shelf Signing Silvia Day Sophie Jordan Spindle Spring Star-Touched Queen Starbucks Stephanie Dray Stone Subscription Boxes Sunday. 2014 Sweetly Syrena T.V. TTT Teaser Tuesday book blog numbers Thanksgiving The Birthright Legacy The Dead House Thousand Nights Tips ToD Touching the Surface Trading Travel Trees Crept In Trilogy Trip Unbreathable Unhinged Walk on Earth Wandering Satr Warga Wishlist. 2015 Wolf by Wolf Wrap-up Wrath and the Dawn Writing Year End Zeroes Zodiac contemporary haul list mature romance tag the summer i became a nerd tour