Amalie Howard, author of BLOODSPELL, -- which I've reviewed and am giving away HERE (for an extra entry, leave a comment on this post for Amalie!)-- joins us today on The Book Swarm.
AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure.
An aspiring writer from a young age, Amalie Howard's poem “The Candle,” written at age thirteen, was published in a University of Warwick journal. She was also a recipient of a Royal Commonwealth Society essay award (a global youth writing competition). A Colby College graduate, she completed simultaneous Honors Theses in both French and International Studies, and graduated Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa. At Colby, she was cited for research and criticism in Raffael Scheck’s article, “German Conservatism and Female Political Activism in the Early Weimar Republic,” and his subsequent book, “Mothers of the nation: right-wing women in Weimar Germany.” She also received a distinction in English Literature from the University of Cambridge, A-level Examinations as well as a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. She is a member of SCBWI. (Author bio and picture from GoodReads.com)
Hi, Amalie, and welcome to The Book Swarm! Thank you so much for stopping by and answering a few questions. First, we'll start with a couple about your debut novel, BLOODSPELL. Besides the supernatural, BLOODSPELL incorporates travel, love, and even a dash of the 1800's. What inspired you to put all those elements into your novel?
Notwithstanding the paranormal elements, I wanted to write a story that would transport readers to different cities, and introduce them to a completely unique world. Being able to leverage my unique background and my travel experience really allowed me to bring that little something extra to the table. The locations in Bloodspell—Maine to New York to the UK to France—all seemed to come together really well, adding to the overall breadth and depth of the story. I wouldn’t have been able to write about any of these cities with such confidence if I hadn’t lived in those places myself.
On top of that, I’ve always loved historical fiction, and I really wanted to incorporate some of that via the journal in Bloodspell. I felt that it gave some authenticity to the history of Victoria’s curse. The snippets in the journal as well as some of Christian’s flashbacks offer some added complexity to the world building in Bloodspell. In terms of actual factual data, many of the facts in this novel are indeed true—for example, there actually was an attempted assassination attempt against King Louis-Philippe in the summer of 1835 in France. I used the people who planned the attempt as the fictitious characters who left Christian and Lucian for dead before they were found by the vampires. But that assassination attempt on the king did happen in 1835.
Another example is the Tour Areva that I refer to the Vampire Council headquarters in La Défense, which is actually a very real building in Paris, and I’ve actually been to the bar, L’Echiquier, where Christian meets Enhard. A lot of my knowledge of Paris in the novel, including the scenes with Christian walking the Champs-Elysées and the Jardin des Tuileries, is based on my own actual experience living in Paris.
On the love front, what can I say … who doesn’t appreciate a heart-pounding romance? I unequivocally believe in true love. To me, love is the thread that binds everything together in life. It is this intangible force that can bring us together and drive us apart. Love can push us to be the worst that we can be and the best that we can be. And even in our darkest moments, we’re always going to be worthy of love and forgiveness. That’s the human condition, what we strive for … to love and be loved. I really enjoyed being able to explore that in Bloodspell.
I'm always up for a heart-pounding romance! *fans self* Oh, and travel--most definitely travel. So, about your two main characters. What character traits do you share with your main character, Tori (or Christian, for that matter)?
Victoria is most like me in that she pretends to have this armor-like bravado but she’s really just fragile inside. She wants to fit in and be happy, and even though she has this huge curse to contend with and a vampire boyfriend who has his own problems, I like that she’s a fighter. She really comes into herself and gains insane confidence by the end of this book. I personally like strong female characters, or characters who show growth over the course of a story. Heroines in books especially for teens become role models, whether we want them to be or not, and I think writers have some responsibility to be conscious of that. I'm a pretty avid reader of books, young adult books especially, and I wanted her character to be strong but relatable, because her growth in the novel has to be believable. As a reader, you have to connect with her and be willing to be a part of her journey. It has to be something that any reader/teen can accomplish themselves, even if they're not the most powerful witch in the world.
Even though there are undoubtedly parts of me in her, I refer to Victoria as every-girl and no-girl at the same time—we can all find some part of ourselves in her, some little thing to identify with. She's likeable, she's funny, she's smart, she has a lot of empathy, but she also makes mistakes and does stupid things sometimes. She's a normal person who evolves into someone extraordinary, and that’s what makes her strong … it’s the same strength that’s in every girl, the same strength that will inspire all of us women, young and old, to be unique, fierce, and fearless.
With Christian, I’d probably say that we share a love of French and France, and a deep passion for traveling. I’m also as smart as he is. Just kidding!
Oh, I completely agree -- I love books with smart, strong, and fearless characters like Tori. Since being published, what's the coolest thing that's happened to you?
I was recently on the front page of a local Westchester newspaper so being recognized in the grocery store or at the Post Office (“hey, you’re that author!”) is totally surreal, and my ears still go flaming hot whenever that happens. The other cool thing was the Seventeen Magazine nod. I mean I’ve read that magazine my whole life so it was a real honor for me to even be recognized in there. (Read about it HERE -- SO COOL!! I was a Seventeen girl myself.)
Any advice for teen writers? My students participate in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s Program every November, and they’re a bit intimidated by the prospect. Any advice for them and other young writers would be fabulous!
I love NaNoWriMo! It’s goal-focused and yet so community-oriented that it’s like a fun group-writing project. I’ve actually done it twice myself, although I barely made it to half of the 50k word limit the second time. But both were terrific experiences. The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it sets an achievable goal that you can break up into manageable writing segments—doing a little bit each day—so it’s a great process for any easily distracted or newbie writer.
Overall, for any aspiring young writer, I would definitely encourage reading as many books as you can get your hands on—the more you read, the more you’ll understand all the elements required to pen a great book. Develop and experiment with your own unique writing voice, and find what moves you. Which writing genres and themes are you passionate about? What drives you? Do you like stories, poetry or journalistic writing? Find your niche—people are usually better at writing about what they love or what inspires them because it comes from somewhere real.
I would also advise young writers to get writing experience early, even if it’s something as simple with working on your school newspaper or starting a blog or getting a local internship. A good rule of thumb is that any experience is valuable experience, and if I’ve learned anything at all, it’s that this industry values credentials. Get yourself out there and write regularly—hone your craft.
Lastly, the most heartfelt advice I can pass on to other writers is to never give up. Carve your own path. And don't let rejection hammer you—it's all part of the process. Take in the constructive and make your work the best it can be. And keep going no matter what. Believe in yourself and you can't fail. Sounds a little preachy, but it's true.
Not at all preachy and, from my own experiences, completely true. Thanks for the great advice! So, where do you do the majority of your writing?
So here’s a photo of my lovely office desk. I have everything I could possibly need at my disposal: laptop, printer, pens, paper, chair with lumbar support, resource library, music and lots of quiet.
As perfect as that all sounds and as much as I’d like to say that this is where the book-making magic happens, the truth is a lot of my work gets done on the couch in the living room with my kids running around and my laptop burning a hole on my knees. With three very active children six and under, finding time to write or unwind takes foresight, and sometimes, fortitude. I do write occasionally in my office but it’s not the norm. I’m far more comfortable writing on the couch with my iPod on.
I’ve always been a multi-tasker so being able to manage multiple things is a particular skill of mine, which means that I’m totally capable of writing in a house full of screaming children! When I’m on a roll, I just go. I don’t stop, and I’ll admit that my kids don’t get bathed on time (thank you to my wonderful husband for picking up the slack!) If I really need to focus without any distractions, for example when it comes to edits or rewrites, then office desk it is.
Wow, that's some serious focus and dedication you've got there! Every creative person needs to recharge somehow. What's your favorite fuel for writing?
Mmmm. Snacks. I love them, but they’re such a black hole for me because I could easily inhale a six-pack of cupcakes in one sitting and call it “inspiration.” So suffice it to say that my favorite fuel is the non-caloric kind … music. The right piece of music can make a scene flow magically, whether it’s a romantic scene or an action sequence.
Sometimes, I’ll have a certain song on repeat depending on the scene I’m writing. I played Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis over two hundred times while writing Bloodspell! It really embodies the relationship in the beginning between Tori and Christian. On the flip side, when I was writing the scene with the relationship between the two brothers, I needed something hardcore and raw so I went with The Hand That Feeds by Nine Inch Nails. There’s so much tense emotion between them as siblings, or even worse, as twins, that it’s a very volatile dynamic. Take that relationship to the vampire level and you have something incredibly unpredictable. This piece of music and the words in the song are so perfect because there’s such an explosive combination of hate and love between them. Another great example is Always by Saliva, which is Gabriel’s song for Victoria. The emotion in this track is heavy, and is full of a gritty combination of sadness and rage that just personifies Gabriel. Check out my full playlist in the back of the book, which is lined up with corresponding chapters/scenes/characters, for more. (You can go to Amalie's website HERE to check out the playlist -- and a lot more!) Don't you just love when an author provides a playlist? It gives such insight into an author's processes, which I love. Plus, I think it adds depth to the story.
Thank you so much for such a fantastic interview, Amalie! I really appreciate it and wish you the best of luck in your writing career.
The second book in the Bloodspell series (as yet untitled) is expected to publish in 2012.
