WHSmith Zoella Book Club: Author Interviews (Books 5-8)

It's time for my final post about the WHSmith Zoella Book Club as round two comes to an end. I've loved being a part of this, reading some incredible books and getting to talk to all of the authors about their writing. It's just brilliant.

The first four online interviews that I did with Meredith Russo, Alex Bell, Gayle Forman and David Levithan and Rachel Cohn can be found here and the unboxing of the books and other goodies that were very kindly sent to me by WHSmith can be found here. You can also see my video review for all eight books on my YouTube channel.

Let's get to the interviews:

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Hi Patrick, it’s lovely to talk to you. My first question is how do you feel about A Monster Calls becoming a movie?

Pleased! All you can aim for is something you’re really proud of, and I feel so proud of the film.

Which part did you find the most difficult to write?

The beginning. The end. The middle bits.

My favourite line was “I wish I had a hundred years… A hundred years I could give to you”. Do you have a favourite line in the book?

When Conor asks the Monster if he’ll stay. To me, that’s the whole book in a sentence.

How would you describe Conor’s relationship with the monster?

This sounds like an essay question. Am I doing your homework for you?

I’m 24 and a teaching assistant, so no this isn’t homework. I’m just curious as to how you’d describe their relationship.

I love teachers! I married one! But I also stay out of questions like that. I like to leave the book to do the work.

What tips would you give to an aspiring writer?

Write something you want to read yourself. As easy and hard as that. But it’s your joy people will respond to.

Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman

Hi Sue, I loved Lying About Last Summer. But I have to ask, did you write it during the summer?

Haha – great questions! It took over a year to write so yes, some of it was over the summer. I certainly edited in the summer.

Were the summer flashback scenes written in full before the rest of the book, or were they added as you needed them?

Some were there – others I added afterwards to make things clearer. IT was quite fun to add them in later.

Would you describe Skye as an unreliable narrator?

Hmmm – you ask interesting questions! In some respects perhaps she is. I’ll need to think about that…

Thank you. I felt maybe as she was grieving, she might not be in the right frame of mind and that could make her untrustworthy.

She certainly isn’t thinking straight at some points. I like unreliable narrators and loved Birdy by Jess Vallance.

Where did the idea for a bereavement summer camp come from?

Way back it was an ordinary camp and Skye was the only bereaved kid. Then it morphed into a bereavement camp. It’s more interesting. When I was in the Sixth Form, I went on a residential English literature camp! We didn’t know each other and there were all sorts of characters.

Would you like Lying About Last Summer as a film or do you think it works best as a book and that it should stay that way?

I think it would make a great film! That would be exciting. The irony is that I’m scared of creepy films.

Did you have a favourite part to write, or a part that you found hard to write?

I found the end hard to write. It was upsetting. You probably know the bit I mean. I liked the epilogue: saying how life had moved on.

What can you tell us about your next book, See How They Lie?

Fifteen year old Mae has lived in a remote psych facility most of her life. She thinks it’s because her dad is a psychiatrist. It’s not.

Thank you for answering my many, many questions. I loved Lying About Last Summer and I can’t wait for See How They Lie.

Thanks for your support Janay.

The One We Fell In Love With by Paige Toon

Hi Paige, it’s lovely to talk to you. My first question is what was it like to be chosen for the Zoella Book Club?

I have loved seeing The One We Fell In Love With in so many WHSmith stores. Thank you Zoella for picking it! I was so happy, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops – but I was embargoed for ages so I had to keep a lid on it.

Whose perspective did you find most interesting or most enjoy writing from: Phoebe, Eliza or Rose?

Phoebe was the hardest, because she’s so different to me – you’d never catch me climbing mountains! Rose was my favourite.

I think Rose was my favourite too. I loved her romance storyline and I loved her ending.

So happy to hear that!

Your book was definitely one of my favourites in this round of the Zoella Book Club. What was your favourite part to write?

Thank you! OK, I’ll admit it, the treehouse scene with Angus and Eliza and the nightclub scene with Rose and Toby.

If The One We Fell In Love With was ever made into a film, who would you like to play Phoebe, Eliza and Rose?

I don’t know any identical triplets who are actresses, do you? I think this film might need some serious CGI.

There’s twins – Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen – and their sister Elizabeth who looks similar… I pictured Emma Watson in the role, so yes to CGI!

I love hearing who readers would cast in my books – I do love Emma Watson!

Where there any particular parts that you found difficult to write?

“That bit” was pretty difficult. I love what Zoella said about it: “Jawdropping… I did not see it coming at all.”

It was a real shock. I didn’t see it coming either!

I’m so grateful to everyone who has kept “that bit” a secret.

I know I’d hate it if someone had spoilt it for me. Plus I’ve been telling people to read it so I have someone to talk to about it.

I love that each chapter is a different viewpoint. Do you write as one character at a time or all of them a bit at a time?

I wrote the chapters as you read them, so I had to make sure I was back in character each time I sat down to write.

I have to say, my favourite line is when Rose says to Angus “Let’s just say that there were many times when I wished you were a triplet, too.”

Glad that made you smile! I think my favourite line is, “It’s Phoebe or no one for you… If you don’t want her, you can’t have any of us.” And then later, Eliza says “But I would have preferred it if he’d chosen not to have any of us.”

I love that one too. There’s so many memorable lines in this book.

Thank you so much for answering my numerous questions, it’s been lovely to talk to you.

Thank you so much for dropping in!

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Hi Sophie, it’s lovely to speak to you. What was it like to transition into writing a YA book?

I loved it. The teenage years are so complex and the love feels so fresh.

Did you have a favourite character to write about in Finding Audrey? I loved her mum!

I loved her mum too. But I loved the whole family.

Were there any parts that you found difficult to write?

I always identify with my characters, so some bits were upsetting… but overall I loved it.

How much research did you do into anxiety and depression to write Finding Audrey?

I did a lot, because I wanted to get it right and it’s been amazing when people write to me and say I did.

I love the note passing with Linus and Audrey. Do you think that was Audrey’s turning point with wanting to push herself?

Thanks so much, that scene is special for me too. Bring back love letters! He really gets through to her.

What was it like to write Audrey’s documentary in that format? And were these parts added at the end or as you wrote?

I did them as I wrote. I loved them, love writing dialogue.

If Finding Audrey became a film, who would your dream casting be for Audrey and Linus? I think Tom Holland for Linus.

Good choice! I’m hopeless at casting so tell me, who should be Audrey?

I think Elle Fanning is a good choice for Audrey?

Yes!

What would you like to think Audrey was up to now?

I have lots of visions of Audrey but I won’t share them, just in case I ever return to her.

Ooh yes, that’s the best answer! Do you prefer writing standalone books or a bigger series like your Shopaholic books?

I love the familiarity of the Shopaholic series but also the fresh horizon of a standalone… so both!

Thank you so much for answering my numerous questions. I look forward to reading whatever comes next from you.

It has been lovely to chat and your questions were all so thoughtful, thank you!

I also said that I'd rank all eight books, from my top favourite to least (but I loved every single one and it was really hard to order the last four books because I liked them all so much):

1. The One We Fell In Love With (definitely my favourite!)
2. If I Was Your Girl
3. A Monster Calls
4. Lying About Last Summer
5. I Was Here
6. The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily
7. Finding Audrey
8. Frozen Charlotte (this is so tricky because this book was incredible and I'm so glad I read a horror book because it's not my usual choice - it's so hard to order these but I need to settle with this list because I've been changing it around for the past fifteen minutes... I can't decide! They're just all so good!)

I've thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the second round of the WHSmith Zoella Book Club. I really hope that there's more in the future. I've now got to remember what it's like to choose a book on my own rather than work my way through a pre-organised pile! I'm useless at making decisions on what to read. I'll go through GoodReads and add loads of books to my 'To Be Read' list and then I'll spend ages trying to decide which one I want to read from the hundreds I've just added. We'll see how this goes... Feel free to recommend books to me, you can can find me on GoodReads or contact me through Twitter or Instagram.