Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Day 2: Interview with Brooke!

Time to learn a little bit more about Brooke Taylor and how here debut novel Undone came about!

So, where do you do most of your writing? What's it look like? (maybe include a picture if you can get it!)

I don’t have one specific place I write from, I just drag my laptop out and start typing away. Most of my actual writing occurs in my car as I’m driving. That is when my mind goes into story mode! I usually have music playing that may or may not eventually become part of the book's unofficial playlist.




Can you tell us how the book came about? How did you begin writing it?

I saw a license plate with CCCCCF8 on it, and it triggered all sorts of ideas. F8 for “fate” had a gamer feel to it that soon gave birth, if you will, to my main character Serena. Serena told me about her best friend Kori and then Kori pretty much hijacked the story. As you can tell, it is character driven.

And how did it find a publisher? Give us the *real* dirt!

I found my publisher the traditional way, through an agent. Walker is a division of Bloomsbury, and Bloomsbury also has it’s own YA imprint. Typically you will work you way throughout a house, hitting the imprints in order, never simultaneously. So we submitted to Bloomsbury’s YA imprint first, and the editor said Undone was a little to edgy for her, but she felt Walker would be perfect for it, and sure enough it was a great fit.


Did anything surprise you or caught you off guard when you were writing your book?

I was a little surprised at just how much was going on in my character’s lives, but then I remembered how it was in high school. How important everything was. And then it just seemed right.

7 comments:

Jessica Burkhart said...

That's such a cool story about how UNDONE came about.

daphne grab said...

i love that a license plate inspired the story!

Anonymous said...

Great interview! I love hearing about the backstory to a novel. :)

Ellen Booraem said...

Bet you're happy to have that bike now that gas prices have hit the ceiling. (Or maybe haven't. :-{ )

I, too, love the license plate story. And I can't wait to read the book!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Brooke!!!

Anonymous said...

Now, if I can just weasel Undone from my kid's hands, I'll get to read it. SHE's really enjoying your book.
-Nancy

Debbie Reed Fischer said...

I can't wait to read it, Brooke. And that is the coolest photo ever, of you on your bike. You are like a sexy, female Fonz (you know, back in the day when the Fonz was uber cool, before Henry Winkler turned into Hank Zipster). And I can totally relate to listening to music in the car and imagining scenes. :)