11/01/10
Author Interview: Brenna Yovanoff & Giveaway
Posted In: Author Interview
Brenna Yovanoff
Books:
- The Replacement
(September 1, 2010)
Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.
Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.
Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.
The Replacement has a love story, but I really felt like the novel was character driven. What was your favorite character to write and why?
You could ask me this on a different day and get a different answer so don’t hold me to it, but my favorite character to write was probably the Morrigan. She was always a lot of fun and I don’t recall ever getting stuck when it came to her voice or motivation or temperament—she just knew what she wanted to do and did it.
I’ve seen The Replacement described as ‘horror’ or ‘creepy’ and I read that you were inspired by Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” (which I read myself in the seventh grade and it has haunted me since then.) What three words would you use to describe The Replacement?
Eerie, whimsical, grotesque.
As a debut author, what advice would you give to a writer hoping to publish a novel someday?
I know it sounds kind of cliché, but I think the best possible advice I could give someone is to write all the time—whenever you can. Writing takes a lot of practice, and improvement happens over a long timeline. So make sure you do it every day if you can, even if it’s just a few lines. Even if it doesn’t feel like much, each of those lines is going toward making you a better writer.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing The Replacement?
The most challenging thing was probably just figuring out the right way to tell the story. I’m one of those people who gets hung up on the fact that there are infinite possibilities when it comes to writing, and my drafts varied wildly from each other as a result. After the first couple drafts, the sequence of events stayed pretty much the same, but the actual scenes still changed a lot from draft to draft.
Are there any other genres that you’d like to write? (contemporary fiction, high fantasy, etc.)
I would absolutely love to write contemporary YA. I read a lot of it growing up and when I first started writing in junior high and high school, that’s mostly what I wrote. Somewhere down the line, I’d really like to go back to it.
Changelings, fae, etc… have deep roots in folklore. Did you do any research for The Replacement? Did you learn anything interesting in that research? (if, in fact you did research)
I did do some research for The Replacement, but I’ve found changeling lore really fascinating since I was little, so I already had a pretty solid background in the basics. However, for the book I’m working on now (which deals with Judeo-Christian demons), I had to do lots of research and I know way more about demon hierarchies than I ever thought I would.
If you could ask yourself any interview question, what would it be, and what would be the answer?
Hmm, it would probably be something like, “Brenna, you talk constantly about how much you like zombies, but also about how much you like—say—Pixy Stix. How can you possibly reconcile these two very different natures?”
To which I would say, “I don’t know, I just do.”
Thanks so much for having me, Kristi!
Official Contest information:
- to enter, please fill out the form below
- entrants must be 13 years of age or older
- contest deadline is Novemberber 20, 2010
- contest open to US Residents Only*
- ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!
- check out my Contest Policy/Privacy Policy
*Thanks so much Penguin for providing the copy for the giveaway!
Related posts:
- Author Interview: Kirsten Miller & Giveaway
- Author Interview: Bree Despain & Giveaway
- Author Interview: Maria V. Snyder & Giveaway
- Morgan Matson: Author Interview & Giveaway!
- Author Interview & Giveaway: Melina Marchetta
44 Comments
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This book sounds like the perfect read for this season! A bit creepy but stil…. Like the changeling idea and that is the story is told form a guys POV!
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Hi!
In case you didn't see, the contest deadline says Oct 20, 2010, and I'm assuming since you posted this today, that's not right.
Thanks for the interview! -
ha! thanks for pointing that out Alyssa!
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This book sounds like the perfect read for this season! A bit creepy but stil…. Like the changeling idea and that is the story is told form a guys POV!
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Hi!
In case you didn't see, the contest deadline says Oct 20, 2010, and I'm assuming since you posted this today, that's not right.
Thanks for the interview! -
I loved The Replacement. It's the first truly horrifying YA book I've read in awhile. So creepy – it was awesome. Thanks for sharing this interview – totally great to hear what the author has to say.
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ha! thanks for pointing that out Alyssa!
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I loved The Replacement. It's the first truly horrifying YA book I've read in awhile. So creepy – it was awesome. Thanks for sharing this interview – totally great to hear what the author has to say.
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The book taunted me from the very first time I saw the cover. Since then I was sold!
Thanks for holding this giveaway! -
The book taunted me from the very first time I saw the cover. Since then I was sold!
Thanks for holding this giveaway! -
I cannot *wait* to read this! Thank you for the contest.
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Sounds like The Replacement would be a great book to read around Halloween time. Thanks for the interview!
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I cannot *wait* to read this! Thank you for the contest.
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Sounds like The Replacement would be a great book to read around Halloween time. Thanks for the interview!
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great post I really wat to read this book
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great post I really wat to read this book
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Great interview! Thanks.
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I enjoyed this book and reviewed it on my blog.
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Great interview! Thanks.
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I enjoyed this book and reviewed it on my blog.
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Great interview This book sounds so good Great giveaway thank you!
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Great interview This book sounds so good Great giveaway thank you!
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Great interview. I'll be adding this one to my wishlist.
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I've been wanting to read this book for sooo long.
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Great interview. I'll be adding this one to my wishlist.
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I've been wanting to read this book for sooo long.
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Great interview. I love folklore too, it's so interesting.
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Great interview. I love folklore too, it's so interesting.
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I think Ms. Yovanoff is freaking brilliant and I would love to read a contemporary YA from her, although the new book she is working on sounds great, too!
Awesome interview. Thanks for sharing.
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I think Ms. Yovanoff is freaking brilliant and I would love to read a contemporary YA from her, although the new book she is working on sounds great, too!
Awesome interview. Thanks for sharing.
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Great interview! This book is on my tbr list!
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Great interview! This book is on my tbr list!
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This book is definitely on my to-read list as I've read a number of reviews raving about it. Good luck to everyone entering the giveaway!
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This book is definitely on my to-read list as I've read a number of reviews raving about it. Good luck to everyone entering the giveaway!
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I completely understand when authors stick to one genre but I think it's neat when they write more than one.
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I completely understand when authors stick to one genre but I think it's neat when they write more than one.
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Thanks for the great interview and giveaway!
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Thanks for the great interview and giveaway!
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Curious…
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Curious…
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I have not read a story like this for many years. Sounds interesting.
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I have not read a story like this for many years. Sounds interesting.
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Thanks!
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Thanks!
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