Author Interview Monday: Cynthia Hand (Unearthly)

Thank you Cynthia for taking time to answer some interview questions for the blog!

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less

16 yo girl who is part angel sees a vision of a mysterious boy in a forest fire and questions her purpose on this earth.

--How did you get the idea for the story?

Clara's voice just came to me one day, giving me this situation where she saw a boy standing in the trees during a fire and thought she had to rescue him. Then I poked and prodded at the situation until the rest of the details unfolded. The angel stuff was born out of a long-time fascination in the Nephilim and a love of Madeleine L'Engels book, Many Waters. The Wyoming stuff came because it was a place I knew extremely well, as I grew up in Idaho not very far from the Wyoming border. And the rest came to me in that mysterious writerly way that things come, as if the characters and situations had simply been waiting for me all along.

--Can you give us any teasers from the sequel, or any information on its release?

I'm pretty tight-lipped about the sequel, but we will find out a lot more about the purposes of some of the other characters in the series. And the year will be a pretty rough one, emotionally, on our Clara. And there will be rodeo. The sequel, which is still untitled at this point, is in the revision stage at HarperCollins and should hit the shelves in January 2012.

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

Hmm, in some ways I feel like I've already had dinner with them all, but I think I would most enjoy dinner with Angela. She always cracks me up. And I would least enjoy dinner with Sam. Because sorrow and breadsticks don't mix.

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

I read all the time! Keeps my mind going. My favorites lately have been Never Let Me Go, The Scorch Trials, and The Dead Tossed Waves, which is the companion book to my other all-time fave, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan. Loooooved that book. I wish I could write about zombies. . .

--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?

Anne of Green Gables, not the sad/orphan part, necessarily, but those moments of extreme beauty and rapture that Anne experiences. Maybe one of the sequels, like Anne's House of Dreams.

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on the Unearthly "playlist-" songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

I did have an Unearthly playlist and CD that I had in the car while I was working, but I can't listen to music as I write. I listen to it to inspire me, get me in the mood, and then I shut it off and write in silence. The song that most spoke to me while I was writing Unearthly was "Fly" by Hillary Duff, which is rather embarrassing to me, as I'm not a Duff fan and I haven't heard any of her other songs. But I was surfing itunes and stumbled over "Fly" and thought it was so Clara. I aslo loved "Call Your Name" by Chris Daughtry, "All Around Me" by Flyleaf and "Second Chance" by Shinedown.

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

Flight. I definitely fantasize about that. Also the superstrength would be cool. Helpful for opening those pesky jars of pickles.

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?

I watch a lot of TV to blow off steam, reads tons and tons of books, and play video games on occasion. I'm not into shooter games but I really love me a good adventure or role-playing game now and then. And I knit and crochet during the cooler months.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

I think if there's any wish I have for my readers, it's just that I hope you enjoy reading Unearthly as much as I enjoyed writing it. I loved being in that world, and even if the book had never been published (and obviously I am thrilled that it was) I'd still feel be grateful and in awe of this story and all that it brought to my life. Yay!