![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Poised at the Edge
Elizabeth Scott Interview
How would you describe Lauren, the main character in Bloom?
Lauren wants to be happy with what she has, because she thinks she has what she's supposed to want. But she isn't happy, and she doesn't know what to do about it--plus, when a chance for her to be happy does come along, she's terrified that she'll end up like her parents.
One interesting aspect of Lauren’s perfect boyfriend Dave is that he pushes her back physically. She wants more physically than he does. Why did you make that an aspect of their relationship?
I think that plenty of people want to wait until they are older/married/etc. to have sex, and I thought, why not have it be *the guy* who wants to wait? Plenty of times it's the girl who isn't ready, but why can't it be the reverse?
Adults and teens seem to be responding to Evan. Did you model him after anyone in the real world?
I wish! But sadly, Evan is entirely made up.
While I realize that Bloom is a book that was written for young adults, I’m hearing a lot of adults (who happen to be YA librarians, writers, and book reviewers) referring to the book as sensual. Was it a calculated effort on your part to write a book that was considered sexy?
I wouldn't say I set out to write a "sexy" book, but I did want to write a book where a girl wanted to have sex and did, in fact, have sex without getting a disease/getting pregnant/dying/having the guy die/etc. I think that waiting to have sex is a fine choice, but I also think it's important to show that female desire doesn't always have to be punished in some way.
But Bloom is such a multi-faceted book; to simply call it sexy would be doing it a great disservice. Thematically it has tremendous depth. Ultimately Bloom is about a young woman learning to think for herself. She is forced to choose between the road that everyone else thinks is “perfect” and her own (flawed) passion. What would you like your young readers to take away from this story?
Honestly, I'd be happy if people read the book and liked it! But I do hope that the idea that perfect=happy isn't true comes across, because I think real happiness comes from following your heart.
There is a wonderful cast of supporting characters in this story. I was particularly fond her best friend Katie. How did it serve the story to have Lauren place such little faith in her best friend?
I wanted Lauren to see Katie as Katie presents herself to the world and to not see that Katie, like everyone else, has her own share of problems because I think it's so easy to look at someone and judge them--even someone you know well (or think you do!)
What prompted you to write books for young adults? Also, who are some of your favorite young adult authors?
I got the idea for Bloom when I was on the phone with a friend one afternoon. We were talking about young adult novels, and I said I'd love to see one where a girl had the guy she's supposed to get at the end of the story, the "perfect" guy, because I thought it would be really pretty crappy--I mean, you'd still be imperfect, and he'd be all perfect, but there'd you'd be, already in the 'happily ever after.' And she said, "So write it!" And so I did.
As far as young adult authors I like, there are so many out there now writing amazing books that there's just too many to name! I do wish, however, that British young adult authors Judy Waite, Malorie Blackman, and Sarra Manning had their books come out in the US earlier rather than later--I'm always so impatient for their work that I end up buying it from amazon.co.uk!
Bloom has such a whimsical beautiful cover. The flower theme is very appealing. Will you please explain the meaning behind the title? (Of course being a writer, and a word geek, I loved your use of bloom in the context of the story)
I love the cover for Bloom but I can't take any credit for it at all, as it was designed by Lisa Fyfe, who is a genius!
As for the meaning behind the title, Bloom is all about Lauren realizing she has to follow her own heart and growing into herself.
And finally, can you tell us about any new projects you have coming out?
I have two books coming out in 2008: Perfect You in March and Stealing Heaven in May
I had to do a five-word (!) summary for each book recently, and I'll share them with you:
Perfect You (Simon Pulse, March 2008) -- parents + former friend x boy= trouble!
Stealing Heaven (HarperCollins, May 2008) -- thief meets cop: love? disaster?
Elizabeth Scott Interview
How would you describe Lauren, the main character in Bloom?
Lauren wants to be happy with what she has, because she thinks she has what she's supposed to want. But she isn't happy, and she doesn't know what to do about it--plus, when a chance for her to be happy does come along, she's terrified that she'll end up like her parents.
One interesting aspect of Lauren’s perfect boyfriend Dave is that he pushes her back physically. She wants more physically than he does. Why did you make that an aspect of their relationship?
I think that plenty of people want to wait until they are older/married/etc. to have sex, and I thought, why not have it be *the guy* who wants to wait? Plenty of times it's the girl who isn't ready, but why can't it be the reverse?
Adults and teens seem to be responding to Evan. Did you model him after anyone in the real world?
I wish! But sadly, Evan is entirely made up.
While I realize that Bloom is a book that was written for young adults, I’m hearing a lot of adults (who happen to be YA librarians, writers, and book reviewers) referring to the book as sensual. Was it a calculated effort on your part to write a book that was considered sexy?
I wouldn't say I set out to write a "sexy" book, but I did want to write a book where a girl wanted to have sex and did, in fact, have sex without getting a disease/getting pregnant/dying/having the guy die/etc. I think that waiting to have sex is a fine choice, but I also think it's important to show that female desire doesn't always have to be punished in some way.
But Bloom is such a multi-faceted book; to simply call it sexy would be doing it a great disservice. Thematically it has tremendous depth. Ultimately Bloom is about a young woman learning to think for herself. She is forced to choose between the road that everyone else thinks is “perfect” and her own (flawed) passion. What would you like your young readers to take away from this story?
Honestly, I'd be happy if people read the book and liked it! But I do hope that the idea that perfect=happy isn't true comes across, because I think real happiness comes from following your heart.
There is a wonderful cast of supporting characters in this story. I was particularly fond her best friend Katie. How did it serve the story to have Lauren place such little faith in her best friend?
I wanted Lauren to see Katie as Katie presents herself to the world and to not see that Katie, like everyone else, has her own share of problems because I think it's so easy to look at someone and judge them--even someone you know well (or think you do!)
What prompted you to write books for young adults? Also, who are some of your favorite young adult authors?
I got the idea for Bloom when I was on the phone with a friend one afternoon. We were talking about young adult novels, and I said I'd love to see one where a girl had the guy she's supposed to get at the end of the story, the "perfect" guy, because I thought it would be really pretty crappy--I mean, you'd still be imperfect, and he'd be all perfect, but there'd you'd be, already in the 'happily ever after.' And she said, "So write it!" And so I did.
As far as young adult authors I like, there are so many out there now writing amazing books that there's just too many to name! I do wish, however, that British young adult authors Judy Waite, Malorie Blackman, and Sarra Manning had their books come out in the US earlier rather than later--I'm always so impatient for their work that I end up buying it from amazon.co.uk!
Bloom has such a whimsical beautiful cover. The flower theme is very appealing. Will you please explain the meaning behind the title? (Of course being a writer, and a word geek, I loved your use of bloom in the context of the story)
I love the cover for Bloom but I can't take any credit for it at all, as it was designed by Lisa Fyfe, who is a genius!
As for the meaning behind the title, Bloom is all about Lauren realizing she has to follow her own heart and growing into herself.
And finally, can you tell us about any new projects you have coming out?
I have two books coming out in 2008: Perfect You in March and Stealing Heaven in May
I had to do a five-word (!) summary for each book recently, and I'll share them with you:
Perfect You (Simon Pulse, March 2008) -- parents + former friend x boy= trouble!
Stealing Heaven (HarperCollins, May 2008) -- thief meets cop: love? disaster?
cheerful