YALLfest 2013: An Interview with Lauren Oliver

I'm honored to participate in the blog tour for this year's YALLfest Authors. For those who don't know what YALLfest is, you can find out more about the awesomeness and the all-star list of authors participating by clicking here. And if you live in the Carolinas or within driving distance of Charleston, SC, mark your calendar for November 9th! I want to hug all of you!!


Um, can somebody please pinch me? Today's interview is with the incomparable Lauren Oliver, whose YA Magical Realism BEFORE I FALL is one of my favorite YA reads of all time and whose multi-best-selling DELIRIUM trilogy took YA Dystopian to a whole new level. 


If you're living under a rock and yet somehow reading YA, here's a little bit about Lauren and her books from her Goodreads bio:

Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader. 

She attended the University of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress code at every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer. Before I Fall is her first published novel. 
She is deeply grateful for the chance to continue writing, as she has never been particularly good at anything else.

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Coffee!

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

Honestly, neither. It’s just every single line in between that feels impossible.

Best writing tip you ever received?

Aim for truth and beauty will follow.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

I have fourteen tattoos. I can fall asleep any time, any place. I have a phobia of worms. I hate fruit. I wrote my first novel largely on my Blackberry.

Where's your favorite place to write?

In my sunroom in upstate New York.

What are you working on now?

Two different middle grade books and an untitled young adult novel that my agent described as “the most disturbing thing he’s ever read.” Oops!

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

I love realistic books that include just a hint of fantasy.

If you haven't gotten on the Lauren Oliver bandwagon yet, your mission is to do so immediately. Follow the links below: