And if you haven't already, make sure you go enter to win A Shade of Vampire, and enter my big ole celebration giveaway!
Welcome, S.C.! Alice in Everville takes place over the span of just 1 day - how hard was it for you to fit everything into that day in a believable way?
Fitting the events of the book into a single day was actually not that difficult, because the idea came to me as this one-day journey that, while it may seem small on some levels, has many different layers of meaning. In some ways, the one-day constraint actually made this book easier to write, especially in terms of Alice’s character development. Throughout the book, Alice is trying to avoid thinking about certain issues and relationships, so whenever these thoughts or memories start to slip into her head, she finds a distraction to push them out again. A lot of this book involves looking at things in fleeting, sideways glimpses, the same way a poem might. I think this element of the writing might have been difficult to sustain over a longer period of time, but for this one-day journey, I thought it worked well as a way to evoke Alice’s mental state, and to lead both Alice and the reader toward unraveling her true mystery.
The story centers around the main character trying to decode a "secret message" from her favorite poet, "Sylvie Plate" - I assume there are bits of poetry through out (if not, we can tweak or skip this question as needed) - did you struggle at all with the poetic bits, finding the right tone, etc?
Absolutely, I struggled with pretty much everything! I wrote poems to fit an exact code based on the number of words per line, which was REALLY hard, and on top of that writing poetry is just hard, period! I also wanted to write poetry that evoked Sylvia Plath’s style and themes, without actually imitating her work, both because that would be trite and because I know my poetry could never come anywhere close to the quality of hers. (More on that below.) In addition, I wanted to make sure some of the themes and imagery of the poems related to other aspects of the novel, while at the same time keeping the poems somewhat abstract and without too much of a literal connection. So yes, it was a lot of work and a delicate balancing act!
And follow up to that, were you worried about the poetic aspects of the "Sylvie Plate" side of the book needing to live up to the obvious comparison to Sylvia Plath?
Again, absolutely! But I knew from the beginning there was no way I could write poems to equal Sylvia Plath’s, and I hoped people would enjoy my book regardless!
Now, let's play a little Quickfire round, shall we? =D
This or That:
Salty or Sweet?
Sweet!
Sunrise or Sunset?
Sunset—I am not a morning person!
Physical or electronic?
That’s a hard one. I really like having access to both.
Cake or Pie?
Cake, although I may have to make an exception for pumpkin pie [To this, Misty says Amen.]
Spring or Autumn?
There are many, many things I love about autumn, but I prefer warm weather so I’ll have to go with spring.
Random Would-You-Rathers:
Would you rather go back in time and meet your ancestors, or forward in time and meet your grandchildren?
I’d love to experience the past and meet my ancestors!
Would you rather only be able to read books you've already read, favorites included, or only ever read new books, and never get to reread favorites?
What a terrifying thought either way…I think I’d rather only be able to read new books, because I’m just too curious about what people are reading and writing now.
Would you rather have a personal chef or a chauffeur?
Since I don’t drive, I’d have to go with a chauffeur!
Gotta say, I agree with a number of those. Thanks for stopping by, S.C.!
A poem can seem like a labyrinth, a maze of words you can lose yourself in. The key is to find a thread to hold on to, to guide you in your reading, to lead you into and out of a labyrinth of words…
Alice Little thinks she’s read every word the world-famous poet Sylvie Plate published before her untimely death…until she discovers a coded message hidden in Sylvie’s final collection of poems--a message that may explain the poet’s mysterious demise.
All she has to do is decipher the code and she knows she can convince her beloved English teacher, Miss A, that Sylvie’s message is real. Unfortunately, she only has one manic day at Everville Mall to do it. And between keeping track of her fountain-splashing, havoc-wreaking sister, finding a new copy of Sylvie’s poems, and…oh yeah…dealing with the blue-eyed, guitar-playing, majorly swoon-worthy Jaden Briar, who keeps popping up everywhere she goes, Alice wonders if she will ever finish deciphering in time.
Alice Little thinks she’s read every word the world-famous poet Sylvie Plate published before her untimely death…until she discovers a coded message hidden in Sylvie’s final collection of poems--a message that may explain the poet’s mysterious demise.
All she has to do is decipher the code and she knows she can convince her beloved English teacher, Miss A, that Sylvie’s message is real. Unfortunately, she only has one manic day at Everville Mall to do it. And between keeping track of her fountain-splashing, havoc-wreaking sister, finding a new copy of Sylvie’s poems, and…oh yeah…dealing with the blue-eyed, guitar-playing, majorly swoon-worthy Jaden Briar, who keeps popping up everywhere she goes, Alice wonders if she will ever finish deciphering in time.
Make sure to check out the other stops on the Alice in Everville tour!!
February 27 – Jennifer @ My Life With Books www.jenkjovus.com
February 28 – Misty @ The Book Rat www.thebookrat.com
March 1 – Jessica @ www.booksatruestory.com
March 4 – Kathy @ I Am A Reader Not A Writer www.iamareader.com
March 5 - Penelope @ The Reading Fever www.thereadingfever.com
March 6 - Jamie @ Writers, Write, Right? www.jmanni32.blogspot.com
March 8 – Haley @ Life and Lies www.haleymathiot.blogspot.com
March 11 – Michelle @ Book Briefs www.bookbriefs.blogspot.com
March 12 – Author post @ http://www.sclanggle.blogspot.com
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About the author of Alice in Everville:
S.C. Langgle is a lifelong lover of words and stories who has never outgrown her preference for children’s and young adult literature. A graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Southern California, S.C. is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She currently lives in Hollywood, California, only a block from Marilyn Monroe’s handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, though she spends more time at home with her computer than mingling with celebrities. Luckily, she has her two adorable dogs—a Chihuahua, Chin-Mae, and a maltipoo, Sasha—to keep her company, and she’d choose them over a gaggle of Hollywood stars any day.
Find her on:
What a great review Misty! I really like the book you've already read or only books you've never read question. It made me panic a little at the thought though LOL.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of the tour.
Jen
Great Interview Misty! Sounds like the author put a lot of effort into the poetry. I enjoy Sylvia Plath's poetry. I'll be interested to read this novel whether I win a copy or not.
ReplyDeleteHeather
This book sounds really interesting!
ReplyDelete