I had this interview with Kiera Cass last week during our Turkish book blog tour for The Selection. You can also find our dream casts for Team Maxon and Team Aspen... Enjoy!!!
The Selection is one
of the most anticipated books in February here is in Turkey. I know it is not
your first published book, but it is the first one here. So can you tell us a little about yourself and
your journey from writing to publishing and then tv series?
Well, I
started writing as a personal form of therapy. I decided to give a character my
problems and see how she dealt with them. It was a really helpful experience
for me, not just because it cleared my head, but once I got into the habit of
writing, stories just started coming. I live with characters in my head all the
time!
I ended
up self-publishing my first book, The Siren, then coming back to try the
traditional route with The Selection. I found a wonderful agent and she got me
my book deal. Now The Selection is going to be translated in at least a dozen
different countries, including Turkey!
Here in
the States, The CW is looking to make a TV adaptation of my book. They’re
casting right now and will shoot in Hungary this spring. It still might not
make it to air, so we’ll see what happens!
The Selection is like
a fairy tale with dystopian elements. It
is different than many in the dystopian genre, not as dark to start with. It is
quite refreshing, what was your inspiration? How did the story come about?
I was
inspired by Esther from the Bible and Cinderella. I just wondered if Esther
maybe liked the boy next door before she was shipped off to a palace that she
was never coming home from, even if she wasn’t made queen. And Cinderella never
asked for a prince. She asked for a night off. We assume these girls are happy
because they got their man, but what if they weren’t? Their two stories merged
in my head, and I knew I wanted to write about a girl who would get the
attention of a prince, but she wouldn’t want it because she was already in
love. And she would go through something she never actually wanted to in the
process, which turned out to be the Selection. And that was it!
I read that you
always create your character first. Who was the first one you have for The
Selection? And who is your favorite, and of course why?
Once I had the idea for The
Selection, America was in my head. The previous story I wrote, The Siren, was
told by a young girl, too. I assumed they were similar and telling their
stories would be exactly the same, but it wasn’t. Kahlen was hurt and wanted
everyone to know about it; America was reserved and not as willing to hand over
her story. I ended up having to write the book almost completely over again
because I’d gotten her so wrong. I work hard to listen to my characters and be
honest to what they tell me. I love them all, even the not-so-nice ones.
As we are talking
about the characters, can I ask one for each? America, Aspen, and Prince Maxon?
For America; what
made you feel somethings more than friendship for Maxon? (well actually I
suppose it is pretty impossible not to fall for him but anyway)
Those
feelings snuck up on me. I didn’t even know I liked him until he was making it
clear he liked me, too. I suppose it’s that Maxon’s so generous and good. He
surprised me.
For Maxon; what did
you think when you first saw America?
Honestly,
I didn’t know what to think. I wans’t even supposed to meet her yet! But she
was different than what I was expecting, and I genuinely like that she’s
herself no matter what.
For Aspen; What were
you planning to tell America, if she let you, on the day she left for the
palace?
I
didn’t really have a plan. I just thought if I could get to her, maybe I could
fix things. Sometimes I forget to think before I act...
It doesn’t always work out for me.
Now one last question
for all of you. What would you like to tell your Turkish readers/fans?
I just
want to say that I hope you enjoy America’s story and have as much fun being in
her world as I do!
Thank you for the
opportunity and I hope you have a chance to visit Turkey sometime, in the near
future…
Team Maxon
Team Aspen
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