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Monday, July 27, 2009

Interview with Alyson Noel, Author of The Immortals Series

Today, in celebration of Tantalizing Tuesday, I'd like to welcome Alyson Noel, bestelling author of numerous books for teens and adults. She is the bestelling author of Evermore, the first book in the Immortals Series and it's follow up, Blue Moon, which has garnered numerous praise and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.

In Blue Moon, the second installment in The Immortals Series, we get to journey to Summerland and also learn more about Ever and Damen’s past lives. How did you come up with the beautifully crafted world of Summerland? And was this book harder to write than Evermore?

I did a lot of research to create the series, took seminars on psychic development, went under hypnosis, and read a ton of metaphysical books, some of which describe The Summerland, a dimension that is very real in many spiritual beliefs. So basically I created my own version of an existing idea, imagining it to include shimmering mist, pulsating trees, rainbow colored streams, flowers that shiver, Great Halls of Learning, and all the other things that Ever finds there.

And yes, BLUE MOON was definitely harder to write than EVERMORE, but mostly because it was my first sequel and it didn’t really occur to me while writing EVERMORE to keep detailed notes on all the little minutiae and continuity details that crop up along the way. So I had to go back and reread it, starting a sort of story Bible that I now add to with each successive book.

You’ve said the inspiration for both Saving Zoe and The Immortals Series was born out of your own painful experiences with grief and loss. Did exploring those themes in your writing help you get through those tough times?

Absolutely. I often say that SAVING ZOE helped me get through the grief and EVERMORE helped me make sense of it. I poured a lot of my own feelings into those books, and they provided great catharsis because of it.

You’ve traveled all over the world both on your own and during the time you worked as a flight attendant for a major airline. Among all your travels, was there one place in particular that you really loved, and that you hope to one day visit again?

I’ve loved most every place I’ve visited for one reason or another. But one of my favorite, most magical, experiences was a trip to Marrakesh. It took us over 24 hours to get there from Orange County, CA—involving a series of trains, planes, and automobiles—and when we finally arrived, we found ourselves in the medina at twilight, filled with snake charmers, veiled women, and the pungent scent of spices. A guy arrived with a wheel barrow which he tossed our luggage into, then led us on a chase through a winding maze of nameless, narrow, dirt, alleyways until arriving at a small non descript door that opened to the most beautiful oasis I’d ever seen. What started like a scene straight out of Indiana Jones soon turned into the most romantic evening ever. Our bed was showered with rose petals, we were served a seven course dinner in our own private, candle lit, courtyard—it was completely and totally dreamy and I really hope to repeat that someday!

If you could dive into any novel and become one of the characters for the day, what novel would you choose?

I’d choose WUTHERING HEIGHTS so I could be Catherine and skip the whole “social advancement” stage, tell Heathcliff I love him, and alleviate a whole lot of suffering! But then it wouldn’t be WUTHERING HEIGHTS anymore would it? So maybe not.

You have written numerous books for adults and teens. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since becoming a successful author?

To ignore your Amazon rankings as well as your Amazon reviews. In fact, avoid all rankings and reviews and just focus your energy on writing your next book. It’s the best way to promote yourself and that’s all your readers (and your publisher!) really want from you anyway!

The rights to Evermore have been sold for a possible television series. Is there any updated news on the show? Also—do you think the actors roles would best be portrayed by unknowns or are there certain actors you think of when you envision the main characters?

Well, it’s funny because on the one hand I’m such a visual writer—I can see my characters so clearly I often feel like I’m merely transcribing the movie in my head! And yet, on the other hand, because I know them so well, it’s hard for me to cast them with real, live, actors in mind! Though a few readers have mentioned Ben Barnes for Damen, and I must say, after Googling him I’ve found him to be suitably dreamy!

You are creating a new series based on the character of Riley (Ever’s ghostly sister). Can you tell us more about that book, as well as other upcoming projects we can look forward to?

When I was approached to write the series for Riley I was thrilled! She was such a fun character—and a bit of a scene-stealer too—ending up with a much bigger role in EVERMORE than I originally anticipated. And while I haven’t started writing her story yet (I’m currently working on UNTITLED IMMORTALS BOOK 4- yup, that’s what I’m calling it!), it’s going to be about her life in the afterlife, and I can’t wait to get started!

The IMMORTALS series will encompass six books, and I’m working on another series idea for the future—but at the moment, that’s all I can say.

Can you give us a little hint as to what’s in store for Ever and Damen in the third installment of the Immortals series- Shadowland?

If you haven’t read BLUE MOON yet please scroll away now!!

Seriously, major spoilers lie ahead.

Consider yourself warned!

Okay, now that that’s done, BLUE MOON ended with Roman tricking Ever into feeding Damen an elixir that rendered their touch lethal. And while I know a few people found that to be really sad, the funny thing is, I actually thought it ended on a hopeful note since Damen is well gain, and the two soul-mates are back together after a very agonizing time apart—I mean, hopeful, right??!!

So, SHADOWLAND finds them searching for an antidote to reverse the curse, but they run into a few glitches along the way . . .

Or, as it says on the new website at: http://www.immortalsseries.com

“At the start of this breathtaking novel, Damen and Ever travel to Summerland in search of an antidote to reverse a powerful poison. But instead of the cure they seek, they find something far more sinister: the truth about their existence and the fate lying in wait of an immortal’s soul.

Now, with Damen fighting to save them from the Shadowland, Ever turns to magick, hoping to break Damen’s curse. Along the way Ever encounters the mysterious Jude, finding herself drawn to him in a way that will test her love for Damen like never before . . .”

Oh, and even though the back pages of BLUE MOON show it being released in February, it has now been moved up a month to January 5, 2010!

THANKS FOR SUCH A GREAT INTERVIEW!!!

Thank you Alyson for stopping by!

Alyson Noël is an Orange County native who has lived in both Mykonos and Manhattan, but now finds herself settled with her husband back in California, where she writes full time. Alyson is also the author of numerous books, including The Immortals Series, Saving Zoë, Cruel Summer, Kiss & Blog, Faking 19, Art Geeks and and the adult novel Fly Me to the Moon. Her books have won many awards and nominations, including the National Reader's Choice Award, NYLA Book of Winter Award and Flamingnet Net Top Choice Award.
For more information, please visit her Official Website, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and her Blog!




49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agree about rankings and reviews...if I paid attention to those, I probably wouldn't read many books. ;)

Awesome interview. I just finished EVERMORE and will be getting the next book soon. I enjoyed the plot and am curious to see how Damen and Ever end up.

Unknown said...

Nice review. Evermore was great and I am looking forward to reading Blue Moon.

Erica said...

Ooo. I want Shadowland even more now! It sounds so great! Blue Moon was definately not what I was expecting, and now with the ending left, Alyson Noel set the stage for a like fab book 3!

throuthehaze said...

Great review! I loved Evermore and cant wait to read Blue Moon!

Wendy said...

Love the interview! I'm insanely looking forward to reading your books, Alyson. :)

Tales of Whimsy said...

Coool interview.
I love Wuthering Heights.

Sweet Vernal Zephyr said...

Wow that is a lot of research, but I can see how that would help you to be an expert in this new world you created!

Kristen said...

Great interview! I love all the research she had to put in for this second book. :)

Eleni said...

I love the interview! I look forward to reading this book..

Fantastic Book Review said...

Fantastic Interview! I can't wait for Shadowland b/c Blue Moon is Awesome! OMG - Talk About Drama! A Possible Love Triangle - I'm Excited!

Suraya Walker said...

Alyson! You are one of the most amazing book writers ever. The way you put so much detail into your work, and the way you put so much excitement into you work is awesome. I absolutely cannot wait until Blue Moon comes out! God bless you.

Unknown said...

I'm currently reading Evermore and I'll be looking for Blue Moon too!

Thanks for the great interview, skipped the spoilers though!

Dottie :)

sarah.rox14 said...

awesome interview! cant wait to read blue moon! :]

LovetoRead said...

I am so excited about Shadowland. Thanks for the insight into the book. Ever and Damen are so easy to love. I also believe Wuthering Heights would be a great book to jump into!

KT Shelby said...

Great Interview!! I Love the book evermore and i cant wait to read Blue moon I Love the Author!!! she is amazing!!!!!

Anonymous said...

As soon as I read Evermore, I knew I was hooked. I simply couldn't get enough and I ran back to the bookstore for Blue Moon!

I feel so torn reading this serious because although Ever has driven me completely insane with her impulsiveness and jumping to conclusions, I can't help but be addicted to her story.

The whole situation between her and Damen gives me butterflies and knots in my stomach. I can't wait for Shadowland to come out next year. With 6 total books in the series it looks like Alyson is going to be keeping me hanging on the edge of my seat for awhile.

Unknown said...

I agree that it would be harder to write a sequel because you have to remember what has happened previously. It would be much easier to write a book from scratch.

Alina said...

This interview was amazing especially the part about Shadowland. I can't wait to read Shadowland! Don't worry, I read Evermore and Blue Moon before I saw the spoilers. I can't believe Ever would ever have feelings for another guy (Jude). Ha ha! No pun intended.
Alyson Noel, you are an amazing. You inspire me in so many ways.
Keep writing Alyson and I'll keep reading.

Alina

Rachel said...

Great Interview, I can not wait to read these books! I think its awesome she wants to be Catherine from WUTHERING HEIGHTS! Love the Interview =)

Happy Reading!

Eliya said...

First of all thank you for telling us shadowland is coming earrlier. That absolutely saved me! I just love how you write the stroies about teen love but with a twist of different problems instead of jelousy. There is always some adventure. Great can't wait to read the next one!
Eliya

jpetroroy said...

Thanks for the spoiler warning. I'm looking forward to Evermore!
jpetroroy@gmail.com

holdenj said...

Nice interview. I thought it was interesting when she was commenting that when she wrote the first one, she wasn't necessarily thinking about the sequel and how more notes may have been nice for the little things.
Looking forward to reading this.

JHolden955 (at) gmail (dot) com

Alaina Ray said...

I loved Evermore and just bought Blue Moon yesterday and am almost finished with it! I think the research you did is amazing and would be really cool to develop characters and places. I can't wait to find out how Blue Moon ends.

laners_08@hotmail.com

Amber said...

I adore these books. I can't wait for the 3rd to come out!

Unknown said...

Awesome interview! Transcribing a movie, I love that the characters are so alive for you.

Ladytink_534 said...

I haven't read Evermore yet but it is on my list of need to reads. I think it sounds like a great series!

kristina shields said...

I loved Evermore and I can't wait to read Blue Moon and the rest of the series.

Kristen C said...

Awesome! I love it! :D

Leslie said...

Great Interview!!! I haven't read Blue Moon yet! It is def on my wish list!

Tricia said...

Another wonderful book series by an inspirational writer! I was hooked on evermore and almost died waiting for blue moon and now am dying again waiting for shadowland in january!;-) great interview i love the insite.

Valorie said...

I can think of a ton of books I would go into to expedite things and save the characters a whole lot of pain. Wuthering Heights is a good one!

lora1967 said...

i love evermore and am getting ready to read blue moon is there going to be a thrird installment?

Amber said...

So I always picture Prince Caspian (not knowing his real name) as Damien. So I just googled Ben Barnes after it was mentioned in the interview and had to smile! Anyways loved the interview and absolutely ADORE the books!

Lora Wiedenheft said...

I just found your books and I love them. I am a twilight fan so i thought i would give Evermore and Blue moon a shot. GLAD I DID!

Yianna R said...

Been following you since the pre-pub of Evermore came out! I love your books as much as everyone else as this board clearly shows, haha. I like how you talked about ignoring the reviews, I thought that was extreamly smart of you. Loved Blue Moon aswell and can't wait for Shadowland! Great Interview as always!

Shawna L. said...

Shawna Lewis
weloveourdogs@juno.com

Great interview I like how she has all the people already in her head I hope they make a movie of this book ;o)

ana cuellar said...

2010/2011/2012 ????????? i can't wait that long! :p I loooove this series! I just couldn't stop reading them. Why sleep when you can be in "SUMMERLAND"?I just had to finish them in one sitting each! I even dreamt about Damen and Ever!Can't stop thinking about them! UNDYING LOVE!!How lucky is she finding someone that loves her like Damen!And the red tulips! Now theyre my fav. flower!I'm such a romantic and these books made my heart melt!Can't wait to read #3-6! Oh and Riley's Series!she's so cute and funny!Hope to see it on Tv show and movie! This series is waaaay better than twilight and any series! >)-- (tulip)... will Ever and Damen be able to have kids? I LOVE DAMEN!! :)

Danni said...

Great interview! I've been wanting to read Evermore. :)

Simply Samantha said...

Awesome interview!! I really wanna read Evermore. I needa go to the bookstore. =]

kalea_kane said...

Fabulous interview. Now I want to go to Marakesh! I am reading Evermore now, and am in love with it!

Jolynn_Reads said...

I like to find out more about authors, because I'm a aspiring Children's Book author. Interesting interview.

Theresa said...

Great interview. It was very interesting. I just barely managed to stop myself from reading the spoilers for Shadowland, since I haven't yet read Blue Moon. lol It's very exciting to hear that Riley gonna have a series and Evermore might be a television series! Can't wait. :)

Anonymous said...

Great Interview. I am also a Heathcliff lover!

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Anonymous said...

Nice interview and that's cool Evermore might be a new TV series.

Ashley said...

Awesome interview! I loved her first book and I can't wait to read the second one, either.

Hmm.. a tv show, huh? Interesting.

April (BooksandWine) said...

What a great interview! I can't wait to read/order Evermore! It looks amazing, as does Blue Moon.

From the concept, it seems like Evermore would make a great tv series, and something I would definately enjoy watching, when I'm not reading/blogging of course.

Kara said...

Reading this interview gave me good tips for when I write.

Wrighty said...

Terrific interview with so many details! It's so interesting how much research goes into these series and how it all came about from Alyson's grief. I can't wait to read these.

@llie said...

This is a really good interview. I love learning more about the authors of the books I love. I really hope they make it into a television series. I think it would be really good.