Today we have a special guest! Tricia Rayburn, the author of the newly released book, Siren, has been so kind to answer some questions for me and her fans. Check it out!
A little about Tricia Rayburn: Tricia Rayburn is the author of Ruby's Slippers and the Maggie Bean trilogy. Despite fearing all creatures of the deep, she's still drawn to the water and makes her home in a seaside town on eastern Long Island.
Kate: Who is/was your biggest influence in writing?If you were able to sit down with this person/people, what would you ask him/her/them?
Tricia: My biggest writing influences are probably all the authors I loved growing up—Ann M. Martin, Paula Danziger, Judy Blume, Francine Pascal, and countless others. Their books turned me on to reading at a very young age, and without them, I doubt I ever would've written for children/young adults myself. And I'd love to ask Ann M. Martin where she thinks all the babysitters would be 25 years after Kristy's Big Idea!
Kate: On your website you list The Hunger Games and Twilight as part of your favorite page-turners. What do you love about these books?
Tricia: That I literally couldn't put them down! I read each in a day and snatched up the sequels ASAP. Of the many books I've read in recent years, those were the only two YA titles that I responded to so strongly.
Kate: Can you describe Siren in 140 characters?
Tricia: When Vanessa tries to solve the mystery of her sister’s death, she discovers things that threaten her new romance and change her life forever.
Kate: What was the initial idea for Siren? How did you turn that into a final written work?Tricia: The initial idea for Siren came about because of my recent fear of all creatures of the deep. Despite having grown up near water, I now won't go in deeper than my knees—I'm too scared of jellyfish, crabs, you name it! This made me think about what else might be lurking beneath the surface, and the idea for Siren grew from there. Turning it into a final written work took lots of brainstorming and plotting!
Kate: What type of research did you do for Siren?
Tricia: Not that much, to be honest. I took what I knew of sirens in mythology—that they were beautiful creatures who lured sailors to their deaths—and ran with it. Because I wanted the story to be contemporary and my own, I intentionally avoided the risk of being influenced by other tales.
Kate: Did you use any media (music, etc) to influence your writing of Siren? Can you name any?
Tricia: I listened to a lot of moody, mellow music while writing Siren, like Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, The National, and Band of Horses.
Kate: Who was your favorite character to write? Your most difficult? Why?
Tricia: Vanessa, the main character, was my favorite; so many unbelievable things happen to her, and despite her many fears, she figures out how to get through them. And Zara was also fun, but more difficult. I wanted her to be cold yet intriguing, which proved to be a tough balance!
Kate: What are you plans for Siren Books 2 and 3?
Tricia: In the next two books Vanessa deals with her new physical abilities and challenges, tries to figure out how they affect her future, and fights for her life and the lives of loved ones.
Kate: Why did you choose to write MG/YA versus adult? What do you love about writing MG/YA?
Tricia: I actually started out writing more adult-type stories, but while getting my MFA, I took a course in Reading and Writing Children's Literature—and I was instantly hooked! I just connected better with younger characters...and I had much more fun writing them, too!
Kate: Other than the Siren books, what projects are you working on?
Tricia: My new 'tween book, Ruby's Slippers, will be out next week, and I'm also working on a fun, new middle-grade project. It's still in the very beginning stages so I can't say much, but I'm very excited!
Kate: Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
Tricia: YES. Thank you for taking time from your busy lives to read my stories! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.
Thank you Tricia for taking the time out to interview!
For more information about Siren and Tricia check out the following links:
Follow Tricia on Twitter
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