Today I am happy to host Paige Harbison, author of Here Lies Bridget, on the blog for an interview!!
Kate: For those who haven't read your book yet, can you give them a short synopsis?Paige: Basically an awful girl--awful by means of snide comments, disinterest in the people around her, and a willingness to shove blame from herself at the cost of anything--gets into a car accident and finds herself face to face with five people from her life. They don't speak to her or even acknowledge her, but she soon finds herself in their heads seeing herself through each of their eyes and getting a little insight into the experiences they've lived through.
Kate: Where did the initial idea for this book come from?
Paige: It just kind of came to me. I had a random idea for a series with each book focusing on one of the seven deadly sins, and from that I wrote about a girl who suffered from several of them.
Paige: It just kind of came to me. I had a random idea for a series with each book focusing on one of the seven deadly sins, and from that I wrote about a girl who suffered from several of them.
Kate: In school or even outside of it, did you have any experience with 'mean girls'?
Paige: Everyone does. And mean guys. But I know, especially now that I'm a little older (practically geriatric at the age of 21), that I was pretty mean too sometimes. There are a few things that Bridget did (none of the worst things) that I did, and there are things done to the people around her that I've seen around me. There are always mean people like her. The trick is to remember that she's only like that--they're all only like that--because they're miserable and/or terrified.
Paige: Everyone does. And mean guys. But I know, especially now that I'm a little older (practically geriatric at the age of 21), that I was pretty mean too sometimes. There are a few things that Bridget did (none of the worst things) that I did, and there are things done to the people around her that I've seen around me. There are always mean people like her. The trick is to remember that she's only like that--they're all only like that--because they're miserable and/or terrified.
Kate: Did you have an inspiration for Bridget from real life? How did you develop this intricate character?
Paige: Like I said, just from people around me. I've seen people be just horrible to each other--and sometimes it seems like no one is worse than kids--and it was not hard to make a realistic character out of those things.
Paige: Like I said, just from people around me. I've seen people be just horrible to each other--and sometimes it seems like no one is worse than kids--and it was not hard to make a realistic character out of those things.
Kate: Where did you come up with the idea about Bridget being in limbo?
Paige: It just seemed the best way to put her in a dramatic situation where she really felt like something hung in the balance, and like it was good place for her to be exposed to things she'd done.
Paige: It just seemed the best way to put her in a dramatic situation where she really felt like something hung in the balance, and like it was good place for her to be exposed to things she'd done.
Kate: Was there a particular point of view you liked to write in HLB? Was there one you found more difficult to write?Paige: I liked writing Liam's perspective. I liked using him to show how Bridget didn't even need to be awful to him. He still grew to not like her.
It was hard to write Meredith and Mr. Ezhno. Each of these people--step-parents/parents and teachers--are victim to a lot of mistreatment by kids that just roll their eyes or make mean jokes without ever remembering that those people have and have had whole lives that are just as important as their own.
Paige: It was fun! The people in the literary world are some of the smartest and funniest there are. Hearing and using everyone's input is an incredibly interesting process.
Kate: What are you plans for future books?
Paige: I just wrapped up New Girl. It’s kind of a new take on the old Gothic classic Rebecca, with some Sixteen Candles thrown in. A girl goes to Manderley Academy, an austere old boarding school for her senior year. As soon as she arrives, she finds that the empty slot she filled at the school was vacated by Rebecca Normandy. Becca has been missing for months, and everyone was obsessed with her—she was charming, beautiful, and a little crazy. Without wanting to, she finds herself in Becca’s old room, with her old roommate, with her best friends living across the hall—and that she is falling in love with Becca’s old boyfriend.
Besides that, I fully intend to keep writing for as long as readers will have me.
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Thanks Paige!!!
My Review of Here Lies Bridget
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