An Afternoon with YA Royalty (Kiera Cass interview)

Last week, we had the rare opportunity to meet Kiera Cass, the author of The Selection series, those books with a girl on the cover wearing a different colored gown in every book. The New York Times bestselling author is back in the Philippines to promote her new book The Heir, which tells the story, this time, of America and Maxon’s (the hero and heroine in The Selection series) daughter Eadlyn. Thankfully, after the initial shock (we were both starstruck!), we recovered quickly and managed to get her to reveal her writing style, her favorite characters in The Heir, and yeah, her favorite Directioner.

WELCOME BACK! WHAT HAVE YOU MISSED MOST IN THE PHILIPPINES?

I remembered last time that everybody was super sweet and really kind, so it’s nice to see that it’s exactly the same. They took me last time to Cebu and I tried lechon with the rice and bamboo. It was so good.

HEARD THAT THE SELECTION  IS GOING TO BE MADE INTO A FILM. HOW TRUE IS THAT AND ARE YOU GOING TO DO A CAMEO? INCIDENTALLY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

Yes. It’s true but it is still in the planning stage. No concrete details yet. Yes. I want to do a cameo. I’m kind of hoping that I’d get to dress up as a maid and be in the background.

As for my favorite movies, I think That Thing That You Do is precious. (It’s) kind of about a boy band, which makes sense considering how much I love them. I also love the new and the old version of Pride and Prejudice. The one with Kiera Knightley is really lovely, visually. I really like Disney movies. We watch a lot of Frozen, Cars, and Tangled in our house. I really love The Wedding Singer. Callaway, my husband, used the song “I Wanna Grow Old With You” which Adam Sandler sang in the film, to propose to me. That one’s got a special place in my heart.

SPEAKING OF BOY BANDS, DO YOU LIKE ONE DIRECTION?

Yes! I am a Harry (Styles) girl. I am a hard core Harry girl.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUIRKS, OR A ROUTINE, WHEN YOU WRITE A BOOK?

There’s always a lot of music playing. This is the first year I’ve had to go back and forth between two narrators.  I was working with Eadlyn for The Heir in book 5 and Kahlen for The Siren. I also have lotions for each of them. Depending on the day, there’s a different smell depending on who I am writing about. I also draw blueprints, design clothes, and whatever else it takes to sort of make things fun.

NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED MUSIC, WHAT SONG COMES TO MIND WITH THE SELECTION SERIES?

“Fairytales” by Sara Bareilles is probably the song for The Selection series. In a way, it kind of also works for Eadlyn.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE PLOT, DO YOU BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND OR DOES IT USUALLY PROGRESS AS YOU GO?

I’m usually asking my characters: “So what happens next?” I have to wait to be told.  Every once in a while, I can kind of write with a piece of the end in mind because sometimes they would share that with me, but a lot of times no. It’s almost inconvenient sometimes because I don’t find out about certain things until the very last second and I’m like, “Oh, maybe I could have added that in the previous book if I had known this was coming.” Like I could have foreshadowed or talked about this person, and I don’t necessarily get the opportunity to do that. Sometimes I have little peeps of things, but not always.

WHILE WRITING THE BOOK, DID YOU REALLY SEE AMERICA ENDING UP WITH PRINCE MAXON?

 In the beginning, I got America wrong. I thought I knew exactly who she was and what she was all about. And so I wrote the book to kind of put words in her mouth and make choices for her. But by the time I got to the end of the first book, I got to know her. I realized I had written it wrong and I had to go back and redo it and when I did that, I realized that the end would change. The ending that you know now is not the original ending.

SO WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL ENDING?

Originally, Clarkson was supposed to die. Maxon would die, too. Amberly would live and she would adopt America because she always wanted a daughter. America would eventually choose Aspen and they would become king and queen, which I was fine with because I think Aspen would be a great leader, I thought he would’ve done a great job but I realized that Maxon was the harder choice for America. In order for Maxon to even have a chance, he had to be alive. I know it’s a lot to take in, but it happens the way it happens, on paper.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON WE CAN LEARN FROM THE SELECTION SERIES?

I don’t go trying to make a lesson happen, but there are little things that pop up. One is being yourself and accepting and respecting others’ individuality. Someone says that bravery hides in amazing places and that’s true. I think sometimes, we get stuck on thinking, we have to be a certain thing or that we can only be a certain thing, and then we step out of that and get to know the people around us and we stop judging. We stop seeing life like what we’re supposed to see it and it changes us. So I think just be more open minded and kind to other people

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE TO WRITE IN THE HEIR?

It might’ve been the group date with the cooking scene. A character in the book got into a fight over a vegetable. That’s still funny to me. It’s the funniest part for me and my favorite line is “It was asparagus. He literally punched someone over a vegetable.”

WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER TO WRITE, AMERICA OR EADLYN?

I love my girls, so it’s hard to pick. I guess maybe, America has an edge because she’s been with me longer, far longer than my actual children have been with me. So I love her. But I do love Eadlyn even though she is so headstrong and difficult at times.

WHO INSPIRED THE CHARACTER OF EADLYN?

No one. She just kind of came out of the blue. I remember sitting down to sort of write about this girl and she has this first couple of paragraphs where she’s talking about “I don’t like having all this responsibility necessarily” but whatever. Like she just came out really sassy and very, you know, opinionated, very strong. And that’s exactly who she was right out of the gate. Almost 100 percent of the time, characters are just based on themselves. Sometimes you pick up little ticks of things from other people but they are who they are and I’ve got to roll with it.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FUTURE WRITERS OUT THERE?

I think that you should read everything you can get your hands on. It helps you sort of understand and develop your own voice. Grow a thick skin because people will be mean when you start sharing your work. And daydream. I think that it’s imperative to find time to let your mind wander.

WHAT BOOKS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THOSE WHO LOVE THE SELECTION SERIES?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adieh is very nice. There’s a royal element to it, but it’s much more diverse. I think people have been asking for this, so it’s pretty great. There’s a book coming out soon from Amy Tintera called Ruined. It’s another sort of royal book with a lot of action and drama. It’s up and coming, so I’m going to recommend that now so you can watch out for it.

Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/an-afternoon-with-ya-royalty/#DqEbJG1SXYu7fJC5.99