Author Interview and Giveaway - Abigail Boyd (Gravity series)

Author: Abigail Boyd

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal

Publisher: Self

Website: http://boydbooks.com

Gravity (Synopsis)

One summer night in the town of Hell, Ariel Donovan's best friend goes missing. Everyone else believes Jenna ran away, but Ariel thinks something more sinister may have happened. She dreams of Jenna running to the abandoned orphanage in town, and then the building catching on fire. What does the orphanage have to do with Jenna's disappearance?

To complicate matters, a handsome new boy named Henry Rhodes has arrived in town, plaguing her with unwarranted attention. Even though she tries to stay away, she's drawn to him despite her best efforts, and can't help giving in to her attraction to him. Though he doesn't believe in the supernatural events that Ariel begins to witness, she enlists his help to figure out what is going on.

But when she discovers the truth, it's much worse than she ever feared.

Gravity Buy Links:  

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Uncertainty (Synopsis)

Last year, Ariel's life was ripped apart. She's finally started to put the pieces together again, and is looking forward to summer break. That's when a dream brings her back to the mysterious Dexter Orphanage.

With the return of an unlikely person in her life, Ariel begins to find out answers to the secrets that plagued her -- what was wrong with her grandmother? Why did Henry suddenly start dating the popular snobby girl whom he seemed to previously hate? And what really happened to Jenna?

As the threads are unraveled, Ariel realizes that she's peering into a world that no one else can see.

The highly anticipated sequel to "Gravity".

Uncertainty Buy Links:  

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AUTHOR BIO:

Abigail Boyd is the author of Gravity and Uncertainty, the first two books in the young adult supernatural series The Gravity Series. She's currently working on the third, Levity. Follow her on twitter @boydbooks

INTERVIEW:

Welcome to Obsession with Books Abigail, Are you able to tell us a little about your series, Gravity and yourself?

Sure. First off, thanks for interviewing me! The Gravity Series is about a girl named Ariel whose friend goes missing one night. She starts being able to see ghosts on her fifteenth birthday, but she doesn't know what to make of it at first. At the same time, she's dealing with the usual high school dramas, trying to navigate the harsh waters without her friend. She feels like her friend's disappearance is related to the creepy old orphanage in town, that something happened there. And to make things even more complicated, a new boy named Henry Rhodes starts showing interest in her, even when she's trying to focus on Jenna. The second book is all about finding answers to the questions brought up in the first, when Ariel realizes that what she's seeing is all connected, and there is something dark brewing in Hell. 

I started writing Gravity in 2008, shortly after my daughter was born. I really wanted to write a ghost story/mystery set in high school. It went through several different incarnations before it ended up what it is today. As far as for myself, I'm a mom of two, I've lived in Michigan my whole life. I work in a video store part time (yes, they still have those!). And I spend any free time I have (normally between the hours of midnight and 2 am) writing or thinking about writing.

When and why did you begin writing?

My mom is an English teacher, so I actually took an interest in writing really young. I had stacks of books in my room, by my bed, Goosebumps and Sweet Valley High. My first story was about detective cats, when I was about 8. Then I wrote  (and here any notion people may have that I'm not a complete nerd will be completely shattered) a comprehensive video game plot about two sisters who were evil ghosts at an Edwardian house when I was a freshman in high school.

I always knew that writing was what I wanted to do, but I was really intimated by the process of querying literary agents. When I found out about self-publishing eBooks, I realized that was a really good fit for me. So I actually sat down and forced myself to finish my book and get it out there, which was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Where did the inspiration for this series come from?

I would say the main inspiration is actually this creepy Seminary in my old town. It's a beautiful but frightening building that's hidden back in the woods. It was a theological school, but people had all kinds of fables about it, that it was an asylum or something. My mom actually bought me a vintage photograph of the place that I kept on the wall behind my monitor the entire time I was writing the first draft of Gravity. It's in better condition than the Dexter Orphanage, though.

What is your ideal day as an author?

My ideal day would actually being able to sit down and stay focused for longer than ten minutes. But things get so busy that I end up getting interrupted, a lot.

Do you mind telling us how long it took for you to write Gravity and Uncertainty?

OH GOD SO LONG. Ha. Well, I started working on the series, as I said, in 2008. But it was mostly just scattered brainstorming. I basically started writing the version of Gravity that was released in January of 2011, and released it in April 2011. The rewrite took about two months. Uncertainty was half-finished by June 2011, but it took me about a year to be completely happy with it.

Is there anything about you that would surprise your readers? Any quirks, habits, routines etc.

I watch a lot of goofy Youtube videos while I'm brainstorming, but I think that's probably half of the people on the internet. As far as quirks, I'm very particular about fonts. Like my outlines have to be written in Georgia 10 pt, my notes have to be written in Verdana 10 pt.

Are you able to describe what your writing process is like?

I start with an outline, with each of the scenes as bullets. That seems to be the easiest way for me to keep track of the threads of the plot. Then I go to a first draft, write that all the way through, and go back and edit. I try not to edit while I'm still writing that much, because otherwise I'll get stuck on rewriting one part or one scene and ignore the rest.

When I really commit to writing, it's normally for long stretches at a time. It's like I get in the zone and can't stop. I have to really force myself to get organized as well, but my techniques are a little off the wall. I have files full of ideas, sorted by the book name, on my computer. I write on my laptop, which I just kind of cart everywhere. When I'm writing a first draft, I listen to music, but I have to have as few distractions as possible when I'm editing or revising.

Was there a character in this series you especially found easy or difficult to write about? Who & why?

Theo is always easy to write about, because she's fun and she's very clear in my head. Alex is kind of the same way, although I often make him say things just to make me laugh. I'm selfish that way. I actually have a plan for Theo once the Gravity series is over.

The parents are sometimes hard to write, because they are this balance of wanting to be their daughter's friend and being extremely overprotective. Lainey can be hard to write, because she's more complicated than a typical mean girl, but Ariel doesn't necessarily see that.

Are there any books or authors that have most influenced you?

I'm very influenced by Stephen King, he's one of my all time favorite authors. I love his style of horror and how cerebral his stories are, especially The Shining and Misery. Also Libba Bray, her Gemma Doyle trilogy is one of my favorites. She was one of the few ya authors I read who had a strong, funny female heroine who didn't have to wield weapons to be that way (not that there's anything wrong with weaponry, but sometimes you just want a smart, funny chick who doesn't feel the need to decapitate people).

Is there a book you are reading at the moment? And do you tend to favor a particular genre?

I haven't been reading much lately, since I've been writing so much. The last book I read was It by Stephen King, which was fantastic, especially since clowns already freaked me out. Every time I went to sleep, I'd imagine Pennywise racing at me down the hall.

I definitely favor young adult books, just because I think they're free of some of the trappings that older books have. There's more imagination and possibility in YA, in my opinion. The characters aren't so jaded. 

If Gravity were to be made into a movie, who would you chose to play the roles of your main characters?

I've actually cast the entire thing in my head, although a lot of the actors would be the wrong age now. Ariel would be Emma Stone, Theo would be Hayley Williams from Paramore (making her acting debut). Lainey would be Leighton Meester, Madison would be Amanda Seyfried. Henry would be really hard to cast, maybe Ryan Gosling if we could go in a time machine to about 5-10 years ago. He's more based on boys from my real life, though. Oh, and Hugh would be Jason Bateman and Claire is Felicity Huffman.

What is up next for you?

Working on Book 3, Levity. I'm working on another book called Torn Asunder, which would be more for a college-age reader. And writing, writing, writing myself into a mad frenzy. I have about four book ideas I'm working on, but it's all about which one strikes me as the most interesting and urgent.

Quick Questions:

Fave band / television series / movie?

Bands: Rasputina (obscure cello rock) and Death Cab for Cutie

TV Series: Mystery Science Theater 3000

Movie: Donnie Darko

Coffee or tea?

Coffee. Sweet, sweet caffeine. I can't do tea, even though it seems like people are always drinking tea in my books.

E-reader or hardcopy?

As much as I owe to eBooks and indie publishing, I've got to say that I love the smell and feel of real books. I'm working on formatting The Gravity Series for Createspace soon.

Cats or Dogs

100% CATS 4 THE WIN!

Ideal travel destination?

A beach somewhere. Anywhere. As long as it has sand and no hurricanes. I haven't been to Florida in a decade and my dream is to at least sell enough books to have a vacation soon.

Thank-you so much Abigail for taking time to talk to us today!

Thanks for having me! I really appreciate it, especially since this is my first interview!

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away an Ebook copy of both Gravity and Uncertainty by Abigail Boyd – please leave a comment with your email address and a winner will be selected (using Random.org) on the 1^st April.

Please ensure you are able to accept Ebooks, as I will be gifting this through Smashwords.