Q&A with Brenna Yovanoff

In addition to her fantastic guest post on irrational fear (mine is of crocodiles), Brenna was kind enough to let me ask her a bunch of questions:

1. Mackie is such a unique and wonderful protagonist. What inspired you to write about a changeling who has been raised in the human world and wants to be part of it?

First, I have to say, I'm always so jealous of those people who get lightning-bolt story ideas, because I have to hang onto ideas for years before I do anything with them—it's like they need to cure or something. Basically, I had an English class where we read a lot of Colonial poetry and one of the poems was about a changeling. I was not the most focused student (very prone to daydreaming), and I started thinking about how that would play out in a contemporary setting. I carried the premise around with me for a long time before I actually sat down and tried to write about it. Discovering Mackie was another proposition altogether. I had to go through several complete drafts with him before I really started to know him. His default setting is to be extremely guarded and I kind of had to break that open.

2. Gentry haunted me – how did you create your novel’s striking setting?

The words: “The Lottery.” I read Shirley Jackson for the first time in high school, and she totally creeped me out. That story has stayed with me for years and I knew I wanted to do something with the idea of town loyalty and turning a blind eye. I wanted to use that same sense of absolute disregard for the sacrifices people are making in order to ensure that the town has prosperity. I think that was always the thing that upset me the most about “The Lottery”—you protect the town by sacrificing the town.

3. I LOVE Shirley Jackson!!! But moving on...in many ways your book is about family and loyalty. Was it important to you to explore the role of family in a paranormal setting?

Idon't think I initially set out to tell a story about family. I just knew that I wanted to write a changeling story, and I was pretty surprised when I realized that Mackie's family actually did love him. It hadn't occurred to me that that kind of acceptance was a possibility for him, and once it became clear that they were in it for the long haul, I had to figure out what that meant, because it changed a lot of what the story was about.

4. The myriad creatures of The Replacement are amazing. What kind of research did you do to create the slag heap and its inhabitants?

In order to populate the slag heap, I drew heavily on Celtic mythology, but I'll be the first to admit, my version of a lot of it is pretty unrecognizable. I wanted to show some kind of adaptation. Over time, things really don't stay the same—cultures evolve or falter based on their environment and the other civilizations they come in contact with. I wanted to look at the kind of effect that would have on people who are defined not by their own customs or geography, but by the way they interact with the human population around them.

5. Do you think of your novel as fitting within the ‘horror’ genre?

You know, when I wrote The Replacement, I really didn't think I was writing horror. I assumed that what I had on my hands was a contemporary fantasy that just happened to be pretty dark. When the editorial team at Razorbill first mentioned that it might fall under the category of horror, I was surprised. Then I started making a list of all the various creatures and the things that happen and I thought, “Well, of course it is!”

6. Will we see more of Mackie in the future?

Never say never (she says with a mysterious smile). The book I'm currently working on is another standalone, this time about demons, but that doesn't mean I'll never come back to the story of Mackie and Tate and Roswell. The world of Gentry has a lot of history and plenty of terrain to explore (aboveground as well as under), so while there's nothing planned for the immediate future, don't rule it out!

I'll keep my fingers crossed, Brenna! Thanks so much for answering all my questions :)

Don't forget, The Replacement hits stores September 21!!



To celebrate the upcoming release Penguin is giving away two signed copies of The Replacement! (U.S. only, apologies to international fans!) Just leave your name in the comments below and you could win!!!

Welcoming Brenna Yovanoff!

I'm delighted to have Brenna Yovanoff, author of The Replacement, on the blog today. Thanks so much for the guest post, Brenna!

Hi, everyone!

I'm Brenna Yovanoff and my book The Replacement comes out September 21^st. I'm so excited to be a guest on Andrea's blog today, and can't wait to host her on my own blog when Nightshade comes out next month!

Before I start admitting to embarrassing phobias—which I'll be doing in a paragraph or two—I'm going to tell you a little bit about The Replacement. In the most basic terms, it's the story of a boy named Mackie Doyle (who isn't human)(this is not a spoiler, because you find out in like the first two pages), and a town plagued by baby-thieves. It's also a story about fear, because I think fear is very interesting, and people stealing babies is scary, though not one of my phobias mentioned above.

I've always loved horror movies, and while I don't personally think that The Replacement is nail-bitingly, intolerably scary (mileage may vary—when I was eight, my favorite movie was Aliens), I was definitely trying to capture that certain horror movie atmosphere. You know the one—the creepy, ominous music and the blue filter. Yes, basically, it's a very blue-filter book.

Also, it rains a lot, which relates directly to one of my most prevalent and ridiculous fears. If there's anyone here who reads my short fiction over at merryfates.com, you've probably already figured out that I hate water. It's not one of those angry, righteous hatreds—I don't hate water like I hate rush-hour traffic and zucchini. I realize that water is delicious to drink and also necessary to the survival of our planet, and it's important to be hygienic. But my subconscious is having none of it and insists that water wants to kill me. Rain is especially bad, because it gets on you. Water is scary. Also, it makes you cold, which I do not like.

Now, at the risk of sounding totally defensive, there are lots of things I'm not scared of—dogs, spiders, heights, public speaking, thunderstorms, snakes, elevators, and buttons* are some of the things I'm not scared of. My catalogue of irrational fears is short. It's tidy, and almost manageable. It is as follows:

-Water

-Water you can't see the bottom of

-Clear plastic**

So, in honor of fear, The Replacement features both kinds of water. Also, underground parties, dead things, music, kissing, and something on fire. But no clear plastic.

Thanks so much for having me, Andrea—I'll be seeing you on my blog in October!

The Replacement

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on Brenna Yovanoff’s The Replacement, the second release of Penguin’s 2010 Breathless Reads (in stores September 21!).

This book is extraordinary – a word I don’t use lightly. What’s fascinating about Yovanoff’s novel is its originality and compelling juxtaposition of chilling moments with incredibly poignant scenes. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a horror novel with a sweet side, but The Replacement manages to be both frightening and moving.

Mackie Doyle is a unique and sympathetic protagonist – a changeling who is struggling to suppress his fey origins so that he can survive in the human world. Just like Mackie, the town of Gentry is hiding its own secrets. The setting is wonderfully mysterious and spine-shiveringly wrought. I was fascinated by Mackie’s dark hometown at the same time I was repelled by its horrors.

The Replacement’s gruesome creatures have their own stories and journeys, each of which adds more layers of complexity to the world Yovanoff has built. Within these pages you won’t find clear cut boundaries between good and evil, but instead a world shaded in greys – some silvery, others thick as fog – this ambiguity rings true, making the choices, struggles, and triumphs of the novel’s characters all the more real.

Should you pick up The Replacement, and I hope you will, you’ll be entranced by a strange, sublime world and a story that stays with you long after you turn the final page.

Penguin Five

Something very, very, very good delivered today was delivered to my door today.
It was dark, mysterious. Opening the package was so much fun.
Inside was an uppity group destined to make waves this fall. No it's not the Rat Pack, or the Brat Pack - but it is a new pack well worth keeping your eye on.

The Penguin Five.To quote the letter included with the slipcase this box contains "a collection of engrossing and unique YA fiction on Penguin's Fall list - a group of books we're calling the Penguin Five."

And Nightshade is one of the pack.
Pardon me while I faint.

...

...

...

Okay, back now - though still floating on cloud nine.

I didn't know the Penguin Five was in the works. It was a complete surprise (what a surprise!!!) - but I've had the pleasure of meeting the incredible marketing team at Penguin and they never fail to blow me away with their talent and hard work. Thanks Team Penguin! *kisses* *confetti*

Now good news for readers - besides the awesomeness that Penguin bringing to the world with these books - I'd already begged my way to ARCs of The Replacement and Matched (I read them as soon as I got them; they are both amazing.)

That means I have an extra copy of each...TO GIVE AWAY IN CONTESTS!!! Details to be announced later this month!

For those of you longing for The Eternal Ones and Sapphique (sequel to Incarceron!!) - sorry, I'm selfish enough to want to keep my beautiful slipcase intact. *petstheprecious*