Today it’s my stop on the Weregirl blog tour so I'm delighted to welcome
author C. D. Bell to the blog to talk about her writing.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and
your writing journey?
I always wanted to be a writer but didn't start writing stories in a
serious way until my senior year in college. A few years later, I went back to
school for an MFA in fiction writing, but it wasn't until I started writing for
children, just after my own first child was born, that I sold a book, a ghost
story called Slipping that takes place in New York City.
I wrote that book with the experience of my many nieces and nephews
in mind, and watching them and my own children grow has informed my writing
ever since.
If you had to describe Weregirl in one sentence,
what would it be?
A fierce young track
star and animal lover morphs into a werewolf who uses her powers to save her
family and her town.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Weregirl was conceived by a team of editors and writers at Chooseco,
a small press in Vermont known for the Choose Your Own Adventure series. I
joined them about halfway through the plotting of the Weregirl and thoroughly
enjoyed the process of working as part of a team. Writing is lonely so I
enjoyed the company; also, the outline we created was action packed and gave me
a lot to work with. I got to focus on details and feelings and let the story
unfold without worrying about changing the major plot points.
Were any characters inspired by anyone in real
life?
All of the characters carry some trait I likely have pulled from real
life, but none fully. Nate is the most direct example of this in Weregirl. He
is inspired by kids I have known over the years, mostly friends of my son. His
absorption with facts, his liking the feeling of direct pressure on his body,
his surprising sweetness. I really enjoyed being able to weave these
characteristics into one character, who felt very real to me.
What is a typical writing day like?
After sending my children off to school I check email and take care
of any of the logistics of my life, and my family's life. Then I sit down with
breakfast and a cup of coffee and get to work. My day ends early, when my
daughter comes home on the school bus in the middle of the afternoon.
Writing Weregirl, I took two writing retreats to an upstate cabin
where I was able to write all day, and really make progress on the manuscript.
I would write in the morning in bed, write all day, write at night on the
couch. Not having wifi helped.
What essentials do you need to have close to hand
when you are in writing mode?
Food and coffee. The list of things NOT to have close at hand
(phone, anything I can read, candy) is much longer.
What authors have influenced you as a writer?
My other novels have all been in first person, so writing Weregirl,
I spent time looking back at some examples of third person that I have loved. I
read Harry Potter to get the right sense of distance from the character whose
eyes I was seeing through. To write about animals, I thought a lot about Dogs
of Winter by Bobbie Pryon and Endangered by Eliot
Schrefer.
What are you current projects?
I'm about to start writing Weregirl #2. I've already met with the
team at Chooseco to start plotting it out and I'm excited about where the story
is heading. Expect to see more of Luc and Bree, as well as some new characters.
Many thanks to C.D. for taking the time to do the interview!
I also read Weregirl a couple month ago you can find my review here. I can't wait to read book #2.
SYNOPSIS:
Nessa Kurland is running for her life. C. D. Bell's WEREGIRL is a fast-paced teen thriller set in Tether, Michigan, a town on the brink of shutdown since it was stripped of its resources by corporate polluter Dutch Chemical.
High school junior, Nessa Kurland, is a cross-country runner with her eyes set on one thing: a college scholarship as her one-way ticket out of Tether.
Talented teammate Cynthia Sinise invites Nessa on a nighttime run through Tether's overgrown forest trails. But she speeds ahead, leaving Nessa alone to discover a trapped wolf. Nessa tries to free the animal but is badly bitten, seemingly ruining her hopes for a strong fall season with the cross-country team.
Instead, Nessa's freakishly quick recovery is followed by improved running times. All her senses are heightened. Nessa has transformed.
She has become a werewolf.
In her new state, Nessa learns there are things about Tether that powerful people want to keep hidden. Why does a Nobel Laureate work at the small-town medical clinic? Are top college athletic scouts really interested in her emerging talent? Can she trust Chayton, the motorcycle-riding guide her friends have faith in? WEREGIRL's Nessa must navigate her junior year and true human darkness, while making peace with her new, wild nature.
PURCHASE INFORMATION +
LINKS
WEREGIRL [Chooseco LLC] will be available in hardcover and
e-book formats via all online and select brick-and-mortar book retailers as of
November 1, 2016. Pre-order your copy today on Amazon or the WEREGIRL website: http://weregirl.com/products/weregirl
AUTHOR & PUBLISHER
BIO:
About C. D. Bell:
When she's not biking the streets of Brooklyn, NY, you can find C. D. Bell writing in a decrepit RV clinging to the side of a hill in upstate New York, trying to teach herself to watercolor, or inventing her own recipes. She is a voracious reader of anything and everything fantasy, supernatural, or romance. And she swears that the monsters she often writes about are not real-- at least she hopes not.
When she's not biking the streets of Brooklyn, NY, you can find C. D. Bell writing in a decrepit RV clinging to the side of a hill in upstate New York, trying to teach herself to watercolor, or inventing her own recipes. She is a voracious reader of anything and everything fantasy, supernatural, or romance. And she swears that the monsters she often writes about are not real-- at least she hopes not.
Created by a talented team of six female writers
and inspired by the working tradition of television writers, C. D. Bell is
a Chooseco author pseudonym developed with teen author Cathleen Davitt
Bell, who has written I
Remember You [Knopf
2015], among other novels for young adults.
The second installment of the WEREGIRL trilogy is already in the works.
About Chooseco:
Chooseco publishes the Choose Your Own Adventure series. Widely commended for its appeal to reluctant readers, the interactive, multiple-choice multiple-ending series is the 4th-bestselling series for children ever published, with more than 265 million copies translated into 38 languages. Chooseco has sold over 10 million copies since the series re-launch in 2006. Weregirl represents Chooseco’s first foray into full-length, non-interactive young adult fiction.
About Chooseco:
Chooseco publishes the Choose Your Own Adventure series. Widely commended for its appeal to reluctant readers, the interactive, multiple-choice multiple-ending series is the 4th-bestselling series for children ever published, with more than 265 million copies translated into 38 languages. Chooseco has sold over 10 million copies since the series re-launch in 2006. Weregirl represents Chooseco’s first foray into full-length, non-interactive young adult fiction.
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