Author Interview - LAINI TAYLOR-DI BARTOLO

Today the blog is bursting with colors because Laini Taylor-Di Bartolo is here! Laini is residing in Portland, Oregon and has an artistic background...which you can see when you look at her gorgeous blog! Her book LIPS TOUCH (from Arthur A. Levine) and DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER (from Putnam) just came out, so you'll want to check them out. LIPS TOUCH features amazing illustrations done by her husband. In case you didn't know, Laini loves fairies!

It was announced this morning that LIPS TOUCH is a National Book Award finalist! Congrats to Laini and Jim!

The illustration is of no other than Laini herself! How can I resist drawing her pink hair? I wanted to capture her happy, colorful, and magical personality.

1) What is LIPS TOUCH about?

Lips Touch is composed of three separate tales about kisses with profound consequences for the kissers' souls. Goblins, demons, and shapeshifters come into the lives of three different young women whose lives will never be the same again . . . if they even live through the encounters . . .

2) What inspired you to write the stories in LIPS TOUCH?

It took me several years to write my first novel, and after I was done I had a strong hankering to write some short pieces, just for fun. I'd just started blogging, and along with a new blog friend in England, I co-founded a writing prompt website: www.sundayscribblings.blogspot.com. I had a blast writing weekly short stories, and after a few months I noticed some recurrent themes emerge, notably: kissing! I'm not sure why I was writing about kissing, aside from the fact that kissing is awesome. But the stories had a kind of cohesion. It was my husband's idea that they could be a book, and now, three years later, they are!

3) Can you tell us how art came into play for your book?

Well, I'm very lucky to be married to an amazing illustrator, and I like to tell writers they should try to marry an illustrator if they possibly can (or, on the other hand, perhaps they should marry someone with a "regular job" just for the sake of health insurance!). Jim and I met on the first day of art school, and we've been collaborating on various projects ever since, not the least of which is our greatest creation yet: Clementine, born August 9th!

4) How do you like working with Arthur A. Levine?

What can I say? It's fabulous. Arthur is incredibly insightful and an amazing editor, as well as being the nicest person you'll ever meet. It's a thrill to be published by him.

5) What's your writing process like?

Whew. Well, I've written extensively about my process at www.notforrobots.blogspot.com, as well as my regular blog, and it's something I could blab about forever. But to keep things short and sweet, I'll just say that writing first drafts is really tough for me, on account of my being a perfectionist in the worst way. I love to revise, and I think that's where I really shine, but first drafts can be a real trial, and I have to use every trick in the book to complete a manuscript. I truly believe that if I could teach myself to finish a novel, anyone can! If you're an aspiring writer: be strict with yourself, set mini-deadlines, and never give up.

Thank you, Laini! I'm so excited to have you featured on The Blog!

LIPS TOUCH can be purchased here. And DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER here. Hope you all enjoyed the interview!

--Realm

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If you're an author, editor, agent, or illustrator and would like a five question interview and a drawing of your character (or of yourself), email me at rtlovejoy (at) yahoo (dot) com. Check out the FAQ page for more info.