Interview with Leah Cypess + Giveaway

Nightspell Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

I'm participating in the Nightspell Blog Tour and Leah Cypess was nice enough to answer a few of my questions!

1 - Tell us a little bit about yourself? 

LC: I’m a person who always wanted to be a writer, but spent a lot of my life in pursuit of a more practical profession: I majored in biology, minored in biology, then went to law school and worked as a lawyer for two years. While I was working in law (which I hated), I read a blog post by Libba Bray in which she described her typical day as divided between writing and taking care of her son, and I remember thinking, “That’s my dream life.” And now I’m living it! I sometimes find it difficult to believe how fortunate I am.

2 - When did you find out you wanted to be a writer?

LC: I remember telling my grandmother when I was eight years old that I intended to be an author when I grew up. She didn’t think it was such a great idea… see above re pursuit of a practical profession.

3 – What inspired you to write Mistwood and Nightspell?

LC: Mistwood began with an image in my mind of a scene: men in horseback riding into a misty forest in search of the magical creature who lived there. Nightspell began with an idea – what would a murder mystery look like if it was set in a society where the dead came back to solve their own murderers?

4 – Out of all your characters, which one is your favorite? If you could invite that character for dinner what do you think you would talk about? :)

LC: Wow, you do know how to ask the hard questions, don’t you? ;) The honest truth is that the character I’m currently writing is my favorite, and that tends to be true no matter what book I’m working on. Of the characters in my published books, Clarisse is probably the most fun to write, but I’d be a bit too intimidated to invite her for dinner. I think I’d invite Darri (from Nightspell), if I had to choose.

5 – Is there anything you would like your readers to take away from your books?

LC: Primarily, a great reading experience.  If they feel like they’ve learned from my characters’ experiences in any way, that’s a bonus.

6 – What do you like the most about writing? What would you say is the hardest part of being a writer?

LC: I like the writing part the most, especially when I get a new idea, fall in love with it, and blaze full steam ahead on it for a while. I don’t like the inevitable part where I run out of momentum and go crazy trying to figure out what should happen. I especially don’t like it when it happens on deadline – ironically, the stress and enforced pacing that comes with getting published is the hardest part for me.

7 – Who is/are your favorite author/s?

LC: There are far, far too many to list! In terms of fantasy, I am a big fan of Sarah Rees Brennan, Franny Billingsley, Megan Whalen Turner, and Juliet Marillier, among others; these are authors whose next book I will buy without even bothering to check what it’s about. I also really like the recent contemporary YA authors Swati Avasthi and Ashley Hope Perez.

8 - Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

LC: That if you’re writing, you’re not an aspiring writer, you are a writer. You can aspire to get published, and I hope you all do, but never let that come before your love of writing.

9 – What can your readers expect from you in the future?

LC: Hopefully, a lot of books! I’m currently working on a story about assassins and sorcerers that I’m very excited about, but I don’t have anything definite to report about it yet.

10 - Is there anything else you would like your readers to know?

LC: Lots of stuff! It’s all in the annotated copy of MISTWOOD.

Just kidding – I want you to know that I’m incredibly grateful for, and astonished by, all the people who have loved my worlds and characters and plots as much as I do.

Thank you so much, Leah! :) 

I also have a little giveaway for you:

• One person will win bookmarks signed by Leah Cypess!