Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Five Questions with Magan Vernon



                                         Five Questions with the Magan Vernon


1. When you think of your favorite books, what is it that draws you to them and makes you want to read them over and over again? My favorite book series is probably the Jessica Darling series. It was the first time I had really read a snarky heroine that was like a real high school girl. When I was in high school there really wasn’t much for YA, so the first time I got the real teen girl voice, I was hooked. And then as the series went into her college years and eventual adulthood she still kept that awesome voice. It’s why I love that series so much.



2. Did you consciously decide to write the genre you write, or did it choose you? Science Fiction for my young adult books just sort of happened. I wrote my New Adult contemp in 2009 after some agent struggles and the fact that no one wanted a book about a college aged character at that time, I shelved it and tried to think what people would want. I was walking around B&N with my cousin and I said, “You know there hasn’t been a good alien book lately.” As I checked out the plethora of vampire novels. Then I said “I’m going to write one.” That’s how How to Date an Alien was born. Contemporary came about because people finally started to want it and I love writing in reality and a college enviornment.



3. If you could sit down for a drink and a chat with any writer, who would it be, and why? GAHHH. There are so many. I eventually plan on sitting down with my Twitter wife, Chelsea Cameron, but I do have to admit that I’m a huge Lauren Myracle fangirl. Shine was one of the best books I’ve ever read and I would just love to sit down and talk about that with her and pick her awesome brain.



4. When you are not writing (or reading) what is your favorite pastime? Besides my social media obsession? I have a two-year-old daughter and another on the way, so I enjoy baking and tea parties with her. The highlight of my day is when she gets up and tells me she wants to color.



5. At what point were you sure that your book was ready to be published, and how did you go about making it happen? I’ll go with my first published book for this one, How to Date an Alien. I had some bad luck with an agent for My Paper Heart so it was hard to get back in the querying game, but oddly enough some agents approached me about the alien series. I thought it was going to be my big break, but agents wanted me to go darker with it and it wasn’t a dark story. I was still in the midst of the querying game when I met GP Ching and she convinced me to join the author co-op of Darkside Publishing. From there I met The Indelibles, published a series, and the rest his history. As far as when the book was ready. I could still tweak that book all day long, but after enough rounds with critique partners and an editor (I want to say possibly 15 rounds all together with my own edits) I just had to stop looking at it.
 
 
 
 
Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the insurance capital of the world. She is in a very serious, fake relationship with Adam Lambert and constantly asks her husband to wear guyliner. He still refuses. She also believes her husband is secretly an alien, disguised as a southern gentleman. You can find her online at www.maganvernon.com She also frequents Twitter, GoodReads, and posts randomness on her Facebook fan page.

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