Authors ARE Rockstars Tour: Interview with Josephine Angelini

I'm so excited to be part of Authors ARE Rockstars hosted by Fiktshun, Two Chicks on Books, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads this year!

MY ROCKSTAR IS....

JOSEPHINE ANGELINI

Why is she my rockstar you ask?

Josie is absolutely amazing! She writes awesome books like the STARCROSSED trilogy which is so fangirl and squeal worthy! Her characters are just brill and really easy to connect to. Plus she's a huge fan of Greek mythology! I've met her once and I love the way she can easily to talk to her fans and how sweet she is! It doesn't hurt at all that she was the mastermind behind the whole STARCROSSED trilogy and Hector and Lucas....Now THAT is a rockstar right there! Check out Caitlyn's review for STARCROSSED HERE and our book disccussion as we fangirl over DREAMLESS and GODDESS HERE

AUTHOR BIO:

I was supposed to be a boy.

At least, my mother was convinced I was going to be a boy when she was pregnant with me. She claimed that I "carried" like a boy, but since I'm the youngest of eight, and I have six sisters and only one beloved brother, it is reasonable to assume that my mother was simply suffering from a massive case of wishful thinking. Whatever the reasons, my parents were so convinced I was going to be a boy they had even decided on a boy name for me—Joseph.

But I'm a girl.

My mother, always a frugal woman, figured, why throw out a perfectly good name just because the gender's wrong? She put a handy "ine" on the end of Joseph, and I'm rather glad she did. I like my name, or at least I realize it could have been much worse. They could have been planning on calling me Ralph or something. Not much you can do with Ralph.

I grew up surrounded by women.

And not just normal, average women, either. My sisters are, without exaggeration, a pack of Amazons. They are all tall. They have masses of thick hair, gigantic smiles, ringing laughs, and unfortunately for me, they all have fiery tempers. You see—I'm not only the youngest, but the smallest as well. I also happen to be a natural wiseass. Not a healthy combination.


Lucky for me, I'm fast.

Find her on....

Website| Twitter | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads

~Interview~

Hi Josie! It's awesome having you here today. So let's get started!

1. Describe Starcrossed in less than 10 words.

Starcrossed is a re-imagining of the Iliad, set in highschool.

2. Who's your favorite Starcrossed character? Who was the hardest character to write?

My favorite character (apart from Helen, of course) is Hector.  He’s such a lovable lunkhead.  

The hardest character to write was Castor, oddly enough.  He’s got an intricate backstory that very nearly conflicts with some of his choices when he deals with his son.  When he was just a bit older than Lucas he and his father clashed in much the same way that he and his son do in Dreamless.  Castor is a really complicated character and it still kills me because I don’t think I did a good enough job of showing that in my books.

3. How many drafts did you have to write for Starcrossed until it was exactly what you wanted?

I think I did three major drafts, followed by a seemingly endless string of minor edits to get it in shape.  The editing process can go on until you want to die.  Or shoot someone.  

4. Did you have any author friends that helped you along before, after, or during the publication of Starcrossed?

Three remarkable women stepped up to blurb my book—Sophie Jordan, Kiersten White, and Lauren Kate.  I can’t thank them enough for believing in me.

5. Is writing hard or a natural thing for you?  

Well, running is natural thing and it can be enormously fun and rewarding, but there’s always a point where it gets so hard you question your sanity for ever doing it.  Writing’s a lot like that.  It’s both hard and natural for me.  I’ve been doing it since I was ten and I can’t imagine not doing it—even if it feels more like torture sometimes.

6. Favorite part about being an author?

There is something so satisfying about just doing it—just sitting down and getting what’s in your head out into the world.  But I suppose that’s what I like most about being a writer.  What I like most about being an author is meeting my readers.  There really is nothing like going to a signing and talking with fans.  I absolutely love it.

7. Do you think Lucas is a boxer or brief kinda a guy? ;)

Briefs!  He’s a flier, and it gets breezy up there.  

8. How did you come up with the world of scions and the different houses?

The House of Atreus, Athens, and Thebes were real, actually.  The House of Rome was my invention, but it is firmly based on the Aeneid.  Aeneas, Hector’s general in the Trojan War and the son of Aphrodite, founded Rome (according to Virgil).  I needed four Houses for plot reasons, and I figured that if there were to be another great House of Greek lineage, it would have to be the House of Rome since it was founded by a Greek demigod.  I put the history together in my own way, but all the elements are rooted in classical literature.  

And about the world of the Scions—I basically sat down and thought about what it would be like to have four families who hated each other but were bound together by a shared history.  The key word here is family.  I tried to stay as true to my experience of family as possible in order to make it mean something for the reader.  

9. Any characters inspired by real people in your life?

Sure.  Almost all of them.  I had an English teacher in high school named Mr. Hergesheimer and buddy named Matt.  One of my best friends’ last names is Aoki.  My brother’s name is Jerry.  Seriously, there’s a little bit of me and a little bit of someone I know put into nearly every character in my books.  

10. Which actors could you see being casted as Helen, Lucas, or Hector if it were made into a t.v show or movie?

Oh, I’m rotten at this!  For me, the characters I wrote are so vivid I only see them in my head.  

11. Any deleted scenes you would have liked to have seen in the book or would like to share with us?

I’m still thinking about using it elsewhere, so I can’t print it here, but I originally wrote Starcrossed with one of the many points of view coming from Claire.  I actually had whole scenes between her and Helen and even a few steamy ones between her and Jason that were taken out because my editor thought I already had too many points of view in the book.  My manager is dying to read a Claire novella, though, and I may just have to write it to get her to stop pestering me.

12. Do you have any new books or ideas for the future?

Yes!  I have a new series that will be published by Jean Feiwel at Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan) in the fall of 2014.  The first book is titled Crucible and the press release should come out rather soon-ish I think.  

13. If someone were to see you in a random public place where would it be and why?

The gym or the grocery store.  I lead an exceptionally boring life for the most part.  If I’m not talking to myself on the elliptical machine, I’m usually talking to myself in the produce section.  (I talk to myself a lot.  Helps me think through storyline)

14. What was the weirdest or funniest fan moment encounter?

Huh.  That’s a tricky one.  I think the weirdest one was a girl giving me a card that said “where’s the .?”  It took me forever to figure out that the card was asking “where’s the PERIOD?” as in—why don’t female characters ever have their period when they are on a quest, or running from bad guys or somesuch.  She had a point, but I’d only use something like that if it added to plot—like if she had crippling cramps that kept her from running or she was being chased by something that could smell the blood (eew).  I mean, come on.  People poop and fart everyday too, but you don’t see authors writing detailed accounts of their heroes doing those things either.  

15. Which character from Starcrossed would you like to hang out with for a day?

Probably Claire.  She’d be a hoot.  Either her or Hector.  He’d be a different kind of hoot altogether—but just for a day.  ;)

RANDOM

Any phobias? Zombies.  I freaking HATE zombies.  

Fav superhero? Luke Skywalker.

Fav dessert?  I’m not really into sweets.  I’d rather have a nice glass of wine after dinner for a treat.  

Last novel read? Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Fav t.v show? Right now it’s Game of Thrones.  Man, I love dragons.  I love dragons as much as I hate zombies as a matter of fact.  

Unicorn or bunny apocalypse? Bunny.  They have nasty big pointy teeth.  (Run Away!)

Celebrity crush? I’m between celebrity crushes, unfortunately.  I thought it was going to the new Superman hotty for a second but my heart wasn’t in it.  

Fav literary couple?  Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.

Love triangle or soul mates? Soul mates—hands down.  But I usually write triangles for some reason.  I should probably ponder that.

Don't forget to checkout her books!!

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

Thank you Josie for stopping by here today!

Continue to follow with the tour HERE