Interview with author Sophie McKenzie

Today here on Bookster Reviews, I welcome the fantastic author, Sophie McKenzie! Sophie is the author of many novels for teens, including The Medusa Project series, the Luke and Eve series, the 'Missing' series, Blood Ties and Blood Ransom, and her latest release, Falling Fast. I have read Girl, Missing and three of the Medusa Project series, and they were all brilliant! I would absolutely recommend them! Sophie is one of my favourite authors, and I'm sure she will be one of yours too if  you read any of her books :) Anyway, on to the interview...

1.Hi Sophie! Welcome to Bookster Reviews! Could you tell us a little bit about you and your books? 

My thrillers include the Missing series (Girl, Missing, Sister, Missing), Blood Ties and Blood Ransom and the Medusa Project series. Though my thrillers usually incorporate a love story, I've also written straightforward romances. There are the Luke and Eve books (Six Steps to a Girl, Three's a Crowd, The One and Only) and my new story - Falling Fast - which is the first in a new series. You can find out more about all my books on my website www.sophiemckenziebooks.com

2. When did you realise you wanted to become an author?
I've always wanted to write stories, but I didn't seriously start writing until late 2003 when I got made redundant from my job, went on a writing course and really committed myself to trying to write a book.

3. What do you think you would be doing if you weren't an author, and what jobs did you do before you became one?
I've done lots of jobs but my main career before I started writing fiction was as a journalist. I worked on magazines as a writer and an editor.

4.Was it difficult to get your first book published? What is the publishing process like?
It took 17 false starts before I finally finished a book. Once I had written Girl, Missing (my first book) I was lucky enough to get an agent and then a publishing contract very quickly.

5. Which of your books was the easiest to write?
They were all challenging in their own way! I don't think I could pick one as being much easier than any other, though The Set-Up was probably the hardest.

6. If you could be friends with any one of your characters, who would it be and why?
I think Nico (from Medusa) and Ryan (from Luke and Eve) would be fun to be around. Ketty and Ed (from Medusa) and Rachel and Theo (From Blood Ties) would be really good, loyal friends.

7. What author do you admire most, and why?
I admire lots of authors. For sheer skill, I guess it would have to be Jane Austen.

8. Who are you favourite authors, and what are your favourite books?
I have lots of favourites! One of my best reads is The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

9. What are the best and worst things about being a writer?
For me, the freedom to get up in the morning and do something I love all day is the best thing. I find telling stories really rewarding. There isn't really a downside!

10. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere - sometimes an idea comes in a flash; other times you pick up bits and pieces of ideas and the story and characters emerge gradually.

11.Are you working on anything new at the moment? If so could you tell us a bit about it?
Right now I'm working on two things. The third book in the Missing series, Missing Me, will be published this September (2012) while the next book in the Flynn series, following on from Falling Fast, will come out next year and be called Burning Bright.

Thanks for those fantastic answers Sophie! I hope that my readers enjoyed reading them as much as I did! Make sure you check out a list of Sophie's books here and get yourself a one - or ten!

Sophie's latest book, Falling Fast, is available in all good bookshops now! I really want to read it - and after reading the synopsis, I'm sure you will  too.
This is life, not a rehearsal...When River auditions for a part in an inter-school performance of Romeo and Juliet, she finds herself smitten by Flynn, the boy playing Romeo. River believes in romantic love, and she can't wait to experience it. But Flynn comes from a damaged family - is he even capable of giving River what she wants? The path of true love never did run smooth...

Interested? Get yourself a copy here!