Nina Lacour Interview + Contest

[CONTEST CLOSED]
Hey guys,
Hopefully you all stopped by yesterday at Borders in San Francisco or at the Point of View website for the exciting author chat with Nina Lacour. If you couldn't make it however, here's a little mini interview with her...

How was your release day? What did you do?

My release day was incredibly fun. I took the day off and spent it with a group of people who I love, traveling around the Bay Area to different bookstores, going out for coffee and lunch, and then celebrating at my apartment. Seeing Hold Still on the shelves of so many stores was really exciting. I had been waiting so long for that day to come.

What is the most influential book for you? What book hit you the hardest when you read it?

My favorite novel is Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Each time I read it I am completely blown away. I find it profoundly sad. But it also captures the beauty and wonder of life in a way that I have not encountered in any other novel.
How was it being inside Caitlin's head?

I'm a lot like Caitlin in many ways, so at times it felt pretty natural. But sometimes I felt trapped in this place of grieving, which was difficult. I wanted her to snap out of it, but at the same time, I had to fully immerse myself in her sadness in order to really feel what I was writing. Later, when I got to write the scenes in which she starts to open up to the world again, being in her head was exhilarating.

Why did you pick the topic of suicide for your first novel?

I didn't intend to write a book about suicide; the story just came to me. When I started high school two people I knew committed suicide--one of my classmates and one of my former teachers--so I guess I still had all these questions and leftover feelings from that time that I felt compelled to explore. But, at least for me, Hold Still is more about grief and recovery than it is about suicide. It's about the life continues in the wake of something terrible, and about how beautiful things can come out of sadness.

What do you think about the cover of your book, honestly?

I feel like I'm taking a lie detector test! Well, at first I was reluctant to have a photograph of a girl on the cover. I never like it when I see a representation of a character because the photograph never matches the image I've created in my head. And, in this case, I have such a clear image of Caitlin because I created her, so no matter how lovely the model is, she doesn't look like Caitlin to me. But I do really like the cover. My friend Mia Nolting drew the leaves and wrote my name and the title and I love the work she did. I also love the spine, which is really important because that's what will face out on people's bookshelves. I find the spine very pretty and delicate. Overall, I think the book turned out beautifully and I'm very grateful to Mia and all of the people at Penguin for all of the care they put into the design. Oh! And there is a hidden embellishment under the dust jacket that you all should check out.

What are you working on now?

I am working on a second YA novel for Dutton. It's very different from Hold Still. I didn't want to write about another tragic event--I needed a break from death for a while--but I tend to write about sad things and this new book is no exception. The narrator is an 18-year-old guy named Colby, and the novel follows him over a one-week road trip he's taking with four girls. Colby has just discovered that his post-high school plans are not going to unfold in the way he had expected them to, and now he has to figure out what he's going to do. The novel involves lots of driving, cheap motels, bad and good music, a mysterious tattoo, unrequited love, and heartbreak.

What is your favorite food?

Figs. Or tomatoes. And coffee, if coffee is a food.

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did it just happen?

I had always hoped to be a writer. I would write regardless of whether or not I got published, and now I just feel incredibly fortunate that I get to write as one of my jobs.

What do you want to tell the world?
To write someone a letter.

Big thanks to Nina for taking the time to answer my questions, you can check her out at her blog here.

Okay so I'm really excited guys, because I get to have a contest for you to win a finished copy of Hold, Still by NINA LACOUR (obviously). So to enter just comment with your e-mail address and something you liked about the interview, or if you have read the book, something you liked about that.

This contest is only open to U.S. and Canada... sorry :(

EXTRA ENTRIES
+2 for becoming a follower
+3 if you already are a follower
+2 for each time you link to this post (please leave a link if it's not on your blog)
+2 for every comment you leave or any post after this one before the contest ends.

This contest ends on November 15th. Good Luck!