Lauren Kate

Lauren Kate

About Author

Lauren Kate is the author of the FALLEN novels: Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture, and Fallen in Love, as well as The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. TORMENT and PASSION both reached #1 in the UK Bookscan charts in their first week on sale. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, her daughter, and her dog.

Author link

www.laurenkatebooks.co.uk/

Interview

TEARDROP

DOUBLEDAY CHILDREN'S BOOKS

NOVEMBER 2013

Lauren Kate, author of the bestselling Fallen series, has turned to the myth of Atlantis for her new series that begins with the book Teardrop.

Teenaged Eureka's mother has died, leaving her isolated and distraught until the arrival of a mysterious boy, Ander, who she feels strangely drawn to. Then she discovers an old family heirloom, a book that describes a story that gradually becomes her story, and the myth of Atlantis begins to resurface.

Here, Lauren Kate talks about her new series and the first book in the Teardrop trilogy.

 

Q: Did you miss writing the Fallen books, having been involved in that world and its characters for so long?

A: Eureka's story was laying in wait for so many years - I got the idea for it while writing Torment - so I was very ready to switch gears and enter her voice. I've never looked back. I love the Teardrop world and know that I've left the Fallen characters in the best place I could have.

 

Q: You must have so many ideas in your head - what made Teardrop 'the one' to write next?

A: Maybe this is surprising, but I don't have very many ideas. My mental energy tends to get sucked into the world I'm creating at the time.

I get ideas for new series and new stories very rarely, maybe once every few years. I just sit on them and let them percolate until I can get around to writing them.

I actually just got my first new idea since I had the idea for Teardrop four years ago. I imagine it will be what I turn to when I finish this series. I can't wait (but I can, because I'm really invested in where Eureka is going next).

 

Q: Did your lead character, Eureka, come 'fully fledged' or do you need to write your characters into existence?

A: I always have to write them into existence. Often I know what my characters are going to do before I write it, but I don't know how they feel about it - which changes everything and determines who they are.

Eureka's name comes from Greek philosopher Archimedes' famous exclamation when he discovered water displacement in the bathtub. He shouted 'Eureka!' which means in Greek, 'I have found it'. I knew I was writing about a girl who's tears flooded our world and raised another... the ultimate water displacement. And I thought 'Eureka! I have found her name!'.

 

Q: Was there any one thing that sparked your idea of crying being dangerous for Eureka and the world?

A: I've always thought that tears (like most intense manifestations of emotions) create their own physical spaces - their own worlds. The idea for Teardrop solidified when I was crying. I was trying to explain my woe to my husband but couldn't make him understand. I was separated by the barrier of my tears. Until - he reached out with his pointer finger, touched it to the corner of my eye, caught a tear building there, and carried it to his own eye. He pressed it into the corner of his eye, blinked, and absorbed my tear. I knew instantly that I would write this strange, sexy moment into Teardrop and that it would suggest the power of Eureka's tears.

 

Q: What makes you cry?

A: Way too many things. Most recently, my daughter, who is nine months old and amazing me every day. Those are joyous tears. I cry over my books, sometimes when I'm frustrated with the characters - and sometimes because they do such beautiful things. I love to cry over other people's books, and movies, and songs.

In the States, the evening news often shows soldiers coming home from war and going into their daughter's kindergarten class or something to surprise them with a homecoming. That makes me weep every time! It's ridiculous.

 

Q: What is it about the Atlantic myth that draws you?

A: I love the idea that it was such an advanced civilization, that if it hadn't sank, we would be so much further along in our technological advances. Atlanteans had TEXT MESSAGING! Five thousand years ago! I love that no one knows where, when, or why it sank. Those questions leave space for me to come in and bring my own romantic mythology.

 

Q: What will your version of Atlantis be like?

A: I can't say yet, I'm still researching and still discovering what will matter there. It's a threatening and enchanting place populated by strange and wonderful creatures. I know every path Eureka chooses there will have cosmic consequences.

 

Q: You push your female characters to the limit - why is this?

A: I don't see how you could write a story without doing that. I want all my real-life friends to have smooth, happy lives. I want my fictional friends to have the hardest ones possible - because they are worth reading about.

 

Q: Why do you choose to write 'epic' series rather than one-off books?

A: I got hooked on the depth of series writing while working on Fallen. I was a big summer camper as a kid and I loved the way relationships seemed to enrich each year after time spent apart from one another.

That was my experience with the characters in Fallen, and I'm having the same experience with Eureka and co. This is not to say I'll never write a one-off, but for now series writing is keeping me very happy.

 

Q: How many books do you plan to write in this series?

A: I've just turned in the revision of the second book in the series. I know there will be at least one more.

The second book is the darkest, direst thing I've ever written and I'm immensely proud of it. It goes deeper into fantasy than anything I've written, too, while still being grounded in our real world. I can't wait to be able to share more about it.

 

Q: Why do you write for teenagers?

A: I write about teenagers because they take risks and make mistakes. They aren't afraid to try and fail. Fear seems to creep in as we age. Fear is the protagonist's worst enemy. Teenagers experience higher highs and lower lows than adults seem to and I find this irresistible as a writer.

 

Q: What do you do to relax when you're not writing?

A: Recently I spend a lot of time making funny faces at my daughter. I also love to cook elaborate meals - cooking is the opposite of writing: your body is active, your mind can wander. I read a lot; it's hard for me not to be in the middle of the book. I feel like something essential is missing.

 

Q: If you could plan a day spent doing all your favourite things, how would it go?

A: I'd go for a long hike with my dog and daughter in the morning. Spend several hours reading a tearjerker love story. Take a motorcycle ride with my husband somewhere scenic, to see a movie or go to a museum. Then we'd come home and I'd cook a big Italian dinner for a group of friends.

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