Lauren Oliver visits Southern California to promote The Spindlers and
Liesl & Po on October 10, 2012.
I had the opportunity to meet Lauren Oliver while she toured Southern California for her recent release of her book “The Spindlers.” Most of you might recognize her as the author of the dystopia trilogy “Delirium” whose final installment, “Requiem,” is set to be released in March 2013.
First and foremost, I have to point out what a pleasure it was to sit in the audience as Ms. Oliver shared her passion for reading and writing, as well as some tips to aspiring writers in the audience. I truly had a smile (probably a goofy one) on my face the entire time. She is so eloquent, funny and extremely easy going! When I meet such an engaging author, reading their books becomes all the more pleasurable. So I’m excited to pick up my first Oliver book, which I’ve decided will be Liesl and Po to learn more about her style of storytelling.
But more about the discussion... Lauren Oliver started off by sharing what a passion she’s had for both reading and writing since a young age. She started at the early age of seven and has pretty much been doing both her entire life. It was cute to hear that when she was younger, she’d read a book and because she was curious about the story past the last page she’d write her own versions of “what happens next” to keep it alive. So that’s how she got into this business – pretty much writing children’s fanfic in a way. LOL Her biggest inspiration is her dad, who also happens to be a writer. He was the one that instilled the importance of daily writing. So even to this day, she averages about 1000 words a day while on tour or leisure – it’s just part of her routine.
Lauren shared thoughts on how as an author it’s easy to waver between “radical confidence” or “obliviousness” about one’s own work. So, she emphasized the importance of an editor or second set of eyes to offer different perspectives or lenses that a writer sometimes becomes “blinded to” because it’s natural to be vested in your own material.
Oliver feels comfortable crossing between different genres, as evidence in her published works that run the full gamut of YA realistic fiction, dystopia to middle grade fantasy. To her, the most important thing is bringing a character to life, where the reader can easily “lift them from the pages.” She also admits to having had to hone her abilities in plot development and shared some of her techniques for accomplishing that task.
As an avid reader, I loved to learn that she reads about 2 – 3 books a week! What bliss! She finds it gets her creative juices flowing, but don’t be surprised if she’s at the gym on the treadmill when inspiration strikes… which is exactly what happened with Delirium. J
It was exciting to hear that Oliver has a “super secret” middle grade book in the works, but she can’t share too much about that quite yet, except for the fact that she’s really excited about it. :D What she was able to share with us was that she’ll soon be releasing another YA contemporary standalone called “Panic” that is not written in the first person, but takes on alternating points of view (POV). This is new for her, so she’s excited about that book. So be sure to look out for “Panic.”
When asked about some of the books she enjoys in the YA genre, she mentioned authors such as Libba Bray, David Levithan and John Green to name just a few. She enjoys Steampunk novels and mysteries and is currently reading J.K. Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy.”
So that was my visit with Lauren Oliver, and I can’t stress enough what a truly sweet and funny author she is! I’m so glad I took the trip to meet her.
Now for the fun stuff! I was able to grab a few books which she graciously signed, and I’d like to offer them to one lucky follower. All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter and share a thoughtful comment on my visit with Lauren Oliver or anything you’d like to share about this author and why you’re excited to win the books. Take a look at what the winner will receive! Good luck!
