Blog Tour: Struck Interview with Jennifer Bosworth
May •
15 •
2012
“Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.
Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.”
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How has your upbringing influenced your writing??
I love to write stories that involve religious themes, and that probably has a lot to do with being raised Mormon in Utah
Honestly, it made me a little wacky as a kid to believe in the unbelievable. I convinced myself of all kinds of additional strange things. There was one particular wood-paneled wall in our basement that I knew, I really knew was a portal to another dimension. I hallucinated sometimes that ghosts were in a constant procession, walking up our stairs. I would see little star patterns at night when I stared at my ceiling, and I thought they were tiny beings the size of dust that flew around in formation. One time, when I was a teenager (yeah, way too old for this) I was suddenly afraid of the dark for no reason. I had to sleep with the light on, because I felt this evil presence in my room if it was fully dark.
So, yes, I was a big weirdo, and I’m quite sane most of the time these days, but I’m still able to tap into my crazy when I need it for writing.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated??
I don’t remember ever not wanting to be a writer, and I also don’t remember learning to read. I just . . . read. And I just knew I wanted to be a writer. But my dad always told me amazing, epic bedtime stories, and that might have instilled the love of storytelling in me before I was old enough to think about what it actually meant to be a writer.
What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general??
I have a hard time reigning myself in. I go wild with stories, and try to put every good idea I have into them. It took me a long time to learn that I didn’t have to use EVERY idea, and that a few good ideas would suffice.
Can you share a little of your current work with us? Pretty please??
I’m working on a new novel at the moment called THE HIVE. I would describe it as a cross between Big Love, The Ring, and The Stepford Wives.
Here’s an excerpt from the draft I’m currently revising:
There was a sudden flash, a strobe of light behind my eyes. My lids slammed shut, and the light cleared, but left behind an afterimage, an impression.
Half of her face was beautiful, goddess-like, with long swirls of hair floating and swirling, as though she were immersed in water. The other half was barely recognizable as human, the skin black and distorted, seeming to crawl and jitter, like the particles that made her up were in constant motion. The eye on that side of her face was an empty well, seeping some kind of thick, amber liquid.
I opened my eyes and screamed.
The heat rushed into me, through my mouth, past my lips like medicine I’d been tricked into taking. It jammed my throat and swelled in my brain. I felt it everywhere. In my ears. My stomach. It infected me. Swam in my blood. Hollowed out my bones.
But the worst part was in my head, which filled with a buzzing roar. It was inside me. She was inside me, the girl with the hideous, disfigured face and the writhing skin.
My vision narrowed to a pinpoint. I felt my body moving, my hands searching my pockets, though I hadn’t given them permission. They found what they wanted and withdrew, from my right pocket, the Zippo lighter.
What books do you look forward to reading this summer?
I’m excited to read the books written by my tour mates on the Fierce Reads Tour, which takes place this June. Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo; Monument 14, by Emmy Laybourne; Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks.
And one of my favorite authors, Gillian Flynn, is releasing a book on June 5 called Gone Girl. Flynn writes extremely dark, literary mysteries. Her writing has been one of my biggest inspirations over the last ten years.
Thanks so much for the great excerpt! WOOHOO!
Happy Reading!
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Great interview! I was far too practical as a child. I generally didn’t imagine magical things. I kind of wish I had.
Alison, I am happy to say I had a great imagination as a child. I was one child that always had imaginary friends.
I’m going to have to check out this author! Thanks Savvy!
Loved this interview. I’m currently reading this one =)