Thank you to RT Teen Day, I'm thrilled to share an interview with one of this year's YA authors, Erin Beaty.
Why are you excited to attend RT Teen Day?
This will be my first author event ever! I’m both super excited and super terrified. Not that I think something bad will happen, more like I’ll freeze up and forget how to write or say my name. Also, I’ll be able to meet so many of my debut author friends I only know through the internet and some of the authors I’ve been reading for years. I think my suitcase will be packed mostly with books I want signed by them.
Who doesn't love a good romance? Whether it's the driving force of the story or snuck off to the side, I'm always up for it! What appeals to you about including romance in your stories?
Every situation has more at stake when someone you love is involved, and everything is complicated at the beginning of a relationship. There’s always so much uncertainty and fear, and often you can’t even control that you’re falling in love. It’s a huge risk to open yourself up to another person – not only because you are letting them see the deepest part of your soul, but you don’t know if your feelings will be returned. And with all that, the happy endings are happier when there’s love involved – it’s so much more personal, especially to the reader who is so close to the characters.
What are some of your favorite romance tropes?
I adore enemies or rivals to lovers, but my favorite is meeting in disguise. There’s something about playing a part that actually frees people to act more like who they are deep inside. Rather ironic (and romantic), don’t you think? But the best aspect of that kind of romance is that what your characters fall in love with is the truest part of the other person. Wealth, looks, place in life… it’s all just trappings. What’s inside is important.
Who are some of your all-time favorite fictional couples?
Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe probably top the list – talk about enemies to lovers! There’s a special place in my heart, too, for Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Not only is it a story about naval officers, it tells of a lost romance being rekindled. And to round it out, I’ll pick the princess and the pirate of my generation: Leia Organa and Han Solo.
Recently we’ve learned the relationship didn’t have a happy ending, but you know what? That’s true to life. And despite everything that tore them apart, they still loved each other.
We think Young Adult books are simply incredible. I love the variety and the quality. What's your favorite part of being an author of young adult books?
I love the enthusiasm teens have for the characters – they can become the friends they can’t find elsewhere, especially for those who don’t feel like they fit in. (Psssst! That’s actually everyone.) There were so many books that inspired me as a young adult, and the idea that I could have the same kind of influence on a teen today makes me very conscious of the responsibility.
If you could spend a day inside the world of any book, which would you choose and why?
I’ve been in love with Robin McKinley’s Damar since I was a teenager. The land and the people are intertwined in a fierce and powerful magic.
What have you been reading or recommending lately?
Right now I’m reading Taran Marathu’s Summoner Series alongside my teens. It’s so much fun, and I can’t wait to meet him on the Fierce Reads tour after RT.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erin Beaty was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, which means she can't drive a tractor, but she won't eat veggies that come from a can. She graduated from the US Naval Academy with a degree in rocket science and somehow always ended up writing her study group's lab reports. After serving in the fleet as a weapons officer and a leadership instructor, she resigned to pursue her side hobby of populating the Church of Rome. It still amazes her when other people want to hear the stories that come out of her head.
She and her husband have five children, two cats, and a vegetable garden and live wherever the navy tells them to go.
She and her husband have five children, two cats, and a vegetable garden and live wherever the navy tells them to go.
* Author interview questions provided by RT Teen Day
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Yay for another awesome interview post :) Thank you for sharing sweetie. <3 I am pretty curious about this book. Heard lots of things about it lately :)
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