Monday 17 May 2010

Author Interview: Luisa Plaja

Luisa Plaja is the author of Extreme Kissing, Split by a Kiss and Swapped by a Kiss. She also runs the fabulous website Chicklish. She kindly took the time to answer a few questions....

What inspired you to write Swapped by a Kiss?
I found I had a lot more to say about Rachel after I finished writing Split by a Kiss. Many aspects of Rachel's erratic behaviour are unexplained in Split by a Kiss because they're not relevant to Jo's story (yet?!). I really wanted to show where Rachel was coming from, and to tell her story. The body swap was an obvious follow-on from Split , too, with Freaky Friday being one of Jo's favourite films, and with Jo and Rachel so clearly misunderstanding each other right up to the final word of the first book - and beyond.

Do you have a favourite scene in the book?
In Swapped by a Kiss? Well, some of the more potentially embarrassing scenes are loosely based on real-life experiences so... not those. Hee. I think the final scene before the epilogue is my favourite, but the night-time scenes of high tension between Rachel and a certain boy come a close second.

I really love your characters (especially Zac and Albie *sighs*) Do you base them on people you know? And do you have a favourite?
Thank you, and thank you for loving Zac and Albie! No, I don't usually base my characters on people I know, but some are based on people *I think* I know but I've actually never even met. This is ideal as it gives me a starting point and limitless scope for development. It's very difficult to pick a favourite character. I get hopelessly obsessed with all of them.

If you had the chance for one of your books to be made into a movie which would you choose and who would you cast in the roles?
This is a tough and brilliant question! Well, Swapped and Split by a Kiss are more obviously filmic, I think, and you'd only need one actress for the main roles in both of those, so listen up, Hollywood! ;) But I think Extreme Kissing would make a better quirky European art-house film, so... I don't know! As for the cast, I'm going to cheat even more and throw this open to anyone reading this! Any thoughts, anyone?!

Did you always intend on becoming a writer?
Intend on, no. Dream of, yes. I've always worked with words, though. I've been a dictionary editor, a television subtitler and a linguistic software developer. Words are yummy and I eat them for breakfast, sprinkled on my muesli.

Was it a conscious decision to write for teens?
No, not really. It's the kind of fiction I love most, though, and writing it feels natural to me.

If you could only save 3 books from your bookshelf what would they be?
Heaven forefend! In what atrocious dystopia does this barbaric dictat become a necessity? I would escape from this fearful regime by fleeing to the local library and boarding up the doors with pile upon pile of meaty books, which would then sustain me for the remainder of my long, happy, word-filled life, muesli be damned! (Um, qui-iick - next question!)

What’s next for you? Are you working on another book?
Phew! Yes, I am. It should be out next spring and it's another standalone teen novel about life, love and self-image, with a premise that I've already caught myself wishing was entirely realistic.

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Thanks Luisa! I am still picturing the boarded up library... lol

7 comments:

Susie Day said...

Great interview. I so enjoyed Split and Swapped - and now I'm completely intrigued about what you're writing now!

Lynsey Newton said...

I've not read any of these books before so now I'm going to have to check them out! Thanks for introducing us to an author we may not have heard of before :)

So Many Books, So Little Time said...

Great interview, ladies! I'm already looking forward to Luisa'a next book!

Tales of Whimsy said...

Luisa is the coolest cat. Fun interview!

Unknown said...

Luisa used to edit dictionaries? Wow, what an awesome wordy job. I'd like to try that and see how many new words I could learn each day. Now I want to know Luisa's top 5 craziest words...

prophecygirl said...

Great interview! Love the answer to the saving books question.

And as for the cast of a movie.. Luisa has clearly forgotten that no-one other than Matt Lanter (Liam in 90210) can play Albie. It's just the way it has to be. ;)

Sara said...

Great interview! her books sound awesome :)

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