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

Extreme Kissing by Luisa Plaja

REVIEW COPY: Luisa Plaja
From Amazon: Carlota and Bethany are best friends. Bethany is the sensible one with a long-term boyfriend, Carlota is the crazy one with a wild past and rebellious nature. All is fine in their world - apart from Carlota hating her stepdad and longing for a old flame. And apart from Bethany thinking her boyfriend is about to dump her and that her period is late...Carlota comes up with a plan to put all their troubles behind them and go on a girls-only wild day out, with only their favourite magazine to guide them through the day. If they open it on a fashion page they have to get hold of a fabulous new outfit and pretend to be models. If they open it to a page on snogging, they have to find a boy to snog. The magazine will take them everywhere they need to go - but will it help them to reveal the secrets they are keeping from each other?

This really exceeded my expectations. I had a good idea that I’d like it as it’s my kind of book but it had much more depth than I was expecting. It was really witty and good fun – I’m really taken by the whole extreme travelling and am tempted to try it myself – but in addition to that we also get some brilliant characterisation. I connected to Bets straight away and she is the kind of girl I could see myself being friends with. Carlota took a longer for me to warm to but I have the feeling that was intentional – it wasn’t until we are introduced to Yves and Zac that I really felt as if I was ‘seeing’ the real Carlota – something I felt was brilliantly executed by the author . I also have to add that I REALLY loved the character of Zac and the moments between him and Bets are some of my favourites.

The main reason I loved this book though is that it covers so many different things and you don’t even realise it. I loved getting to see Carlota’s relationship with her parents unfold, to see the girls realised that although they share a strong bond they don’t know everything about each other and to see Bets finally realise what has been going on. Which brings me nicely to the ending. I did not see it coming and it was brilliant! I won't say anymore because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else as it was such a great moment for me.

In other reviews I have seen comparisons to Louise Rennison and liz Retting and I agree with these completely, but I would also compare it to Meg Cabot for the fun factor and to Sara Zarr for the brilliantly created characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am really looking forward to reading Split by a Kiss :)