Interview - Alyson Noel 2017

1) In 2014 in our last interview you said that you’ve toyed with the idea of a spin-off for The Immortals and that you left an opening in Everlasting, so that if you had time you’d maybe play around with it and see where it leads! Have you thought anymore about this?

I really enjoyed writing those books and spending time with those characters, so I’d love a chance to revisit that world. Since then, I’ve written 9 books so I haven’t really had enough time to devote to it yet, but it’s definitely something I’m thinking about.

2) Any updates on The Soul Seekers and Fly Me To The Moon coming to the big screen?

Unfortunately, the Fly Me to the Moon option expired, but The Soul Seekers is still moving forward. Last I heard, they were revising the script and hoped to start shooting this winter- fingers crossed!

3) Can we ever expect an Immortals film anytime soon? I’m dying for more Ever and Damon

The Immortals is currently on it’s 3^rd option, so here’s hoping this time’s the charm!

4) You posted on Social Media a while back that Saving Zoe was opted for a movie which made me bump it up on my reading list along with Faking 19, I enjoyed Saving Zoe more. Which did you enjoy writing the most?

I can’t say I enjoyed one more than the other, because every book provides a different experience and I take it for what it is. Faking 19 was my first book, and my most autobiographical in a lot of ways. When I wrote Saving Zoe, I was also writing Evermore on the side, and while they were both inspired by grief, the approach I took with those stories was obviously really different. The experience of watching my husband lose his twin brother to pancreatic cancer served as a sort of jumping off point for Saving Zoe, which was about the loss of a sister.   

5) And do you have any Saving Zoe movie updates?

So excited to finally say, Yes!! I visited the Saving Zoe movie set in July, and then attended a screening of the rough cut with the studio/producers in August. It’s beautiful, dark, gritty, heart breaking, thrilling, funny in places, redemptive, and hopeful and I’m so excited for everyone to see it. Real life sisters Vanessa and Laura Marano play my fictional sisters, Zoe and Echo, and they were amazing!

6) Unrivalled has been out for a while now, are you happy with the reviews and feedback?

My publisher sends me the industry reviews, which made my happy. But I don’t really read any other reviews. The good ones, as well as the bad ones, can really mess with your head. I just try to focus on the writing.

7) What research, if any did you do for Unrivalled?

This series didn’t require as much, but since I live in California, every time I went to LA or read a celebrity gossip blog, I called it ‘research.’

8) Apart from book 2 in the Beautiful Idol’s series being released what else do you have for us in 2017?

I just finished the final book in the series, INFAMOUS, which will be out in April 2018, and I also have a new MG, The Bone Thief, in stores on 10.17.17.

9) In 2014 you were taking some time out from writing for the first time since 2005. What did you get up to?

I took an entire year off to travel, relax, and reboot my life. I went somewhere different every month—the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Santa Fe, Mexico, London, Paris, Java, Bali, Hong Kong, Macau, Peru, etc. It was completely amazing and just what I needed. Now I’m back at my desk, dreaming of the day I get to repeat it!  

10) I have just finished reading Kiss and Blog. I was almost in tears, when Winter overheard her best friend Sloane saying mean things about her. Was this a fun story to write?

Like most books, the answer is both yes and no. Writing those hurtful moments are always a bit painful because I put myself in the character’s shoes and try to recall similar incidents from my own past. And yet, getting the chance at a high school do over is always good fun!

11) Now you have finished writing Beautiful Idols, what are you planning on doing? Are you taking some time off, writing another series or writing more stand alones?

At the moment, I’m working on an adult stand-alone, a short story for an anthology, and an unannounced project. All the while, thinking about an Immortals sequel!

12) What do you do to get you in the writing zone? Listen to music, have a tv or radio playing etc..

I light a scented candle, wear a crystal necklace a reader gave me, put on whatever playlist I’ve created for the book, brew some green tea, and get to it!

Thank you for the interview!

Review - Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

Title: Saving Zoë

Author: Alyson Noel
Pages: 230
Release Date: 4th September 2007
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: Amazon
Format: Paperback

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: It's been one year since the brutal murder of her older sister, Zoë, and fifteen-year-old Echo is still reeling from the aftermath. Her parents are numb, her friends are moving on, and the awkward start to her freshman year proves she'll never live up to her sister's memory. Until Zoë's former boyfriend Marc shows up with Zoë diary.

At first Echo's not interested, doubting there's anything in there she doesn't already know. But when curiosity prevails, she starts reading, becoming so immersed in her sister's secret world, their lives begin to blur, forcing Echo to uncover the truth behind Zoë's life so that she can start to rebuild her own.

Prepare to laugh your heart out and cry your eyes out in this highly addictive tale as Alyson Noël tackles the complicated relationship between two sisters and shows how the bond can endure long after one of them is gone.

My Review: I spent a lot of my time while reading Saving Zoë trying not to cry. I felt sorry for Echo having to go through what she went thorough and with her parents not being completely there for her also must have been really hard.

Echo’s sister Zoë was murdered her parents blamed Zoë’s boyfriend Mark but he had nothing to do with it other than letting Zoë use his car to go and meet her murderer.

What no one but Mark knows is that Zoë kept a journal which he gives to Echo. At first Echo doesn’t know if she should read it but once she starts she can’t stop and Echo realises that no one really knew the real Zoë.

Echo believes that everyone sees her as Zoë's little sister who won’t be happy again. The more she reads Zoë’s journal the closer to her she feels to the point where she ends up kissing Mark her sister’s boyfriend.

While reading the journal Echo finds out that a guy who is now hanging out with one of her friends is a creep and he lead Zoë down a dark path along with Echo’s friend.

The story was completely addictive and it was hard to put it down, I was reading it while I was cooking and while I should have been doing college work.