Interview with Anne Tibbets

Tell us about your publishing journey…

I wrote CARRIER, Book One of The Line Series, when I was frustrated with my career. I’d published a couple of novellas with a super small press, with super small success, and I was tired of hearing at writer’s conferences that I shouldn’t chase the market, yet Paranormal and Dystopian were dead – and that’s what I wanted to write. How was I supposed to be successful with my next book if nobody would want to publish it?

At that point, I kind of gave up the idea of ever publishing the book, and wrote CARRIER for myself. I made fun, in my mind, of the typical protagonist trope of a girl waking up, and I made it the bleakest, most depressing, saddest nightmare I could imagine, and then I turned the second half into an action/thriller because that’s what I love. I had a blast. Eventually, the manuscript got an Honorable Mention in a writer’s conference contest, and that encouraged me to finish it and query literary agents. I had multiple offers of representation and went with Bree Odgen at D4EO Literary because I thought her notes were spectacular, and I loved her quirky, unique list of clients and I knew she’d be fantastic to work with.

We shopped the book initially as a Young Adult, but understandably, the YA editors were leery of the sexual slavery themes and the violence, so I rewrote the book into a New Adult, making Naya older and little wiser, and it sold to Carina Press editor Rhonda Helms a few weeks later, along with the unwritten sequel, WALLED. I couldn’t be happier. Rhonda was an absolute joy to work with and Carina Press is the perfect place for CARRIER and WALLED.

What do you love about being an author?

I love the process of discovering a character’s voice, of thinking of that amazing plot twist while I’m washing the dishes, and getting amazing feedback from readers, who either love what I’ve done, or absolutely hate it.

I’m down with it either way. I want to spark conversations; I want to make people feel something, even if it’s disgust. I think too many people just kind of float through life, going through the motions, reacting to situations but not really paying attention, and if by reading my work you look at things a little differently and feel something profoundly, whatever it is, good or bad, then I’m the happiest clam in the sea.

If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?

This is tough. Only one? I know this is probably a bit cliché, but I’d probably chose Lizzie Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, and we’d definitely have pot roast and boiled potatoes so I can ask her how she found the courage to go against her family’s wishes and turn down Mr. Collins’ proposal. Then we’d laugh about our families, talk about books, and compare notes about how our husbands are so, so, so very similar in nature.

If your book was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?

I don’t know if other writers do this, but I built the physical aspects of my characters around existing actors and actresses. The personality of Naya is truly the deepest black pool of my subconscious, but she was physically modeled after Ziyi Zhang, the actress who played Sayuri in Memoirs of a Geisha. Many of you may be shocked to know I’ve always pictured Naya as Asian, but in the future of Auberge, there is no race, just light skinned and dark skinned, so the publisher wisely chose models for the covers with indiscernible race.

Now, for Ric, his personality is a cross between Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Thornton from North and South, and an action/adventure rogue like Rick O’Connell in The Mummy. Physically, he was always James McAvoy in Atonement and Penelope, complete with his rolled up sleeves and his scruffy hair.

Sadly, however, both these people are – how do I put this nicely? – TOO OLD to play 22 year-old Naya, and 25 year-old Ric, so if an actual movie got made, I’d have no suggestions other than to say, “Somebody like Ziyi Zhang and James McAvoy.”

Dear Movie Studios, Good luck with that. ;)

Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?

Monsters. Buffy over Twilight. I’m old school. Although, True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse vamps are a nice cross between the two.

If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?

Let’s say the Doctor and the Tardis show up on my doorstep and ask me where in history I want to go, where would I say?
Can I choose a non-answer?
I wouldn’t want to go back. I’d want to go forward.
Show me another planet, another species, another century. Show me the future.
The past is fun and if I HAD to pick the past I’d go visit Bath, England during the Regency era (Jane Austen strikes again!), but in truth – send me to the future, because that’s where my heart truly lies.

What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?

Stop trying to live up to the expectations of everybody else. What do you believe in? What do you want? Who cares what everybody else thinks. This is your life. Live it your way and forget judgers, haters, and soul suckers.

If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Hands down: I’d be a witch. A) flying brooms, B) I want a wand like Professor McGonagall (I actually have her wand on my desk), but I want it to be real and to actually work, C) Hogwarts, D) Snape, E) How freaking cool would that be?

Where do you write best?

My desk in my office surrounded by coffee cups and Ding Dongs.

What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?

I read all three of Rachel Bach’s Paradox series (Fortune’s Pawn, Honor’s Knight, and Heaven’s Queen) and thought they were spectacular. Sci-fi, female protagonist, action, drama, romance, sex – it was quite nearly perfect and made me wish I’d written it.

If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?

I write both Sci-Fi and Horror, but I’ve tried Fantasy and Contemporary as well (with my earlier novellas) so I don’t know if I have one specific genre, but for the sake of argument, I’d say I’m awaiting the day when Paranormal comes back. I love Paranormal and I hope to some day write a series involving all things spooky and scary within that. Like a Paranormal/Horror crossover, or a Sci-Fi/Horror crossover – yes please!

Where can fans find you online?

Truthfully, the best place to reach me is on Twitter. I’m @WriteforCoffee. But if you want to see all the places I’m online (and it’s a lot – I’m a total addict), you can find all my links on my website at http://www.AnneTibbets.com