Ask the Author: Elizabeth Fama
Answered Questions (19)
Elizabeth Fama
Thanks for this note, Hannah--I can't tell you how much it means to me to know that you are as obsessed as I am! I have never forgotten Sol and D'Arcy, and I've always known that Grady Hastings would be the real star of the next book--his life's work has barely begun, fighting for civil liberties. I would love to write a sequel, but the book is not very well known so I'm not sure I could sell it to the publisher. Maybe it needs to become a TV series, instead--the "Plus One Universe" would be so cool to explore in that format. :)
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Sarah!
Thanks for this kind message--it means so much to me to be cheered on by readers! I'm working on a complex historical fiction project that I hope will be finished by summer 2021. (That's just when the manuscript will be complete. Who knows what the publication date will be!)
Take care,
Elizabeth
Thanks for this kind message--it means so much to me to be cheered on by readers! I'm working on a complex historical fiction project that I hope will be finished by summer 2021. (That's just when the manuscript will be complete. Who knows what the publication date will be!)
Take care,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Fama
I hadn't thought of it, no! But my current manuscript is historical fiction, set in 16th-century Italy, and interspersed between the events of the book are these odd little chapters covering the lives of several female saints. :)
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Sarah! Thank you for thinking of me with this question. Some readers see MONSTROUS BEAUTY as a riff on Hans Christian Andersen's DEN LILLE HAVFRUE (The Little Mermaid). So in some ways I may have already accidentally written a book with a fairy-tale theme. I haven't given much thought to trying on purpose, but I've been wanting to write something middle-grade, and maybe a fairy-tale inspired story would be a nice concept to explore for that! (Thanks for the idea. :) )
Elizabeth Fama
I want to very much, Lorie! Someday! Sol and D'Arcy have never left me. (And I don't want Grady Hastings's important work to remain unfinished...)
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Natasha! Thank you so much for reading PLUS ONE, and also for reading with your daughter! I do have a sequel to PLUS ONE knocking around in my head that centers on Grady Hastings' fight for civil liberties, and of course answers the question of what happens to Sol and D'Arcy, and whether/how they participate in the resistance movement. I'd love to write that book! I just need about a thousand people to beg the publisher for a sequel. ;)
Elizabeth Fama
That's right, Elena! "Plus One" is the permit given to doctors to transport patients after curfew. At the hospital reception desk, D'Arcy uses it as a noun, "I have a Plus One," and then right away as a proper noun, "Let's go, Plus One." This last use is significant: Sol has just called him "Day Boy," saying, "There's no point in first names between us," and D'Arcy is making a commentary on that--from that moment on he calls her "Plus One" out of principle. It's not stated explicitly, but he has just resolved not to use her name until she uses his. So, throughout the book, "Day Boy" and "Plus One" aren't nicknames between the two, they're symbolic of the feeling of "otherness" that this segregated society imposes. As Sol and D'Arcy spend more time together, they begin to think of the other as a person, not as a Smudge or a Ray to be kept at a distance, and there is a moment when each of them uses the other person's name for the first time, almost as a revelation.
Elizabeth Fama
A short story might just be the thing! What a great idea! Of course, my preference would be to write the full sequel, because Grady Hastings' civil liberties movement needs time to be properly nurtured. But if I don't get my act together and write a sequel soon (or FSG doesn't want it), the short story would be a perfect compromise. If I *do* write a sequel, I can't give away what happens to Sol and D'Arcy just yet. Not helpful, I know. :(
Elizabeth Fama
PLUS ONE was sold as a standalone. But I definitely have a sequel pounding on the doors of my brain, trying to get out! Or maybe that's Grady Hastings pounding inside there.
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Marie! I definitely think there's more story to tell after PLUS ONE, and I know I would enjoy writing it. Grady Hastings would be the main character. He has a lot of work left to do!
Elizabeth Fama
Haha! I revise every single one until they pry it out of my hands to go to press!
And yet...I have the opportunity now to rewrite OVERBOARD (2002), because I'll be releasing it as an e-book, and I find that I'm choosing to preserve all the errors and clunky phrases as if it's a historical document.
And yet...I have the opportunity now to rewrite OVERBOARD (2002), because I'll be releasing it as an e-book, and I find that I'm choosing to preserve all the errors and clunky phrases as if it's a historical document.
Elizabeth Fama
Thanks so much for this kind note, Randi! "Men Who Wish To Drown" isn't a book, despite the way it appears on Goodreads, it's a short story published by Tor.com. It gives a peek at of one of Syrenka's previous relationships, before she met Ezra.The only "printed" version is the paid Kindle e-book you found, but you can always read it for free here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/08/me.... Thanks for reading MONSTROUS BEAUTY, and for taking the time to write to me!
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Rosalie! I wrote and sold PLUS ONE as a standalone. What I didn't know then was how much I'd continue to worry about Sol and D'Arcy when I was done, and that Grady Hastings would regularly wake me up at 4 AM, annoyed as heck with me for not letting him finish his work. I often wonder whether I should write a follow-up novel, just to silence him.
P.S. for more of the world of PLUS ONE, there's a free Tor.com short story written in Gigi's voice. Search "Elizabeth Fama" and "Noma Girl" and you'll find it. (Alas, it's a prequel.)
P.S. for more of the world of PLUS ONE, there's a free Tor.com short story written in Gigi's voice. Search "Elizabeth Fama" and "Noma Girl" and you'll find it. (Alas, it's a prequel.)
Elizabeth Fama
By "writer's block" I'm going to assume that you mean "outline block." Because if I have an outline, I can always write. If I'm writing by the seat of my pants, I sometimes freeze, not knowing where to take the story.
I have no emotional or practical tools to fight outline block. Zero. I just suffer magnificently, reach a point of true despair, officially give up the profession entirely in my mind, and then--usually while jogging or walking or taking a bath or cooking while not listening to the radio--something will unhook in my brain, and a key piece of the outline will come to me.
I have no emotional or practical tools to fight outline block. Zero. I just suffer magnificently, reach a point of true despair, officially give up the profession entirely in my mind, and then--usually while jogging or walking or taking a bath or cooking while not listening to the radio--something will unhook in my brain, and a key piece of the outline will come to me.
Elizabeth Fama
Miguel! I almost forgot to answer this question!
Okay, so the first thing I ask people is whether they've read Megan Whalen Turner's QUEEN'S THIEF series (THE THIEF, THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA, THE KING OF ATTOLIA, and A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS). These are my favorite YA novels of all time, and Megan is coming out with fifth soon, so if you haven't read them, I recommend binge-reading them, and I'm jealous that it will be your first time.
An adult novel that's great for people who love sophisticated YA is SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller.
Sophisticated YA that's published for YA: Margo Lanagan's THE BRIDES OF ROLLROCK ISLAND (published as SEA HEARTS in the U.K.). I kid online, but it's actually true: this was my favorite sea-folk novel of 2012.
Recent books I've loved:
Contemporary: PERFECTLY GOOD WHITE BOY by Carrie Mesrobian (unfortunately not available until October 1st, 2014, but keep your eye out for it).
Fantasy: CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge, THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski; A WOUNDED NAME by Dot Hutchison (this is a retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view, but since there are ghosts and eternal huntsmen and morgens [supernatural beings who live in water], it's also a bit paranormal).
Series: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer; THE RAVEN CYCLE by Maggie Stiefvater.
Most difficult/most rewarding adult book I've read recently: AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner.
Book I'm devouring at the moment: A CREATURE OF MOONLIGHT by Rebecca Hahn (reminds me of Franny Billingsley's work).
Classic YA I recommend to everyone:
FEED by M.T. Anderson; PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King.; HIS DARK MATERIALS by Philip Pullman.
Okay, so the first thing I ask people is whether they've read Megan Whalen Turner's QUEEN'S THIEF series (THE THIEF, THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA, THE KING OF ATTOLIA, and A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS). These are my favorite YA novels of all time, and Megan is coming out with fifth soon, so if you haven't read them, I recommend binge-reading them, and I'm jealous that it will be your first time.
An adult novel that's great for people who love sophisticated YA is SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller.
Sophisticated YA that's published for YA: Margo Lanagan's THE BRIDES OF ROLLROCK ISLAND (published as SEA HEARTS in the U.K.). I kid online, but it's actually true: this was my favorite sea-folk novel of 2012.
Recent books I've loved:
Contemporary: PERFECTLY GOOD WHITE BOY by Carrie Mesrobian (unfortunately not available until October 1st, 2014, but keep your eye out for it).
Fantasy: CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge, THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski; A WOUNDED NAME by Dot Hutchison (this is a retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view, but since there are ghosts and eternal huntsmen and morgens [supernatural beings who live in water], it's also a bit paranormal).
Series: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer; THE RAVEN CYCLE by Maggie Stiefvater.
Most difficult/most rewarding adult book I've read recently: AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner.
Book I'm devouring at the moment: A CREATURE OF MOONLIGHT by Rebecca Hahn (reminds me of Franny Billingsley's work).
Classic YA I recommend to everyone:
FEED by M.T. Anderson; PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King.; HIS DARK MATERIALS by Philip Pullman.
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Miguel!
I have a lot of fun writing smaller characters like the old pastor, McKee, in MONSTROUS BEAUTY, and Gigi, who stole my heart in PLUS ONE. But the character I admire the most is Sol, who is unabashedly who she is: so raw and full of pain, so clear on what matters to her. Those things make her a powerful force, and she doesn't know it.
I have a lot of fun writing smaller characters like the old pastor, McKee, in MONSTROUS BEAUTY, and Gigi, who stole my heart in PLUS ONE. But the character I admire the most is Sol, who is unabashedly who she is: so raw and full of pain, so clear on what matters to her. Those things make her a powerful force, and she doesn't know it.
Elizabeth Fama
Taking care of me, as always, Kaye! <3
I VASTLY prefer revising. Playing with language is pure joy, and so...zen, and comforting. Drafting is painful and full of self-doubt for me. I'd love to find a way to change that someday--to be more fearless about putting new things on the page.
I VASTLY prefer revising. Playing with language is pure joy, and so...zen, and comforting. Drafting is painful and full of self-doubt for me. I'd love to find a way to change that someday--to be more fearless about putting new things on the page.
Elizabeth Fama
It is about death
and dying
and four boys in a car
with a dead body
unembalmed
all of them
all of us
headed toward
a hole in the ground.
It is about living.
It is about death
and dying
and four boys in a car
with a dead body
unembalmed
all of them
all of us
headed toward
a hole in the ground.
It is about living.
Elizabeth Fama
Hi Gwenda! Fancy meeting you here! We lived the kind of inner-city life where my brothers and sister and the kids on the block ran around the neighborhood all summer, unsupervised, so we played endless rounds of Cops and Robbers with breaks only for lunch and dinner and drinks from any hose that was handy. The apartment vestibule on the corner of our block was the jail. But I also spent hundreds (thousands?) of hours playing stoop ball with my friend, Paul, wrangling for the title of Stoop-Ball King, and I pogo-sticked like a madwoman, racking up scores in the thousands (I could literally pogo for hours).
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