Interview with Wendy Higgins

Hello, and welcome to Beauty and the Bookshelf!

I'm ecstatic to be a part of the blog tour for Sweet Evil, hosted by Amber at Fall Into Books. Here you'll find some cool facts about Sweet Evil and its author Wendy Higgins! If the text is yellow, it's probably a link, so click it; it may take you somewhere interesting! 

And now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for: Wendy Higgins! *Clapping ensues*

Using the letters of your favorite food, please describe yourself.

I feel that "Enchilada" and "Macaroni and Cheese" are far too long, so I'll go with an old, loved standby: Fry!

Friendly (or Fangless!)

Reading Addict

Young at Heart

How would you describe Sweet Evil in the form of a haiku?

Oh, crap...I totally had to look up the rules of a haiku to refresh my memory, lol! Okay, here goes:

Tale of sweet darkness;

Angel girl meets demon boy-

Will they dare to love?

The synopsis of Sweet Evil says "What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?"  Where did you get the idea and the inspiration to write something like that? Usually, people focus more on the good, not the bad.

When I started playing around with the idea of angels and demons on earth I asked myself a series of questions, like "What would be their roles/purposes on earth?" "How would they have children?" "What would the roles of those children be, and how would they be treated?" etc. As I began to answer those questions I was so intrigued and saddened by the story world that came to me, and I knew it was something I wanted to explore. How would these children of demons cope with such a life? 

Let's talk about Kaidan Rowe. He was recently in the YA Crush Tourney, which is awesome, and the synopsis says that he's "the boy your daddy warned you about." How did you create this character? Did you just make him up, or is he based off of someone? 

He's completely made up. When I set out to create the son of the demon of Lust, I knew he had to be the total package, so I basically created the boy of my dreams: English accent, gorgeous blue eyes, musician/drummer, mysterious, hard exterior but plenty of depth to work with, hot body...yeah. He was fun to write. ;)

You're a Tribute in the Reader Games! Three fictional characters are your allies, and three are your enemies. Who are they?

Allies:

Dimitri from Vampire Academy

Daemon from Obsidian/Lux series

Four from Divergent

(no, I'm not sexist - I could have happily chosen Katy, Rose, and Tris, but HELLO! Hot boys? Don't judge.)

Enemies:

Valentine from The Mortal Instruments

Voldemort from Harry Potter

Big Brother from 1984

So Sweet Evil is out, and people love it. What's next? 

Whelp, Sweet Hope is going to acquisitions this month, so I'm crossing my fingers for good news very soon! I plan to start book three this fall. :)

Who would you want to play your characters if Sweet Evil was optioned for the silver screen?

I would love to have a genuine English guy for Kai, like Ben Barnes. Lee Thompson is cute for Kope. And we need someone sweet-looking and blonde for Anna, like Chloe Moretz.

If you could collaborate with any writer to ever exist, who would it be?

First off I think I'd be terrible in a collab because I'm such a panster! But for the sake of this question I'd say Jennifer Armentrout because we both have similar commercial writing styles, character driven, with serious romantic tension. And she's my friend, so I adore her.

What's your writing process? 

My writing process is ugly. I don't recommend doing it this way, but I can't seem to help myself. I have a hard time plotting an entire book before I start. I usually have a general idea, so I sit down and begin. By the time I finish and realize it's a hot mess, I have my beta readers take a look to confirm it's horridness, then I begin a long series of rewrites and revisions. I do dozens of drafts before it makes it to my editor. So while my first draft might not take long to write, the entire drafting process takes upwards of a year.

Thank you so much for having me today!  *big hugs*

For more about Wendy Higgins and Sweet Evil, scroll down! And below that, there's a giveaway! Don't forget to check it out!

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publishing Date: May 1, 2012

Pages: 447

Embrace the Forbidden.

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Words are fun, but so are pictures! Check out the trailer for Sweet Evil!

Not enough for you? Read the first eight chapters of Sweet Evil, add it on Goodreads, and "like" it on Facebook!

Also, be sure to listen to what the trailer says and "give into sexy" by checking out the Kaidan buttons!

So, I'm assuming you read my totally awesome interview with Wendy Higgins. But if you want more, here's her bio!

About the Author

After earning a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, Wendy taught high school English until becoming a mommy.

Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and son. Sweet Evil is her debut novel.

Before you leave, be sure to enter the GIVEAWAY! Three people will each get a SIGNED Sweet Evil bookmark! I know you want one. You know you want one. So enter to get one!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules:

-This contest is open INTERNATIONALLY

-Beauty and the Bookshelf (Rachel), Wendy Higgins, and/or Fall Into Books (Amber) are not responsible for any lost or damaged items

-Cheating is prohibited

-Winners will have 48 hours to respond, or else a different winner will be chosen

-There are three bookmarks and three winners: each winner only gets one bookmark

Thanks for checking out my interview with Wendy Higgins, and enjoy the rest of the Sweet Evil blog tour!