Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Guest Post : Abria Mattina author of Wake

Hi, folks! Happy Valentine's! Today we have the amazing Abria Mattina; author of Wake. Wake is a contemporary YA novel which is simply heartbreaking and we love it so much!

It’s common for authors to talk about what inspired them to write their latest book when doing blog stops. Most of them talk about how they always loved mystery novels or wanted to write a family saga since they were an undergraduate Creative Writing student. My answer to this question always seems like a bit of a cop-out because it’s so strange.

I’m a synaesthete, so my life is awash with color and this is how I tend to define my ideas. The seed for Wake was planted when I could envision a specific scene and knew exactly what color the voice of the novel would have (teal, coincidentally). It was the scene where Willa and Jem go for a walk through her neighborhood and talk about various types of personal catastrophes. I saw all of Wake’s content through a teal-colored lens, and that helped me be consistent in my writing.

I do have a tendency to write about people with illnesses or disabilities and those who respond to them. I’m fascinated by human weakness and suffering--how do we handle it, ignore it, overcome it, or get taken under by it? Illness doesn’t just happen to one person; it affects entire families and one’s circle of friends. That’s why Wake doesn’t focus solely on Jem’s struggle with cancer, but also includes his family’s response to it and Willa’s response to her sister’s illness.


Five Random Things About Me

1.I’m addicted to Quaker Dipp’s peanut butter granola bars.
2.I was a fan of The Delta State during its brief run on YTV.
3.My favorite Canadian movie is Siblings.
4.I changed my major three times while at university.
5.Despite number 4, I still graduated on time.

Wake

Eighteen isn’t too young to run your life into the ground, but it’s not too old to fix it, either. The desire for change drives Willa Kirk from St. John’s, Newfoundland back to hometown of Smiths Falls, Ontario, away from her mistakes and the place where her sister died. She’s looking for a place to settle and rebuild, but Jem Harper just wants to get out of town, back to the life he knew before cancer. By letting the tragedies in their lives define them, they are both dying a little more every day. Welcome to the wake.

We will be reviewing Wake tomorrow. Check it out, it's only 99 cents on Amazon!

4 comments:

  1. I did not know what 'synaesthete' was until I googled it. I'm intrigued to see how this 'colors' the book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Valentine's!
    Although the cover did not draw much attention, I think I'll give you a chance.

    Have a good day

    ReplyDelete
  3. I drop a comment when I appreciate a post on a website or if I have something to valuable to contribute
    to the discussion. It's a result of the passion displayed in the article I browsed. And after this post "Guest Post : Abria Mattina author of Wake". I was moved enough to drop a thought :-) I do have a couple of questions for you if it's allright.
    Could it be just me or do a few of these comments look like they are written by brain dead visitors?
    :-P And, if you are writing on other places, I would like to
    keep up with everything new you have to post.

    Could you list the complete urls of your shared pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?



    Feel free to surf to my page coffee flavor

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete