This weeks YA Feature author is Christine Hughes author of Torn. Enjoy the interview and don't forge to check out the book!
I’m currently a stay at home mom/writer. Before this gig I was an English teacher for both HS and middle school students. In 2010 I lost my job due to budget cuts. With no school districts hiring, I pulled out 3 little paragraphs I’d been sitting on for some time and began to expand. Within a year, TORN was finished and ready for query.
Can you tell us a little about your novel, Torn?
With the sudden, mysterious death of her father, Samantha discovers her life isn't what it seems. Not only isn't she the normal teenage girl she thought she was, Sam must now take her father's place in the fight between two groups of fallen angels, the Faithful and the Exiled, in a race to save humanity. In addition to dealing with a devastating betrayal--and having feelings for someone she's forbidden to love--Sam must also fight the growing darkness within her as she struggles to make a choice between fighting alongside the Faithful or succumbing to the temptation of the Exiled. Both sides require sacrifices Sam isn't sure she can make.
Where did you get the idea for Torn?
At first it was three paragraphs I wasn’t sure what to do with. Then one night I was watching The Vampire Diaries (the Founder’s Day episode) and I heard the song “All I Need” by Within Temptation and BAM! The entire storyline flooded into my head. It took a little bit to organize my thoughts and put together a playlist but it started to come together relatively quickly.
In Torn the main protangonist Samantha has to take her fathers place in a fight between two groups of fallen angels. What is the difference between the two sets of fallen angels? Do they have different characteristics and reason for "falling”?
Good question!
All angels here on earth are fallen and that fall goes back to the idea of Damien and the apple. TORN touches on that but the sequel goes more in depth into that scenario.
The Exiled are the group of angels who feel our world belongs to them. They revel in sin and greed and human weakness. They use free will against people but don’t believe they should have it.
The Faithful are a group of angels who want forgiveness for falling out of favor with God. They work to restore hope in humankind, praying that their selflessness will eventually be noticed and that they will be forgiven.
What genre would you class Torn as?
Paranormal suspense with a sprinkling of romance…where would we be without a little teenaged angsty romantic thread in out YA books?
Why should we read Torn in one sentence?
Because I said so. Just kidding!
TORN reminds us there is a yin and yang in this universe, a relationship between good and evil, hope and despair, and begs the question – can one exist without the other?
Now for some bookie questions:
Fave book as a child and why?
Child? Maybe “The Friendly Book”. It was full of visuals and a cadence that made it easy to read. My oldest loves it.
Fave 2012 read and why?
Oh gosh. Fave book of 2012 or fave book I read in 2012? I have to admit, I’m behind on reading since I started writing. I still read but there’s more time between books then there used to be.
I’d have to say my favorite book I read this year would be The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I know it was published last year or the year before but it was such a good book – I highly recommend it.
An author you would recommend to my readers?
There are so many I love, it’s hard to choose just one. How about this – a book everyone needs to read – Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. If you can’t read that book, written fifty some-odd years ago, and connect it to the world today, you need to pay more attention to current events.
Favourite YA genre and why?
I love YA paranormal though I never thought in a million years I’d write in that genre. I just love the fantasy behind it all. Paranormal makes it easy to believe in things everyone else says don’t exist – like angels and vampires and such.
Complete this sentence.
My perfect summer day would be sitting beside the sea/lake drinking a “too fruity” (my hubby and I made that one up) and eating chips and salsa while reading anything that will take my mind off the real world.
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