Author Crush Friday with Heather Reid
Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.
We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors. Today we’re talking to Heather Reid, author of Pretty Dark Sacrifice ( Month 9 Books; July 28, 2015). Thank you for talking to us today, Heather! We’re honored! And thank you Month 9 Books for the three ebooks for giveaway! If you’re intrigued and would love a free e-copy of Heather’s book, comment below!
GLITTER: How did you come up with the plot for Pretty Dark Sacrifice?
HEATHER: I’m what most writers refer to as a pantser, meaning that I write by the seat of my pants opposed to a plotter, who outlines the entire book before writing it. Knowing every detail makes my writing stale. I like to be surprised while I write. If I’m surprised, usually the readers will be too. That’s not to say I don’t have any idea where I’m going. I’ve always known the ending to Pretty Dark Sacrifice, and there were several elements that were put into play in Pretty Dark Nothing that I planned to thread into the second book. The ending of Pretty Dark Nothing had a huge impact on all my characters, especially Quinn, so I had to think about how each of them had changed and used that to drive the story forward. You’ll defiantly see a different side of Quinn in this book now that she knows what the demons are and what her purpose is.
GLITTER: If you could describe Pretty Dark Sacrifice in only 160 characters, how would you describe it?
HEATHER: Reveal the deep things of darkness and bring shadows into the light.
GLITTER: Who was your favorite character to write and why?
HEATHER: Although I love all my characters, I would have to say Marcus. He’s such a big, loveable goofball and one of the most loyal friends a person could have. He’s the comic relief in an otherwise dark and intense read. The funny thing about Marcus, is that he wasn’t planned. While writing Pretty Dark Nothing, he just appeared in the school hallway, walked up to Aaron, and started talking. Moments like this is why I love being a pantser. If you’ve read the first book, you can see he can be a bit of a scene stealer, so I had to work hard at not letting him take over the story.
GLITTER: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
HEATHER: Even though I knew it might be an issue, I think the toughest criticism has been the reaction some readers have had to Quinn. In book one, she’s broken. She’s severely depressed, she sees demons, they manipulate and trick her, she thinks she’s going crazy, she doesn’t trust herself and because of that she doesn’t trust others. She’s unreliable, irrational, and does a lot of stupid things. I deliberately wrote her with a negative character arc, meaning that she ends up in a worse place than where she started and she takes others down with her. This was always my plan, to have the ending of book one be the catalyst for a big change in book two. Some call her weak and whiny, and they have a right to their opinion, but within the context of the story, she is acting exactly as she should. She is flawed and complex, and it worries me that we as a society look on those who are broken, especially woman, with such disdain. Do we scrutinize male characters in the same way?
GLITTER: As for the best compliment?
HEATHER: I would have to say one specific review in which the reader compared Pretty Dark Nothing to Stephen King’s Carrie. Wow, I can’t think of a better compliment than that.
GLITTER: What is one thing your fans might not know about you?
HEATHER: I love swords and daggers and spent time training in rapier/dagger, quarterstaff, broadsword and hand-to-hand for stage combat. At one time, I even considered pursuing a career as a fight choreographer.
GLITTER: What are you working on now?
HEATHER: I’m currently working on a dark fantasy set in an Iron Age society where the clans and the empire are at war, with thin threads of Beauty and the Beast woven in.
Heather L. Reid eats mayonnaise on her fries, loves men in kilts, and met her husband playing Star Wars Galaxies online. This native Texan now lives with her Scottish hubby in North Ayrshire, Scotland, where she wanders the moors in search of Heathcliff and William Wallace.
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