Author Crush Friday with Carol Riggs
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 Carol Riggs, author of The Body Institute ( Entangled Teen; September 1, 2015). Thank you for talking to us today, Carol! We’re honored!
GLITTER: For those who haven’t read your work yet, how would you describe your writing style?
CAROL: I think my writing may be more simple or straightfoward than lyrical, but I do love to include metaphors and figures of speech; it’s what makes writing fun. I love combining sounds and the rhythms of words. I also love infusing humor, although like beauty, humor is often in the eye of the beholder. For me, a book should be more than just drama, adrenaline, and tension—it should also have parts woven in that make the reader smile or giggle.
GLITTER: What is the main plot of The Body Institute?
CAROL: Set in the near-future roughly 20 years from now, Morgan Dey is 17 and keen on making a difference in her world. Getting a job at The Body Institute helps her do just that. There, not only does she have a way to make money to help her grandfather pay his bills, but she can become a Reducer to lose weight for other people. Thanks to cutting-edge technology, the Institute temporarily places Morgan’s mind into the bodies of other teens. Once Morgan gets her clients into shape, she’s downloaded back into her own body. It’s a perfect way to help others lose weight. Or…is it?
GLITTER: If you had to describe The Body Institute in only 160 characters, how would you describe it?
CAROL: When Morgan accepts a job as a Reducer at The Body Institute, she discovers she may have more to lose than the 100 pounds she signed up for.
GLITTER: What one message would you like readers to walk away with when they’re done reading The Body Institute?
CAROL: I’d like readers to walk away with a new appreciation of their own bodies, as well as of other people’s bodies. Often we make snap judgments (both positive and negative) of ourselves and others based on appearance, assuming certain things about them—especially as it relates to weight. In our minds, a slender figure often equals someone more popular, attractive, desirable, sexy, worthy, friendly, driven, industrious, or successful. It’d be great to challenge those first assumptions and see past each other’s outer appearance to the real person inside. As Morgan says in The Body Institute while she’s being a Reducer: “Am I less of a person because I weigh more?”
GLITTER: How would you describe your characters in The Body Institute? Who is your favorite character and why?
CAROL: I have an unusually intact family unit in this novel. Morgan’s parents are happily married, and also supportive. Morgan is emotionally close to Granddad, who also shares her family’s apartment in a high-rise megacomplex. She has two best friends, and discovers romance during the course of the book. Her client is Jodine Kowalczyk, whom she learns more about by literally walking in her shoes. Not surprisingly, my favorite character is the main character, Morgan. Morgan’s heart is kind, even though she makes mistakes. She’s strong, resilient. Brave. She pushes herself into new territories even when it might be risky, because of her love of her family and her desire to help others. She also has integrity, a sense of what is right and fair and just.
GLITTER: What genre do you prefer writing?
CAROL: As a catch-all, speculative genres. This includes science-fiction, fantasy, and magical realism (described as contemporary with a twist of magic or other weirdness). I love exploring “what ifs” and new worlds. Basically, I like being creative and making stuff up.
GLITTER: What do you think is one of the most heated topics of today?
CAROL: Appearance. Hollywood and magazines often portray or imply a certain set of standards about how we look as females. Perfectly blushed cheeks, long thick lashes, glossy hair, and a tall, slender figure. This can set up an impossible standard for those who don’t meet the standard criteria for being “attractive.” This skewed standard, sadly, affects self-image. As females, we don’t feel thin enough, pretty enough, or worthy enough. I think the BEST way to be attractive is to have a warm personality that shines out through your face, an inner beauty that has nothing to do with your weight, height, body build, or the shape of your nose.
GLITTER: What one piece of advice could you give any teen going through difficult times now?
CAROL: Hang in there as best you can, and seek out support from parents, teachers, friends, counselors, and God. Don’t go through it alone; connect with those you trust. I’ve experienced black phases in my life, and although times like that are tough, usually the blackness does end and the sun does come out afterward. Sometimes you have to wait for it, but it’s worth it.
GLITTER: What are you currently working on?
CAROL: I’m trying my hand at a science-fiction novel for tweens/younger teens (ages 10-13). I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s similar to writing fantasy—which I also love writing—in that there is a lot of creative worldbuilding.
Carol Riggs lives in the beautiful green state of Oregon, USA. She enjoys reading, drawing and painting, writing conferences, walking with her husband, and enjoying music and dance of all kinds. You will usually find her in her writing cave, surrounded by her dragon collection and the characters in her head.
FIND THE AUTHOR HERE: @Artzicarol Facebook Website Good Reads
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