Author Crush Friday: Sally Green
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 Sally Green, author of Half Lost ( March 29, 2016; Viking Books for Young Readers). Thank you for talking to us today, Sally! We’re honored!
GLITTER: How would you describe Half Lost to a new reader?
SALLY: Half Lost is the final book in the Half Bad trilogy. Nathan who is half Black Witch and half White Witch has more destructive power than before and is increasingly violent and uncontrollable even towards his friend, Gabriel. Nathan must learn to control his Gifts if he wants to beat his enemies, the White Witches and hunt down Annalise, whom he blames for the death of his father. There’s violence, magic, love and spitting.
GLITTER: What three words would you use to describe this series?
SALLY: Edgy, violent, sweary (that’s a very British word).
GLITTER: Can you explain the witch factions to us a bit?
SALLY: The White witches are the good guys (or so they like to think) and they’ve driven the Black Witches out of Britain and are trying to do the same in Europe. Fighting against them are a group of Black and White Witches, The Alliance, including Nathan. Black Witches are individually more powerful than White witches but they are not that good at working together. The White Witches are winning the war because they are organised and really pretty much as ruthless and cruel as the Black witches. Nathan the hero of the book is a Half Code, half Black witch and half White witch, and he’s not trusted particularly by either side.
GLITTER: Was your writing in any way inspired by JK Rowling?
SALLY: Not consciously, though Nathan is a modern-day English witch with missing parents, but there are no wands, broomsticks and no school of witchcraft. The word wizard is never used in the Half Bad world as the witches are a female dominated society. Nathan doesn’t live in a cupboard under the stairs although he does spend a few years in a cage, a prisoner of the White witches.
The only area where I was conscious of a similarity to the Harry Potter books when I was writing HALF BAD was in the cast of characters as I have quite a lot and it was something I enjoyed about HP.
GLITTER: Does Half Lost appeal to everyone?
SALLY: I don’t think any book appeals to everyone. The HALF BAD trilogy is read by all ages not just teenagers and is read around the globe. I’m always amazed by the messages I get from fans – from South America to Thailand – but the messages are often the same – the readers connect with Nathan and understand his issues (he has a lot of issues).
GLITTER: Will we see your books on the big screen soon?
SALLY: I’ve now got a deal with a wonderful British film company and the script is being developed at the moment. So I’m hopeful that it will make it to the screen. I’m very excited about that.
GLITTER: What is the longest a fan has ever waited at a tour event to meet you?
SALLY: Gosh I’m not sure. I get really embarrassed that people wait for me – flattered but embarrassed The first time I did an event at Young Adult Literary Convention in London, there were people queuing for the signing for an hour before I’d started the talk – so they were waiting about two hours, I think. That was one of the first events I did so I was in shock.
GLITTER: What are you working on right now?
SALLY: Now I’ve finished the HALF BAD trilogy the answer has to be ‘not a trilogy’. I’m writing a stand alone book aimed at young adults but really the adult end of young. It’s about a boy, his friend, terrorism and spying.
Photo Credit: Mark Allan
ABOUT SALLY GREEN: Sally Green lives in north-west England. She has had various jobs and even a profession but in 2010 she discovered a love of writing and now just can’t stop. She used to keep chickens, makes decent jam, doesn’t mind ironing, loves to walk in Wales even when it’s raining, and will probably never jog again. She really ought to drink less coffee. She is the author of the Half Bad trilogy.
WHERE TO FIND HER:
Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio
