Author Interview: Caroline Green

To celebrate the up-and-coming UKYA Extravaganza event which is taking place on Saturday 28th February at Birmingham High Street Waterstones, I’ve been given the opportunity to interview brilliant YA author Caroline Green. Caroline is one of 35 fantastic authors who will be appearing at the event (you can find out more about it on the YA Birmingham blog.) I was delighted that I got to quiz Caroline and I LOVE the sound of her books, so naturally I couldn’t wait to find out more about them, ask her where she gets her ideas from and – of course – get the low down on UKYA…

UKYA Extravaganza

Hello Caroline. A huge, warm welcome to Bookaholic Confessions! Thank you so much for participating in this interview. Would you like to start by introducing yourself…?

Why hello, Bookaholic Confessions! Thanks so much for inviting me over today. (I like what you’ve done with the place .)

I guess I’ve been attempting to put words in some sort of meaningful order for twenty odd years, as a journalist and then more recently as a writer of teenage fiction. It’s a job that drives me mad and makes me happy in fairly equal measure! I do lots of work in schools now too, teaching creative writing to teens, and I love it.

Can you tell us a bit about your latest novel, Fragments (released 6^th March 2014 with Piccadilly Press)?

Fragments is set in 2025 and is written from the point of view of a 15-year-old girl called Kyla, who is on the run from oppressive, brainwashing authorities. She’s been on the streets since she was little and can look after herself. Now though, she has been mixed up with a resistance organisation and is in more danger than she has ever faced before.

Fragments is actually the follow on to the hugely successful Cracks. For those of us who are yet to read Cracks can you bring us up to speed on what’s been happening?

Cracks is about a boy called Cal, who makes a horrifying discovery about his life after seeing cracks appearing in ceilings and walls. He finds out he has basically been living a lie for his entire life and nothing is it seemed. He meets Kyla (the main character in Fragments) and becomes close to her, but must get to the bottom of something that happened when he was a child in order to keep control over his own mind.

I love the synopsis for Fragments. It sounds like a really exciting, thrilling adventure of a story. Where do you get your ideas from?

Thank you! Sometimes the initial spark of an idea comes to me very clearly in a particular moment. For example, I was brushing my teeth one morning and idly looking at a crack in one of our bathroom tiles. I found myself imagining what it would be like to see it split the whole ceiling in two and then I thought, ‘What would it be like if it was only me who could see it?’ And then I sort of went, ‘Ooh!’

Now I must ask you about UKYA Extravaganza. You’re one of the amazing 35 authors taking part in the event. Can you tell us a bit more about it and how you came to be on board?

The initial idea came from Kerry Drewery and Emma Pass was on board soon after. I know Emma online and when she was talking about this a little I knew I wanted to be a part of it!

What can ticket holders expect from UKYA Extravaganza?

Tons of great readings, lots of milling and chatting…plus there are rumours about cake.

What are you most looking forward to at the event?

I’m the biggest, nerdiest reader I know and I like nothing better than mixing with other people who love books as much as I do. It’s always a real treat to meet readers plus I’m looking forward also to meeting some of the writers in real life for the first time. The YA world is really vibrant online so it will great to put names to some faces!

Who are your favourite YA authors and what books do you enjoy reading?

So many of the other guests rank among my favourites and are too numerous to name but I’m also a really big fan of Marcus Sedgwick. I read such a lot that I feel miserable and out of sorts if I’m not enjoying something. I could no more give up reading than give up, well, eating cake!

And finally – can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on at the moment?

Well, I’ve actually just finished something entirely different… an adult thriller! I haven’t decided what my next writing project will be after this, so watch this space!

A huge thank you to Caroline for participating in this interview & to Kerry Drewery for having me on board the blog tour.♥

Click here to get hold of your copy of Cracks and Fragments.

ukya extravaganza