Tenner Tuesday with Dia Reeves!

1. Where did you get the inspiration for Bleeding Violet?

What is this inspiration? I was just thinking about insane asylums one day and decided it would be neat to write a novel about a crazy girl--one who hallucinates, cuz I dig hallucinations--who moves to a town with lots of monsters. Monsters are

also digable.

2. What was the writing process like for you?

Dreadful. It took two and a half years to write BV. Of course, I was goofing around half the time so that might have made a difference. I wrote over thirty different drafts trying to get the thing to make sense. I finally whipped it into shape though--I'm nothing if not persistent.

3. When did you start writing Bleeding Violet?

I started it during National Novel Writing Month in 2005. Can't wait until November so I can sign up again!

4. How did you pick your main characters' names?

Hanna Järvinen is the main character. She's Finnish, on her dad's side, which is why her name looks like that. I can't remember why I named her mother Rosalee--I think Rosalee named herself--but Hanna's love interest is named Wyatt Ortiga. Ortiga is Spanish for stinging nettle, which I thought was cool as Wyatt is not to be handled lightly.

5. Is there going to be a sequel or prequel?

Nah. I'm not into sequels, but the book I'm working on now takes place in the same world as BV. It's a disturbing world--lots of scope for the imagination.

6. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing when I was nine or ten. I used to write stories about Fantastica from The Neverending Story--loved that book! But when I was thirteen, I read It by Stephen King. It's about a million pages long, and I cried at the end of it because it ended too soon. Even after that millionth page, I wanted to know what happened next. I felt so attached to those characters that I didn't want to leave them, and I remember thinking how cool it would be to make someone feel that way about something *I'd* written.

7. What song best fits Bleeding Violet?

It's a tie between "Gloomy Sunday" by Billie Holiday and "I'll Stay"

by Funkadelic. "Gloomy Sunday" is this old jazz song about a woman who dreams about killing herself after her man dies. Hanna feels like the woman in the song, only about her mother Rosalee because, except for her mother, Hanna is all alone in the world.

I also like "I'll Stay" though, because of these lyrics: "I'll stay, for she'll be coming back. You know her head went out to play--she'll get over that." Sometimes Hanna's not all there in the head, but she always snaps out of it. Eventually.

8. Which writer influenced you the most?

Stephen King, for sure. With a little Anne Rice and Laura Kinsale thrown in for good measure.

9. Are you writing anything right now?

Yep. This book called Strange Fruit (I stole the title from another Billie Holiday song.) Here's the logline if you're curious: two outcast sisters--daughters of a notorious serial killer--decide to put their murderous genes, and latent powers, to good use by only killing people who deserve it. I'm hoping to be finished with it before the next nanowrimo. *fingers crossed*

10. Any advice for future writers?

Unless you're slightly insane, unafraid of rejection, and love finding new ways to describe people's smiles, I would suggest that all you future writers go to medical school.

Thanks so much Dia!