A Dream Within A Dream: Scripted Blog Tour: Interview

Hey everybody! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Scripted by Maya Rock! Read on for more info on the book and check out my interview with Maya!!

Scripted

Author: Maya Rock

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia/Thriller

Release Date: February 5, 2015

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Description:

Reality TV has a dark future in this thought-provoking thriller

To the people suffering on the war-torn mainland, Bliss Island seems like an idyllic place. And it is: except for the fact that the island is a set, and the islanders’ lives are a performance. They’re the stars of a hit TV show, Blissful Days—Characters are adored by mainland viewers, yet in constant danger of being cut if their ratings dip too low. And no one really knows what happens to cut Characters.

Nettie Starling knows she’s been given the chance of a lifetime when a producer offers suggestions to help her improve her mediocre ratings—especially when those suggestions involve making a move on the boy she’s been in love with for years. But she'll soon have to decide how far she's willing to go to keep the cameras fixed on her. . . especially when she learns what could happen to her if she doesn't.

1. What inspired you to write Scripted?

Interest in reality television, wanting an exciting plot, interest in how societies shape people. Also, as a challenge, to see if I could write a novel.

2. Are any of the characters based off of people you know or yourself?

Good question. Some are and some aren’t. Some are like Frankensteins, composites. Some started out wholly original and then I read it back and realized they were like people I knew. I was terrified from the beginning that I was like Nettie, just because of my experience as a literary agent working with debut authors and their main characters, so I chose some things that were a million miles away from me (good at math, quiet) to avoid that.

3. Did you have to do any special research while writing the book?

Some but not much. There was a whole lock-picking sequence that I don’t even think made it into the final, that took so long to figure out. I also always have to look up materials. I don’t really have an extensive material vocabulary.

4. Favorite book?

Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys.

5. Any tips for aspiring writers?

I don’t know, I’ve been relating to the Sam Smith song “Money on My Mind” a lot and find some solace and wisdom there. I do believe that if writing is painful or you’re not getting what you want out of it, it’s a good idea to take a step back and get in touch with why you’re doing it. Because the work is done in so much solitude, often with little outside validation, I think it can be dispiriting, when you analyze too much what’s going on. But I try to make sure I’m having fun and remind myself that as long as I have fun, it wasn’t time “wasted.”

6. What's up next for you?

I’m working on a second book, in its infancy, so I don’t think it makes sense to talk about it in-depth. It’s not a sequel to Scripted.

Thanks for stopping by to answer my questions Maya!

I'm a freelance writer and editor living in NYC. Scripted is my first book.

I went through a reality TV junkie phase and was intrigued by its evolution--from seeming somewhat authentic to totally scripted. I started out with the idea of teens on a show who received individual ratings marks and would be cut if if those marks fell too low. Then I moved to the idea of two girls, one who finds it effortless to keep her ratings up and one for whom its quite difficult. Everything else grew out of that, not necessarily in the most straightforward way. (Author bio and photo taken from Goodreads)

Author Links:

http://maya-rock.com/

http://www.twitter.com/mayaalexrock

https://www.facebook.com/RockEditorialServices

http://www.pinterest.com/mayarock/