*Note, while I will try to avoid major spoilers, I sometimes won't be able to help it.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Interview with Kimberly Pauley, Author of "Ask Me"


What was the hardest part of writing Ask Me?

The ending. I wrote it probably five different ways (including one where some pretty drastic stuff happened). Which leads me to your next question...

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in Ask Me?

The ending. Now, don’t get me wrong, the version of the ending that became the final version is one I am happy with but, like with every book, you always want to keep fiddling with it. You can’t help it! Every book is like that. I think I would perhaps make the ending in ASK ME a bit longer, but then again, sometimes it’s good to not know every detail.
Other than that, there was one scene that was cut that I would have liked to have kept. My agent had me tone it down and then my editor had me cut it completely. I absolutely am okay with how it all worked out and the reasoning behind why it had to go, but it is a scene that I really liked (in a horrible sort of way...it was one of the hardest ones to write). Maybe some day I will post it online or send it out to my newsletter subscribers.


Do you write an outline before every book you write? If not, what method(s) do you use?

Yes, I do. It’s not a very detailed outline and often pretty sketchy, but I have to have something to hang my hat on, so to speak. I’m trying out notecards on the book I’m working on now, but I think I’ll probably wind up going back to my normal outline formatted way of doing things, just like I used to do in school.

Where do you write best?

I mostly write out and about in cafes and pubs around my neighborhood (Notting Hill area) in London. Farther afield, I also go to the British Library and hang out around the Baker Street Tube station (you know, where Sherlock lives).

What are you currently reading?

The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by M.G. Buehrlen, a writer friend of mine, and the lady I turned YA Books Central over to when I quit running it. It is her first book and I’m so excited for her. And it’s a great book!



Kimberly Pauley is the award-winning author of Sucks to Be Me, which was honored on the YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list, and a paranormal mystery starring an oracle, called Ask Me. Born in California, she has lived everywhere from Florida to Chicago and has now gone international to live in London with her husband and son. She is also the founder of YA Books Central, one of the first and largest teen book websites in the world. Visit her online!


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