Author Interview: Katie Alender

Katie Alender is the author of Bad Girls Don't Die which was released in April 09. Without further ado, I present Katie Alender!

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I started writing stories in third grade, but it wasn't until well after I graduated from college and was working in the entertainment industry that I realized I was still fascinated by the process of creating worlds and characters. I started sort of offhandedly working on a book, but gave that one up after 100 pages of nothing happening. Then I started writing "Bad Girls Don't Die." On a trip, I randomly happened to grab a paperback of Stephen King's "On Writing," and that's when it hit me that I wanted to finish the book... although it was much later that I set about getting it published.

How did you come up with the title?

The title was actually a bit of a joke. The original title was "The Girl Least Likely," which the folks at Hyperion were lukewarm on. They basically felt it was a good title for a different book, and that this book needed something that conveyed the spooky elements. I had no idea that people would respond so well to what was basically a joke created out of my sense of frustration over not being able to come up with anything.

What books have influenced your life most?
Kathleen Norris' "The Cloister Walk" has influenced my state of mind; Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" has influenced how I eat; Stephen King's "On Writing" made me a writer (by making me write); and countless works of fiction, notably anything by Jane Austen, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, and the YA writing I read when I was a YA--Paula Danziger especially.

What was the hardest part of writing Bad Girls Don’t Die?

Every time there was a change, it seemed to trickle down through the whole story. So if one character said ABC instead of XYZ, then I had to go through the whole book to make sure that XYZ was gone. I tried very hard to make the mystery layered, which made it a lot of work to revise. But it was rewarding!

What’s the most positive comment a reader has said about your book?

Well, someone on Twitter said it was her favorite book of all time, which is amazing to read. But in general, I get the warm fuzzies when I read people's reactions to Alexis. Readers are totally reading her the way I hoped they would--not as a bad girl, but as a good girl who got stuck in a bad pattern.

Almost everything I've read has been wonderful. Even the criticism is thoughtful and well presented. I find myself able to understand where reviewers are coming from, because they really do invest themselves in the book.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I'm an avid quilter. I love to make quilts for babies and dogs. I also like hanging out with my husband and friends. We're very west coast--we do a lot of hanging out!

Where do you hope to take your writing in the future?
Great question! I would love to build a career with a fanbase and readership that knows and likes the characters I write and is always happy to see a new book of mine on the shelves.

Is there any additional information that you would like to share with the readers?
I'd love for people to check out my website and read some of the supplemental materials I've put together. I'm quite proud (maybe a little too proud) of my "author commentary", which is a list of my little inside jokes and notes throughout the book. There are also materials for book clubs. I hope some of those things help people to connect with the material even more.
And also, a very warm thank you to anyone who takes time out of their life to read my book. It's such an honor. You have no idea!

Thanks so much for having me as a guest!

Thanks Katie!

For more information about Katie Alender and her books, check out her website here.