Interview: Lauren Oliver

Lauren about herself: I grew up in Westchester, New York and live in Brooklyn now, which I believe is the happiest place on earth. I love to write, read, cook, and totter around in improbably high heels. My favorite things are: friends who make you laugh until you think you might pee; great food you can eat with your hands; and long summer nights, preferably spent on a beach. My least favorite things are bananas and people who tell you your ideas are bad or impossible. Boring!

Make sure to visit  www.laurenoliverbooks.com

 

Hello Lauren,

welcome to Miss Page-Turner’s City of Books. I am not only excited to have you here, because this is my very first interview (don’t tell anyone) but because I immediately fell in love with your newest novel DELIRIUM! 

Your newest novel DELIRIUM, which is part of a trilogy, was released on February 1st, 2011. DELIRIUM is about a society which considers love as a disease that needs to be cured, nothing I’ve ever seen or read about before… How did you come up with this unique idea? 

The idea for DELIRIUM came from an essay I read by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in which he wrote that all great books were about love or death. The next day I was thinking about that quote--particularly about how and in what form a modern love story could be told--while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I was simultaneously watching a news story about a flu outbreak that had everyone freaking out about the possibility of a pandemic, and I was kind of marvelling that people so easily go into panics about reports of these diseases, and at some point the two trains of thought--love, and disease--just sort of combined in my head.

In how far was writing DELIRIUM different to writing BEFORE I FALL?

Strangely, it wasn’t that different. No matter what you’re writing about, the process is the same—the struggle to understand the characters, to balance dynamism of action with depth of description and characterization, the everyday inner fight between a need to work and a desire to do anything but work.

Do you have any food/ drink/music/special something that supports you during your writing process?

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. I’m an addict! I’ve been drinking coffee every day since I was about twelve. It never stunted my growth, though.

What do you like most about being a writer?

That I get to work from my pajamas, in bed! No, I mean, writing is something very necessary to my emotional and psychological wellbeing. The fact that I get paid to do something so meaningful to me is mind-blowing.

If you were imprisoned, no way to get out there yourself, which literary hero would you want to rescue you?

The Count of Monte Cristo. He knows all about busting out of prisons, and he’s hot and rich. Granted, he has a slight revenge fetish, but I could get over it.

So you wouldn’t need that hero to rescue you, what special super power would you like to have?

The ability to immediately transport myself from one place to another.

You love your readers because…?

They are brilliant, passionate, creative, and dedicated. And because they’re so pretty and nice!

I loved DELIRIUM so much I could write down half of it and mark it as my favourite quote. Do you have a favourite quote or would like to tell us about a favourite character/chapter?

I am quite proud of the very last paragraph of Delirium. I actually wrote it first, so I would know where the story had to go. I can’t share it here—it gives too much away!

 

Are there any songs that could describe the atmosphere, actions and feelings of  DELIRIUM? Do you have a kind of playlist?

Yes! I actually made a playlist for Amazon that is posted here. You should check it out if you’re looking for new music!

A typical day in your life would include…?

Lots of writing, and about seven cups of coffee. A break to take a run or do Pilates, a solid soundtrack of Britney Spears and country songs (don’t ask), and a big dinner—either at home or at a restaurant—with friends or my boyfriend. It would also include receiving an email pic of my father’s dog—my dad sends me one every day.

What is your rewarding after a successful day of writing?

Um, if I have a successful day of writing, that IS my reward. Trust me--it doesn’t happen that often. Writing, yes. Successful writing…not so much.

Besides re-reading DELIRIUM over and over again, have you got other book recommendations to help us surviving the long wait for PANDEMONIUM, the sequel to DELIRIUM?

Eh, no, you should just watch TV. KIDDING! There are so many great books out there right now, and a ton of books hitting the shelves soon that I’m excited about. I hear DIVERGENT, which comes out this spring, is very cool; I love Incarceron, and I’m a fan of The Replacement as well. My friend Elizabeth Miles has a really scary book coming out in the fall called FURY. On a totally different note/genre, I just read Anna and The French Kiss and was very much charmed by it.

Is there anything you always wanted to say in an interview but never have? Now is the time…

I LOVE PICKLES!!!! Okay, so I haven’t always wanted to say that, but it’s true that nobody has ever asked me in an interview whether or not I like pickles.

Thank you so much for this interview! It was the best first interview I can think of, I had a lot of fun!

Want to know what I think about DELIRIUM? Read my review of it here !