Author Interview: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Today we have two very special visitors here at TCM: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl!
We're less than ten days before BC's released, but several bookstores already have the book for sale, thanks to the amazing Amazon!

Enjoy the interview!
There are some very interesting things to learn about these two!

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We’re less than a month away from the release of Beautiful Creatures. I’m sure you’re being asked this a lot these days, but, how are you feeling? Nervous?

Kami: The book hit the stores early, which was a total surprise. I think I’m still in shock. I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember, but I never imagined seeing my name on a book at the bookstore. And I love seeing pictures of people with the book on Twitter and our Ning.
Margie: The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, but we’ve felt so much support from the YA community. We would be a mess without you guys! And seeing the book on the shelves is still a shock. Signing them is even stranger! I feel like I’m ruining all these books by writing my name in them.

This is something I’m really intrigued by. What was it like to write a book between the two of you? How long have you two known each other? Did this make it easier?

Kami: We met when Margie’s oldest daughter was in my third grade class. And yes, being friends for so long before we were writing partners has made everything easier.
Margie: We really trust each other, which helps. And these are big, sprawling books; I think we’d have gone crazy if we tried this huge project alone.

How important were the Caster Girls in the process of writing BC?

Kami: There wouldn’t be a book without them, so they are pretty important. The Caster Girls are the teens in our lives that inspired us to write Beautiful Creatures.
Margie: Dared us actually. They’re the reason we kept writing.
Kami: We turned in pages to them every week, like serialized fiction. In twelve weeks, we had a book.
Margie: The CGs were also involved in the editing process. They read our drafts, tore them to shreds, and ultimately made them better.

Did they help you put together Ethan’s Playlist? Or you did that by yourselves?

Kami: We made the playlist. We have to have some surprises for the Caster Girls.
Margie: Although Caster Girl 25 has a Music Tuesday feature on www.castergirls.com that is pretty rockin’ in its own right.

What drove you to create a Gatlin for BC?

Kami: Gatlin is not a real city, but it’s situated in a real part of South Carolina.
Margie: But Gatlin’s not so different than many small towns, in and out of the South. Both of our grandmothers grew up in small towns, and we wanted to capture the charm and magic and, well, smallness of a town like that. Good and bad.
Kami: We named the town Gatlin after my cousin Anna. It was her maiden name, and she has a lot of spitfire, like Gatln.

Another thing that intrigues me is Lena’s necklace. I’m pretty sure there’s something magical about it. Without giving away too much, could you tell us something about it?

Kami: Without giving away too much…Lena’s necklace is a collection of things that are special to her.
Margie: Everything on her necklace is a memory, something she doesn’t want to forget. Because she’s moved around so much, she keeps her memories with on her person.
Kami: We each have one. We made them after we finished the book. In the BC trailer, by VLC Productions, the “Lena” in the photos is wearing Margie’s necklace.

Kami & Margie
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Thanks girls for the awesome interview!

Here are some cool links to keep exploring the wonderful world of Beautiful Creatures:

• The Beautiful Creatures Website, you definitely have to check this one out, it's amazing, and purple!,
• The BC Blog,
  
• The BC Ning Site, where you'll find some of the coolest BC fans,
• Kami's Blog,
• Margie's Blog, they're both great bloggers!,
• The Caster Girls' Website,
• The BC Facebook,
• And a lot more at the BC Website, so gogogo!

There's one more thing I wanted to share with y'all before I wrap this up:
K&M are holding some pretty cool contests over at the BC Blog:
CONTEST #1: CREATE A MUSIC VIDEO FOR “SIXTEEN MOONS"
CONTEST #2: CREATE A CD COVER FOR “SIXTEEN MOONS"

There are very cool prizes for the winners: for the 1st Contest there'll be 4 winners, and for the 2nd, 5 winners!
(And there are several ways of entering in the 1st one).

I'll definitely be entering in the 2nd one, creating a cover for "16 Moons"!
I'll keep you updated ;)

Thanks for reading!
Ella