Carol Lynch Williams is a four-time winner of the Utah Original Writing Competition, Winner of Nebraska's Golden Sower Award, and a 2009 recipient of ALA's Best Books for Young Adults. She grew up in the heart of Florida's "Vacationland," Orlando, and went on to publish more than 20 titles. Her books include The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson, My Angelica, Christmas in Heaven, A Mother to Embarrass Me, and The Chosen One.
The Chosen One, her newest book is about thirteen-year-old Kyra, who has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters. That is, without questioning them much---if you don’t count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle---who already has six wives---Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.
Kirkus says The Chosen One is, “Intensely gripping and grippingly intense . . ."
and Booklist says it is “a heart pounder.”
We're really excited to have Carol here at Brotique, so let's get on with the interview!
Carol Lynch Williams
Neil Hughes: When did you realize you were a writer? Was it a choice or were you born a writer?
I have always been a writer, Neil. I started writing plays for my sister, cousins and me to star in when I was just old enough to spell things out. I wrote lots of short stories, too. When I was 16, I started the stories that wound up in my first novel, Kelly and Me. I've been writing like crazy all my life. I love to write. It causes joy and grief.
Jake Wyatt: Speaking of writing, do you write things like manicures off as work expenses?
Jake, I thought illustrators are like highly observant? I keep my nails torn down to the quick.
Jed Henry: Which of your books was most rewarding to write? And which of your children is your favorite? (They'll never read this.)
Wait till you have five daughters, Jed, then you will see that they are all your favorite. Kyra, who writes on the blog with me, insists, though, that I tell you she is my favorite daughter. As for books, hmmm. The one I wrestled a lot was The Chosen One. The novel that comes out this summer, Glimpse, is one that got me my agent, Steve Fraser. I have been through a googillion rewrites on that book. It has a lot of my life in it--in a weird that-is-not-my-life-at-all sort of way. Glimpse my daughters' fave. Sometimes the book I'm working on is my most rewarding. But the book I'm working on now is kicking my butt. So I don't love it much. However, I just started a book yesterday (I think) that I love already. It will be pretty dark, pretty sad. But I'm excited for it.
Neil Hughes: Where does the courage come from to write?
Neil, I kind of get these impressions that I have to put on the page. And when those come, I just write. I try not to think about what I put down. Mostly because if I did, I think I might not write. At least not some of it. Some adults are a bit horrified by my topics. Child abuse? An old man marrying a young girl? Child prostitution? So I can't think what others might think. I have to write for me. And rewrite for me. And re-rewrite for me (to the inth degree). Writing is hard. You have to create all these emotions with nothing but words. You don't get to use smells or sounds or colors. It's just your interpretation of something that you hope connects with a reader so they care.
Jake Wyatt: What is the most unlikely surface you have ever used to scribble down an idea?
I used to write short stories on the brown boxes that you pack ice cream sandwiches in. I worked in an ice cream factory. That's all that was available. Some of those stories wound up in my first novel. I know how you are. You thought I was going to say bank statements and napkins while I was England.
Jake Wyatt: Do you find some words to be indulgent and unnecessary?
Yes.
Do you ever indulge in such words?
Never.
Will Strong: If you could ride any mythological creature, which would it be? (THE most important question of this interview.)
This is a way important question. I guess I'd have to choose the mythical Mercedes S400 Hybrid Sedan. It rolls in at about $90,000. I'd pick a gorgy blue since I couldn't see any other colors that I would love.
Will Strong: If you had a large catapult, what would you aim it at, and what would you load it with?
Do I only get one choice? Only one throw with the catapult? Because after the Haiti earthquake I would have sent food and water over to the people who needed it. But if this is for selfish reasons, I might have a Chic-Fil-Et sent to me from the Orem mall to my house. Along with a yummy drink. Or I might be catapulted from here to NY so I could visit with my editors and agent and friends. If it was fast (but not too fast) and there was a promised safe landing. :) Or I might catapult the druggie next door to a detox facility. Hmmm. I can think of lots of reasons to use a catapult.
Neil Hughes: When did you first realize the difference between guys and men? Where do Bros fit in? (We're still trying to figure that out.)
There's a difference between guys and men? I'm still trying to figure out the difference between writers and illustrators. You Bros are pretty cool. Even if you won't let me join the cast.
Links to Carol Lynch Williams online:
www.foryoungreaders.com (the conference I'm working on)
www.throwingupwords.wordpress.com (the blog I share with Ann Dee Ellis and Kyra Leigh Williams) - Join us for a writing marathon
become my Friend on Facebook