Need by Carrie Jones

NEED

by Carrie Jones

Paranormal Young Adult
Bloomsbury
www.CarrieJonesBooks.com

5 Signed Copies will be given away on February 20, 2009






About the Book:

Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

Check out exclusive author interview with Carrie Jones!

1) On the back of the book it says, “Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks.” I’m curious. What does it mean to “collect phobias?” Is it like a stamp collection?

Well, yeah…I guess you could compare it to a stamp collection only:
1. They aren’t stamps
2. You can’t actually hold phobias in your hands
3. You also can’t sell phobias on EBay.
4. Or lick them

But she does collect phobias. They’re sort of a mental collection though. Zara finds phobias kind of intriguing and she chants the names of phobias to herself when she gets scared. She thinks (and so do I) that sometimes if you can name something scary it lets you control it a little bit more. It makes you acknowledge it and then work beyond it. Plus, the fact that other people might be afraid of balloons or earrings or ear wax makes her feel better about her own fears. The naming of fears makes her realize that other people are neurotic too.

2) In your book you explore the legend of pixies. But your pixies are not nice and cute like Tinkerbell; they’re actually quite scary. Why did you choose to go that route?

Pixies in Victorian folklore aren’t cute and Disneyfied like Tinkerbell. They could be really nasty. Some could be helpful to people. I like the dichotomy there between those two types of pixies and that comes into play in the sequel.

I started out with the nasty kind of pixies because it was a lot scarier to write about fae that had uncontrollable needs and were a sinister presence in the Maine woods. It’s hard to get too scared of Tinkerbell, unless you have a phobia about tiny females who have a hankering for Peter Pan.

3) What’s your greatest “Need” as a writer? What about as just a regular person?

Oh boy. This is quite the go-into-the-soul-of-Carrie question.

I think my greatest need as a writer is to feel like I’ve gone somewhere with my book; like I’ve made something with my story. I am always terrified that I’ll fall flat. So maybe my greatest need is to feel that or else to be medicated enough that I don’t have to worry.

My greatest need as a person is to feel like I’m doing something for good. I know that sounds like I’m a superhero or something who has been tempted by the greed and riches of dark side and will soon leave the Justice League. What I mean, though, is that I am pretty miserable if I feel like I’m not making the world a little bit better somehow. I need to feel that way to be happy. And, um, I need food and water too or else I’d die.

Maybe I should just say nourishment or something?

4) Your previous books have had some fantastic titles, LOVE (AND OTHER USES FOR DUCT TAPE) and TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (EX) BOYFRIEND. (Kudos on all the clever use of parenthesis, btw!) And then there’s NEED. Short but extremely effective. What comes first for you? The title or the story?

I am VERY bad at titles. The other books (plus GIRL, HERO, which has an interesting comma placement but alas no parenthesis) are all my publisher’s titles that were created at a marketing meeting with my editor. This was necessary because my titles were so very awful… cringe worthy really.

NEED is the only title that was actually mine.

I usually name documents after the main character. So NEED was ZARA and TIPS was BELLE. I usually only find the title when I’m 3/4ths of the way through the book’s first draft. So, story always comes first.

5) I’m so excited that there’s going to be a sequel. What’s it called?

Right now the sequel to NEED is called (originally enough) SEQUEL.

See!?! That’s how awful I am at titles.


About the Author:

CARRIE JONES is an award-winning author who recently graduated from Vermont College’s MFA program. She is the author of the YA novels Girl, Hero; Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape); and Tips on Having a Gay (ex)Boyfriend, which was nominated for a YALSA Quick Pick and won the Maine Literary Award. Carrie lives in Ellsworth, Maine. Visit her website at: www.CarrieJonesBooks.com

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