An Interview with Kyra O'Reilly (Author of Switch)
Ahoy!
Switch is the product of co-authors (and sisters!) Kyra and Stacey O'Reilly, who both contribute to their blog.
I am excited to have Kyra join me today to celebrate the release of Switch! Thank you so much for joining me!
Be sure to check out the book on Amazon and say hello at her blog!
Be sure to check out the book on Amazon and say hello at her blog!
Kyra: Like any normal English person, Kyra spends her time drinking tea and littering her conversations with dry wit and sarcasm. By day, she is a content writer, and by night... she is also a writer, just one that writes about the worlds inside her head instead of the one around her. Kyra also enjoys making jokes about how vertically challenged she is, photography, watching movies and reading as many books as humanly possible.
Stacey grew up in a small village in Hampshire, UK, where she spent her childhood terrorising her parents with god-awful writing, including some particularly terrible poetry she would rather just forget existed. Thankfully, she has much improved. She enjoys expressing her creativity through jewellery-making, drawing, singing badly at everyone in hearing distance and writing.
Can you share a brief introduction to Switch with us?
Two girls, worlds apart, connected by fate. When Evie tries to find a better life for herself, it has disastrous consequences for Eryn, who wakes up to find herself in a dangerous alternate reality. She finds herself caught up in a conspiracy and running for her life. Can she survive long enough to find her way home?
How easy was it to coordinate as a co-author. Would you recommend it?
As I wrote this book with my sister, it was fairly easy to co-ordinate. Really, the book is split into two worlds and two points of view, and we each chose a protagonist to write. We made sure that we knew our characters inside out so that each of them had a distinct voice. Even though she is my sister, I have to say it was still difficult to collaborate, and to many starting out, I would say do it on your own so you know your story back to front.
Do you have future ambitions that include writing?
My life is writing, so I have every intention of carrying on. The second part of the duology is currently in the works, and I have plenty more ideas in my notebook just waiting to get out.
Which book/s got you into reading and writing?
The books that really stick in my mind are the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. They truly opened up my mind to how books could be, because they were complex, they talked about important issues, and they were in other worlds. These books turned me into a lifelong fan of fantasy, sci-fi and YA fiction, and the more I read, the more I wanted to write it myself.
Are any characters inspired by people you know?
Oddly enough, I wasn’t inspired by anyone. My characters just kind of popped up into my head. I did take from other charcters that I have read about, but not actually the people around me. I found it difficult, but ultimately worthwhile, and for me the characters feel real enough. Maybe in the future I might take inspiration from people that I know.
How long did the process of writing it take?
Altogether the book has taken the best part of two years, however, most of that was in the redrafting phase and the beta reading phase. The actual writing took perhaps half a year, perhaps less. It’s been a long wait, but it’s been worth it.
What were the biggest challenges of bringing the story to life? How did you overcome them?
I found the creation of my characters the most challenging, just because I was always trying to make them more realistic, more rounded, and to give them goals and separate ideas. Getting though that was simple enough once I had done some research on the subject.
Which three books would you recommend?
A difficult one! For so many it depends on taste. I have loved The Book Thief by Markus Zusack for a long time, and if you like history and a tiny sprinkling of otherness, this is for you. Anything Joanne Harris writes that is food related has to be on this list, but if I am choosing one, it should be Five Quarters of the Orange. Can I recommend mine? I think I will. If you like something loosely based on alternate realities with theories founded in déjà vu and psychology, and a little bit of dystopia thrown in... you’ll like Switch.
How did you come up with the title?
The title needed to be quick and simple, but it also needed to sum up what the book was about as a whole. Switch is just that; simply telling the story at its base level. Two girls whose lives are Switched over.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Don’t give up and work through the problems, even if it’s in tiny steps. As long as you write something, the story will grow into something you will be proud of.
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| Kyra's Goodreads Page |
////////// Quote of the post //////////
"Hardwork beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" - Tim Notke
Thank you for having me!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was great interviewing you!
DeleteThis book sounds really interesting :) I love how you and your sister both wrote the different parts, I think that will really add individual voices to the characters :)
ReplyDeletelots of love, Marianne xxx
http://myhappybubblexx.blogspot.co.uk/