Author Interview: Lisa Ann Sandell

We've got another Lisa visiting! Today I welcome Lisa Ann Sandell to the Shady Glade. Lisa is the author of Song Of The Sparrow , The Weight of the Sky, and the newly released A Map Of The Known World. Here's my interview with Lisa, with my questions in bold:

Do you have a favorite word?

Sneaked!

Some of your books are written in free verse and some are regular prose. Is it hard to switch between the two writing styles?

Writing in free verse seems to come more naturally to me than does prose. I had written my first two books in verse, and it was definitely a challenge for me to write the latest one, A Map Of The Known World, in prose. But I don't think that switching back and forth was necessarily the hard part; rather: just stringing together words in such a sequence that they sound nice.

What’s your funniest author moment?

I think my funniest author moment has to be when I was filming the Scholastic Book Fair author video for Song Of The Sparrow. The producers took me to Belvedere Castle in the middle of Central Park at night in the middle of winter. It was freezing and the whole place was covered with ice and snow. It was beautiful and sort of dreamy--the sky turned a deep scarlet and the castle was lit up to feel very otherworldly. But the sky had turned red because another huge snowstorm was on the way. And so there I was walking in circles around the castle, trying to sound intelligent and talk about all things Arthurian, while freezing my butt off, trying not to slip and fall down, and waiting to get smacked with a giant snowstorm.

Sounds like some of my college projects in Idaho. You've also done a lot of travelling. What’s your favorite travel destination?

This is a tough question. I've been really lucky and gotten to travel to different parts of the world, and I've enjoyed almost all of the places I've visited, but they're all so spectacularly different, it's hard to pick a favorite. I loved Mongolia, for its vast emptiness and wild beauty. And I love Spain--it's so beautiful and rich and bright and hot and romantic. I guess those would be my two favorite destinations. Can I pick two?

Sure! I would have a hard time deciding between those as well. Well, I guess I would need to visit both first. :) You mention in your FAQs that your love of Arthurian legends was partly your inspiration for Song Of The Sparrow. Do you think you’re done with those characters, or do you think you’ll return to that mythology to write another book?

I don't think I'm done. I love the stories and the characters so much, and I got even more attached--especially to Arthur--as I wrote Song of the Sparrow. I would love to revisit them in another book or a poem....something.

That's great to hear! I love anything Arthurian. Any future projects you can give us a sneak peek of right now?

Well, I'm in the very early stages of something new right now. I don't want to say too much, because it's still kind of sketchy in my own head, but I will say it's another YA novel about a girl, but she's in a situation that is so totally different from anything I've ever written about before. I think it'll be very action- and adventure-packed, and something wholly new for me as a writer. I'm really excited about it, and I'll definitely post some information about it when I'm ready. Stay tuned....

We definitely will. It sounds exciting. Thanks for dropping by Lisa!

Thanks so much and happy anniversary and congratulations to The Shady Glade!

To find out more about Lisa Ann Sandell and her books, visit her at her website. Which, by the way, is pretty much one of the coolest author websites I've seen, so you should go check it out. And I'm not just saying that because I'm on her blog link list either. Though that's really cool anyway.

And here's a little surprise for those of you who read all the way to the bottom of this post. See? You need to stay on your toes if you want a chance at the good stuff! Lisa has very generously donated a signed ARC of A Map Of The Known World for me to give away. So leave me a comment if you want a chance at it.
+1 for comment (make sure you mention that you want to be entered)
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Rules: The contest is open until September 30th, 2009. This contest is open internationally! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Rules about claiming prizes can be found here.