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Friday, August 10, 2012
About Rachel:
Rachel Cohn is a young adult fiction author. Her first book, Gingerbread, was published in 2002. Since then she has gone on to write many other successful YA and children's books, and has collaborated on three books with the author David Levithan.
Top Ten Inspirations For Beta
10. Chocolate.
I ate a lot of chocolate while writing Beta, and Elysia, the protagonist narrator who is a soulless clone who is supposed to have no sense of taste, discovered she seemed to be able to taste choocolate--and she LOVED it. Coincidence? I think not.
9. Occupy
I started writing Beta before the Occupy protest movement really heated up, but I must have had the same issues on my mind. Beta is very much about inequality of wealth and resources.
8. Seychelles
Paradise doesn't just write itself, folks. I needed pictures to help me visualize the atmosphere I was trying to convey, so these remote East African islands did the trick. (Also where Prince William and Kate
Middleton honeymooned. Great minds obviously think alike.) Need to see for yourself? http://bit.ly/PRSQIZ You're welcome.
7. Athletes
A few key characters in Beta are competitive athletes, which is a culture that fascinates me, especially the commitment and training required from a very young age. Visually, I took inspiration from surfer Laird Hamilton and Chinese diver Fu Mingxia, in particular.
6. Animal rights
Elysia's family in Beta often call her "pet" and for a reason, because I myself have pets (2 cats, who may or may not get a dog added to their lives later this year, heh heh don't tell them) and I often wonder, if they could speak, what would they have to say to me about how they're treated? Would they choose their lives of cushy comfort or rather be free in the wild? (And would they be like, Hey Human, we don't want to share our home with Dogs, please!?)
5. Star Trek
Ok, now you know. I am a total closet Trek geek, both "classic" Trek (as the original series is called) and TNG (The Next Generation). I loved watching the Federation folks visiting distant worlds and ideas, yet the characters' struggles were very present and timeless at the same time. I definitely had the android character Data from TNG in mind as I explored what Elysia--a soulless clone--was meant to understand from her programming, versus what she wanted to understand: human emotion and feeling rather than simply the factual data her chip supplies her.
4. DreamsI've never been an author to have those Stephenie Meyer-esque books borne out of dreams, but this series actually did start from a dream. I had a dream about a teenage girl who was a clone, available for sale at a mall, who was purchased by the wife of the governor. I woke up and started writing immediately. I mean, even before I was caffeinated, so I must have thought something neat was worth exploring to make that sacrifice. However, it took several months before I was able to flesh out the basic idea into a book! And sadly no idea dreams (at least that I remember after I wake up) have happened since. ;)
3. Yoga
I love yoga, which is both a great workout, and a form of moving meditation. (It can also be annoying to people who aren't into yoga to hear people who are into it talk about it on and on (I know because I used to be one of those annoyed people, before I finally tried it), so if you're one of those, I totally understand and sorry and please continue on to #2!) A central goal for yoga is flooding the body with prana--or breath, which equals life. Sometimes yoga can be hard, sometimes mellow, but for me at least, the breath work can become almost intoxicating. Because of it, I became fascinated by the idea of a place where the oxygen was so pure, it could intoxicate. Demesne, the paradise island where Beta takes place, grew out of that time on the mat.
I love yoga, which is both a great workout, and a form of moving meditation. (It can also be annoying to people who aren't into yoga to hear people who are into it talk about it on and on (I know because I used to be one of those annoyed people, before I finally tried it), so if you're one of those, I totally understand and sorry and please continue on to #2!) A central goal for yoga is flooding the body with prana--or breath, which equals life. Sometimes yoga can be hard, sometimes mellow, but for me at least, the breath work can become almost intoxicating. Because of it, I became fascinated by the idea of a place where the oxygen was so pure, it could intoxicate. Demesne, the paradise island where Beta takes place, grew out of that time on the mat.
2. Lhasa de Sela
A really fantastic singer with a haunting voice and diverse repertoire. I was heartbroken when she died of cancer very young, right around the time I started developing the initial idea for Beta, and listening to Lhasa's music really inspired my writing, particularly the song "Is Anything Wrong" (which as a title kind of thematically nails what Beta is about).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhasa_de_Sela
1. Biomimetics and biomimicry.
I'm fascinated by how we can take inspiration from nature--basically, by copying nature and the natural world--to further human development and infrastructure. Although Beta takes place on a remote paradise island, the book's characters often mention a distant city called Biome City, a new bio-engineered city where the architecture is designed to mimic nature, ie, skyscapers built like honeycombs, housing developments modeled on ant hills, etc. This city will come into much more prominence in later books and I am so psyched to really explore how idea can translate into sustainable living in a future world.
A really fantastic singer with a haunting voice and diverse repertoire. I was heartbroken when she died of cancer very young, right around the time I started developing the initial idea for Beta, and listening to Lhasa's music really inspired my writing, particularly the song "Is Anything Wrong" (which as a title kind of thematically nails what Beta is about).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhasa_de_Sela
1. Biomimetics and biomimicry.
I'm fascinated by how we can take inspiration from nature--basically, by copying nature and the natural world--to further human development and infrastructure. Although Beta takes place on a remote paradise island, the book's characters often mention a distant city called Biome City, a new bio-engineered city where the architecture is designed to mimic nature, ie, skyscapers built like honeycombs, housing developments modeled on ant hills, etc. This city will come into much more prominence in later books and I am so psyched to really explore how idea can translate into sustainable living in a future world.
Where You Can Find Rachel
Beta on Goodreads
Giveaway
Rachel was awesome enough to offer up two SIGNED copies of Dash & Lily's Book of Dares for me to giveaway on the blog. So there will be two winners.
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Rules:
1. You must be 13 years or older to enter.
2. Open to US entries only.
3. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.
4. There will be TWO winners.
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24 comments:
I totes <333 this Top Ten inspirations post! I have the ARC sitting on my bookshelf and this only makes me more excited to read it than I already was. *Squee*
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads
♥bookluvrmindy
I'm dying to read Beta it's on my tbr shelf! Thanks for being a stop on the rockstars tour Justin :D
-Jaime
Anyone who likes chocolate and Star Trek is a rockstar. Thanks for a great stop.
What a fascinating and varied list of inspirations! Definitely need to read this book! It looks wicked.
Thanks for being a part of our tour!
Great giveaway, thanks for hosting!! :D
Loved the interview! I can't wait to read this one!
I'm pretty sure chocolate is a good inspiration for a lot of things!
Lol what an awesome list of inspirations!
What an awesome interview! I love Dash and Lily's Book of Dares! I got it from the library so it would be nice to have my own copy : ) Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for the giveaway. I've been meaning to read Dash and Lily for a while now and I also really want to read Beta too
I've heard great things about Beta!
Really cool interview.
I just looked up Lhasa de Sala.
It is always cool to see where and authors ideas come from.
Dash and Lily! yay! I have wanted to read this!
Thanks ^^
I loved Rachel's Top Ten, and as a fellow animal lover, I've often entertained similar thoughts! Thank you for the sweet giveaway, I've been really eager to read Beta! <3
Mary DeBorde (M.A.D.)
Thanks for the post! Who knew chocolate could be a source of inspiration? *munches on chocolate bars*
Lilian @ A Novel Toybox
Chocolate FTW :)
Great to hear about the inspiration!
+.+ chocolate!! I love it! each month my old sister and I have and a ritual-of-chocolate.
wow if I could get some dreams like these ^^
I have been meaning to pick up this book for ages! Thanks for the giveaway, and great interview! I can't wait to read Beta!
I have been wanting to read Dash & Lily's Book of Dares for the longest time it really sounds like an amazing book :)
So excited for Beta! And to read her other books! Thanks for the spotlight and giveaway!
So excited for Beta, it sounds totally awesome! Thank your for the giveaway Justin :)
The new book sounds awesome! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love how you can get to know an author by reading their works, but seeing their inspiration for their work is when you really get to know the author. The book sounds interesting, and I can't wait for it to come out. [:
Just finished reading "Beta"... I want more!
Lyn
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