Interview: Stacey Kade + The Rules

Today I'm thrilled to welcome young adult author Stacey Kade to the blog to answer a few questions about her newest book, The Rules, which released from Disney Hyperion this week. I absolutely adored this story and would love it if it could go ahead and be 2014 already so I can get my hands on book two immediately. Patient I am not. What I am, though, is excited to have you all get to know Stacey as well as protagonists Ariane and Zane a little bit better with this interview, I hope you enjoy!

Ariane grew up in a cold, stark room where she could be observed at any hour of the day. If she could have made one small change to the space in order to personalize it knowing it would have gone unnoticed by the various doctors and lab techs, what would she have done?

My guess is, if she could have gotten away with it, she would have cut photos out of her books and magazines and put them on the wall, like they were people that she knew or places she’d been.

Let’s say Ariane has Dr. Jacobs to herself for 5 minutes during which she can ask him anything she wants and he has to answer truthfully. What’s her first question?

Who is (or was) my mother?

Ariane has an unwanted tattoo on her back marking her as a GTX experiment. If she walked into a tattoo parlor today to get a tattoo simply for herself, what might it look like?

If she got one at all, I think it would be the word “Mine” tattooed on the inside of her wrist, in small cursive/script-y letters. It would be sort of a counterbalance to the GTX mark on her back, a reminder that she is her own person, no one’s property.

Zane has a very difficult and demanding father who constantly weighs him against his older brother and finds him wanting. If he could choose a father from any other piece of fiction to swap for his own, even temporarily, whom might he pick?

Well, he’s not a father, technically—more of a mentor/father figure—but probably Obi-wan Kenobi, from the original Star Wars movies. The idea of someone believing in you a ridiculous amount so as to push you toward being brave and becoming your own man is probably something Zane would have liked to have.

Describe Ariane and Zane’s relationship using only song titles or lyrics.

"Take Me Out" by Atomic Tom
"ET" by Katy Perry
"This Love Will Be Your Downfall" by Ellie Goulding
"Ever After" by Marianas Trench

(Incidentally, all of these songs are from the playlist I used while writing the book.)

Ariane and Zane spend time at a school carnival on one of their “dates”. What is your favorite carnival ride or game?

I do love a good game of skee-ball! But mostly, I’m interested in the food—elephant ears, funnel cakes, yum.

I suddenly find myself with Ariane’s telepathic ability and am standing near you just as you start thinking hard about book two. What couple of words might I pick up from your mind as your gears turn?

Dr. Laughlin, hybrids, Ford, Carter, and Nixon. :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions Stacey!

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STACEY KADE

(photo: Vania Stoyanova)

As a former award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead.

She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their two retired racing greyhounds, Tall Walker (Walker) and SheWearsThePants (Pansy).

Website • Blog • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

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THE RULES

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…