Interview: Sophie Jordan

Sophie Jordan's young adult novel, Firelight, releases today and she was nice enough to stop by and answer a few questions!

What made you choose dragons out of all the paranormal beings?

I knew I wanted to write a paranormal YA for awhile before I came up with the “draki-descendant from dragon” premise. It might sound silly, but I really did wait for the idea to come to me. I wanted to write a young adult novel with a strong romance (of course!), but the paranormal element was elusive. I wanted the paranormal aspect to be unique and fresh – both for the current market and me, too. I needed to be excited about it. I had lots of ideas flit through my mind that I quickly dismissed, but when I landed on dragons I knew I hit something that wasn’t being done in YA, and I got very excited. When I started thinking about how dragons might have evolved I knew I had the making of a great new paranormal world.

What is your favorite part of writing about first love?

Oh, that first meeting! The sparks! And, of course, there has to be conflict, otherwise things would get boring. So I guess my favorite part in writing about first love is establishing the conflict that is working to tear the “lovers” apart.

Do you find it more difficult to create a character (physical description, emotions, thoughts) or to name them?

Naming characters is pretty simple for me. I have lots of names swirling around my head. A character’s thoughts, however, can get tricky. I feel fairly in control of writing description and emotions … but sometimes you can get too close to a character and lose objectivity. You can miss the mark about what they should be thinking in a certain scene given what’s happening. When I revise, this is what I’m mostly cleaning up.

What is your favorite Firelight moment? Something during the writing process? Publishing? Promoting?

As difficult and hair-pulling as it is, I loved revising Firelight. By that time, I had something to work with. The bones were there, I just had to flesh it out. Even though the material was a bit rough, I could see the promise, the hint of what was to come. This is where the magic happens!

Do you have any special plans for release day?

Well, I’ll probably write – for a little while at least! But then I’ll gather some close friends for lunch at one of my fav places and then maybe stalk Firelight in a book store or two!

Thank you so much to Sophie for stopping by! If you're interested in learning more about Sophie and Firelight, you can find her here:

http://www.sophiejordan.net/