1. What drew you to YA fantasy writing?

I’ve always been a fantasy and sci-fi fan. I grew up reading Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin, Douglas Adams, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. I think I’ve read “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” about a jillion times. I was never interested in writing a “straight” book. Whatever that means. As for the YA part, I think my voice just naturally fits in this genre. To tell my story I had to have teen protagonists, as they were in the Iliad , and it just fit into YA better than “adult”.

I’m using a lot of quotation marks here, and I’m sorry! I don’t mean to be snarky, but I have a hard time with some of the artificial boundaries that define the genres nowadays. It wasn’t always like this, and I think a lot of great books aren’t taken seriously because of it. If Beowulf were written this year, it would be marginalized as a monster story. Likewise, the Iliad would be called a fantasy, cutting out a lot of readers who think they don’t like that kind of thing. Neither of these books would be considered great literature in modern days because there are gods and monsters in them. This puzzles me.

2. Are there any books recently released or coming out that you’re particularly excited about?

Mine? Haha! But seriously, I just came back from the Dark Days tour, and would heartily recommend any of the books featured on it. Illusions, Divergent, Hereafter, Die for Me, and Once in a Full Moon. They are all fantastic, and written by some of the funniest, coolest ladies in the world. Now get out there and buy their books, for crying out loud!

3. Congratulations on becoming a bestseller with Starcrossed , how has your life changed since becoming published?

Honestly, I don’t see that many differences in my life, apart from the touring bit where people actually wait in line for you to sign their books– which is awesome! I still get up and make my husband eggs in the morning. I still spend about two thirds of my day in my pajamas. I still have to clean out the litter boxes and do the laundry. I couldn’t be happier.

4. What inspired Starcrossed ?

I got stuck while trying to outline another YA fantasy series. It was way too complex, and I was having a hard time describing the story in one sentence. My husband suggested I try something easier for my first book. He said if I couldn’t describe it in a few sentences, then I didn’t really know what the story was about. The fink. But he was right. In the middle of all my blubbering about how I was never going to be a writer, I spotted a copy of the Iliad next to Romeo and Juliet on my bookshelf.

I turned to my husband and asked him if he’d ever heard of anyone doing a modern-day retelling of the Iliad that focused on the forbidden love element between Helen and Paris, set in high school. His face lit up and I knew I had something, mostly because even before I had to think about it I knew what the story was. This whole scene took about fifteen minutes. I’m not kidding-the idea came that quickly.

5. How would you describe Helen Hamilton?

She is a resilient, compassionate young woman who has been keeping a very big secret from her friends and family. She starts out achingly shy, but she doesn’t stay that way for long. Oh, and she has the most beautiful face you’ve ever seen!

6. How would you describe Lucas Delos?

He is a confident, strikingly intelligent young man that is devoted to his family but who wants to live his own life. And he is so unbelievably hot all he has to do is look at a girl and her clothes explode off her body.

7. Can you tell us when the sequel is coming out and the title? Can you give us a sneak peek into the story?

The second book in the trilogy, DREAMLESS, comes out next spring. It’s finished (phew) and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Part of it takes place in the Underworld. It’s darker, there’s more action, and it’s sexier. Things get downright gritty in DREAMLESS, and I introduce a new, and very important character named Orion. He’s about as yummy as a guy can get without actually being covered in frosting.

8. Do you have any book signings/tours planned in 2011?

I do, I do! My next date is here in Los Angeles. I’ll be at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on Tuesday, June 28 at 7 p.m. Then after that I’ll be trekking out to good old Massachusetts to do an event out there. I don’t have a set date or place for that yet, but keep an eye on my site for further deets. http://www.josephineangelini.com/events.php

9. Many of our readers are aspiring writers. What advice would you offer someone who’s interested in writing YA fantasy?

I know this is going to sound like “duh” advice, but the first thing a young writer has to do is finish a manuscript-and I mean ALL of it. No one will accept half-a-novel or an outline, no matter how brilliant an idea it is. Finish the whole thing, and then try to get an agent. The publishing world is so complicated and there are so many people trying to get published that I think an agent is necessary. There are a lot of people out there that are self-publishing their work, but I don’t know anything about that market so I don’t have any advice here. Most of all– keep going. Finish your book and then try to get representation, and remember, it always takes longer than you think it will, so be prepared to gut it out for a while. Best of luck to you all. J

10. How did you land your literary agent? Did you know someone in publishing or were you part of the famous “slush” pile?

I went a totally hinky way. I got a manager first, but completely by accident. My husband is a screenwriter, and we live in Los Angeles. When I finished my manuscript I didn’t know what to do with it and neither did he, really. My husband turned to Facebook and one of his “friends” was a manager that represented mostly screenwriters, named Rachel Miller. She never takes unsolicited material, but she was bored that day and loves to read YA novels. She thought what the heck, I’ll just read one chapter for kicks.

She ended up loving my book and she read it that afternoon. She sent it that night to a literary agent in NYC named Mollie Glick. Mollie had a little time, got sucked in, and stayed up all night to read it. I woke up the next morning with both women wanting to represent me. I had never met either of them. I didn’t even know that my husband had sent it out. The conversation was mostly me repeating the words. “Wait, how did you get my phone number, again?”

Let me stress, this hardly EVER happens. It was blind luck, a strange group of circumstances that left two of the busiest women I’ve ever met with a few hours to spare, and most of all a weird Facebook connection that got me where I am. It was kismet.

I’ve no idea what a “slush” pile is. But it sounds unbearably cold, wet, and icky. I’m very happy I never had to sit in it.

Josephine Angelini is the New York Times bestselling author of Starcrossed. She is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. A real-live farmer’s daughter, Josie graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.