1. What drew you to writing YA dystopian?
It’s a funny thing. I was never really a fan of dystopian or even science fiction growing up. While I enjoyed my occasional R.L Stine, I stuck to the classics mostly. As I started teaching, I discovered the wonderful world of Young Adult literature. I read The Giver a few years ago, and was fascinated by how much my students were drawn to the world so different, yet so much like our own. Dystopian literature is such a fun genre to explore, a place to really work all of my repressed angst. I joke…maybe.
2. Do you have a favorite author or one whose work has influenced you?
There are a lot of authors who inspired me while writing The Chosen Ones. When I began writing the novel, I was finishing my masters. I took several 19th century lit classes, and the books I read really helped shape the world presented in my series. The Chosen Ones is heavily influenced by the works of Shelley, Hardy, and the Brontes.
3. If you could have dinner, coffee, or drinks with a fictional character,
who would you choose and where would you go?
Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. The wit of that woman astounds me. We could go split a happy meal for all I care.
4. What book is currently on your nightstand?
I am currently reading Crossed by Ally Condie.
5. What inspired Chosen Ones?
I have a lot of political friends who love to sit around and debate the many issues facing our world. Some of the issues presented in the novel (genetic engineering, rape, women’s rights, the role and limitations of government) are issues my friends and I rather obsess over.
6. Tell us a little bit about Tess?
I love Tess. I have gotten a lot of complaints that she’s too hard, and it makes me angry every single time. Not that everyone has to love her, but I am disappointed that she is condemned for the same qualities that male characters are adored for. She is emotionally withdrawn, selfish, and angry. She’d be the perfect male protagonist…except she’s female. And when you learn about her past, I think it’s perfectly understandable why she is the way she is.
7. Tell us a little bit about James?
James is confused. He’s the quiet rebel with a poetic soul. He’s the type that could easily fade away into the crowd, but has a lot more to offer than the council, or Tess, originally thinks.
8. Who would play your Tess/James in the tv or film version of your book?
I’ve always like the idea of Saoirse Ronan for Tess and Ethan Peck for James.
9. Can you tell us about one of your favorite scenes to write in Chosen Ones?
I always like writing the really dark scenes. I don’t want to even hint at them right now. One of the quieter scenes that I really enjoyed working on is the novel’s first Tess / James scene. I really love the tension and the language in it. It just works. Thanks to my wonderful editor that is. And who doesn’t love a boy who can play a musical instrument?
10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write. Write. Write. Don’t worry quite yet about getting published. Just work on falling in love with the craft. I still have folders upon folders of short stories I wrote in middle school, and they bring me such joy to read now. You have to love this.
About Chosen Ones
The Lost Souls, book 1 hitting bookshelves April 10, 2012 from Entangled Publishing!
What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?
Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.
Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.
But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?
About Tiffany Truitt
Tiffany Truitt is an 8th grade English teacher in Suffolk, Virginia. When she’s not traveling the world, she enjoys reading, writing, and obsessing over coffee. Lost Souls: Chosen Ones is her first novel.
Find out more about Tiffany Truitt at her Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads