Elizabeth Rudnick is the debut author of Tweet Heart which is available now from Hyperion books.
KBB: Why did you decide to write a book all in tweets, emails, and blogs?
ER: Because I’m a masochist? I’m kidding. Sort of. If I had known how hard it was going to be, I might have thought differently but I was drawn to the innate challenge that came with working in such a new medium. I have also always been drawn to popular culture and how it reflects the world and molds it at the same time. In college I was an American Civilization major and much of what we studied revolved around trends and why they arise and decline. To me, the act of tweeting is one such trend. A trend that exploded and continues to grow at an insane rate. Writing a novel that not only spoke to the trend–the advantages, and disadvantages–that come with such an instant form of communication–but also spoke in that trend, was just too good to pass up.
I will say though, that my original intent was to ONLY right in tweets. But I quickly learned that that was easier said than done. After all, we are talking about 140 characters only. That works for dialogue and for quick banter or snippets of information, but to move a novel along? Not so much. Out of that realization was born the e-mail and blog portion. They serve to move the story along, while the tweets are really the dialogue of the book.
So part of Tweet Heart I decided on, the rest, as happens often with writing, grew out of necessity and where the story took me.
KBB: Have you read all the books mentioned in Tweet Heart? If so, which would you recommend most?
ER: I have 🙂 I’ve always been a big reader and wanted Claire to be as well. She seemed like someone who would escape into the fantasy and worlds created by the written word. She is, after all, a hopeless romantic who believes in the prince charmings and happily ever afters. Which I applaud her for–and wish I could do myself! I would say that they are really all favorites of mine. I LOVE Jane Austen. That probably started with Pride and Prejudice because, well, I thought that I was Elizabeth Bennett, but when I read Emma, well, I was completely hooked. She writes such interesting female characters. They are flawed but lovable. They are, simply put, human. So I would say Emma would be an easy recommendation. But I also fell head over heels in love with the novel Half-Life of Planets by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin. It is such a unique love story–about a girl with a reputation and a boy with asperger’s who find themselves and realize that their unique qualities shouldn’t keep them apart but rather make them stronger as individuals…and as a couple. It is a new novel, out this summer, and I would urge everyone to read it. Hank is just a delight and the banter between characters is amazing. I think it proves that you don’t need paranormal to write a successful novel about longing and living in worlds that might not normally co-exist.
KBB: Which one of the characters is most like you and in what way?
ER: That’s a tough one! I really fell in love with all my characters and am very attached to each and every one. But I would say that I’m somewhere in between Claire and Bennett. I would never have the guts to be as brazen as Lottie and I’m not quite as introverted as Will. But Claire and I are similar in that we both get lost in imagination, are prone to falling hard over the wrong guy, and we keep everything close to the heart. I’ve loved boys from afar and wished they would notice me, but in all honesty, I’m probably not as strong as Claire. I don’t think, if my real-life version of JD ever showed interest in me, I’d be able to turn him down. But maybe now that I’ve written this book, I could. 🙂 And Bennett is like the inner 12 year old boy in me. I have a totally immature sense of humor at times which I’m often teased about. But heck, who doesn’t like a good ork or elf joke every once in a while?
KBB: The pictures really add to the book. Did you choose the characters pictures? If not, is there one that you would have changed?
ER: I LOVE how the pictures add to the book! For the first few versions of the book, it was literally just words and @ signs and RTs. No pics to help bring the story to life. But then my editor and I sat down and looked at some images of people she knew and I was immediately drawn to the kids who would “became” Claire, Will, and Lottie. I always knew I didn’t want Bennett to have a real photo. He is so set in my head, and I wanted him to be open to interpretation in the readers’ heads, that I couldn’t put a face to him. It was ironically JD that I had the most trouble with. I kept trying to find someone who would be universally dreamy and I just couldn’t. Because JD is just so…JD. You know what I mean? Great and perfect and handsome and yummy. It wasn’t until my amazing editor found the picture of the dog that we had anything. And when I saw the dog, it was perfect. Because JD in the book is named after my own dog (I know, I’m so strange!) and there is a great scene where “he” talks about dogs so it just fit. I wouldn’t change any of them!
KBB: Can you tell us anything about what you are writing next? Is there another tweet novel in the works possibly?
ER: I would absolutely love to do another tweet novel if there was interest from fans–and my publisher! I’m working on a concept for that but can’t go into too much detail–except that I think the focus would be more on Lottie and Bennett and they are still in high school. So keep your fingers crossed! I also just decided to write full time so now I have all the time I need to sit down and flesh out the four or five ideas that have been roaming in my head for years. There is everything from a compilation, to a paranormal story, to a full-fledged fantasy. I guess I’ll have to see which one bites me and go from there!
KBB: Thanks so much for the interview, Liz!
Awesome Interview 🙂 I love the way this author thinks! And we have the same name!!
This is awesome.Best of luck and I’m sure i will love another tweet novel after this ;p
Thanks for hosting –
Great interview – would never have thought of writing a book like this!
Great interview! Love the idea of having a book written in tweets, emails and blogs. It sounds really interesting! 😀
Sounds like a very interesting concept for a book and like it would be a lot of fun to read!
God! Thanks for the interview, thanks for the international, too :B
Great! interview!
Awesome interview! I have to check this book out 😀
I’ve always enjoyed books written like this, with such a different medium. Great interview and I can’t wait to read the book!
Great interview! This book has been in my TBR pile for a long time. It looks really cool!
Great interview. Thanks!!
Great interview!
Great interview, Katie! I really have to check this one out. I’m totally intrigued by how the book is set up in Tweet format. I just added it to my list! And thanks so much for the contest! =)
Really original! And i love the title and cover! Great giveaway.
I love finding new books and music through a book. Her recommendations make me want to read this even more!
Great interview! I really look forward to read this book. Tweet Heart love the title!
Nice interview, Tweet Heart sounds like a fun read. I love the fact that its written in tweets and made me more interested in reading it.
Awesome interview! Good thing she’s a masochistic otherwise we wouldn’t have this awesome book.
That was a great interview! I’m glad she had the guts to explore writing via tweets, which isn’t really easy considering you have to limit yourself to 140 characters. But still, looking forward to Tweet Heart!
I love the interview! And you’ve got cute giveaway items.
-Jenna
http://elevenpages.blogspot.com
cool interview
Thanks for sharing!
Oh I’m excited for her new project! 😀 AND LOL NAMED AFTER HER OWN DOG HAHAHAHA
and thank you for the giveaway! 😀
Thanks for the interview and giveaway!