Interview with author, Luisa Plaja

I have the privilege today to interview awesome Luisa Plaja! She is the author of three published novels; Split By A Kiss, Swapped By A Kiss and Extreme Kissing. She also wrote the e-book Diary Of A Mall Girl on Fiction Express and a short story in Truth & Dare. Her upcoming novel Kiss, Date, Love, Hate is due out in 2012 and I am sure you are just as excited as I am! She is the proud editor of Chicklish, a UK teen fiction site, and posts on Girls Heart Books. Altogether she is SUPER nice person and who is always there for her readers. Basically, she is just awesome, so read the interview below!! :-D

1. Hi, Luisa! *waves and passes a cookie* Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Hi, Zoe! *accepts cookie gratefully and waves back* Yes, I have. I fell in love with books at an early age and I've always loved writing my own stories as well as reading other people's. I used to think that having a novel published was just a dream, though. I'm so glad I was wrong. *huge crumb-filled smile*

2. Me too! So,when you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Read! And talk about books. I run a book blog called Chicklish and I help out with teen book clubs in libraries and schools. I also dance in front of the Wii and defy anyone to touch my Beyonce high score. *waggles imaginary nunchuck in tragically non-Beyonce way*

3. Has anyone inspired you at all or has been your role-model?
Probably everything I've ever read has inspired me! There are so many writers I admire, and so many novels I read again and again. One author whose books I've adored for years is Meg Cabot, and I was beyond thrilled when she read Split by a Kiss and said lovely things about it on her blog. My wonderful writer friends inspire me every day, as do my equally wonderful non-writer friends and family. (Sniff. Thank you!)

4. How did it feel when you had your first book published?
Amazing, brilliant, fantastic... Am sort of tempted to copy in an entire thesaurus entry now but will sum it up as: just WOW.

5. If you had to convince a non-reader to read, what would you say?
What a great question. (What would YOU say?) I think something along the lines of: There's something for everyone in the world of books. You might like memoirs that are absorbing and moving... or fact-based books that make you think and learn... or stories that scare you, or make you cry, or make you laugh. Or maybe all of the above, or something different? Browse around for books that suit you and don't let anyone tell you that any one kind of book is worth less than any other kind. Reading opens up worlds and stretches your imagination, and it's always worthwhile. Read! I promise you won't regret it.
Then I would probably add, "But it's up to you, of course." ;)

6. If you could meet any character from your books, who would it be?

Ooh, another great question! I'd love to meet any of my characters. I'd probably have to put up with some harsh words from some of them. Rachel from Swapped by a Kiss, for example - I bet she'd have something outspoken to say about the way I wrote her. So would Lex from Kiss Date Love Hate, for that matter, but she'd be more wary of me. I should stop now for fear of sounding (overly) weird. But, truly, what a wonderful question.

7. Which one of your books was the most fun to write?
Wow, this is hard. Writing all my books has been fun, and has also caused major headaches at times. Maybe instead of singling out any one book, I'll talk about my favourite part to write: endings. I've really enjoyed writing the endings of all my books, including the e-book Diary of a Mall Girl where I was steered by readers.

8. Could you tell us a bit about your current book you are working on?
I'm working on something a tiny bit different and, um, something else. Hmm, that's all very vague, isn't it? Sorry. Well, I can say that I'll always love writing books about teenagers and relationships. :x (smiley of mystery)

9. Have you ever had writers block?

LP's latest book - isn't the cover so cute?!

I'm not sure if it's writers' block exactly, but I've definitely stalled at various points in most of the books I've written. I dedicated Split by a Kiss "to the people who got me out of the ice rink" because I was stuck on Jo's ice rink scene for months. Eventually, many wonderful people helped me come unstuck - er, in a good way - and finish that novel. Taking some pressure off always helps, and I highly recommend fun writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org).

10. Quick Fire Questions:
Facebook or Twitter? I'm on both, but... Twitter.
Favourite song? Argh, can't narrow it down - my "favourites" playlist is too long!
Music or TV? Music.
Print or eBook? Both! I love books, whatever the format. In fact, can I add "audiobook" to that?
Tea or coffee? Tea, tea and more tea! It goes perfectly with my cookie. *finishes munching and brushes away crumbs*

Thanks, Luisa! :)
Thank YOU, Zoe! :D

Ways to follow Luisa Plaja:

• Luisa Plaja website
• Chicklish
• She blogs at Girls Heart Books along with other authors
• Twitter
• Facebook