Showcase: We Are Savages by Jessie Atkin

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2012

We Are Savages is the story of 12 year old Tris and what she finds when she runs from the responsibility of her household and descends through a rain grate into the child run world of Nowhere. "You go to bed angry or sad enough you can wake up just about anywhere," the Savages tell her. Nowhere is a brick utopia hidden in the sewers; made up of sweets, sports, hammocks, and fireflies. But even this haven, free of parents and protocol, is not everything it seems. Haunted by dark specters known only as Phocydes, feared for their reputation of consuming children whole, Tris works both to hunt and to hide from these hooded shadows. But something about them is familiar; something about them fires her curiosity more than her fear. And Tris slowly begins to realize that, no matter where you go, fear and responsibility are not things you can escape. The only thing to do is face them.

Jessie Atkin lives in Upstate, NY, and attended Washington University in St. Louis. She received a B.A. in English Literature. Besides reading, she was also involved in theater during college, working as an assistant stage manager and even trying her hand at acting in a single show.

Jessie learned to read later than most, but her sudden ability coincided with the release of the first Harry Potter book in 1998, and an obsession was born. Aside from Harry Potter, she also learned to love comic books, with a particular affinity for superheroes. Aside from young adult fiction, Jessie also writes plays in her free time. 

We Are Savages is her debut novel. For more information please visit: http://www.jessieatkin.com/

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A. My life.  I always have a pen and a small notebook in my pocket.  I takes notes on conversations and just things I see.  I am also inspired by the stories and movies I love.  They make me ask the questions that often turn into my stories.  

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A. My favorite thing about being an author is the process of writing, it's like breathing to me, I have to do it to survive.  

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

A. The toughest part is time.  It's never a fact of not wanting to write, it's just that writing isn't the entirety of my life (though some days I wish it was) and having to organize a schedule and keep to it can be challenging.

Q.  If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. I always wanted to be an astronaut.  But I'm much better at writing than math, so the astronaut thing probably would not have worked out.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. Two Minutes Late

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. I think Jo, from Little Women (which is strange because honestly, I never really liked that book).  But she's also a writer, and she writes all the time.  She's a bit of a tomboy and grew up with a bunch of sisters who could drive her crazy. Maybe I never liked the book because there was too much in it I could relate to.

Q.  What character from all of your book are you most like?

A. I would say my main character in "We Are Savages", Tris. She's a bit of a tomboy, and is very attached to her dog.  But I feel she's much more understanding, and not as short tempered as I am. 

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. Spring.  My birthday is in the spring.

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. My book cover was actually inspired by my sister.  I asked her, after she read the book, what image stood out the most to her.  She said fireflies.  So I asked that my illustrator (who is also my brother) include those in the cover image. My favorite book cover of all time is the American version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. I've been promoting the book a lot through social media.  My mom, who has a FB page, has been reposting a lot of my links. So, I keep hearing from friends of my mom online, which is a very new experience for me, haha.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A. Yes. I am currently working on the first book in a YA sci-fi dystopian trilogy.  

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  Thanks for taking the time to read this interview! If you want a chance to win a kindle copy of "We Are Savages" take a look at our FB page, we've been hosting a lot of giveaways lately :) And keep on the lookout, as a paperback copy of the book is in the works.