You already know we ❤ Alyson Noël, so we were pretty excited to get the chance to sit down and chat with her today about her middle grade adventure, Five Days of Famous. We’ll get right to it!
***INTERVIEW***
Thanks for having me!
I had so much fun writing this book! The fantasy aspect allowed for great creative freedom, and I got to experience Christmas (one of my favorite times of the year) in the middle of summer, which is when I wrote it. Also, writing from the perspective of an almost 13-year old boy getting his wish for fame granted allowed me, for a brief time anyway, to access my inner kid again.
I consumed a lot of pop culture along with a lot of Christmas themed movies and catalogs in order to get into the holiday spirit in the middle of a scorching hot California summer. The rest was all wish fulfillment fantasy fodder. I just tried to tap into the mind of a preteen with big dreams, and let my imagination run wild.
Nick Dashaway is an average, almost 13-year old, nerdy seventh grader who’s in desperate need of a life makeover. He’s tired of being an invisible nobody, and is convinced that the only way to win the attention of his crush and the respect of his peers is by becoming famous. When Nick’s wish is granted in a way he never expected, he feels like the luckiest kid in the world. But magic always comes with a price, and Nick will ultimately be forced to choose between his two lives before the choice is made for him.
Other than toning down the romantic elements and keeping a closer eye on language, it’s really no different. Whether I’m writing YA, middle grade, or even adult, I always approach the characters from the particular view points that are unique to them due to their age, environment, and accumulated life experiences, and proceed from there.
I think it would be really fun to introduce Riley Bloom from Evermore and the Riley Bloom series, to Nick Dashaway and his friends from Five Days of Famous. I think they’d get along really well and have a lot of fun adventures together. The only problem is that Riley is a ghost. Still, it’s just a minor detail. I’m sure it can be worked out.
Adventurous, open-minded, hard working
Of my own books, I’m really excited about the SAVING ZOË and SOUL SEEKERS movies that are in various stages of production.
For other people’s books, I recently went to a screening of A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness- and it became an instant fave.
- Read often and read widely.
- Write.
- Don’t get discouraged.
- Don’t try to be perfect-your 1st draft will suck. It’s supposed to. It’s perfectly okay. Keep going.
- Finish the book—don’t give up.
- Revise.
- Revise.
- Revise some more.
- Repeat steps 1-8 until your book is the best it can be at that given time, then move on to the next.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Mr. Rochester and Mr. Darcy. Those well dressed, impeccably mannered, emotionally repressed Brits get me every time!
My next YA, BLACKLIST, book 2 in the BEAUTIFUL IDOLS series, is in stores in April 2017. My next MG, THE BONE THIEF, is in stores in October 2017. And I’m currently working on INFAMOUS, the 3rd and final book in the BEAUTIFUL IDOLS series, set for release in April 2018.
Nothing comes to mind. I think I’ve been asked every question imaginable by now!
***About Alyson Noël***
Alyson Noël is the #1 New York Times best selling, award-winning, author of 23 novels, including: FAKING 19, ART GEEKS AND PROM QUEENS, LAGUNA COVE, FLY ME TO THE MOON, KISS & BLOG, SAVING ZOË, CRUEL SUMMER, FOREVER SUMMER (a LAGUNA COVE/CRUEL SUMMER 2-in-1), KEEPING SECRETS (a SAVING ZOË/FAKING 19 2-in-1), the IMMORTALS series: EVERMORE, BLUE MOON, SHADOWLAND, DARK FLAME, NIGHT STAR, EVERLASTING, the IMMORTALS spin-off, RILEY BLOOM series: RADIANCE, SHIMMER, DREAMLAND, WHISPER, THE SOUL SEEKERS series: FATED, ECHO, MYSTIC, HORIZON; with short stories appearing in the anthologies FIRST KISS (THEN TELL), KISSES FROM HELL, & DEAR BULLY.
Up next: my new YA series, UNRIVALED, in stores 05.10.16, and KISS MY WISH, my new MG novel, in stores 12.13.16!
With over 8 New York Times bestsellers in 2 years, and over 6 million copies in print, her books have been translated into 37 languages, sold in over 50 countries, and have made the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, NCIBA, and Walmart bestsellers lists, and have won numerous awards such as: the National Reader’s Choice Award, NYLA Book of Winter Award, NYPL Stuff for the Teenage, TeenReads Best Books of 2007, Reviewer’s Choice 2007 Top Ten, appeared on the CBS Early Show’s “Give the Gift of Reading” segment, and selected for Seventeen Magazine’s “Hot List” and Beach Book Club Pick.
Chosen as one of OC Metro magazine’s “20 Women to Watch,” she’s been nominated for the Orange County Business Journal’s “Women in Business Awards” as well as their “Excellence in Entrepreneurship” award. Her adult novel, FLY ME TO THE MOON, was optioned by Ridley Scott’s, Scott Free Productions, with Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones’ Diary) set to write and direct, and all 4 books in THE SOUL SEEKERS series has been optioned by Cheyenne Enterprises.
Born and raised in Orange County, California, she’s lived in both Mykonos and Manhattan and is now settled in Southern California where she’s working on her next book.
***About the Book***
Five Days of Famous by Alyson Noel Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers on December 13th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 304
Goodreads Buy the Book
From New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noel comes a fun, adventure-filled, contemporary novel that poses the question what would you do if your dream life became reality?
A dream is a wish your heart makes . . . when your life is in desperate need of a makeover. Nick Dashaway would know. Either he makes it big this year in seventh grade or he risks being a nobody forever.
Enter the Greentree Middle School Talent Show, hosted by teen sensation Josh Frost. The show might just be Nick s ticket out of loserville. But popularity doesn't come easy, and when Nick is forcibly ejected from the stage, he feels like he s out of options. Desperate to avoid a permanent seat at the geek table and continued inattention from the love of his life, Nick chooses the only option he has left: he makes a wish.
"Be careful what you wish for," the old saying goes and Nick s about to find out why.
What do you think, Pretties? Are you excited to check out Five Days of Famous? It looks like so much fun!
