Rebecca Maizel graduated from Boston University and the Rhode Island College master’s program. She teaches community college in Rhode Island and is studying to receive her MFA from Vermont College.See my review of Infinite Days!
Vampires are popular in YA Fiction, but Infinite Days presents a very unique take on the subject. How did you come up with the idea to write about a vampire who turns human?
I connected to my main character, Lenah’s voice. It was so strong; and sinister and tragic. I wanted to tap into that sorrow and darkness. I wanted to bring this person, whoever she was back out to light. It turned out that she was a vampire and thematically, it worked. Every person out there has done something they aren’t proud of. And whatever that thing is, they have to live with it - forever. That’s Lenah but times about a million! I just started writing one day and there she was with a motive, a purpose, and some really scary enemies.
Do you find you are similar to any of the characters in Infinite Days? Do they reflect how you were as a teen?
Sometimes, I look at the world like I’m standing on the outside looking in. I think a lot of writers feel this way. This is what connects me most to Lenah, my main character. I also think I have a mischievous streak like Tony. :)
When I was a teen, I wore my heart on my sleeve all the time. I was a real romantic and I completely believed in finding that storybook romance. I would have loved Infinite Days as a teen because I wanted to believe in that never ending love and that it was possible for me to find in my high school!
When you're not writing, what kinds of books do you read?
I am pursuing a second masters in Writing for Young Adults right now. So right now I read oodles of YA. Right now I am reading:
Damage - AM Jenkins
Torment - Lauren Kate
Delirium - Lauren Oliver
Can you share with us anything about the sequel to Infinite Days, Stolen Nights? Is there going to be any books after Stolen Nights?
Infinite Days was sold as a trilogy so after Stolen Nights there is one more! I can't reveal too much about the sequel but I will say...EVERYTHING absolutely everything at Wickham is about to go to hell.
When did you decide you wanted to become a writer?
My sister is older than me so when I was a kid in 1991, she got her first video camera. Most of my friends were playing with Barbies, I was making movies of my Barbies! I think I was a creative kid but my creativity was harnessed in a narrative way. I was always writing, creating.
Infinite Days is your first published book, but did you write other books before that were less-than-best, that never got published?
Of course! I call it my zombie novel because it won't die! I keep coming back to revise it again and again. I stole that phrase from the wonderful Janet Fox who wrote Faithful. She was in a workshop with me and referred to one of her works in progress as a zombie novel.
Do you have a certain place or time of day that you write?
My writing process is a bit snarky and I drive myself nuts. There’s a lot of whining. I tend to fill up notebooks with handwritten musings, and then I try to piece them together in a word document. I always try to sludge through one full draft on the computer. Then, I print out the word document and write allllll over it, edit the living hell out of it. Then I go back to the word document, implement my edits and start again…and again…and again…
I also improv my characters. Seriously! I try to do this when no one is home but I improvise scenes as a character. That way, I am acting the scene through that character’s eyes and my behavior, my reaction, my word choice is inevitably indicative of that character. Anyone with an acting background might want to try this out.
A couple of questions just for fun- If you could spend a day in any place at any time in the past, where would you go and why?
I would go to the Globe Theatre in London during its prime (16th century, I believe). Could you imagine seeing Shakespeare's plays in the original globe theatre? SWOON.
What are some of your favorite movies or TV shows?
I really don't watch much TV, I have to admit. I loved Roswell when it was on and of course, My So Called Life. But more contemporary? I like Modern Family and The Middle. Some of my favorite movies?
Oh boy. Back to the Future, Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, Platoon, Meet Joe Black, Sense and Sensibility.
Thanks so much to Rebecca for stopping by my blog! I enjoyed your responses!
Be sure to enter my giveaway for a copy of Infinite Days, too, which I will be posting shortly!
Great interview! Loved your questions.
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