Author Interview: Kelly Green

Kelly Green, the author of the Borrwing Abby Grace series, answered some questions I had for her.  There are two books is the series, The Shadow (Episode 1) and Girl Steals Guy (Episode 2).  Young Adult Book Reviews would like to thank Kelly Green for taking time to respond to my questions.

What inspires you when you write?

I am definitely inspired by coffee! I actually like writing to music I listen to Pandora. Lots of different stations. 

Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

I think any writer incorporates parts of peple they know into their characters. I can't point to one character and say, "Yeah, that's Jim," but I know that the more influential people in my life have their personalities appear throughout this series.

Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

All the time! More coffee helps! Sometimes I put on old episodes of The X-Files. It relaxes me and gets my brain working again.

What type/genre of books do you like to read?

Some of my all-time favorite books are: Coraline, The Hunger Games, Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, A Wrinkle in Time, The Book Thief, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events series, and anything by Roald Dahl. 

Who is your favorite character in Borrowing Abby Grace and why?

Wilhelm—he’s adorable. I have a total crush on him. And I’m in the middle of writing the next trilogy of Abby Grace books right now and learning a lot of interesting things about him! 

In Borrowing Abby Grace, I love the whole investigative approach.  This series has been described as a “teenage paranormal Nancy Drew.”  Where did you get the idea for the series?

I got approached by my publisher to do a series of Nancy Drew-esque novellas, only modernized with a sassy protagonist and a supernatural element. I’ve always loved sassy protagonists and supernatural books so I jumped at the chance. What especially excited me is reversing the traditional ghost story setup. Usually in ghost stories the protagonist is alive and solves an old unexplained mystery, some lingering hurt, and then the ghost goes away. But with Abby, she’s dealing with the very real problems of living people. They’re going on right now, these urgent and suspenseful dilemmas.

Are there any plans for future releases?  I know that there is a third book in the Borrowing Abby Grace series coming out.

My third book in the Borrowing Abby Grace series is scheduled for a December 7th release. And I’m currently working on books 4, 5 and 6. They’re a trilogy I’m tentatively entitling “Nemesis.”

Favorite color:

Purple

Favorite holiday/season:

Halloween

Word that best describes you and why:

Wry

Optimist or pessimist:

Optimist

Favorite author/book/series:

Roald Dahl  (a/n: I LOVE Roald Dahl!)

Favorite food/drink:

Spaghettios

Favorite place to read/write:

I like writing on trains, a lot. Something about the rhythm and the scenery.