Author Interview: Shana Norris + Troy High Giveaway

Author Interview: Shana Norris + Troy High Giveaway

Hi Shana! How did you first create a love for writing?Hi, Kelsey! Thanks for having me on your blog. I've always loved books. My parents started me off right away with reading books to me, and then I started reading them all the time once I was able. So from there, I started making up my own stories. I'd come up with stories about my dolls and tell them to my brothers and sister. When I was eight, I started writing the stories down and making little picture books from notebook paper stapled together.

Where did you get your ideas from for Troy High?
I LOVE Greek mythology and I always knew I wanted to write a story inspired by the myths. For a long time, I thought I'd write about Persephone, because that's one of my favorite myths. But in 2006, I needed a story to write for NaNoWriMo and I thought, "How about the Trojan War between two schools?" That was really the start of the idea, and from there I read and studied The Iliad and outlined the major events, then figured out how to turn them into a modern day setting.

Who would you say was the hardest character to write?
Hunter was a hard guy to write about. He's closed off and I had to work hard to figure out his motivations for getting involved in the war. I think that really comes out more in the sequel novella I just released, Overtime.

If you could of been anything besides an writer what would you have been?
An archaeologist or an astronomer. I really love history, and I'd love to go explore ancient ruins and dig up these lost cities. I also love space and reading about all these cool things out there beyond our universe, so it would be fun to study them. Or maybe even a ghost hunter! I'm completely addicted to ghost stories and ghost hunting shows.

Growing up what books did you love to read?
I grew up in the Sweet Valley Twins and Baby-Sitters Club era. I LOVED those books and read them all the time. Some of the first books I wrote were total rip-offs of Sweet Valley and BSC. I still actually own the entire Baby-Sitters Club collection! Other than that, I loved reading ghost stories (still do!) and fantasy books by authors such as Terry Brooks, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Anne McCaffrey.

Favourite film?
Oh, hard question! There are so many that I love and watch over and over. I think I'll go with The Goonies. It's just such a fun movie and I've always loved it. I've seen it probably a hundred times, but I still watch it whenever I find it on TV.

Zombies or Unicorns?
Unicorns! I've always been a huge unicorn fan.

You have also wrote a few more YA novels, which one would you say was your favourite to write?
I have a very soft spot for my first published book, Something to Blog About. The characters have been with me since I was 15 and I used to write a bunch of stories about them. So I really grew to love them and know them very well. I had a lot of fun turning their lives into that book and really loved working on it from start to finish.

Have you currently any ideas for a new book?
I'm working on the sequel to my paranormal book, Surfacing, right now. And then I have some ideas I'm working on, one for a middle grade book and the other is a companion book to The Boyfriend Thief. I'd love to write some more Greek mythology inspired stories one day. Surfacing is inspired by Scottish myths and it was fun to bring it into a modern day setting, but I'm very drawn to Greek mythology, so I'd love to explore it some more!

Shana was also nice enough to include one of her awesome books an copy of Troy High and some swag goodies to go with. Thankyou very much Shana!

Summary: Homer’s Iliad, the classic tale of love and revenge, is shrewdly retold for teens in Troy High.

Narrated by Cassie, a shy outsider who fears that an epic high school rivalry is about to go up in flames, the story follows the Trojans and Spartans as they declare war on the football field. After the beautiful Elena–who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders–transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie’s brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten.

The Trojans and Spartans pull wicked pranks on each other as homecoming approaches. And the Spartans’ wildcard football star, Ackley, promises to take down the Trojans’ offensive line. But the stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school. Troy High will seduce readers with its incendiary cast of mythic proportions.

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