Fever Blog Tour: Q&A With Lauren DeStefano

Hi everyone!

I was lucky enough to be asked by Simon and Schuster Canada to participate in the Fever blog tour (my review of Fever is HERE)! I'm really glad to be a part of the tour because Fever was such a fantastic sequel to one of my favourite books of last year, Wither (my review of Wither is HERE)! As a part of the tour, I was able to do a quick interview with the author of The Chemical Garden series, Lauren DeStefano! Here are her answers:

1.What was the inspiration behind the polygamy aspect of the Chemical Garden series?
The dynamic of a polygamous family has just always fascinated me. In a lot of cases, especially those highlighted in the media, the mortar of these families is based on religion. I wanted to remove that element and see what it was that would keep this family together, or if they would stay together at all.

2. I've heard that it only took you about a month to write your first draft of Wither, was this the case for Fever? How long did it take you to write?
After writing Wither in one month, I did spend several months editing it, and that's where the story really became what you see today. The first draft of Fever took several months to write; I can't recall how long exactly, but I'd say it took the better part of a year.

3. What was the road to being published like for you? What were the challenges and do you have any advice for authors hoping to be published?
Even now, nearly a year after publication, I'm still finding a lot of surprises. I take each wonderful day as it comes. My advice to aspiring authors would be to not take advice too seriously. There are a lot of ways to tell a story, and the publication journey is different for each individual. It's all about finding what works for you. I know that I wouldn't be here if I'd abandoned my own way of thinking in favor of advice I was given.

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Lauren!

-------------------------------------------------------------------