Blog Tour: The Other Lamb by Katie Young (Author Interview)
Title: The Other Lamb
Author: Katie Young
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication Date: August 28, 2014
Synopsis: Incarcerated on Earth as punishment for breeding with humans, the Watchers found a way to escape. Zach is living proof of that…even though someone has cut out his heart.
When Zach turns eighteen he develops an insatiable thirst for blood, but he tries to bury his fears and go on enjoying his birthday. His best friend Kim has scored them tickets to the hottest gig in town. But a charged encounter with his idol, the enigmatic rock star known as Grigory, leads to a revelation that shatters everything Zach thinks he knows about himself and the world, and places everyone dear to him in grave danger.
Zach is a Naphil, the forbidden offspring of a mortal woman and a Watcher. When those who seek to destroy him snatch Kim, Zach is forced to embark on a journey of discovery spanning continents and ages. With the help of a mysterious stranger named Sam, Zach must unearth the truth about his parentage, find Kim, and discover who has stolen his heart…before he triggers the apocalypse.
Author Interview:
First off, I'd like to thank you for joining me on the blog today!
It’s a pleasure – thanks for having me!
1. Describe The Other Lamb as a tweet (140 characters or less)!
Fallen angels, vampiric demons, & rock stars! Oh, my!
2. If you could re-title The Other Lamb what would you call it and why?
Well, it was based on a short story I wrote at university many years ago called The Boy Who Lost Heart, which was more of a fable about how people fall in love. So that was the working title for a long time. I also considered calling it The Naphil, but I liked The Other Lamb as it’s more cryptic.
3. What inspired you to start writing?
I always enjoyed writing poems as a child. I won some competitions and had a couple of things published in anthologies at school, so I guess that’s how I got the bug. In my teens I wrote songs, but I didn’t practice guitar as much as I should have, so they all sounded pretty similar! I was obsessed with reading as a teen, especially Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and Poppy Z. Brite. My MA tutor at university suggested I should take a year off after graduation and write a book, but I didn’t take her advice, and I ended up working in the media. I didn’t write or paint or play music for years, but just before I turned thirty, I had a mini existential crisis and decided I needed to do something creative again and that’s how I came to write the first draft of The Other Lamb.
4. What kind of research, if any, did you do for The Other Lamb?
I love doing research and I tend to fall down rabbit holes. I can get so easily distracted! Even if I am not going into detail with the writing, I like to have that specific knowledge to underpin and inform my stories. I am a huge fan of Chuck Palahniuk and especially the way he litters his tales with bizarre facts which could easily be made up, but are usually absolutely true. I read a lot of religious texts for The Other Lamb, especially The Book of Enoch, and a lot about the legend of Watchers and fallen angels. From the Ashes of Angels by Andrew Collins was a great resource. I like to make sure I have the flora and fauna of regions right. It was pretty tricky dealing with ‘antediluvian’ timelines and places from antiquity, but obviously my book is fantastical so I allowed myself a bit of license there. I had a long discussion about medicine and opiates with an editor friend of mine who had studied the subject, so that was serendipitous. I also drew a lot on my own teen infatuations and experiences of seeing bands over the years, and threw in places I’ve visited.
5. Do you have a specific place where you write?
I wrote The Other Lamb on a netbook, anywhere and everywhere I could – especially on the bus and the tube on my way to work. These days I tend to write on a laptop with an MS writing programme, on my sofa which is next to a bookshelf so all my reference material is to hand, with a heap of blankets and tea. It’s really bad for my back, and for my concentration, but I need activity and background noise. I am not good at locking myself away. I am working on a novel now which is quite ambitious in scope, and I’ve found writing longhand in a notebook whenever I get a chance is quite useful for getting through the first draft. I wrote a few chapters in Spain in earlier this year. I started writing it in India last year. I try to write a bit in my lunch breaks at work. It’s all about getting the words down and resisting the urge to edit!
6. What are you reading right now?
I am reading a novel called Twin Truths by Shelan Rodger. It caught my eye because my WIP is about twins, one of whom disappears and this has similar themes. Next up on my ridiculously long to be read list is Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.
This or That...
Ebook or Real book?
I like the convenience of e-books for travel, but it has to be real books for me because they are works of art and I can’t imagine a home without bookshelves.
Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter all the way.
Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate.
Past or Future?
I am sentimental and I love to reminisce, but I’m going to go with future because it’s new and exciting and full of potential.
And just for fun- What is the strangest thing on your desk right now?
Probably my Google search history. Occupational hazard!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!
It was so much fun. Thanks, Kristen.
-Kristen ♥
The Other Lamb is a great read. You never quite know where it's going.
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