Amy's Answers Part II

Cold Kiss is definitely heartfelt. What inspired this book?

A bunch of people were talking about YA trends, and someone mentioned zombies. And I thought, yeah, a girl with a zombie boyfriend, that would be funny. But then it stuck with me, and I realized it wouldn’t be funny at all. I have a lot of issues around death and loss, and the idea of someone bringing a loved one back to life really appealed to me, just to explore what that would mean.

If you had to describe Wren in 3 word what would they be? ...And Gabriel?

This one is so tough! I think for Wren it would be: headstrong, curious, independent. And for Gabriel: steady, challenging, protective.

Wren learns a lot through the course of the book. What do you think her most important lesson is?

I think the most important lesson she learns is that love is so much more than a happy ending. It’s not just about how you feel, either. Love comes with a responsibility to the people you care for, and sometimes that means letting them go. Love has to be selfless to a certain extent.

Both Wren and Gabriel have rather unique abilities and the magic that runs through the books is unique. How did this idea develop?

I’ve always loved the idea of ESP or any kind of psychic ability, which is generally purely organic – you either have it or you don’t. I don’t see why magic couldn’t be the same kind of thing – one of those “humans generally only use ten percent of our brain capacity” things. If it’s part of the ninety percent that doesn’t usually get tapped into, I thought it would be something that ran in a family, like a gene or a talent.

But I also like the idea that magic is out there the way electricity is, and that if you can figure out how to harness it, you can use it. So someone without that natural ability, but with focus and determination, could use spells, too.

One thing that was important to me was making the story feel as real as possible, as if everything that was happening could actually happen to any girl in the world. That’s why I didn’t want to create a whole magical school or community. I wanted Wren to have to figure out what to do with her power, the same way I would have if I had suddenly realized I could turn a paper bird into a live one, or change the color of the walls with just a thought. It works better as a metaphor for me that way, too.

Don't forget you can win a Cold Kiss ARC  & autographed copy of Forever here.