Then the unsettling Kai Awana shows up at school, and Lali discovers she has inherited her mother's ability to astral project—with a surprising twist. Not only that, but Kai needs her help to get to a world she never knew existed. In exchange, Kai promises to help Lali find her mom using his own unique ability.
Now Lali must learn to control her budding power if she ever hopes to see her mother again. She's not sure she can trust Kai, but with her mother's life hanging in the balance, will she have a choice?
Since escaping said small town, she graduated from Penn State University and made a habit of moving across (and out of) the U.S. To date, she has lived in 11 different states and visited 9 countries. Despite her nomadic tendencies, she spends at least a few months out of the year in Seattle, where she regularly consumes too much caffeine and is more likely to be found in a coffee shop than her own apartment.
XODUS is her first novel.
I REALLY enjoyed this book! I've never read a book like this and now I want to find more (if there are more). I'm so happy this a series! I was hooked from the first sentence. I loved the characters and the descriptions were beautiful. The book had me on the edge of my seat with every twist and turn. I could not put it down.
"All opinions are 100% honest and my own."
1. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE PREMISE FOR XODDUS?
My first inkling of what the story would be actually came to me when I was trying to plot out another book. As I was thinking, I was rubbing the back of my neck, where I have a tattoo of a symbol that combines the first initials of my four siblings with my own first initial. It hit me that it would be really fun to write a book about five siblings and a symbol they shared that had some kind of mystical power. The story has transformed nearly beyond recognition since then, but that is how it started.
2. DOES THAT MEAN LALI’S BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN XODUS ARE BASED ON YOUR OWN SIBLINGS?
None of the characters are meant to be replicas of my family members, but there are definitely pieces of my siblings in the characters in the book. I grew up the second of five children, and Lali is the oldest of five, so it’s pretty obvious that the dynamic between her brothers and sisters is based on how my siblings and I were growing up. I loved having a big family, and I couldn’t resist weaving pieces of that into my story.
3. WHAT WAS THE MOST FUN PART OF WRITING XODUS?
I really loved revisiting what it was like growing up in such a busy house. I live far away from my family, and I miss them like crazy every day. Writing the scenes with Lali and her siblings was a lot of fun because the way they relate to each other makes me feel at home, if that makes sense. It’s like my way of creating that energy when I am not able to be around it in real life.
4. WHAT WAS THE WORST PART?
Writing myself into corners! When the idea for XODUS hit me, I was so eager to start writing that I didn’t thoroughly outline the story. As a result, I wrote myself into a lot of corners, and I had to scrap so many scenes that I’d spent hours perfecting. It was painful every time!
5. HOW MUCH OF YOUR OWN LIFE IS WOVEN INTO THE STORY?
As I mentioned, my family dynamic is a big part of the story. I also wrote in little inside jokes and parts of my life that people who are close to me will understand. One of the more obvious ones (to people who knew me when I was little) is the fact that the Lali’s dad is really into dinosaurs and gave all of them dinosaur nicknames. When I was little, I was obsessed with dinosaurs, and I always said I was going to be an archaeologist. I used to collect dinosaur figurines and put together little cardboard fossil kits. I even went to dinosaur camp when I was in third grade. Also, my high school really did have a Drive Your Tractor to School Day. I wish I were kidding.
6. DESCRIBE XODUS IN FIVE WORDS.
The best book ever written. Kidding! If I only had five words, I’d say “lots of twists and turns.”
7. WHAT DO YOU THINK READERS WILL LOVE ABOUT XODUS?
If they are anything like me, I think they will love the paranormal elements. Astral projection has always fascinated me, and I kind of ran with that idea and made it into something else. I won’t get into too many details, but in my story world, astral projection abilities come out differently if DNA gets mixed, so there are countless ways powers can turn out. That’s one of my favorite elements of the story, and I’m excited to play with that concept more in the later books in the series.
8. WHAT WOULD READERS BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
When I was little, I was an extra in two movies: Labor of Love and Matlock: The Legacy. Is that surprising?
9. WHAT’S ON YOUR LIST OF THINGS TO READ?
There are so many books I want to read that it’s almost overwhelming. I love YA, and I stalk books on Amazon and read the previews like it’s my job. As a result, I find at least five new ones I want to read every day. I recently read Shatter Me, and I totally fell in love with Tahereh Mafi’s writing style, so I’m dying to read the rest of the books (including the novellas) in that story world. I also really want to read the Throne of Glass series by Sara J. Maas and Daughter of Smoke and Bone and all the books after it by Laini Taylor. I could go on and on with this question, but I’ll stop there.
10. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
Finish book two. Then book three. Then four. You get the idea.
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1 comments:
I'd definitely want to be able to fly.
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