Happy Tuesday, Book Dragons!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Goldy Moldavsky ‘s The Last Girl (The Mary Shelley Club in the US). I loved it, as a huge horror fan it was everything I hoped it would be. I highly recommend giving it a read, my full review will follow asap. I’m really excited to be sharing an author Q&A with you all today, I had so much fun putting it together, huge thanks to Goldy for taking the time to answer my questions.
Happy reading!
1. Where did the inspiration for The Last Girl come from?
I got the idea while touring the New York Public Library. I stumbled upon a small lecture room with a video playing on a loop telling the story of how Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein. I was fascinated and immediately pictured her and her friends in a modern YA setting. Much like Frankenstein, the story took on a life of its own from there.
2. Horror culture features heavily in the book, how much research went into this, or are you a horror fan yourself?
I am a huge horror fan—or I thought I was until I started writing this book and realized that these characters are way more hardcore than I am. I began researching films and found that I had only seen a fraction of the horror cannon (a lot of popular movies, some classics, but not enough to really say I was an expert on the genre.) So the research part of writing was really fun—I just sat down and watched as many obscure horror movies as I could get my hands on.
3. As Stephen King is mentioned several times throughout the book, what is your favourite King novel and why?
Pet Sematary. I remember watching the movie when it first came out, as a young girl, and being freaked out. When I picked up the book for the first time as an adult I was chilled not only by the unsettling imagery, but by King’s mastery of craft, specifically the parts where he alluded to the central family’s eventual misfortune. When you can make your reader feel queasy without any jump scares you know it’s good.
4. Now for some fan casting, Who would you cast as the main characters in an adaptation, if you had the choice?
Weirdly, I never have a clear picture of my characters when I write them, for any of my books. Just a general sense of what they look like. And that was true for THE LAST GIRL as well. I had no one specific in mind for the central cast of characters, and still don’t. EXCEPT for the character of Freddie. Of everyone I have ever written, he’s the only one who had an actor’s face attached in my mind’s eye, and that would be Xolo Maridueña. If the book is ever adapted for the screen he would be my dream Freddie.
5. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I strongly believe that the only difference between aspiring writers and published writers is that published writers didn’t quit. I don’t think you need special training or degrees or even a extraordinary grasp of the language you write in! Just write. Write it all the way through. Pound it until it looks good. Then learn how the business works and send your manuscript to the right people. I didn’t have any connections in the publishing world when I started out. My first book was found in the slush pile.
6. We all love a good book recommendation, have you read any recently you would recommend?
The Nerdy and the Dirty by BT Gottfred was the last book I read that really surprised me. I did not expect to love the characters as much as I did, and I’m a sucker for a cute romance between two people who on pap er seem like they’d never go together.
7. What are you working on next? (If you’re able to tell us).
My next book will hopefully still be as twisty and wild as THE LAST GIRL but with a lot more zany humor. I can’t say anymore than that!
Fantastic Book Dragon 