Author Interview: Lisa M. Stasse [The Forsaken]

Today I have on the blog, fabulous, amazingly sweet and talented debut author, Lisa M. Stasse here to dish about her recently published novel The Forsaken, and the journey getting there.

Lisa M. Stasse was born in New York, and has since lived in Spain, Russia, Hawaii, and North Carolina. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Government and English lit, and is currently a digital librarian at UCLA.  Lisa loves watching science fiction movies, cooking Spanish food, and dancing around her house to 80′s music.  She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband and their two-year-old daughter.  All three of them are learning how to surf. 

Find Lisa: Twitter•Goodreads•Blog•Email

*Drum rrooolllll*


1) Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for joining us here at The Teen Book Guru! Your debut, The Forsaken, (which I’m actually just starting) has just been released. Could you tell us a little about it?

Hi Riya! Thank you so much for having me on The Teen Book Guru! I really appreciate it. And hey, congrats on reaching 1,000 followers! That is awesome! So, THE FORSAKEN is about a 16-year-old girl named Alenna Shawcross living in a dystopian future who inexplicably fails a mandatory government personality test and gets banished to a prison island controlled by various tribes and government machines. She has to forge alliances and fight to survive, while trying to find a way off the island.

2) The concept behind The Forsaken seems quite similar to that of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Did you draw inspiration for The Forsaken from there? 

I really love THE HUNGER GAMES, and it was definitely a huge inspiration for me, but I think the concept for THE FORSAKEN probably sounds closer to THE HUNGER GAMES than it actually is. I was equally inspired by the TV show LOST and LORD OF THE FLIES as much as THE HUNGER GAMES. But I do read tons of YA novels and dystopians (I love DIVERGENT and THE MAZE RUNNER) so all of those books definitely influenced me. And of course movies like WAR OF THE WORLDS and even THE WIZARD OF OZ (as crazy as that probably sounds if you haven't read the book yet!) were also big influences in coming up with the feel of THE FORSAKEN, and doing all the world building too.

3) Describe The Forsaken in three words... Go!

Fierce. Intense. Honest.

4) How did you come up with your characters? Do you see yourself in any of them (Alenna, in particular)? 

Alenna kind of starts as a timid character who has led a sheltered existence in The United Northern Alliance, but by the end of the book she is a total warrior. Her journey is awesome, but I don't really see myself in her too much--except in her status as an outsider, which I've definitely felt like many times in my life. It's funny because some of my friends tell me I'm more like Gadya (Alenna's outspoken--and sometimes really aggravating--best friend) although I don't really think I'm like her. I guess I'm probably a mix of all of my characters. Maybe not the villains, though? But who knows. I think little bits and pieces of my personality probably worked their way in there. Of course I also borrow character traits from friends (and from my husband, haha) to use for my characters too.

5) What are your writing habits?

I usually write late at night or very early in the morning. This is because it's really quiet then, and no one is calling or texting me, so I have the time to myself. I always listen to music when I write. I feel like it gives me energy (well, music and coffee. I'm embarrassed to admit that I am actually drinking a cup of coffee right now at 2AM as I write this. That is a little weird! I think I need to enter a caffeine rehab program.) Anyway, I usually just sit at my desk in the living room and write on my laptop. One of my two cats is usually hanging around and making me feel comfortable. I usually write for about 3-4 hours at a time.

6) When did you first realize you wanted to be an author? What/who made you want to become one?

I always wanted to be an author--I was obsessed with books even as a little kid (yes, I was a geek) and right now I work as a librarian at UCLA. But there actually was one event that made me want to be an author more than anything else. In fact, this is actually a pretty weird/funny story that I haven't told anyone yet, at least not publicly. So, when I was twelve, I wrote a fan letter to one of my favorite authors. I can't say who, because this person is still writing tons of books and I don't want to embarrass them! But I wrote this author the most naive letter ever asking for their advice in becoming a writer. I probably sounded pretty deranged, because I also included some handwritten stories along with my letter (and yes, the stories were terrible, because I was twelve, haha). But the worst/funniest part is, the author actually wrote back and sent me a super mean letter! I couldn't believe it! 

I was like "Wow! The author doesn't like me!" I was too shocked to get upset. I was just puzzled. I mean, maybe I caught her on a bad day or something, but her letter was totally horrible and was basically like "You have no talent so give up." How weird is that? Maybe she didn't know I was twelve and thought I was like sixty or something and stalking her. But anyway, the good part of the story is that I told myself, "I am going to prove this author wrong! I am too an author!" So that's actually when I started trying to write a lot each day, and trying to get better at writing. 

It still amuses me (and depresses me) that an author would write a mean letter to a twelve year old girl, but some authors are pretty crazy, I guess! Now I can laugh about it. I wish I still had her letter. Sadly, I still love her books too. Maybe she's just not good at dealing with people or responding to fan mail? I'm definitely too scared to ever send her any more letters! ;)

7) How hard (or easy), as a debut author, was it to get your very first novel out there? Did you face any challenges?

Writing the book was a challenge--it took about a year. I'd just had my daughter, so I was juggling learning how to be a mom, as well as how to do my job at UCLA. Writing the book was a form of escape for me. I didn't even know if I'd try to get it published, or if I'd even finish it. But it just grew and grew, kind of like it was writing itself. When I was done, I contacted my dream agent (who had written a lot of helpful advice online about how to get published) and she sold the book to Simon & Schuster as a trilogy within a few weeks.

8) If you were dropped on Prison Island Alpha, how would you survive? Do you think youwould survive?

I always think about this question. I'm not afraid of conflict, but I would probably get slaughtered on Prison Island Alpha by all the crazed kids running around (unless I had tons of weapons, or some of my friends got dropped on the island along with me). My strategy would probably be to act really crazy so that people would be scared of me and leave me alone! And then I could try to escape from the island, just like Alenna tries.

9) Can you tell us anything about where you hope to take Alenna's story in The Uprising, the sequel to The Forsaken? What should we expect?

Publishing works on a sort of slow schedule, so I've actually already finished THE UPRISING (even before THE FORSAKEN got published!) It picks up one month after THE FORSAKEN ends, with Alenna at the rebel base in Australia. Her journey to rescue her friends and to liberate Prison Island Alpha is what motivates her. But there are also some major betrayals and twists in THE UPRISING that complicate all her plans, and jeopardize her hopes for the future. Not everyone survives the battles ahead.

10) What are your favorite book(s), and who are your favorite author(s)? What authors/books are you currently reading?

I love Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. I also love Stephen King, JK Rowling ,Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, John Green, and of course Jane Austen. I think my favorite book is probably Pride and Prejudice, but I'm not sure (I love Lord of the Flies, The Road, and Looking for Alaska too). I probably have about fifty #1 favorite books, depending on the day!

11) When you are not reading or writing, what can you be found doing? 

Because I live near a beach now, my husband and I have been learning how to surf (and yes, it pains me to admit he is slightly better at it than I am). But other than that, I spend most of my time working at UCLA, when I'm not reading or writing, or just hanging out at home with my husband and our three-year-old daughter. I am a pretty big daydreamer. I have lots of big plans to travel, but can't find the time to do it yet. In the fall, I'm hoping to go over to Europe (THE FORSAKEN was just released in the UK, and is coming out in some other countries too).

12) Pick this or that:

E-books or Hard Copies? Hard copies (although I read both)

Facebook or Twitter? Twitter

Dogs or Cats? Cats

Marshmallows or Gummies? Gummies

And now the last question....

13) If you could be one Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor, which one would you like to be and why? Or, if you don’t like jelly beans, what candy would you choose and why?

I actually do like Jelly Belly candies quite a bit! I would probably end up being Cappuccino flavor, because of my ongoing coffee habit. But I wouldn't mind being Mixed Berry Smoothie (because it's so tasty). There are almost too many Jelly Belly flavors to choose from! Maybe I'd be a whole bag of them.

Lisa, thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions. I can’t wait to dig in to The Forsaken!! :) I wish you all the best!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog!!! I really appreciate it. I hope everyone enjoys the interview! 

Here's the official book trailer for The Forsaken, which Lisa was kind enough to share with me: