Today I am absolutely thrilled to bring you an interview with YA author, C.G. Drews aka Cait aka PaperFury! If you’re a writer, you may recognize Cait from her informative blog, her colorful bookstagram, and her witty Twitter updates. I followed Cait for a while online before I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of her debut book, A Thousand Perfect Notes. Her beautiful writing and vivid characters brought the story to life, only for it to rip my heart out in the best way possible. Cait’s next book, The Boy Who Steals Houses, releases on April 4th, and if the blurb is any indication, it’s going to be just as wonderful as her first book:
Can two broken boys find their perfect home?
Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.
But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.
Cait lives in Australia, so she was awesome and answered some questions via email. Without further ado, here they are!
What’s the first memory you have of realizing you were in love with storytelling?
I remember writing and illustrating my own stories (proudly stapled together and done in colourful construction paper) when I was about six or seven years old. But I knew I truly wanted to be an author with books on the shelves when I was 15.
You signed with your agent relatively young, at age 19. What advice do you have for young authors?
Firstly that there’s no time limit to success! I had the wild goal of being a published teen author, but it was not to be (A Thousand Perfect Notes came out when I was 24!) and I did feel like I’d “failed.” Which is just so untrue! So write as hard as you can, but be sure you are ready and your manuscript is ready. You can totally do this.
You are known for your witty and colorful Instagram and Twitter accounts. Aspiring authors frequently receive advice that an online presence is an important part signing with an agent. Do you think your social media following played a role in getting an agent, and what are your thoughts on that advice to new writers?
My social media following played zero part in my getting an agent! I signed back in 2013 so I didn’t even have a colourful following back then. And even when I landed my book deal, there was no point where my editors considered my Twitter followers over my actual writing. So I do believe it’s good to have a strong online presence (not to mention it’s a lot of fun…I have a good time!). But your writing is way more important. If you have to choose between social networking vs writing an amazing and solid book = choose your book.
One thing I’ve noticed from following you on Instagram is that you read a ton of books. Do you have any tips for reading more books and making time to read?
Eh just don’t sleep. Sleep when you’re dead. (I’M JOKING. DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME, KIDS!!) Although I confess I read a lot, but not 600-page epic fantasies! I read a lot of 300pg contemporaries (which I adore) and they do go a bit faster.
What has been different in releasing your second book versus releasing your first? How do you feel like you’ve grown?
It doesn’t feel long enough between them, eep, just 10 months! So I’m still in a hazy daze of being a debut author trying to find my feet. I do think I have more of an idea of how to promote and network my second book, though!
Can you talk about the inspiration for The Boy Who Steals Houses?
I’ve always wanted to write a Goldilocks genderbent retelling! I also love going on long walks and so I pass by a lot of empty houses…which left me to imagine what it would be like if a teenage burglar was there to steal the house and live in it while the real families were away.
Both A Thousand Perfect Notes and The Boy Who Steals Houses have amazing, attention-grabbing first lines. Did those come later on in the process of editing, or do you know how your stories will start when you begin writing them?
Aw thank you! I’m really proud of these two first lines and ATPN’s never changed from the first time I wrote it. When I open up a fresh document to start a new story, I want a powerful first sentence right away. I’ll think about it for days before I start drafting.
In A Thousand Perfect Notes and, from what I’ve seen, in The Boy Who Steals Houses, you experiment with how the words actually look on the page, occasionally arranging the lines in unique formations. What inspired this?
I am just a little too extra haha. (Also I played with word art, and turned it into poetry at times, because I love how depth can be added to a story with visual elements.)
YA fiction is often looked down upon, and recently has been caught up in a bit of drama. Why do you think it is important to continue writing YA?
As long as there are teens who crave books, there should be YA books to put in their hands. I also adore writing YA because it’s such a deeply emotional avenue to tell stories about growing up and losing innocence and learning who you are as a person. It’s invaluable and applicable to anyone who wants to read it!
What is one writing resource (blog, book, program) you would recommend?
I learnt a lot from goteenwriters.com when I was a teen trying to understand the publishing world! I also think books themselves are our best teachers. Read, read, read. Everything you can!
If you could choose one character from either of your books to go on a road trip with, who would it be?
I would choose Sam from The Boy Who Steals Houses because he’s very reliable and street-savvy and hopefully would stop us getting lost.
A big thank you to Cait for taking the time to answer some questions! Be sure to preorder The Boy Who Steals Houses, available on April 4th!
Have you read A Thousand Perfect Notes? Are you excited for The Boy Who Steals Houses? Let me know in the comments!
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