An Interview with Amy Reed

So, I just posted a review of Beautiful by Amy Reed. You can see my review here.
I recently interviewed Amy Reed. I hope you enjoy it...


1. Was it hard to write Beautiful, because of the content in it?

Parts of it were really emotionally draining for me. It was difficult to go through some things with the characters, to experience their pain and loss, to put them in situations where I knew they were going to get hurt. But in some ways, it was also very healing because there's a lot in Beautiful that comes from my own life. By revisiting certain things, I was able to find some understanding and closure that I didn't have before.


2. Did you have any say in the cover of the book? What are your opinions on it?

I gave a little initial input about what I thought Cassie should look like, but I pretty much trusted the folks at Simon Pulse to come up with something great--and indeed they did. I think the cover is absolutely amazing and is a perfect visualization of what you'll find inside.


3. What are some of your favorite books/authors?

That's a difficult question for someone who reads so much. There are a few books that will stay in my heart forever and have definitely influenced my own writing: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold; Push by Sapphire; Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen; the poetry of Anne Sexton; Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Alison. Most recently, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson blew my mind. I read a little of everything, but the books that really stick with me tend to be about young women in intense, sometimes scary situations where they're forced to confront their fears and find inner strength. I think that because of my own experiences, I deeply identify with these types of stories.


4. If you could to anything, what would you do?

Besides writing, I would love to have a little organic farm somewhere in Northern California with a few chickens and goats, maybe a cow. There is nothing more relaxing to me than digging around in the dirt. And there's nothing more delicious than veggies picked straight out of the garden.