Breaking Glass Tour: Author Interview

BREAKING GLASS by Lisa Amowitz 

Published Date: July 2013
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Genre: YA

The Story: On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he’s not sure whether they’re real or if he’s losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.

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Author Bio:

Lisa Amowitz was born in Queens and raised in the wilds of Long Island, New York where she climbed trees, thought small creatures lived under rocks and studied ant hills. And drew. A lot. When she hit her teens, she realized that Long Island was too small for her and she needed to escape. So she went to college in Pittsburgh. Go figure. 

 On leaving college, Lisa became a graphic designer living in New York City. She eventually married her husband of a zillion years, had two lovely children, and was swept away to a fairy tale life in the Bronx, where, unbelievably there are more trees and wilderness than her hometown. She can see the Hudson River from her kitchen window. 

 Lisa has been a professor of Graphic Design at her beloved Bronx Community College where she has been tormenting and cajoling students for nearly seventeen years. She started writing eight years ago because she wanted something to illustrate, but somehow, instead ended up writing YA. Probably because her mind is too dark and twisted for small children. 

 BREAKING GLASS which will be released in July, 2013 from Spencer Hill Press, is her first published work. VISION, the first of the Finder series will be released in 2014, along with an unnamed sequel in the following year. LIFE AND BETH will also be released in the near future, along with graphic novel style art.

Find Lisa on Facebook / Follow Lisa on Twitter

Author Interview:

1. Where did you come up with the inspiration behind the book? 
   I guess I wanted to write something creepy and full of secrets. Now that I think of it, the horse farm that we stayed at one summer about three years ago played a large part in inspiring Breaking Glass. The landlady both irritated and intrigued me and it got me thinking about secrets; about a town where everyone had a secret. The tree on the property there is definitely the tree in the book where Jeremy digs up the first clue in the mystery. But the basic idea had been percolating long before that. 
2. What inspired you to write your first book? 
   There were a few reasons I started writing in earnest some years back. Part of it was Harry Potter and how it awakened my sense of wonder, part of it was my desire to illustrate a children’s book. Another part of it was a need to process my distress over raising young children in the aftermath of September 11. 
3. What books/authors have influenced your writing?
   Marcus Zusak—The Book Thief, Maggie Stiefvater—The Raven Boys, Anne Spollen—The Color of Water, Cassandra Clare—The Mortal Instruments Series, Libba Bray—The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Suzanne Collins—The Hunger Games, and of course J.K. Rowling—Harry Potter. 
4. What was your favourite scene to write? 
   Without giving any spoilers, I enjoyed the part where Jeremy interacts with a medical professional who thinks he is the funniest kid he ever met. 
5. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
   Making sense of my very intricate plot without turning the whole thing into a soap opera. 
6. How do you overcome writer's block?
   The best way I know to overcome writer’s block is read. It always inspires me to write. 
7. What are your current projects? 
   I am working on a young adult murder mystery with no paranormal elements. 
8. What book are you reading now? 
   I’ve got a huge haul from BEA, so I am working my way through that. I’m reading three books at once at the moment, EXTRACTED by Sherry Ficklin and Tyler Jolley, THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Stiefvater, and PRODIGY by Marie Liu. Next up I am going to read PODS by Michelle Pickett and STORM AND SIEGE by Leigh Bardugo. 
9. If you could have dinner with any fictional character who would it be and why? 
   Jem from Cassie Clare’s Infernal Devices series. Why? Because he’s awesome, that’s why and I think he’d be quite interesting to speak to for various reasons I won’t divulge because of spoilers. 
10. Do you have any advice for other writers? 
    Don’t write for the sole purpose of getting published. Write because you love it. And don’t be in such a hurry—and please, above all, find people you trust and listen to their advice.