Thursday, October 24, 2013

Interview with Author Amber Skye Forbes


 Amber Skye Forbes
Grovetown, Georgia

Welcome to Vision and Verse, Amber Skye.  We're happy to have you here from Grovetown, Georgia.  What have you written? 
Well, I wrote When Stars Die, which is about Amelia wanting to cleanse the taint of being a witch from her family because being a witch is the biggest sin in her world. I am also working on Stars Will Rise, which will feature an entirely new protagonist. I also have a contemporary fantasy I hope to get back to in December. 

What is your favorite genre to write?
Right now might favorite genre to write is contemporary literary. I blame John Green's The Fault in Our Stars for this sudden urge to write in the YA contemporary genre. 

Favorite food.  
I love stuffed chicken with rice pilaf.

Where would you like to visit?
I would love, love, love to visit anywhere in Europe. From the pictures I've seen, it just seems so beautiful over there, no matter where you go. I especially want to visit France, simply because I've taken several courses in French--but I am by no means fluent. I don't even consider myself bilingual.

Favorite Musical Artist.
 I love Emilie Autumn and Nightwish. Nightwish especially inspires The Stars Trilogy. But I do not listen to music while I write because I can't concentrate at all. However, when I am listening to music, it does inspire me to want to write.

What makes you laugh?
 I laugh easily over everything. So anything can really make me last. I have a morbid sense of humor, sometimes a dirty sense of humor, but also a childish sense of humor. 

How old were you when you started writing?
 I was eight when I started writing, but I didn't start taking my writing seriously until I was fourteen, which is when I knew I wanted to seek publication.

Where do you get your inspiration?
 Life experiences definitely inspire me with certain stories. I have a mental illness called bipolar disorder and had two stays in psychiatric units in 2012. The experiences there will be inspiring many stories to come--though they'll never take place in psyche wards. Maybe briefly, but there are already plenty of YA books that take place in psychiatric units. 

What do you do when you get writer's block?
I never get writer's block because I always outline before I start any book. So when I find myself stumped on something, I just pull out my outline and it puts me back on track.

Who is your favorite author?
 I would say John Green is my favorite author. He's probably the one author whose newest books I'm keeping an eye out for. He has such an emotional writing style, similar to mine, so I easily connect to his stories. 

Best book you've read.
The Fault in Our Stars hands down. It's a beautiful tragic romance that makes me tear up, even when I simply think about it. 

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
I would say my fiance. He is incredibly supportive of me and always tries to remind me what I have going for me in my life. I suffer from depressive spells from time to time, and he is always, always, always there for me to pick me back up. He really watches out for me, and I appreciate it so much.

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
 I think I would like to sit down with my MC from When Stars Die, Amelia Gareth. She is a very interesting person, I think, and I know she would have a lot to say, and I would be interested in hearing what she has to say. I would also be interested in knowing what she thinks of me putting her through all the torture that I do. I hope that throughout the trilogy everything that I've done to her ultimately makes her a stronger character, even if she grows cynical at the end. 

What advice would you give to someone who aspired to be a writer? 
I would tell that person to just keep writing. It's fine to learn the rules and read some books on writing, but don't become so enamored with them because you eventually have to find your own rules and style. Trying to follow all the rules down to the exact wording will only ruin your writing. 

Bio: Amber Skye Forbes is a dancing writer who prefers pointe shoes over street shoes, leotards over skirts, and ballet buns over hairstyles. She loves striped tights and bows and will edit your face with a Sharpie if she doesn't like your attitude. She lives in Georgia where she writes dark fiction that will one day put her in a psychiatric ward...again. But she doesn't care because her cat is a super hero who will break her out.  















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