Hey Fantabulous Readers!
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful sisters Sasha and Sarena, authors of the Pendant Trilogy.
1. How did you get into writing? When did you first start writing?
We began writing
when we were nine-years-old. Sasha and I were on a plane to St. Maarten when
she decided to start writing a story in a notebook. I really liked what she
wrote, so I continued writing from there! Ever since that moment we’ve been a
writing duo, and we bounce ideas off one another well. (The Writing Duo also happens to be the name of our blog). Since
we’re twins we have similar thoughts when it comes to book ideas!
2. Where did you come up with the idea for the
Pendant Trilogy? Who/ what is your inspiration?
I (Sarena) came up
with the idea in July 2010. One day I was reading The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, and if you know the book’s
cover, there’s a girl on the front holding a ruby gemstone. I remember looking
at that image and getting this strange picture in my mind (don’t ask where it
came from—it was very random) of three gemstones that could form the shape of a
heart. I never thought anything of it. It was just a hazy thought.
In August Sasha
and I sat down to come up with some new book ideas. I brought up the picture
that had so randomly produced itself in my mind, and at first she didn’t
believe it was my idea! I told her that the idea was definitely mine; and from
there, we came up with a story about these gemstones and started writing!
I’d say one of our
biggest writing inspirations is J.K. Rowling. (Isn’t she everyone’s?) We love
to write, and Harry Potter is such an
important part of our lives. She and loads of other sci-fi and fantasy authors
definitely inspire us to keep writing what we love.
3. Are any of your characters based on people you
actually know, if so which ones?
No, we don’t base
any of our characters’ personalities off people we know. Instead, we decided to
use some relationships that we have
in real life and implemented them in our books! For example, there are twins
with an older brother in our books because we’re twins who have an older
brother. (Twins are awesome, though I might be biased.)
4. Have you written anything before The Pendant
Trilogy?
Sasha and I have
written countless unfinished novels before The Pendant Trilogy came to
fruition. The first book we wrote together (that began on the airplane) was
called Chicky Planet and followed a
little chick and her monkey and tiger friends as she ventured through outer
space. It was pretty imaginative. That was the only book we completed before writing
The Gemstone!
5. If you had to pick only five books from your
bookshelf you could keep, what would they be?
Wow, that’s a
tough question! I, Sarena, would choose: Harry Potter (can I keep all of them?
Please?); Heroes of Olympus (Mark of Athena or House of Hades); Jane Blonde;
Game of Thrones; and Fahrenheit 451.
Sasha’s choices: Pretty
Little Liars; George’s Marvelous Medicine (or any Roald Dahl book for that
matter); Percy Jackson; Uglies; and Catching Fire.
6. Who is your favorite character from any book
and why?
Sarena: I’d say I
really like Hermione Granger … but I love so many characters! Also I really
like Luna Lovegood and Annabeth Chase. They’re fierce but cool heroines!
Sasha: Definitely
Hermione! She’s smart but she realizes that bravery and friendship are what’s
really important in life!
7. How long did the writing process take for The
Pendant Trilogy? From conception of the story to final publication?
It took six months
to write the first draft of The Gemstone,
so it was completed in February 2011. A lot changed from that draft. The
book was published May 23, 2012. We began writing the sequel, The King’s Jewel, right after the
publication of The Gemstone. Most of
the book was written in two months, but the first draft wasn’t complete until
January 2013. The book was published in July 2013. We began writing the final
book in the trilogy, The Poisoned
Emerald, in July 2013, and completed most of it in the summer of 2013. The
book wasn’t finished until May 2014, and it will be published in late September
2014!
8. Who are some of your favorite authors?
J.K.
Rowling, Scott Westerfeld, Rick Riordan, Roald Dahl, George Orwell, Sara
Shepard, Jill Marshall, Laini Taylor, and lots more!
9. What actors/ actresses could you see playing
the characters of your book?
We don’t have a list of actors/actresses to play certain characters
in our books. However, there is one character that we think would fit Lana
Parrilla perfectly! The headmistress at Hill Valley (the boarding school in our
books) is exactly who we imagine as Lana! (Plus, we love Once Upon a Time!)
10. How did you come up with the title and cover of The Pendant Trilogy? Did they morph as you wrote the book, or were they constant?
The titles in The Pendant Trilogy were a bit different from their
original names. The Gemstone never
changed (we had used that title from the start). The King’s Jewel was originally The
Underworld and then The Sorcerers
Underworld but we didn’t really like the fit. The book was mainly about The
King’s Jewel, and we loved the little ring
to it! The original title for The
Poisoned Emerald was The Poison. It
didn’t change much, but the “emerald” is pretty key in the book. We wanted each
book to have some kind of “gemstone” or “jewel” in the title! The “Pendant”
referred to in the Pendant Trilogy is the “heart-shaped” image I originally
thought of four years ago. When the three gems come together, it’s called a
pendant! The original title for the trilogy was The Pendants Trilogy (not much
of a difference, but it’s pretty significant. There’s only one pendant!).
11. Are you planning to write any other books?
We have lots of
other ideas in the works. We’re planning on starting another book later this
year that will incorporate some of our love for food … and it’ll have a fun
twist on a classic tale!
12. What would your advice be to someone who's
aspiring to be a writer?
Read every day,
write every day. It takes practice to get things right, just like in sports!
Practicing every day and taking your time while writing will really help you
hone your skills and create your own unique writing style.
13. Finally, just to wrap things up, what's your
favorite color and why?
Sarena: Purple!
(Fun fact: my favourite colour is purple because that was the favourite colour
of Abby Hayes … one of my favourite books as a kid.)
Sasha: Red! (No
story behind it!)
Where to Find Them:
Blog: thependanttrilogy.wordpress.com
Twitter: twitter.com/pendanttrilogy (@PendantTrilogy)
Instagram: instagram.com/sashananua
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thependanttrilogy
Tumblr: thependanttrilogy.tumblr.com
Official website: thependanttrilogy.com
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