Interview: Julianna Baggott, author of Pure + A Giveaway!

Title: Pure (Pure, #1)
Author: Julianna Baggott
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 448 Pages (February 8th, 2012)

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Synopsis: We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

Interview:
 
Can you tell us what the easiest and hardest part was for you in writing Pure?

You think it's going to be the destruction, but actually it's about what endures. It's easier to write about rubble then love, faith, hope -- for me at least. And so it was hard -- but probably my favorite challenge. For example, Pressia can still find beauty in all of the devastation around her. That feels deeply human and real to me, but it wasn't easy.

Pure has some very imaginative and different… let’s just say “Parts” to many of the characters. How did you come with this idea? And were there any that were just too gruesome that you choose to cut them out of the story?

Yes there were some that simply didn't work. I will say that having kids entails holding infants for long hours -- infants that often feel fused, infants that were actually part of your body at one point in time. So those are some of the roots. From there, I wrote conceptual stories with different fusings -- one of which was about a woman with a doll-head fist. The image refused to stand down. Pressia eventually emerged.

Before you first saw the cover for Pure, did you have an idea in your head what you’d like the cover to look like? And if you had any input in the cover, how close did this come to the image you were picturing?

I didn't have any image ideas but I wanted that kind of beaten-up beauty that I mention in the first answer. I wanted equal parts ash and something startlingly arresting. I think they were successful in producing that effect, yes. I love the cover.

Would you be willing to share a couple of your favorite lines from the book?

I loved writing for Helmud. He's an echolaliaist -- a disorder that I made much more literal for the purposes of the novel. He can only repeat what's said, and yet over the course of the novel, you can see that he isn't simply a mimic but brings meaning to the words he chooses to repeat. Eventually there's a scene where he surprised me -- if you've read the book, you'll know the scene exactly. A joy to write.

And lastly, if there was one thing you’d like readers to take away from the story, what would that be?

I think we do a fairly poor job, nationally, discussing the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It always turns into a rehashing of the past -- on moral grounds. Instead, I'd like to simply state the effects of the bombings, with directness and clarity, so that we can learn from the past. There are lessons that we can't afford to forget.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us today Julianna. It's been great to get another chance to host you here on my blog. You are more than welcome here anytime.

Find Julianna Online:


Website | Pure Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Order Pure Online:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository





GIVEAWAY!

ONE lucky winner will receive a

SIGNED copy of PURE!

To enter, please fill out the simple form below. No entries in comments please.
You MUST be at least 13 years old to enter.
Giveaway open to those with a US or Canadian mailing address.
Giveaway Ends: February 27th, 2012

Book Trailer:

Good luck to everyone who enters. The winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond. If you have any questions, please check my policy page or feel free to email. 

A HUGE thank you to Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group for donating the signed copy of Pure for giveaway.

*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this post.