It's Finally Friday!: Interview with Cory Putnam Oaks

Hello beautiful people of the world! 

As you know Friday and the weekend is among us, and to celebrate, today we haveCory Putnam Oaks of The Veil to come and discuss herself and her book. Cory is a fantastic author and her books the Veil is definitely a novel you will want to read! Also, if you are an author who is interested in being featured please send me an email or a tweet; I would love to have you particaipate! And on that note...THE INTERVIEW! >:D

Ishita: What is your favorite book of all time?

CPO: ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE (By Tamora Pierce)

Ishita:  What was your inspiration to write your book?

CPO: See above. After I read ALANNA, I very much wanted to be Alanna. I always wanted to be the heroine in the books I read. But for the first time, I also wanted to be Tamora Pierce and write characters like Alanna.

Ishita: What is one book you wish, you had written?

CPO: There are MANY. But I really love A WRINKLE IN TIME. The hot-chocolate-in-the-kitchen scene (Chapter 1) always stands out in my mind as the most wonderful beginning to a book. Ever.

Ishita: Why did you start writing books for young adults? And why this genre?

CPO: I think that when I look back on books I really adore, they are all young adult books. So whenever I think about writing my own books, I’m already in the young adult world.

Ishita: What makes your book so different from all the books out there?

CPO: I like to think that my characters stand out. I love it when I read a book and then start talking about the characters (and caring about them) as though they were real. My fondest hope is that people will do that with Addy and the other characters in my book, THE VEIL.

Ishita: Are you currently working on anything new? If so can we get a clue on what it is ;D?

CPO: Here is a hint about my WIP (my Work In Progress):
“Double double, toil and trouble . . .”

Ishita: Who was your favorite character in the whole story? And why?

CPO: I love all of my characters, but I am particularly partial to Nate. He has such a big heart. He is the emotional anchor to THE VEIL. And I just love him J

Ishita: Any tips or tricks for aspiring writers?

CPO: My biggest piece of advice is Never Give Up. Keep writing, always. You will get better with every book you finish. And another big piece of advice is to get out there and meet other writers. You will learn so much from them. Plus, writers are notoriously fun to hang out with.

Ishita: What is your writing atmosphere like?

CPO: I have two kids, two dogs, and two cats. My house is always chaos so I write in cafes most of the time. There is always a lot of background noise, a lot of hustle and bustle. The lack of quiet used to upset me quite a bit, but I have grown accustomed to it and now I find writing in total silence very unnerving.

Speed Round Questions

Ishita: Favorite food ?

CPO: Cheese. (And this is sort of an issue, since I am going raw vegan this week! If you are at all interested in this, I am live blogging every evening for the duration of this adventure. You can see the posts on my blog, here: http://www.corypoakes.com/blog/)

Ishita: If you were stranded on an island what 5 things would you take? One person= One item!

CPO: Selfishly, I would take my husband, because he’s fun to be around and I think he’d be a great person to have around on an island. So that’s one. Plus matches, that’s just practical. And a water filter. And chocolate, obviously. Lots of chocolate. And dry shampoo so my hair wouldn’t get too gross-looking.

Ishita:  Turtle or Fish?

CPO: Well, given the name of this blog, I’m going to go with fish . . .

Ishita: Reading or Writing ?

CPO: Writing. I love to read, but nothing on earth beats writing.

Ishita: Print Books or E-books?

CPO: Print.

Ishita: Favorite Book Store?

CPO: My two favorites are The Book Spot and Book People, both local indie bookstores in Austin. Both fabulous.

Ishita:  Favorite City in the world?

CPO: London. I got engaged there. Plus, they have scones. And great Indian food! And theater! And . . . boards plane to London. Cheerio, chaps!

About Cory

Cory Putman Oakes was born in Basel, Switzerland, but grew up in Novato, California and attended Marin Catholic High School. She then spent three fantastic years at the University of California at Los Angeles before graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in Psychology. In 2004, Cory graduated from Cornell Law School with a Juris Doctorate Degree and her husband, Mark (the first was the intended consequence of attending the school, the second was a bonus). Since then, she has been an associate at a big law firm, taught business law to undergraduates at Texas State University and written several books for young people.
Cory now lives in Austin, Texas with Mark and their beautiful daughter, Sophia. In addition to writing, Cory enjoys reading, cooking, running, and hanging out with her family and pets.
THE VEIL is Cory’s first published work.

About The Veil

Seventeen-year-old Addison Russell is in for a shock when she discovers that she can see the invisible world of the Annorasi. Suddenly, nothing is as it appears to be—the house she lives in, the woman who raised her, even the most beautiful boy in town all turn out to be more than what they seem. And when this strange new world forces Addy to answer for a crime that was committed long ago, by parents she has never known, she has no choice but to trust Luc, the mysterious Annorasi who has been sent to protect her.
Or so he says . . .