Tiffany Truitt: Chosen Ones Q&A

Today, we are thrilled to be hosting an exclusive interview with Tiffany Truitt, author of Chosen Ones, now available from Entangled Publishing. Tiffany isn’t just another author here at Novel Novice, though. She’s also a contributor to our blog — and the creator of our retired sister site, Novel Novice Twilight.

Thanks for stopping by, Tiffany!

How has this process been for you being published for the first time?

Overwhelming. Surreal. It still hasn’t hit me. I’m waiting for that brave moment when I go into a store and point to my book on the shelf, admitting to the person next to me that I wrote it. I haven’t gotten there yet, but I will. Writing is such a personal thing, and to know your work is now open to interpretation by so many is a little daunting. I’ve been very lucky to have so much support from the blogging community.  And I had the super rad experience of having my first ever book signing at BEA!! Overall, it’s been a thrill ride.

I know you’ve been working on Chosen Ones for a while now, but it just happens to be getting released during a time when dystopian fiction is all the rage. How do you feel your book will set itself apart from the crowd?

That’s a great question, and an important one to boot.  Chosen Ones deals with questions of humanity: what makes us human? What role do we let technology play in creating or saving lives? I am a huge fan of 19^th century British lit. The books during this time period were written during the Industrial Revolution. Much like our own times, these questions about the role of technology in our lives were explored in print. These novels play a huge role in the plot of the Chosen Ones.  I think the mash-up of genres makes Chosen Ones stand apart— a homage to the classics but with a modern twist.

What are you working on next?

Right now, I am getting super close to turning in my first draft of The Naturals to my editor. It is the sequel to the Chosen Ones, and I have had a lot of fun creating a world that is totally different than the one portrayed in the first novel.

I am also working on a dark and gritty YA Contempt that I really hope sees the light of the day at some point.

FLASH QUESTIONS!

Private concert: who’s playing?

Ugh. This is tough. I am a music nut (going to two big music festivals this summer). I’ve been in a bit of a Florence and the Machine mood as of late. She’s pretty epic.

Pizza toppings?

Chicken and garlic with a cup of Peppercorn Parmesan to dip it in.

Book you can’t stop re-reading?

Pride and Prejudice. Clichéd? Sure. But it is a beloved for a reason.

Living or dead, who would you like to have dinner with?

William Shakespeare.

Perfect vacation?

Anywhere. I love to travel, and I am pretty much up for anything. Last summer, I went to China for ten days.

Look at your desk right now.Name five things within reach.

Cell phone, worry beads from China, old cell phone I still use as an alarm clock, a copy of Pretty Amy by Lisa Burnstein

About Chosen Ones:

I pushed down a key. The hair on the back of my neck shot up, and my skin tingled.

I imagined this was what it felt like to fall in love.

In that moment, I was ready to fall.

Life is bleak but uncomplicated for Tess, living in a not-too-distant future where the government, faced with humanity’s extinction, created the Chosen Ones, artificial beings who are extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

When Tess begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, she meets James, and the attraction is immediate in its intensity, overwhelming in its danger. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

Order your copy of Chosen Ones at Amazon | B&N

About Tiffany Truitt:

Tiffany Truitt is an 8th grade English teacher in Suffolk, Virginia. When she’s not traveling the world, she enjoys reading, writing, and obsessing over coffee. Lost Souls: Chosen Ones is her first novel.

Find out more about Tiffany Truitt at her Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads