Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

BIO

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes lives in Concord, Massachusetts, with her family. Born in 1984, she wrote her first novel, IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT, at the age of thirteen and her second novel, DEMON IN MY VIEW, an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, just two years later. Named on of the 20 Teens Who Will Change the World by Teen People, Atwater-Rhodes has been featured in Seventeen, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and The New Yorker and has appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and CBS This Morning. IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT has been praised as "remarkable" (Voice of Youth Advocates) and "mature and polished" (Booklist), while Publishers Weekly has praised DEMON IN MY VIEW as a book "reader will drain... in one big gulp."

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PAST INTERVIEW

October 23, 2001

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes knows all about things that go bump in the night. Her first novel, IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT, is about a century-old feud between two vampires. Since that book, she has featured characters that are witches, ancient Egyptian ghouls, and just general creepy folk. SHATTERED MIRROR is Atwater-Rhodes's third book and it's a vamp vs. witch, action-packed thriller! Teenreads.com enlisted Serena Burns (whose pretty spooky herself) to chat with the author about bloodsuckers, the craft of writing, and bad-guy babes.

TRC: SHATTERED MIRROR features twin bloodsucking characters. IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT revolves around a vampire and her brother. What is it about the sibling relationship that you find so interesting to write about? And what specifically about twins? Do you have siblings, and if so, how do your characters reflect your family life?

AAR: I have two sisters and one brother (actually a cousin, but he's like a brother) who live with me and I'm close to all of them; I also get along with both my parents. My family has influenced me in many positive ways, for which I'm lucky. In my books, siblings have a tendency to play the same role. As in real life, they effect each other, either for the better or the worse.

In order to write, I watch people --- what motivates them, what discourages them, etc. And it's a fact that most people have families, and those families change their lives and who they are; my characters are no different.

TRC: As in your other books, you write a lot about good and evil in SHATTERED MIRROR. For example, the character Christopher, although a vampire, is portrayed as being artistic and caring (as well as foxy). Did you deliberately set out to challenge your readers' assumptions about good and evil?

AAR: Yes and no. The book wasn't written to make a point about good versus evil, but it does express my views on the subject. I don't believe in absolute evil or perfect good; I don't believe someone is predestined to act a certain way. My characters maintain free will no matter what they are; they may use it however they like.

Sarah's family sees the vampires as pure evil. Vampires may live up to that reputation, or some --- like Christopher --- may not. The willingness to acknowledge and see beyond preconceptions is something I firmly believe in, and which was woven into SHATTERED MIRROR.

TRC: Where did you get the idea for the vampire-loving humans? What does blood-bonding mean? And what can you tell us about your inspiration for the Vida family?

AAR: In the end, all my answers boil down to the same: My characters are people, even the vampires, and people have choices. Among humans, people have different faiths, different languages, and different things they will or will not do. Some are vegan, volunteer in Peace Corps, and would never hurt a fly; some will murder their own brothers if given a chance. My vampires are no better and no worse.
Bloodbonding a human means that they are connected to the vampire who did it. Part of the vampire's power goes to them, which means that hurting the vampire can hurt the human. It also gives the vampire control over the human --- makes it easier for their minds to be influenced, etc.

And, finally, inspiration for the Vida family. The Vidas are based on everyone who ever believed themselves to be absolutely right and someone else absolutely wrong. The Vidas are very strong because of their conviction; they will not falter. However, that same conviction is their weakness, because it often does not allow them to see when they're making a mistake.

TRC: You have a real flair for evil but sexy male characters like Nikolas and Aubrey. Do you know any guys like that :)? Will we be reading more about Aubrey, Caryn Smoke, and our other old pals?

AAR: "Evil but sexy male characters" seem to be my specialty. They're also the characters I love the best. No, I know no guys like that; Aubrey and Nikolas had no inspiration from this real world.

Characters from the books you know so far will reappear now and again in future books. Someday, I'll finish Aubrey's history, and maybe you will see him as the protagonist in that. Mostly, though, I tell one character's story and then move on.

TRC: How did you choose the poem that opens the book? Is Yeats a favorite of yours? Did you write all the other poetry in the novel --- the poems that Christopher writes?

AAR: Christopher's poetry was all by me. It seemed to write itself when I was working on the story. When I needed a poem, it was there. As for the poems in the front, long hours of searching in poetry anthologies and online revealed "The Two Trees."

TRC: Why did you choose to make Sarah Vida in SHATTERED MIRROR a vampire hunting witch? The main characters in your previous books were either undead/magical themselves, or sympathetic to creatures of the night. Were you influenced at all by Buffy and Angel?

AAR: The vague plotline that initially inspired SHATTERED MIRROR came from the CD "Surfacing" by Sarah MacLachlan. As I was listening to her songs, the song "Adia" especially wove vivid images. "Adia I do believe I've failed you. Adia I know I've let you down...no one left to turn to, no one left to blame. There's no one left to talk to, and no one here to buy our innocence. Because we are born, innocence. It's easy, we all falter. Does it matter?" (Or something like that; it's from memory.) The love theme appeared first --- love between two people, where one of them thought it was impossible, "wrong" even. The theme of imperfection appeared next. Since I wrote about vampires, the protagonist ended up as far from that group as I could get --- a hunter, from a family of hunters thousands of years old.

TRC: I'm sure everyone always asks you if Jessica, the heroine in DEMON IN MY VIEW, is based on you. I'm wondering if parts of you show up in any of your other characters.

AAR: Writing has been described as letting your soul bleed onto paper; I think that's true. Every character, every story, has a little bit of me in it. That's what makes publishing so scary --- someone who looks will be able to find me in my stories. Writing isn't a mirror to the author's soul; it's more like a map.

TRC: Where and when do you do your writing?

AAR: Currently, my "office" is on the floor of my closet. I've also been known to write in the back seat of my car, or on my bed. I write wherever I'm comfortable. As for when...Whenever I can, which is just about always. When I take a walk, I think about my characters. When I'm drifting off to sleep, I work on dialogue. And when I have an idea, I go to my computer --- no matter what the time, day or night, or how much or how little sleep I've had.

TRC: How has being a celebrated author changed your life? Do people recognize you on the street? Do your dates expect you to be someone you aren't?

AAR: I don't know what my life would have been like without being published, so this is always a difficult question to answer. My life has certainly changed since I was 14, but so has everyone's I suspect.

Sometimes people recognize me, which is always a little frightening, because I wonder if anyone recognizes me who *doesn't* like me. On a more positive side, I have people who will say, "you inspired me to write" or "your books got me to start reading" or "you are my role model." It's a lot to live up to, but knowing that people are looking up to me makes me pause and consider what I do --- hopefully for the better.

Dates...when I get one, I'll let you know.

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