Author Interview with Sarah Beth Durst

I loved Drink, Slay, Love. Are you planning on doing a series with these characters?

Thanks so much!  DRINK, SLAY, LOVE was planned as a standalone, but I have to admit that I miss my evil vampire and were-unicorn so who knows what the future will bring...

How did you come up with the concept for Vessel?

It was actually two ideas coming together.  I knew I wanted to write about this fantastical desert filled with wolves made of sand, nomadic clans, and gods and goddesses.  And I had an idea about a girl who had to sacrifice herself so that a goddess could walk the earth in her body.

For me, the concept behind a novel often comes from multiple sources fusing together.  Like drops of water coalescing into a lake.

I just love the flowing fabric and colors in the cover of Vessel. Did you have any input into the cover?

My input was to say "I love it!" while jumping enthusiastically up and down.

Seriously, all the credit for the cover goes to photographer Jaime Ibarra and the Simon & Schuster art department.  They really captured the tone of the book perfectly.

What is your favorite part of writing?

I love choosing the details that bring a world or a character or a moment to life.  And I love writing dialogue.  I also love writing the openings of chapters.  And the ends of chapters.  And the climaxes in the middle...  Okay, I love pretty much all of it.

Favorite setting for a book?

I love settings that are full of magic.  It can be overflowing with it, like the desert in VESSEL, or it can be a world like ours but with magic seeping through the cracks, like in my debut novel INTO THE WILD (which was about fairy tale characters in the real world).

Pretty much I love settings that make you feel like the world is full of wonder.

Who are your favorite reads this year?

Really loved THE UNNATURALISTS by Tiffany Trent and THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas.  Also just read and loved ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger.  Very fun.

Any pets?

I have a somewhat-evil cat named Perni.  She tolerates me, but I'm fairly certain she's contemplating eating everyone else.

Any new projects besides Vessel you'd like to let people know about?

I am currently working on two projects:

SWEET NOTHINGS (coming fall 2013 from Bloomsbury/Walker) is about a girl in the paranormal witness protection program, who, haunted by dreams of carnival tents and tarot cards, must remember her past and why she has strange abilities before a magic-wielding serial killer hunts her down.  

THE LOST (coming fall 2013 from Harlequin/Luna) is the first in a trilogy about a woman running from her bleak life who finds herself trapped in a small town where all things lost -- luggage, keys, people -- are mysteriously deposited.

Thanks so much for interviewing me!

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of Vessel, Drink, Slay, Love, Enchanted Ivy, and Ice from Simon & Schuster, as well as Into the Wild and its sequel Out of the Wild from Penguin Young Readers. She has been writing fantasy stories since she was ten years old and holds an English degree from Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband and children. For more information, visit her at www.sarahbethdurst.com.

Vessel

Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana’s body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana’s goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her. 

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god’s help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god’s tale. 

The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate—or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

Thanks Sarah Beth for coming on the blog and answering my questions. I loved this book (review can be seen HERE) and I can't wait to see what else you come up with in stories. So glad you are currently working on other things!

People... pick up this book! :)