Interview with Alexandra Bracken + Giveaway

Today, my friends, Brightly Woven is out into the world in its LOVELY paperback edition. *breaks into a happy dance* So I am here to celebrate with a giveaway of a shiny paperback, BUT also with an interview with THE Alexandra Bracken herself. How cool is that?

Alexandra Bracken is the author of Brightly Woven and the upcoming Black is the Color (which I am very excited for and may or may not be counting down the days until it is out). She is a recent graduate of the College of William and Mary, where she majored in History and English. She now lives in New York City and works in children’s book publishing. You can find her on the web at her website/blog and twitter.

Destroy Everything You Touch is my favorite song from the Black is the Color playlist, could you share any info as to why you included it?

Well, let me see if I can put this in a way that won't give too much about BitC away...  Ruby, the main character of the story, resembles Syd in the sense that she has abilities which are very difficult for her to control, but they're disastrous in a way that Syd's aren't.  While Syd’s are destructive to the world around her, Ruby’s tend to ruin her closest personal relationships, so she lives in fear of getting too close to anyone else, lest she lose them.  These lyrics in particular are very relevant:

Destroy everything you touch today
Destroy me this way
Anything that may desert you
So it cannot hurt you

Which characters from Brightly Woven and Black is the Color would be friends?

Oh man… This is the question that’s giving me the most trouble, because, on one hand, Ruby and Syd probably could relate to one another, but Ruby has a really, really tough time making friends.  Liam and North would probably get along, unless they tried to out-angst one another.  Owain would probably be friends with everyone, because, really, who can resist his bear hugs? 

If you were any Disney princess, who would you choose to be?

I was about to say Belle, mostly because I relate most to her “I want so much more than they’ve got planned” drive and her love of reading and books, but if I could choose ANY “princess”… Can I say Mulan?  Girlfriend kicks serious butt, and, in case you couldn’t tell, I’m a total sucker for the girls-dressing-as-boys-and-then-later-proving-that-they-kick-just-as-much-ass trope.  Talk about being brave, too!  I wish I had half of her courage!

Mulan is pretty awesome. What is your current favorite song that you feel everyone should know about?

 I’ve had Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend on repeat for the past week or so.  It’s so terrible, because whenever it comes on during my subway commute to work, I always start nodding or tapping along to the beat (which is kind of embarrassing, but maybe not quite as embarrassing as the guy  on the Q train who was singing along with Tina Turner’s The Best without realizing it).  I’ve also been listening  to the new stuff by Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes while revising—Bon Iver’s Perth and Fleet Foxes’ The Shrine/An Argument are incredible.

Do you have a favorite quote from Brightly Woven?

Maybe this is cheating a bit, but I think my favorite line out the entire novel is still the very last one.  It never changed, no matter how many drafts I went through, and I think it ends the story on the exact right note.

I most definitely had to now go read the last line :) Now that I've read it, I AGREE! That line is absolutely perfect and ends the story. I still think my favorite quote from Brightly Woven is "What Good Is Strength If You Have No Sense" - I don't remember where it falls in the story, but it's fabulous.


Thank you so much Alexandra for stopping by for an interview. Now giveaway details....fill out the following form. It will be INTERNATIONAL & open until July 12.