YA Author Interview: Tiffany Truitt!

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Author Name: Tiffany Truitt

Title: Chosen Ones

Release Date: April 10, 2012

Blurb:

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

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Book Talk / Character Talk

Buy it: Amazon or Barnes and Noble (only $5.70!!)

Add it: Goodreads

Describe your book in one word: Stark

Cast your heroine:

Ever since I saw Atonement, I have been following the career of Saoirse Ronan. I love the idea of her for Tess.

Cast your hero:
Ethan Peck for James. No question. Does anyone else miss 10 Things I Hate About You?

Describe your heroine in three words: Complex. Withdrawn. Angry.

Describe your hero in three words: Intelligent. Curious. Rebel.

Favorite line by heroine:

I gently, hesitantly, pushed down a key. It quivered slightly under my touch. 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.

Favorite line by hero:

"You have no idea what it is like. All day they fill my head with such stories, stories about your people. Stories about waste, immorality, hate. They want me to hate you. I fight so hard against my nature. But I’m no monster. I don’t want to be soulless."

How would your heroine describe your hero when she first meets him?

“A second chosen one entered to assist in the procedure. I found myself unable to look on him for long, afraid he would notice the redness of my cheeks. I quickly glanced at his face and saw the most peculiar thing: he had a scar. A chosen one with an imperfection. Right on his chin.”

How would your hero describe your heroine when he first meets her?

Luckily for Tess, she gets to read what he wrote about her: He spent so much time writing about how it was wrong to think such things, convincing himself he would never reach for me. But constantly wondering if I would allow him to if he were human and we lived in some different place and time.

Choose an on-screen kiss that best illustrates the intensity between these two characters:

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Author Talk

Why do you write in the genre you write?
I write YA because it’s a genre where an author is allowed a lot more freedom than in most other genres. I get to explore the angst I tried to ignore as a teenager, angst that continues as an adult but we’re all supposedly too mature and grown-up to talk about.

What other genres would you consider and why?
I’d love to do a series of non-fiction books on working in a middle school classroom. Some co-workers and I have some great ideas, and we’d love to go on the lecture circuit---separate the lies they tell you in movies and education classes, and show young teachers what it’s really like. 

Can you give us a hint of something else you’re working on?

Right now I have a YA / Time Travel out with a few agents. I haven’t gotten a chance to write anything outside of the world of the chosen ones, but I am looking forward to expanding my writerly horizons.

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

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