5 More Minutes with Carrie Ryan: The Dead-Tossed Waves Giveaway
We’re spending 5 more minutes with Carrie Ryan- and stay tuned after the interview for the giveaway!
Last year this time, you were getting ready for the launch of your debut novel, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. Today, the companion novel, THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES comes out. What do you wish Now Carrie could tell Then Carrie about book launches?
Oooh, good question! I always thought I’d tell myself not to stress out so much about the book launch and publicity. I spent so much time putting together gift baskets and making sure I had red napkins and little things like that when perhaps I could have been writing more. But at the same time, I think everyone goes through that and I’m glad I really indulged in having a fun launch — your first book only comes out once! This time around whenever I get stressed out over the little things I try to remind myself to step back and just enjoy the whole process! It’s been such an amazing ride!
Will THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES be the only time we can spend in your Zombie Apocalypse universe this year?
This year I have three short stories coming out set in the same world as The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves. The first, Hare Moon, will be coming out in July in the Kiss Me Deadly anthology edited by Trisha Telep. It’s basically Sister Tabitha’s story from when she’s a teen. The second, Flotsam & Jetsam, is coming out this fall in The Living Dead 2 edited by John Joseph Adams and is about two boys trapped on a life boat after escaping from their cruise ship when it becomes infected. This September I also have a story, Bougainvillea, coming out in the Zombies vs. Unicorns anthology edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (this one is set about 15 years after the apocalypse on the island of Curacao). I’ve really loved exploring this world more and can’t wait to return to it for the third book in the series :)
I’m incredibly excited that THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH has been optioned by a production company. Can you tell us more about that?
I’m so excited about that too!! I still remember standing in my living room when I got the call about the option and just being so stunned! I’m not sure how much I can share about everything — I’ve read the script and had the chance to talk to the script writer/producer/director which was thrilling. She very much has the same vision of the book that I do which is awesome. But I kind of take the opinion that I know so little about movies and that’s their expertise so I leave it all in their hands :) Just getting this far has been super amazing.
Has your approach to writing changed since you’ve started writing full-time?
I think the old adage that writing a book teaches you to write THAT book is true — I definitely learn something new with each book. I’ve learned with the last two books that I tend to write really REALLY rough drafts that are more explorations of the world and it’s not until I start revising that the plot really pulls together. I try to remember this every time I stress out that the book isn’t coming together on the first go-around but I always have this fear that THIS book won’t be like the others. I’ve also learned that when I have a task, it’s hard to think about anything else which means it’s hard for me to work on more than one book at a time.
I had all these great plans and ideas for what life would be like writing full time: I’d awake fully rested and dash out a few hundred words before going to the gym and returning home to an immaculate house. Before I put dinner on I’d write a thousand or so words, blog, answer all emails before leisurely reading the early evening away waiting for my fiance to come home. HAHA! Let me just say that reality is nothing like that :) I still wouldn’t trade it, though!
If The Return happened today, where would you go and what would you take with you?
JP and I would be pretty screwed if we couldn’t get out of town before the roads clogged up :) I’d probably grab my dog (who would be terrible at guarding us but at least would provide comic relief) and the cats (we’ve been fattening them up for the food shortage*) and my gardening books and high-tail it up to the mountains. Hopefully the zombies would be lazy and wouldn’t feel like climbing.
*no, we wouldn’t really eat our cats – they’d be all gristly.
***~~~***
I’m so excited that THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES is finally available to the world. It’s an amazing follow-up to THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH.
It’s no secret that I’m a fangirl, and I want you to be a fan, too. That’s why I’m giving away a copy of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH *and* THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES. (And FHT is signed, my friends!)
Just leave a comment, telling me about a book that disturbed your dreams or made you cry (Carrie’s books do both to me!) to be entered. The winner will be chosen randomly from the entries- and I will ship internationally.
A winner has been selected!!
Congratulations on your new book debut, Carrie!
Posted in 5 Minutes With, Books, Giveaways
March 9th, 2010 at 11:33 am
I’m so excited to read both of these books! Hmmm, what books DON’T make me cry! The Hunger Games and Catching Fire definitely sat in my thoughts for a while and I cried during parts of both of them – that’s probably the most recent example in my head.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Yay! For some reason I haven’t read FOREST yet, so this would be perfect!
I’d have to say HOW I LIVE NOW. Both made me cry *and* wiggled into my dreams. War & apocalypse stuff will do that!
Thanks for the interview and contest!
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:35 am
I have not heard of these books before and am certainly intrigued.
I cannot recall the last book that disturbed my dreams. The last book that made me cry was Broken by Shiloh Walker.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Laurie Halse Anderson’s WINTERGIRLS haunted me to tears when I read it. Still does. Sigh.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Jeanne Kalogridis’s Diaries of the Family Dracul series. It stayed with me in dreams and during the day for a LONG time after reading all three books. They are written in diary format so you get a very clear picture of each character and how they think, and it just created very vivid, sometimes disturbing images in my mind.
Great contest! Thanks for the opportunity.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Great interview!
The only book I can remember giving me nightmares was Gerald’s Game by Stephen King. A lot of books make me cry though, so that would take too much space to answer fully. The last one I remember making me cry was Hunger Games (a certain death scene that will remain unnamed in case someone hasn’t read it).
I’d love to be entered in the contest :) selestialaurora(at)hotmail(dot)com
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Jennifer Brown’s “Hate List” was fist-to-the-gut painful to read. It made me cry and disturbed me, but most importantly, gave me a personal perspective on my relationship to my father.
Reading “Columbine” by Dave Cullen after “Hate List”–two devastating reads. I’ve been done with both books for a while now, but they both regularly haunt my thoughts.
Schuyler
@wholewidewords
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Awesome interview! I’ll be looking for her short stories and the antho. Carrie’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the book that gave me nightmares and made me cried. I am very afraid of zombie movies but could not stop reading TFoHT.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:47 am
I’d have to say one of the ‘Goosebumps’ books by RL Stine when i was a kid! Haven’t read that many nightmare inducing books lately but i’ve been dying to see what the hype is about with TDTW and FHT!!!!
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:48 am
“The Hunger” by Whitley Strieber. I had me nightmares where Miriam Blaylock was in my thoughts and was hunting me. It freaked me out for a while.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:56 am
For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison made me cry a lot at the end when one of the lead characters died. It was very sad.
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March 9th, 2010 at 11:57 am
I loved, loved, loved The Forest of Hands and Teeth and cannot wait to read The Dead-Tossed Waves!
A book that gave me nightmares was Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. The little-boy-turned-vampire floating outside of his brother’s window and scratching on the glass…shudder. Anytime a branch scraped my window at night, I wanted to jump out of bed and turn on all the lights.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
This’ll sound cliche, but “New Moon” gets me every time. And congrats for FHT getting on the NYT best sellers list this week!
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Well,one book that disturbed my dreams was “Heart-shaped box” by Joe Hill,this book is really scary!But I loved it!!I haven’t read The forest of hands and teeth yet,but can’t wait to!!Hope to be the winner of this contest!!
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Looking forward to reading and reviewing your books. They sound great. I read tons, as I review books as my hobby. I would have to say that Stephen King’s The Stand probably got to me the most, followed closely by The Shining. Even more unusual, I actually liked the movies for both these books. Normally, I absolutely HATE the movie from book genre. I think Storm of the Century by King, in screenplay read version, stays in my head the most of all of them. In dreams, I dreamt the most about The Stand.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
The latest book that made me cry, haunted my dreams and I’m still thinking about days later is BURNED by Ellen Hopkins.
Thanks for the contest!!
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Thanks for sharing this insider interview.. I am so excited for the new book! The last book that made me cry was If I stay by Gayle Forman. Absolutely worth it but a tear-jerker in the process.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Hmm… Well, The Hunger Games almost made me cry. When someone died I just couldn’t believe it.
Awesome contest!
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Forest of Hands and Teeth messed with me in a really big way. I saved it for a trip to Florida because I wanted to be someplace sunny and safe. I finished it on the plane ride home, and thank heavens I was in a public place or there might have been rending of clothing or gnashing of teeth.
And I’ll never look at a teeming crowd of people in the same way. NEVER.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott definitely haunted me for a long time after I finished.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I have yet to read this book yet, but it’s been at the top of my list for months now. My friend read it, but she loaned it out to someone else before I got the chance to borrow it. A book that disturbed my dreams and made me cry… Well, that would be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, but it did both in a good way! The ending gave me embarassing snot bubbles.
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March 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I have to admit, I also got a little choked up at the end of Kim Harrison’s For A Few Demons More.
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March 9th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood disturbed my dreams AND made me cry! Not to mention Ender’s Game. :) And probably Anne Frank and Me (the novel based on the play), too!
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March 9th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Oh wow Ive gotta say that one of the most messed up things ive read *and this is going to sound weird* was about this kitten that was drowning and no one was helping it, it was one of those stories in Chicken Soup For The Girls Soul. I still think about it 5 years later.. :*(
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March 9th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
There are so many good ones, and definitely Carrie Ryan’s book has stuck with me. But I’ll put: The Adoration of Jenna Fox.
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March 9th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Salem’s Lot is the book that came closest to giving me nightmares/disturbing my dreams. I seriously couldnt even look outside if it was dark while reading it. For A Few Demons more did have a tear inducing moment at the end. Which to be honest I am not sure I am over yet.
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March 9th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Oh…the one that disturbed me the most recently was “Living Dead Girl” by Elizabeth Scott. It did give me nightmares for a couple of days!
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March 9th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Im soo excited to read both books!
One of the books that stayed with me for a while is The Hunger Games. When I first read a snippet I was soo devastated because of what these people do to the kids! I HAD to read this book! And when I did it was just…I cant describe it..it stayed with me for a long while…
And another one that made me cry soo hard was Noughts&Crosses by Malorie Blackman..soo sad..I’ll probly never forget that book…
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March 9th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
The (fiction) book that disturbed my sleep was Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. The book was raw & fraught with emotion. It just blew me away. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles was also pretty rough on me. But I still enjoyed them.
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March 9th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
I’m not entering, but I wanted to say how much I LOVE The Dead Tossed Waves! It’s definitely a MUST have book!
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March 9th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Living Dead Girl was the most disturbing book I have read in ages and Notes From the Dog got me crying
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March 9th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Well, the Hunger Games made me cry — parts at least. so did How to Say Goodbye in Robot. The ending was just depressing.
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March 9th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
I think the most recent book that really disturbed me was Pale Saint by Eric van Lustbader. Some of the serial killer’s actions are graphic, but they’re written so well that it truly is cold and disturbing.
Would love to read both of these books on offer though and review them for the Full Metal Librarian!
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March 9th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Devil In The White City still scares me to think about
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March 9th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Great contest, awesome interview!
The book that distrubed my dreams….off the top of my head, i would say The Hunger Games. Not in a negative way, but it disturbed me when i tried to sleep after i read it, because its a different life to the norm, and knowing you had to compete with your life like a game..
thanks!
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March 9th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
I’m trying to think of something and all I can think of is The Forest of Hands and Teeth, lol.
I’m going to say Shiver. I cried and cried and cried. I couldn’t help it! The waterworks would NOT turn off. I loved it, but wow…it messed me up for a couple days!
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March 9th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
BALLADS OF SUBURBIA by Stephanie Kuehnert I cried so much when I read this book. It was disturbing yet I couldnt stop reading it and it stayed with me for days after I finished it.
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March 9th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
When I read A Great & Terrible Beauty it messed with my dreams. Strange Angels did too.
I cried when I read Shiver.
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Interesting stuff.
Thanks for the shout-out on my book, Columbine, Schuyler Esperanza.
(It’s out in expanded paperback edition now.)
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Saundra Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Thanks so much for stopping by, Dave. COLUMBINE was harrowing and incredible- I’m definitely going to have to take a look at the expanded paperback!
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Andrea #12 – Yes! “Salem’s Lot”…I forgot all about that one. The book and the movie were both freeeeaaakkky! (“The Shining” was pretty good too. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
13 reasons why messed with me…in a good way! It made me want to be a better person.
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Salem’s Lot scared me silly as a teen so did It, anything by Stephen King really.
Soulless by Johnathon Golden was a recent one that gave me nightmares.
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz is very very disturbing and scary. I had a nightmare after reading that book!
Thanks for this contest!
kate.readthisbook at gmail dot com
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Ooh, the author that immediately popped into my head was Ellen Hopkins. I’ve only read IDENTICAL, but it was disturbing and very sad indeed. I believe all of her other books are the same. But she’s a great author! Even though it’s in verse (which I’m starting to love), you can zip through it in a short period of time and leave you on the edge in the end.
And I can’t wait to read the rest of her books, as well as these two by Carrie Ryan!
Thanks very much for this contest, too!
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March 9th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
I just read The Pact by Jodi Picoult and it was heart wrenching. Loved it, though!
Great contest!! I’m dying to read those books! :)
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott kept me up for a few nights after I read it. Also, The Body of Christopher Creed gave me chills.
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
The end of Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon make me sob like a baby!
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Both of these books look great. The one book that stands out in my mind that made me cry was Marley and Me. I was actually sobbing out loud! Thanks for the contest! My email is bangersis(at)msn(dot)com
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March 9th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I have to admit the Harry Potter books crept into my dreams often back when I read them…I don’t think I ever was a witch in any of them though lol
thanks for the contest!
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March 10th, 2010 at 12:13 am
the girl with the dragon tattoo series by stieg larsson kept my mind going. a good one to read. most definitely.
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