Teens@Random

Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth is here to say hi on Random Buzzers! Ask her all of your questions here!

Posted Feb 13, 2009, 05:35:02 PM

Welcome to RandomBuzzers!! I just got done reading the sample chapter and all I have to say is wow! The intricacy of the story is fascinating and the plot is intriguing and mysterious. I have to admit I've fallen in love with it, lol (which makes sense, after all it is Valentine's Day tomorrow). And, of course, I have a couple of questions for you. What inspired you to write your story? Was it another author or book that inspired you or a love of history or just that curiosity of the subject caused you to come up with possible scenarios? I also wanted to know why you have religion as such a big part of Mary's community? History has always been my thing so I know that religion is one of the main themes that occurs in civilizations, but did you have other motives? Do you prefer to write on paper or type on the computer? And finally, what has been the greatest part of writing this story for you? Thank you and, again, welcome!!

Posted Feb 13, 2009, 08:01:37 PM

Welcome Ms. Ryan! I just want to say that I love the title of your book---very descriptive and original. Here is my response to the "What if" activity:

What if...we only exist in a book?

What if...we can communicate with animals?

What if...someone I know is a ghost?

What if...I am a ghost?

What if...life is eternal?

My last "what if" is an interesting one to think about because if you can live forever, are you still technically alive? After all, one of the characteristics of life is death. Life and death together also mark time so if one disappears what does that say for the passage of time? Will time cease to exist? These are really some food for thought, but I'm rambling so I'm going to end this post now. Welcome again! 

Posted Feb 13, 2009, 08:03:06 PM

Welcome to Random Buzzers!!

I have a few questions for you:

Are any of your characters based on real people?

What inspired you to become a writer?

Do you ever feel insecure about sharing your writing?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

The forest of hands and teeth sounds really interesting. I can't wait to read it! (especially after watching this and reading the beginning)

here is my activity entry:

1) What If...:

technology never existed?

2) What If...:

there were no laws?

3) What If...:

money didn't exist?

4) What If...:

we could all read minds?

5) What If...:

chocolate was never discovered?

Last Modified Feb 19, 2009, 01:26:29 PM

Hi Carrie and welcome to Random Buzzers!!! Do you know that I've actually thought about the spinach/brownie conundrum before? Not in those exact terms but close. My biggest "what if" is what if everyone actually sees in different colors? What if the color I know as "blue" looks like the color you would I identify as "red"? It hurts your brain if you think about it too much. Your novel seems like a response to not only your "what if" question but also your fears. I have seen Dawn of the Dead and it gave me nightmares for days! No one would want to be stuck in a situation like that. Did writing this book help you confront some of your worries about an apocalypse?

Posted Feb 15, 2009, 05:40:24 PM

I'm so glad that you liked the sample chapters VROENGIRL08 - it's hard for me to believe that it's coming out three weeks from tomorrow!  To answer your great questions:  I think a lot of things inspired me to write this story.  Some were more mundane: I was looking for a new project to work on for National Novel Writing Month, I wanted to experiment and really stretch myself with the voice, etc.  But beyond that, I'd been fascinated with survival, apocalypse stories and... well... zombies... since I saw the remake of Dawn of the Dead with my boyfriend (which I mentioned in the intro letter how going to that movie was surprising to me in so many ways!).  But the world of The Forest and Hands and Teeth sort of came out of nowhere -- my fiance and I were talking about a post apocalypse world (he was working on a short story set in one) and the entire world just became so clear to me.  I knew the people in this village had forgotten so much history and I really wanted to figure out why that was and if it was possible.  I really had a fun time examining that.

You also ask about why I have religion as a big part of Mary's community.  At first that wasn't my plan, but as I wrote the opening scene it just sort of came out.  And I realized that even though the story is set in the future, the society had regressed back to a more Puritan lifestyle and belief system.

I always write on the computer -- I'd love to be able to write on paper but I have a hard time keeping up with my thoughts that way!

And the greatest part of writing this story fo rme was finishing it!  I never know where the story is going as I write and so I loved finally knowing how everything turned out and knowing that it all fit together!

Last Modified Feb 16, 2009, 10:54:31 AM

Hey Wiesteria!  I think you really raise such fascinating questions, especially the last one!  That's exactly the kind of thought that I think can spark so many story ideas!  To me that's one of the really fun aspects of wondering what if... playing them out to see where they take you.  Because a lot of times it's like the first "what if" question is a domino and then you see what happens next!

Last Modified Feb 16, 2009, 10:55:18 AM

Last Modified Feb 16, 2009, 10:56:06 AM

Welcome, Carrie Ryan! I have a habit. I always ask the same question to authors that visit RandomBuzz, but I wanted to know something different now:

How has writing changed your life?

Posted Feb 16, 2009, 10:53:07 AM

Hey Sakuragirl!  That's an awesome "what if" and I've wondered that before too!  I always wonder how we know that the colors we see are the same as what other people see!

That's also a really interesting point about facing fears through writing.  Especially since I think the main character also faces issues of losing family and loved ones.  I think part of what I realized when writing this story is that so much of a situation can feel outside of your control, especially in a situation like an apocalypse.  And part of it is figuring out what you can control and what you'll do about it.  So while I think that any kind of apocalypse, if it happened, is really out of my hands, I did realize that how I respond (how we all respond) is totally in our hands.  And that goes to so many different areas of our lives: how we'll choose to respond to events that are outside our control!

Last Modified Feb 16, 2009, 10:56:50 AM

Hey GIRLWITHTHEBRAIDS, awesome question!  I'd say that writing has changed my life in a ton of ways recently.  Probably the biggest change is that I quit my day job of being a lawyer this past fall in order to write full time.  This was really exciting for me!  I've also made incredibly close and amazing friends through writing.  Beyond that, being a writer also changes the way I look at things.  I see stories in almost everything (like, there was an article recently about the woman with the world record for the longest fingernails and how she was in a car accident and they all broke -- there's totally a story there!).

Posted Feb 16, 2009, 11:06:05 AM

Welcome Carrie!

I just wanted to drop by and say hi! I read the excerpt from your book and it is REALLY good--I was disappointed when the excerpt was over because I was getting really into it! LOL

Anyways, I hope I win an ARC, but if I don't, I'll just wait it out. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy and start reading!

Posted Feb 16, 2009, 02:29:09 PM

Hi Carrie!

The book sounds really interesting and I can't wait to read it! I also love the fact that you're from Charlotte (and say y'all)... I'm a Carolina girl too! So two questions; what do you like best about NC and what was the strangest/most exciting thing you did to help your "creative process"?

Last Modified Feb 17, 2009, 11:56:03 AM

Yay, Another NC'er! :) Welcome and it's so great to have you, Carrie!

So my question... what parts of your book seemed most realistic to you when you wrote it? 

Hm... and, if you had the world's attention for 5 minutes, what would you say to them?

Thanks again for coming, I always love it when authors come to chat! can I make a petition for a signing in NC? ;)

Posted Feb 17, 2009, 02:11:20 PM

Bookgrobie wrote:

Hi Carrie!
The book sounds really interesting and I can't wait to read it! I also love the fact that you're from Charlotte (and say y'all)... I'm a Carolina girl too! So two questions; what do you like best about NC and what was the strangest/most exciting thing you did to help your "creative process"?

Hey Bookgrobie!  Yay for Carolina girls!  Hmmm... I think that I love best about North Carolina is how beautiful and warm it is!  I love that in a few hours I can be in the mountains enjoying the view or at the beach dipping my toes in the water.  And especially this time of year I love that the daffodils are already starting to bloom.  I'm a big fan of the changing seasons, but I definitely prefer the sun and am happy that it's already starting to warm up!

As for helping the creative process, a lot of times I like to take a walk and clear my head.  Sometimes I'll take my portable keyboard and sit outside (because I love sitting in the sun!) and try to get away from everything.  Recently I made my fiance run through the woods toward me at night when the moon was full so I could see what it would be like for my characters (I have some scenes set at night with a full moon).  I wanted to figure how much detail they'd see, what the air would sound like, etc.   It was really useful!

Posted Feb 17, 2009, 03:43:50 PM

EmilyRuth said:

Yay, Another NC'er! :) Welcome and it's so great to have you, Carrie!

So my question... what parts of your book seemed most realistic to you when you wrote it?

Hm... and, if you had the world's attention for 5 minutes, what would you say to them?

Thanks again for coming, I always love it when authors come to chat! can I make a petition for a signing in NC? ;)

Hey EmilyRuth!  I think there's a signing for Charlotte in the works but I'm not sure about anywhere else in NC yet.  I definitely have plans to try to do some other signings so check my website as we get closer to the release!

As for what parts of the book seemed most realistic, that's a tough question!  I tried to write each scene to be as honest and realistic as possible given their world.  So, for example, when I wrote the scene of Mary's mother getting bitten I tried to think about how that would feel to have your mother sick and tried to write all of those emotions into the scene (which was hard to do because the idea was terrifying to me!).  But I hope what's most realistic is Mary's emotions: what she feels and how she reacts to those feelings.

If I could have the world's attention for five minutes (and they'd all listen to me!) I think I would say that everyone has a story -- that you never know what's going on behind the scenes in someone's life and we should all show compassion to each other and try to live the best life we can!

Posted Feb 17, 2009, 03:55:09 PM

Gracie1 said:

Welcome Carrie!

I just wanted to drop by and say hi! I read the excerpt from your book and it is REALLY good--I was disappointed when the excerpt was over because I was getting really into it! LOL

Anyways, I hope I win an ARC, but if I don't, I'll just wait it out. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy and start reading!

Thanks Gracie1!  Thanks for dropping by and I'm glad you liked the excerpt!

Posted Feb 17, 2009, 03:56:13 PM

Welcome to this site!

I got the excerpt of your book from the website, and I absolutely LOVE IT! I'm really excited for the novel to come out so I can learn the whole story. I like how the society in it is so different, but still a little similar, than now. How did you come up with the idea of a human illness that would spread and bring them back from the dead? Is there going to be a sequel? What suggestions would you give to anyone who aspires to be an author some day?

-L

Posted Feb 20, 2009, 04:27:38 PM

Sagiwolf says:

Welcome to this site!

I got the excerpt of your book from the website, and I absolutely LOVE IT! I'm really excited for the novel to come out so I can learn the whole story. I like how the society in it is so different, but still a little similar, than now. How did you come up with the idea of a human illness that would spread and bring them back from the dead? Is there going to be a sequel? What suggestions would you give to anyone who aspires to be an author some day?

-L

Hey Sagiwolf!  Thanks for taking the time to read the excerpt - I'm so glad you liked it!!  I must admit that the idea of the human illness stemmed from watching a lot of zombie movies and really being fascinated by them and wanting to build my own world.  There is going to be a sequel -- the second book is The Dead-Tossed Waves and will be out in spring 2010!  I'm super excited about it!

For an aspiring author I would suggest reading!  I really do think that by reading a lot of books (and a variety of books) you start to internalize a lot of the craft: flow, pacing, structure.  I also love studying the craft either through reading articles, books, or taking classes (I don't think you have to take creative writing classes to become an author, but I do think that taking classes can add discipline and expose you to new approaches).  I think that something else that helped me when I became serious about trying to become an author was just joining in the writing community.  There are a lot of groups out there online in a ton of genres and it's a great way to make friends, share and critique work, talk about the craft and support each other!

Posted Feb 21, 2009, 01:14:46 PM

Hopefully, it's still not too late, but I just want to say welcome, Ms. Ryan! Congrats on your new book. I read the excerpt, and I'm excited for it. I do have a few questions for you to answer though, if you don't mind:

1. Do you prefer to write at night or in the morning?

2. How long did it take you to finish your novel?

3. Which character in your story do you relate most to?

Posted Feb 24, 2009, 08:47:56 PM