Welcome to the NIL blog tour, hosted by Fiction Freak! I’m so excited to be a tour host today with author Lynne Matson stopping by for an interview! Before I start with the tour stop, here’s a little more info about NIL to get yourself acquainted with the book:

Title: Nil
Author: Lynne Matson
Publishing Info: March 4th 2014 by Henry Holt
Find it on the Web: Goodreads || Amazon ||Barnes and Noble || Book Depository
My Review: Nil – Lynne Matson (posted 2/12/14)

  “On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days–to escape, or you die.
    Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.
    Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.” — From Goodreads

Today, I get to share with you my interview with author Lynne Matson! I’m so excited to have been able to interview her and to share her answers with all of you guys!

INTERVIEW WITH NIL AUTHOR LYNNE MATSON

Brittany: I loved the unsettling combination of paradise and doom that was the island of NIL and it definitely reminded me of a number of literary and TV show mash-ups! Did you have any strong influences that helped you form ideas for the book?
Lynne Matson: I’m so glad you got the twin vibes of paradise and doom! Hawaii was a big source of inspiration for me; it’s where I saw the contrast of beauty and danger. It’s gorgeous, but surfing there has risks (big waves, sharp rocks) and oh yeah–the island has active VOLCANOES. 🙂 Volcanoes epitomize paradise and doom, don’t they? Islands in general are often packed with gorgeous, but for me, islands always hold a hint of danger . . .and maybe more than a hint. Because when you’re surrounded by water for who knows how many miles, WHAT IF YOU CAN’T ESCAPE?! And what if there’s something else stranded on the island with you?! So much potential for scary awesome when you’re stuck on –or writing about–and island. Sekrit admission: I watched A LOT of Gilligan’s Island as a kid, and their 3 hour tour that turned into a decade long island adventure fascinated me. (So did Ginger’s hair but that’s not important. :D) I think that show always left the viewer asking “what would I do?” And so there’s NIL… 🙂

B: There were quite a few interesting twists in the end! Did you always see that as the final outcome or did NIL surprise you?
LM: Thank you! It may sound crazy, but always knew the ending. When I started writing, I had the beginning and the end…and a rough sense of the middle. And it was the middle twists that surprised me! 🙂 Certain characters deaths, Rives’s insights, and a few other things. 

B: If you were stranded on NIL, what do you think your strategy would be? Which characters would you most likely team up with?
LM: Oh my gosh–if I were stranded on Nil, I’d like to think I’d find a group of other people and not be stuck wandering on my own. (And clothes. I’d pray for clothes… that would be priority number one. 😀 Nobody wants to be running around a strange island naked. right?!) That’s another tricky facet of the island– how to figure it out alone. If each person has to figure everything out on their own each time (like re-inventing the wheel, so to speak), that’s a challenge that must be met before escape is possible. So much information gets lost (and has been lost at the start of the book) due to the “revolving door’ nature of the island, that not only figuring NIL out but helping preserve their findings becomes one of Charley & Thad’s missions. So who would I team up with? Someone who’s a NIL veteran, like Natalie, or Rives. Or Thad. Who wouldn’t want to pair up with Thad?! lol

B: I saw that you used to be an attorney — Was it tough to make the transition to writing? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do or did the story of NIL just hit you?
LM: Writing books is WAY more fun than being an attorney IMHO! 🙂 I’d stepped away from law for a few years before I started writing. I was a stay-at-home mom, doing a little part-time work occasionally for the law firm where I used to work, when I started writing my first book (which was not NIL. :D). I’d always loved writing, since I was little. In high school, I wanted to become a journalist, then during college I switched to law. Looking back, I think it’s because I wasn’t confident enough to go for the writing dream…or maybe I just wasn’t ready yet.:) I always had lots of stories floating in my head–but I never gave them the time they deserved. That finally changed when I was home with the boys; that’s when writing became mine. Creative time just for me…and then I thought: why not go for it? Worst case: I don’t get published, and I’m no worse off that I am now.  But I went for it, and am so glad I did. 🙂

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Bio: Lynne Matson grew up in Georgia in a house full of books and a backyard full of gnarly pines. Back then, Lynne would stay up late, reading Nancy Drew books under the covers (with a flashlight . . . a weak attempt at ninja stealth). Now she still stays up late reading books and writing them. When she doesn’t have a book in her hand, you’ll find her listening to music, messing around with paint, or hanging out with her husband and their four boys . . . or all of the above.

Facebook || Twitter || Goodreads || Blog

A huge thanks to Lynne Matson for the awesome interview! I absolutely loved learning more about the book and the ideas that helped form it! Don’t miss NIL coming out this March at a bookstore near you!

GIVEAWAY!

Want to win a copy of NIL? The winner will receive a hardcover copy of NIL and some awesome swag! US & Canada residents only. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email notification before the prize is forfeited to the next person.

a Rafflecopter giveaway