UNFORGOTTEN Blog Tour: Interview with Jessica Brody!

Welcome to the UNFORGOTTEN blog tour, hosted by Macmillan! I’m SO excited to be a tour host today with author Jessica Brody stopping by for an interview! Before I start with the tour stop, here’s a little more info about UNREMEMBERED and UNFORGOTTEN to get yourself acquainted with the series:

Title: Unremembered
Author: Jessica Brody
Publishing Info: March 5th 2013 by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux (BYR)
Find it on the Web: Goodreads || Amazon || B&N

  “When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.
    Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.
    Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.
     Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?” — From Goodreads

Title: Unforgotten
Author: Jessica Brody
Publishing Info: February 25th 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Find it on the Web: Goodreads || Amazon || B&N

  “Some memories are better left forgotten… 
    After a daring escape from the scientists at Diotech who created her, Seraphina believes she is finally safe from the horrors of her past. But new threats await Sera and her boyfriend, Zen, at every turn as Zen falls prey to a mysterious illness and Sera’s extraordinary abilities make it more and more difficult to stay hidden. Meanwhile, Diotech has developed a dangerous new weapon designed to apprehend her. A weapon that even Sera will be powerless to stop. Her only hope of saving Zen’s life and defeating the company that made her is a secret buried deep within her mind. A secret that Diotech will kill to protect. And it won’t stay forgotten for long.
    Packed with mystery, suspense, and romance, this riveting second installment of Jessica Brody’s Unremembered trilogy delivers more heart-pounding action as loyalties are tested, love becomes a weapon, and no one’s memories are safe.” — From Goodreads

I’m so excited to have been able to Interview Jessica Brody! I’ve had the opportunity to meet her and she’s super sweet and very nice so that made me even more excited to be able to share an interview with her today!

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JESSICA BRODY

Brittany: There were lots of surprising twists and turns in Unforgotten! Did you plan most of them or did some of them take you by surprise as well?
Jessica Brody: Thank you for saying that! I love surprising readers! So…mission accomplished! I did plan most of them, but like with every book, things popped up that I wasn’t expecting. There’s a new character in this book that I’d always planned on adding but many of his scenes and dialogue and characteristics were surprises to me. When I started the book, all I had in my notes was: “Enter character” and that was kind of it. He came alive to me as I wrote. 

B: I love that this book dug even deeper into the science-fiction aspect of the series. Was it hard to imagine and invent all of the new technology that Sera and Zen encounter?
JB: Oh, just wait until book 3! There’s SO MUCH MORE fun technology!!! Hard? Yes. Fun? Definitely. Most of this book takes place in the year 2032, which is only 18 years from now. So coming up with that world was really challenging but also entertaining. I basically looked at all the technology releasing today and then just took it up a notch. I think the technology I’m looking forward to the most are the cars that drive themselves. Many experts say we are not too far away from this. And I can’t wait. It’ll be like having a private chauffeur everywhere I go! 

B: I absolutely loved the ending and felt like all of the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly back together to form one incredible fact and really brings the entire series together! Was it hard to get the details to all fall into place?
JB: YAY! That makes me so happy to hear you say that! This book was such a complicated, jigsaw puzzle of memories (both real and not real), time periods, facts, and events. It was SUCH a hard book to write. So much of what I thought would work, didn’t end up working. The hardest aspect was keeping track of everything Seraphina remembered and everything that was erased from her memory. As the author, you have to know both, even if your character doesn’t. It was a mind meld! If you want a challenge, write a book that has memory manipulation and time travel. 

B: Do you have anything special you do to help you out if you hit a writing roadblock?
JB: Yes! But it’s kinda weird. Okay, so whenever I hit a roadblock, I go and get a massage. I’m a member at Massage Envy—it’s one of those places that has massages for like 40 bucks. I don’t know what it is, but something about being relaxed on the massage table with the soothing music and everything, it completely unblocks me! I get so much brainstorming done there! Then when I leave, I race to my car, get out my phone and start recording all of my notes from the session. But it’s funny, inspiration can hit you in the most random of places. One of the biggest twists in the book (I’m not going to tell you which one!) happened in the drive-thru line of an In’n’Out at ten at night. I was waiting for my food and BAM! it hit me. I actually screamed aloud, “I got it!” right as the employee was handing me my fries. He gave me the strangest look and went, “Um, yes, you do?” 

B: Did you have any specific inspirations for the Unremembered trilogy — either the characters or the concept?
JB: Actually, yes! The middle of this book was the hardest part for me. I got through it by taking long walks and listening to one song on repeat. “Treacherous” by Taylor Swift. That song perfectly sums up the relationship between Seraphina and a certain character I can’t really talk about. I must have listened to that song at least 200 times while writing this book. Every time I couldn’t get a scene right, I would go for a walk, put the song on repeat, and just let my mind wander. So, thanks, Taylor Swift and whoever broke your heart this time!

B: It looks like the Unremembered trilogy is your first published set of books that aren’t contemporary! Was it difficult to write a different genre?
JB: I think every book I write is the hardest book I’ve ever written. Because if I’m not challenging myself to be a better writer, then the book isn’t worth writing. But I will say that UNREMEMBERED, UNFORGOTTEN, and Untitled book 3 were MUCH harder than my contemporaries. Not only because they were sci-fi and therefore required more unique world building, the creation of new technology and all that, but also because this is my first trilogy as well. My other YA titles have all been standalones. There’s something really nice and fulfilling about writing a standalone. You start the book, you finish the book. You say goodbye to the character and move on to something else. Writing a series is a whole different animal, because there has to be a really good reason why this character’s journey can’t be wrapped up in one book. And that makes her journey so much more epic and complex, which can be a daunting task at times. But now that I’ve just finished writing book 3, I can say, the hard work is well worth it. It was a roller coaster ride of a project but I’m proud of what’s come out of it and I can’t wait for everyone to read the final ending!

*Oh and please check out the UNFORGETTABLE FAN challenge that’s currently running on my website! Every fan who completes the challenge gets a prize pack which includes an Unremembered Eternal Knot necklace! Visit the UNFORGETTABLE FAN challenge here! Thanks for the great questions, Brittany! And thank YOU, Jessica! I had so much fun reading your answers and I’m already excited for book three! (Even though it’ll be a while to wait yet!)

Become a fan of Jessica Brody and the UNREMEMBERED trilogy! Visit the links below to connect with Jessica and find out more info on the series!

• Follow Jessica Brody on Twitter!
• Become a fan of Jessica Brody on Facebook
• See Jessica Brody on tour!
• Check out her website!
• Read and download the first five chapters of Unremembered for free!
• Read and download the first five chapters of Unforgotten for free!
• Check out the Unremembered book trailer!
• Become a fan of the Unremembered Trilogy on Facebook
• Want Unremembered Series Goodies? Participate in Jessica Brody’s Unforgettable Fan Challenge! Plus an Unforgotten Preorder Offer!
• Read Undiscovered, an Unremembered series e-short for only $1.99, and it’s from Zen’s point of view!

I also have a special Unforgotten secret to share with you! Each stop on the tour has one so if you missed any, be sure to check out the official schedule at the Macmillan Teens blog! Okay, here’s your Unforgotten secret (and honestly, one of my favorite parts about the book!!!)  

GIVEAWAY!

Want to win a copies of UNREMEMBERED and UNFORGOTTEN? Macmillan is offering up copies of both! The winner this giveaway will receive a paperback copy of UNREMEMBERED and a hardcover copy of UNFORGOTTEN! 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