Hmm, does that name sounds familiar? That's because it IS. John's upcoming book, Girl Parts is part of this week's giveaway! Yes, he was nice enough to sign it at BookExpo America, because he's THAT awesome.
And he's stopping by for an interview this week - not just because it's super fun, but to give you guys even more reason to want to win Girl Parts.
Just click "Read More" to check out this super awesome, fun interview with John! (Trust me. It's fun.)
N: How did you come up with Girl Parts?
J: I’m a big sci-fi geek, so for my first young adult novel I immediately thought robots. When you’re sixteen everything feels fresh and strange, as if you just stepped out of a hermetically-sealed box, so Rose was a natural protagonist. Moreover, I wanted to tell a story about connection, people learning something real from a synthetic girl. Rose is like any good movie or book, in that she has a life of her own, and can make one feel real things, even though the source is “fake.”
N: What would YOUR dream companion look like? (Not girlfriend or anything romantic, necessarily. Mine, personally, would be a centaur. ... is that possible?)
J: My dream Companion would definitely have a built-in dictionary and thesaurus. And also a link to IMDB — I’m always getting in arguments over which actor is in which movie. I guess I’m saying I want to date Google. That would be great.
Sakora does have boy Companions in development, so who knows what’s next. Someday maybe they’ll be built to order and you can get that centaur!
N: *crosses fingers for centaur* How long did it take you to write?
J: The first draft took three months, a week to re-read, and thirty-seconds to burn. The following drafts took another nine months, with periodic edits from my agent. My editor had her own critiques, and those were finished over a long weekend at my friend’s farmhouse upstate, after which we duct-taped a CO2 canister to the muzzle of a BB gun and had a celebratory fireworks display.
N: What was your favorite part about writing it?
J: Writing a book is like a new relationship. The sky’s always blue, you hear the birds singing. Then you get about halfway through and the arguments start, the crying, the late-night walks. You say things you don’t mean. But in the end it all feels great. That in-love feeling. That’s my favorite.
N: What other books are you looking forward to coming out soon?
J: The Duff, by Kody Keplinger, and Matched by Allyson Condie. I got to read advanced copies and I’m excited to see what others think. I’m always eager for something new from M.T. Anderson. Dark Song, by Gail Giles arrives a few weeks after Girl Parts and I’m very excited.
N: What would happen if robots took over the world?
J: Depends. It could be fantastic. They’d make all the tough decisions, handle the boring political stuff, and we’d be free to run around in fields and play video games. Robots aren’t interested in enslaving us, I don’t think. They just want things to run more efficiently. The problem occurs when they realize what a major waste of space humans are, and annihilate everyone.
Are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? (Or the underestimated Team Fairy?)
J: I don’t support zombies or anything they stand for, and when the apocalypse comes I’ll be first in line with a baseball bat or chainsaw. But let’s be honest, unicorns would never win in a battle with zombies. They’re timid, flighty things that don’t like to be touched, and those horns will snap off in a zombie torso like nothing. So if we’re placing bets, my money’s on the undead.
N: I think it may depend on the type of unicorn you're thinking of. Diana Peterfreund's Rampant unicorns may not want to be tough, but their horns certainly ain't gonna snap off. On the topic of animals, what animal would you shapeshift into?
J: A fly. I LOVE to eavesdrop.
Thank you for stopping by, John! Don't forget to pre-order Girl Parts and enter the giveaway going on now!