Nil On Fire Blog Tour: Interview with Lynne Matson

Nil On Fire releases today!

Two years ago, I requested a book with an interesting and intense premise that instantly hooked me. That book was Nil. And at the time, I had no idea it would evolve into the pulse-pounding series it has become, but I am so excited to be the Release Day blog tour stop to celebrate the final installment! 

What's even more exciting is that Lynne Matson, author of the Nil series, is here to tell us all about where the Nil series started and how it grew from an idea into a full-blown trilogy. 

A Note from Lynne to Readers:  Finishing a trilogy is both bitter and sweet, and saying goodbye to my characters and the Nil world was HARD. But it’s not over…yet. :) The end begins on May 31, 2016 with the release of Nil On Fire. So, to all the #NILtribe: THANK YOU. For loving the Nil world, for adoring my characters, for staying until the end. Nil On Fire is for you!

On to the interview!

How did you conceive the idea for the Nil series? Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when the idea came to you?

I remember EXACTLY the precise moment the idea for NIL fell into my head...

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson & Madeleine L'Engle

Release Date: Oct. 2, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Pages: 392
Buy: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
Description: Goodreads
The world already knows Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, Calvin O'Keefe, and the three Mrs--Who, Whatsit, and Which--the memorable and wonderful characters who fight off a dark force and save our universe in the Newbery award-winning classic A WRINKLE IN TIME. But in 50 years of publication, the book has never been illustrated.  Now, Hope Larson takes the classic story to a new level with her vividly imagined interpretations of tessering and favorite characters like the Happy Medium and Aunt Beast. Perfect for old fans and winning over new ones, this graphic novel adaptation is a must-read.

I’m here today to review the recent graphic novel adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time. I must admit to not being entirely sure how to approach this review. I can’t judge it based on the usual aspects like plot and characters. These aspects are the same as they were 60 years ago. At best, I can judge the graphic novel as an adaptation, but then there’s the question of how to actually do that. Some adaptations hew so closely to the source material that they are essentially pointless while others change the source so profoundly that one wonders why they share the same name. In the end, I decided to judge this adaptation based on two questions. First, does the adaptation translate the novel into a satisfactory graphic novel, even if that means deviating from the source? Second, does it make me consider the original in a new way?

Very little is lost in translation here. For the most part, Ms. Larson does a fantastic job of packing the graphic novel with all sorts of little details, often in creative ways. For instance, during the opening chapter (the adaptation is organized into the same chapters as the original), the lines in a cloud spell the sound “wssh”. She also points out the creaking seventh step as Meg skips it while sneaking downstairs. The latter is one of many details from the original that could have easily been left by the wayside, but half of my enjoyment reading came from discovering the novel ways Larson managed to include these details.

The generally high attention to detail does make the decision to color the graphic novel in all black, white, and a shade of blue a bit puzzling. Unfortunately, the color scheme robs a few moments of much of their impact, most particularly the revelation of the Misuses’ true form and the appearance of The Man With Red Eyes. Either or both would have been the perfect places to add emphasis via color. The Man With Red Eyes would have been particularly thematically appropriate. Instead, I felt that both scenes fell a little flatter than they did when reading the original. 

Despite being a little disappointed with those two scenes, Larson did managed to make me rethink other scenes in a much more positive light. Much like her inclusion of the creaking seventh step, it’s the little details Larson includes or changes that made me rethink aspects of the original. Since I just derided the scene introducing The Man With Red Eyes, it’s only fair that I use it a positive example of one of these differences. I’d always pictured him as an inert, emotionless mouthpiece, sitting erect and emotionless in his throne as something else talked through him. Instead, Larson draws him slouched, one ankle crossed over the knee, with a bored expression. In a way, this visual made him more menacing than I’d imagined him previously. In fact, Larson’s vision of Camazotz differs greatly from the one I’d always had in my head. My version was of a world which was conquered and had no will of its own. Larson’s is of a world that’s willfully surrendered. 

I suppose this brings me back to the original two criteria. Were I to judge this graphic novel without ever reading the original, I’d consider it fantastic. Any details from the original that wouldn’t play well visually have been changed (again, see Camazotz) to have more action or movement. Impressively, these changes never sacrifice the intent of the original just to make a more interesting visual. Secondly, and most importantly, the graphic novel most definitely provided a different and welcome perspective on the original. In a way, reading the graphic novel was a lot like discussing the original book with someone: we agreed on all of the major points but still interpreted things very differently. On second thought, that might be the best description of a good adaptation.

Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo

Release Date: April 10, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Pages: 240
Buy: Amazon / Book Depository / IndieBound
Description: Goodreads
Chuck Taylor’s OCD has rendered him a high school outcast. His endless routines and habitual hand washing threaten to scare away both his closest friend and the amazing new girl in town. Sure he happens to share the name of the icon behind the coolest sneakers in the world, but even Chuck knows his bizarre system of wearing different color “Cons” depending on his mood is completely crazy.

In this hilariously candid debut novel from comedian Aaron Karo—who grew up with a few obsessions and compulsions of his own—very bad things are going to happen to Chuck. But maybe that’s a good thing. Because with graduation looming, Chuck finds himself with one last chance to face his inner demons, defend his best friend, and win over the girl of his dreams. No matter what happens, though, he’ll have to get his hands dirty.

I knew I had to have Lexapros & Cons from the moment I read the catalog blurb. It promised laughter and quirkiness, and it delivered. I laughed out loud more times then I can count and in the end it left me with a huge grin on my face.

Chuck Taylor can't live without his routines. Check the same things every day. Take the same paths. Don't deviate. He knows it's crazy, but he can't stop. He recently found out, thanks to the Internet, that he has OCD.

After discovering that he shares his name with the namesake of Chuck Taylor All-Stars, which he refers to as "Cons" because Chucks would be confusing for obvious reasons, he amasses a collection of the popular sneakers. And he uses them to convey his mood. (Just another one of Chucks little compulsions.) Of course, no one knows about the system and, even if they did know it existed, they's have a hard time making sense out of it.

Quirkiness, snark and hilarious moments aside, I think I fell in love with this book for two reasons:

1.) Chuck, despite everything, is bluntly honest with himself. He is acutely aware that his normal is not the same normal everyone else enjoys and realizes, more clearly than ever, that it's affecting his life.

2.) It's true and genuine and completely believable. (The aforementioned honesty has a lot to do with this, I think.) If Chuck were just someone wrapped up in his compulsions, believing that he's perfectly fine then it wouldn't be much of a read. It's Chuck's ability to be honest with himself, evolve and eventually push himself to his limits that makes the story the self-discovery and personal reclamation it is.

There's no insta-love and no melodramatic break-up drama. It's a good old fashion "boy-meets-girl" story with all the imperfections of like and love. Amy could be a hipster and part of the A-crowd, but Chuck, who's definitely not either of those things, plans to make his move before the entire senior class catches on to Amy's popularity potential. His window of opportunity is limited, and the clock isn't the only thing he has to beat.

Lexapros & Cons was such an amazingly real and awesomely funny read that it's definitely been deemed re-readable. So much so in fact that I finished in the middle of a plane ride and kind of wanted to flip back to page one and start over because I enjoyed it so much. I dare say reading this book in a semi-regular basis might become one of my compulsions.

Supergirl Mixtapes by Meagan Brothers

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: E-galley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Pages: 256
Buy: Amazon / Book Depository / Fountain Bookstore
Description: Goodreads
After years of boredom in her rural South Carolina town, Maria is thrilled when her father finally allows her to visit her estranged artist mother in New York City. She’s ready for adventure, and she soon finds herself immersed in a world of rock music and busy streets, where new people and ideas lie around every concrete corner. This is the freedom she’s always longed for—and she pushes for as much as she can get, skipping school to roam the streets, visit fancy museums, and flirt with the cute clerk at a downtown record store.

But just like her beloved New York City, Maria’s life has a darker side. Behind her mother’s carefree existence are shadowy secrets, and Maria must decide just where—and with whom—her loyalty lies.

Supergirl Mixtapes is a deftly written coming-of-age tale encompassing everything a proper coming-of-age tale should have. It’s got family drama aplenty, just the right amount of romance, and (of course) one great big personal epiphany. At 245 pages, it may be somewhat short, but it’s definitely not always sweet.

Maria Costello (as in Elvis) was born in New York City, but she’s spent the majority of her life in teeny Red Hill, South Carolina with her workaholic dad and iron-fisted grandmother. After a somewhat unexplained personal “incident,” Maria asks to move to New York City with her “artist” mother Victoria, whom she idealizes as a spontaneous, somewhat flighty, almost mystical creature, and her mother’s much-younger rocker boyfriend. The novel follows Maria’s time in the city as she learns more about her mother than she ever cared to learn as well as discovering just how much she can handle at the ripe old age of 16.

Supergirl Mixtapes takes place in 1997 (at least it does according to my research of when The Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was released). The title already gets you in that 90s mood- I just love the sound of the word “mixtape.” Clearly, I am a huge fan of the 90s. I can always relate to an awkward girl who feels at home with a stereo, a teetering pile of records/tapes/CDs, and a set of those huge earmuff-esque headphones, because I was that girl in 1997. (Actually, I’m still that girl.) Maria lives and breathes music, mostly due to a series of Supergirl Mixtapes made with care by her best friend Dory and from the influence of her mom. While Dory tends to land more on the side of “angry girl music of the indie rock persuasion,” Victoria’s influences are late 70s/early 80s bands from the New York punk scene. Patti Smith’s heavily featured, along with Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Television, The Ramones, and even Joni Mitchell. Simply put, Supergirl Mixtapes is filled to the brim with music references spanning multiple decades, which I love. Also, I thought it was very interesting that, despite the 90s setting, Maria’s tale is pretty timeless. With the exception of a few mentions of Walkmans and portable CD players, it didn’t feel or sound outdated.

The solid talent of Meagan Brothers is the reason Supergirl Mixtapes soars rather than falls into the depths of clichéd despair. There’s excellent flow from one part to the next, with each scene building into the next with ease. It always felt like something was bubbling below the surface, and that slow plot burn succeeds gracefully. The reader should know what’s coming when it comes, but it falls apart in such a way that it isn’t disappointingly predictable. Brothers’ words are as brilliant as they are simple; the writing never gets in the way of the story. They complement each other perfectly. My favorite example of this is the scene at Gram’s place during the Smart Southern Kids party at NYU. The SSK converse and joke around like they actually know each other, and the reader falls right in line with them without feeling the least bit left out.

I would recommend this for anyone looking for an instant gratification read that doesn’t scrimp on plot or characterization, as well as fans of music-heavy books. I look forward to reading more by Meagan Brothers.