Jackie Kessler
Books (YA):
- Hunger (October 2010)
- Rage (April 2011)
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"Come on, Lisabeth," Death said, not unkindly. "It’s time to do your job."
The words didn’t make any sense. "My job?" Lisa said as Death helped her to her feet. She was a seventeen-year-old high school junior in the suburbs; she didn’t have a job.
"Thou art Famine, yo," Death said. "Time to make with the starvation."
Lisabeth Lewis is no stranger to starvation. Her life revolves around counting calories, constant exercise, denying herself even the strongest cravings. Lisa is in a constant battle with hunger for control over her body. When, in a moment of desperation, she almost gives up that control completely, she is visited by a wisecracking messenger who turns out to be Death. He offers Lisa a rare opportunity: to become one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse—Famine. As Famine, Lisa travels the world on her black steed, visiting parts of the world where hunger is a painful part of everyday life. She’s horrified to see her own power destroy crops and turn food to dust. But when she finds a way to harness her power as Famine and use it for nourishment rather than deprivation, Lisa finally gains the courage to face her own problem.
A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, HUNGER is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.
The cover of Hunger is very distinct, do the scales represent anything within the story?
JK: I was blessed by the cover gods! **grin** According to the Book of Revelations, Famine — the Black Rider — wields a pair of balances, or a set of scales, which weighs food. I liked the symbolism of scales being important to both Famine and to the protagonist, Lisa. Because she’s anorexic, her life revolves around scales—both to measure food exactly, and to weigh herself. And I also liked the notion of the scales being called balances, or a balance, because balance is the theme of the book.
Who was your favorite character to write and why?
JK: As much as I really felt for Lisa, and as much as I enjoyed War’s sheer bloodthirstiness...I loved writing Death. There’s just something fun about an ancient entity that is also part of current culture. “Thou art Famine, yo.” And hey, he appreciates music. **grin**
How long was the writing process for Hunger?
JK: Actual writing? Four weeks. Before anyone yells at me, I had the idea for HUNGER for years. Years. Seriously close to ten years. That’s a long time to let something percolate! When I finally sat down to write HUNGER, everything came pouring out.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing Hunger?
JK: Three parts were very challenging. First, finding the right beginning — which for me is almost always the most difficult part of writing any book. Tied into that was finding the right protagonist. Once I figured out that I was going to very loosely base the main character on someone I knew, the character just bloomed, and the beginning — Lisa has just been interrupted from a suicide attempt by Death, who has given her the Scales and tells her that she’s Famine — just happened. The other part that was challenging was determining the purpose of the Horsemen. As Death says in RAGE, “Apocalypse is just a word.” But words still have power. **grin**
What is the most rewarding aspect of writing for young adults?
JK: Right now, the writing itself. I’m looking forward to meeting readers in the future and getting their reaction, what they liked, what they didn’t like, what they’d like to see. (I’m also kind of nervous about that!) My biggest hope is that people read HUNGER and talk about eating disorders.
Do you have a specific place that you write, or any must have while you are writing?
JK: Almost always, I write at my desk in my home office. I prefer having an external monitor and keyboard. Every once in a while, I’ll take my laptop and write in a different place (in the winter, there’s nothing like writing in front of a fireplace). But I prefer being at my desk. I’m really quite boring. (At the moment, I’m typing this at my kids’ tae kwon do class.)
What is a typical writing day like for you?
JK: I do most of my writing at night, when the kids are asleep. Too many nights, he’ll walk into my home office at 11 pm and kiss me goodnight, and I’ll say, “I’m coming to bed in a minute.” And two hours later, I finally come to bed. Weekends are a windfall; my husband will take the kids out on errands or go to the park so I can slip in some writing.
Thanks so much Jackie for stopping by!