If you haven't heard about the YA series that has me fangirling this September, then you'd better listen up!
L.H Cosway's Florence Vaine series is the perfect pick if you're looking for a book that will keep you enthralled and hooked until the last page.
The first book in the series - A Strange Fire - presented us with Cosway's heroine - a shy, slightly introverted teenager by the name of Florence (of Flo, as she prefers to be called). Flo is down to earth and troubled as any human being would be in her situation. Not only has she had to deal with having to bear the brunt of her father's verbal and physical abuse for most of her childhood, but Flo has a dangerous secret. She can see people's auras, and can even alter them. The book thrilled readers...the ending leaving us wanting more. (To read my review on A Strange Fire click HERE )
And this September, the second book in the series - A Vision of Green - is due to be released!! To celebrate, below is an interview with the talented author herself - telling us about her inspiration, the writing process and a few tidbits on the sequel!
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INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR L.H COSWAY:
1.) Flo
has the most amazing ability - to see 'colours' around people, or their auras.
Where did this idea come from?
Out of all the
psychic talents a person could have, I've always been the most fascinated by
the idea of an Empath. It's a very distinct visual to imagine someone being
able to see colours, both beautiful and ugly, surrounding another person's
body. I imagined a girl who was continually preoccupied with staring at colours
only she could see, and not knowing whether she was really seeing them or if
she was simply imagining it all. For Flo I think it was important to give her
something that would prevent her from allowing her father's abuse to turn her
into a bad person. A lot of people who suffer like that will tend to become
cruel and abusive themselves. I very much believe in the saying, when
fighting monsters, be careful not to become one and Flo's ability allows her to keep her sense of right and wrong
because she can see the truth beneath the surface of people.
2.) Who's
your favourite - Ross, Alex, Benji, Kevin or Frank?!
Frank and Alex
are definitely my top two, the others are much more secondary characters and
don't play as big a role in the storyline. Obviously Frank is my favourite,
he's got that whole “bad boy with a heart of gold” thing going on. I love Alex
too though, because he's cheeky and tends to enjoy making smart comments about
people, which is always fun to write!
3.) What
made you choose to give Flo a stammer?
Flo is the most
socially phobic character I have ever created, she's shy to the core and
anxious a lot of the time. I gave her a stammer to show how her anxiety affects
her in social situations, and also to show how her upbringing has caused her to
be afraid of new people because she's only ever been treated badly. In some ways
she feels like people won't be interested in what she has to say, and she
becomes so nervous when she tries to speak that it just gets all jumbled up. In
book two you'll see her tackle her stammer head on, and she might just learn to
overcome it;)
4.) Flo's
relationship with her dad is complex. Do you think that she loves him, or hates
him?
I think she
loves him and hates him, or maybe she just wishes she could love him because
kids are supposed to be able to love their parents. The problem is that her dad
is so completely horrid and unlovable. Up until she goes to live in Chesterport
she's never known anything other than her father being cruel to her, so in a
way she can't tell the difference. She definitely has an irrational sense of
loyalty to him that he doesn't deserve. As an Empath she feels the need to heal
him emotionally, although it remains to be seen whether he will ever be in the
position to become a better person.
5.) The
first book ended with "I am not a
victim. I am not timid. I am not a prisoner. My father's hate no longer
matters. And I deserve to live." Do you think that this version of Flo
was always within her, or did her experience throughout the novel help make her
into this better version of herself - and what version of Flo can we expect in
the next book?
She definitely
always had the potential to be this version of herself, but her experiences in
life shaped her for the worse. I think it was the things that happened to her
since moving in with her Gran that enabled her to see the person she was meant
to be, and at the end of book one she's taking a step towards becoming that
person. It won't be easy though. In book two Flo is definitely more confident,
but she finds herself quickly falling back under her dad's authority at the
same time. She discovers that saying she's not a victim is a lot easier than
actually not being one in real life. She has to struggle to really break the
hold her dad has over her psychologically. It's definitely going to be hard for
her, but she'll pull through in the end.
6.) Was
it harder writing the second book?
Oh it was
definitely harder, because when I wrote A Strange Fire I was only
twenty-two so I could still understand how a teenager thinks fairly well. Now
that I'm a little older my point of view is different, so I had to make a
conscious effort to get back inside Flo's head and figure out what makes her
tick.
7.) What can we
expect in the next book?
In A Vision of Green readers will encounter some new supernatural beings
and there is a big emphasis on the town forest, where strange things start
happening. Flo's relationship with Frank deepens and evolves and there's also
more emphasis on her friendship with Caroline, whose crush on Alex
continues (but this time he might actually like her back!) Flo also makes some
discoveries about where her Empath gene comes from and her powers continue to
grow and surprise her. She meets new characters too, some good and some not so
good.
**I would like to thank L.H Cosway for the chance to read her wonderful books and for giving this blog such an outstanding interview! I am just about to start A Vision of Green and I. Can't. WAIT!!**
'Sixteen-year-old Sophie Bloom wishes she’d been taught the
following:
