Natalie Whipple, sadly, does not have any cool mutations like her characters. Unless you count the ability to watch anime and Korean dramas for hours on end. Or her uncanny knack for sushi consumption.
She grew up in the Bay Area and relocated to Utah for high school, which was quite the culture shock for her anime-loving teen self. But the Rocky Mountains eventually won her over, and she stuck around to earn her degree in English linguistics at BYU. Natalie still lives in Utah with her husband and three kids, and keeps the local Asian market in business with all her attempts to cook Thai curry, Pho, and “real” ramen.
Q&A
Q: What is your favorite book genre?
Well of course YA! It's hard to say more specifically than that, because I love fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, paranormal, historical...it's just all interesting to me. I have written in many of those genres. I don't intend to focus any time soon. I'm just not the kind of writer or reader who sticks with one thing.
Q: If you where to describe Fish Out Of Water in three words what would those words be?
Pride, Prejudice, Guppies (This is on the back of the UK version, and I just adore that!)
Q: What was your favorite Part to write in Fish out Of Water?
I love a lot about FISH. Like, a lot. It's a very important book to me personally, about love and how blurry it can be in all types of relationships. So one of my favorite scenes is The Oatmeal Scene near the end. Mika, trying to avoid a certain person, has taken to staying home to perfect this oatmeal recipe her Alzheimer's-ridden grandmother has demanded she make. It goes really poorly, and Mika realizes she's not the person she thought she was.
Q: if you where to send any of you characters into to the hunger games who would you send?
Oh that's mean! I guess if we're keeping with the FISH characters, it'd have to be London or Olivia. London because I kinda hope she wouldn't make it out, and Olivia because I'm pretty sure she'd win.
Q: Who has been your favorite character to write about?
Probably Jo from HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW.
Q: Paperback, hardback , or Ebook?
Paperback
Q: What is the hardest struggle being a writer?
There are a lot of struggles...it's hard to pick one, but maybe the reality that you never have job security. You can sell one series and have it do well, and then the next one tanks. Or you could be super obscure for years, and then one book hits it big. But that could end in a few years when people forget about you again. You're entirely at the whim of the market, and you can't control it. You often feel helpless about that.
Q: Whats your Favorite thing about being a writer?
Writing is how I make sense of the world, so I love it for that. My books usually come out of some problem I'm thinking about, either one from my own life or something I've seen just in the world at large. When I write those feelings out in a story, I understand things better. Or at least I feel like I do. Then I'm at peace with whatever that problem was.
Q: Is it easier to Write a Stand alone or a series?
I would say a standalone. Just because you only have to sustain the story and character arcs for one book. Building a series, making room for the characters to grow over that much story, is a tough thing to do. At least to me. Maybe it comes naturally to some. Ultimately, I think whatever the form the story is intended to be in is the easiest. Trying to cram a trilogy into two books is the worst, for example. Or trying to stretch a standalone into more often doesn't work.
Q: Will you write more Contemporary in the future?
I have written a few contemporaries, actually! They just aren't published. I love contemporary and hope to do more, but we'll see. It was pretty hard to sell FISH, so I have no idea if I would get lucky enough to sell another contemporary. I don't have a lot of money, but if by some miracle I had enough to indie publish my YA contemp SIDEKICK, I'd love to. That book just has a special place in my heart and I want to see it in print for myself. Fingers crossed, I guess.
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