Music, Style & Culture

Interview: Switched Author Amanda Hocking

The self-publishing sensation on changelings, Muppets and having District 9's writer option her book.

Set to do for trolls what Twilight did for vampires (honestly), the Trylle Trilogy is a bit of a sensation.

It's cute, page-turning Young Adult fantasy, but the author behind it is far more interesting. Minnesota native and full-time care assistant Amanda Hocking had been writing since her teens, but by her mid-twenties had only faced rejection letters. That all changed with the advent of self-publishing e-books - she popped her vampire novel 'My Blood Approves' online in April 2010, followed by Switched.

The latter, a unique romantic take on the troll mythos, became a huge hit thanks to word of mouth, and Hocking has now sold over a million copies. Switched becomes her first novel to be published after a huge bidding war won by Pan Macmillan in the UK, and is in shops now. The other two books follow this spring, and Switched has been optioned by District 9 co-writer Terri Tatchell and will be adapted for the big screen.

Synopsis:

Switched introduces the reader to Wendy Everly. She first knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her, accusing her of having been switched at birth. Although she’s certain she’s not the monster her mother claims she is, there is a secret she keeps from everyone. Her mysterious ability to influence people’s decisions, without knowing how, or why.

When handsome newcomer Finn turns up at her window, her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist...

We caught up with Hocking while she was in the UK for a quick chat during her busy book-signing schedule.

Is it true you started on this amazing publishing journey because of The Muppets?
I heard about some authors making some money, and I really wanted to go this travelling Jim Henson exhibit. The closest they were coming to where I lived was Chicago, which was an eight-hour drive. I needed to save up money to see it, and I figured I could get $300 for gas and a hotel. I ended up doing much better than that - I made a couple of thousand dollars! I fell in love with Chicago and the exhibit was fantastic - they had Henson's early drawings and actual puppets, the real ones they'd used.

The new Muppets film is out in the UK next month - can we have your verdict?
I thought the film was fantastic. It was very funny and I cried three times!

Which came first in the spark for the story - the changeling or the trolls?
I was reading a lot of Scandanavian folklore first, but then I started reading about changelings. It was late as the 1800s where a man killed his wife, and he got off because he said his wife was a changeling. That was like a hundred years ago, it's insane. So that idea evolved into the opening prologue. I saw that a lot of children had been killed, so I thought that would be a good opening.

Were you always interested in folklore?
Growing up, I was probably interested in Greek mythology, but that of course is the biggest mythology of all! I was interested in all kinds of mythology. I read Grimms' fairy tales a lot.

Is there a lot of you in Wendy?
I don't think so. I know there are little bits of me in all the characters. Wendy's way more outspoken than I am, and probably even stronger than I am. She's got more going on than I do!

Is it important for you to have romance in your stories?
I like reading it, and especially when it comes to Young Adult, I enjoy there being romance. I remember when I was a kid, reading books and I liked them, but there wasn't enough romance for me. So I made sure these had some.

Do you feel a responsibility when writing romance for teenage readers?
I think about it a little bit. My number one goal is to write an engaging and entertaining story, but I'm aware that there's a lot of young people reading them, especially young girls, and I have that in my mind when I'm writing. But I don't want to be over-the-top preachy about anything.

What makes Switched stand out in such a popular fantasy market?
The genre is very popular, and my book is similar enough in that genre in that people are already gravitating towards it, but it has a few unique elements and twists that make it stand out. It's not about vampires, so that's its big sign point and why it connects with readers.

Would you ever branch out of the fantasy genre?
It's something I'm really comfortable with. I'm really enjoying it, and it's true to who I am. When I started writing, I wasn't writing a lot in fantasy, because I was trying to be cool and deep and literary. But it's something I love. I'm sure I'll try one or two books that aren't fantasy.

What's the status of the film adaptation?
The screenwriter Terri Tatchell, who was the co-writer of District 9, is really brilliant. She works with her husband a lot, and right now they're working on a film with Matt Damon [Elysium] and I think that's taking priority over stuff. I know that she's written the first draft of the screenplay, and that sounds like it's going good. She emailed me at the beginning of the month as she's really excited about the books coming out. So as far as I know, things are on track, but you can never tell with Hollywood!

How were you approached by Terri?
She was on vacation in Hawaii, and she had her eReader and just picked up my books and she liked them. Her agent emailed me at like nine o'clock on a Tuesday night, and said "I've got a client who's interested in speaking to you." I said, what the heck, and it was the William Morris Agency who I'd heard of. Ten minutes later she emailed me this really long letter, saying "I hope you don't think I'm weird or creepy!" Why would I think that! Originally she was going to send me the first draft, then she started moving into the second draft. When she makes changes from the book, she asks me about them. I trust her judgment. I don't know how much she's going to ask as things progress, but I trust her.

Was it always the dream to have a physical published book?
Not really. I think it's nice, and it's pretty, and the whole package is great. It's nice, but it's icing on the cake. Being able to reach readers is the cake itself.

Did you have lots of publishing offers?
We went into a bidding war, with five houses, including Amazon. When I talked about it with my agent, I said what was important to me was being able to get paperbacks in stores. Otherwise I wouldn't see the point of going to a publishers. So it was whoever who could get the best distribution and the highest bidder.

How has your life changed since your success?
This is very different, but my day-to-day life is the same. I live in the same town, and see the same people, and I keep my life is close to what it was as best as I can.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I watch a ton of movies. I've seen every American movie that came out between 1980 and 1990. I love '80s films, anything John Hughes did. I love Top Gun, and anything cheesy and ridiculous like Howard the Duck. The He-man movie!

Have you always had a good relationship with fans?
I've had a blog, and MySpace for years, and a Twitter and FaceBook, and I've always interacted with my readers as much as I can. I'm trying to find a good balance between talking to them and shutting off the computer sometimes!

It must be nice to have a physical copy for meet and greets!
I did go to Comic Con last year for a panel. There was nothing I could sign - I signed a Kindle! It's always nice to hear that they've enjoyed it.

What's next for you?
My next book is a never-before published series called Watersong. It's four books and the first book is called Wake, and that will come out in August this year. That one's based in Greek mythology, but it's set in modern times. It's about two sisters who get into some trouble with a paranormal element, and there's love, danger and fun!

Watch Amanda introduce the story of Switched below: