Anna was taken…
Taken from her home to live out a sick game that a guy has been
playing for the last ten years.
With no certainty that anyone is looking for her, and seemingly
hours away from home, she’s forced to play housewife with a man that has had
twelve other ‘wives’.
Each of them now
dead…
With 12 rules and the obvious exits blocked, from the previous
girls attempts to flee. Is Anna’s only way out to play along and become a
‘loving wife’? Or will she die during the chase?
Would anyone even
know what happened to her?
Or would she be
labeled as a runaway?
And where is she in
the first place?
Interview with author Sara Schoen
If this book is
part of a series, tell us a little about it?
It’s about three girls, that are connected through the series,
going through a kidnapping. The main character’s are typically normal teenage
girls ripped from their daily lives and forced to fight for their lives. The
last girl, the main character of the third and final book, has had her life
controlled by being taken at a young age and now she’s fighting for other girls
not to go through what she and the other two girls did.
What made you write about a
kidnapping?
Well,
it’s an uncomfortable topic, very few people discuss it, and I think that’s an
issue. We never talk about it until it’s too late. Someone goes missing, and if
they aren’t seen or no one knows what happens to them, then we don’t know if we
will ever see them again. I hope that people will read the book and know that
they have to think about it, but they can’t let it take over their lives. Some
people prepare for the apocalypse, but what about a danger that’s here right
now? I don’t know what I would do if I was taken, but I wanted to raise
awareness so people can learn that they have to take a few precautions.
What made you have the characters
interact the way they do?
I made
Steve creepy because I thought, what person would take a girl, much less
thirteen of them? Then you have to think of a reason why he did it, and whether
logical or not to readers, it had to make sense to him. No one likes him as a
character, but he was a driving force of the story. He needed a reason, he needed
something to live for, and I gave that to him. Garrett was raised with Steve,
so he does what he feels will protect him, but he also wants to protect the
girls that come into the house. It’s just how he is, he knows it’s dangerous,
but he wants to help them. Anna is this empty shell basically, when you think
about her she isn’t dynamic, she’s flat in a way until the middle of the book.
She’s been torn away from her family, trying to figure out what happened, why
it happened and her feelings. She feels the only way to live through this is to
play along. She feels defeated until she has something to fight for and that’s
when you see her change.
How was it to write the book?
It was
both exciting and complicated. You have to touch on a lot of sensitive topics.
The families affected by these things, the girls and boys themselves, and the
possibilities that the individual could go through. No one wants to think about
it, but sometimes I believe it’s better have a worse case scenario and work to
prevent it instead of pretending it doesn’t happen or ignoring it.
What do you think people will
think of the book?
I had my
work on a website for a few years, and I got a lot of mixed reviews. There were
mostly good words said, and it became very popular and I had a few readers tell
me that they were going to be more cautious when going out at night. I’m not
telling you to be suspicious of everyone, just be cautious about your
surroundings. Keep yourself safe and learn what looks dangerous, or even what
looks harmless, but could cause trouble. Then there were a few people that had
the opposite opinion, they told me that I was basically the devil and that I
didn’t deserve the book to become popular, that I was against religion and many
other things. While those were the minority of the readers I had, I realize the
book is an uncomfortable topic and few people want to think about it. I don’t
apologize for starting the topic, and I just hope people who read will
understand that I just want them to be vigilant.
What made you make it a trilogy?
It got
really well known on the site, and I felt like I had more to say. The second
books talks about what would happen if we took too many precautions, those same
rules we made to protect people would cause them to act out and in some causes
worse things would happen. It’s just a balance like everything else in life.
The topic should be known, and we should take precautions, but it shouldn’t be
the sole focus. We can’t stop bad things from happening completely, but we can
raise awareness of them.
What was the hardest part of
writing your book?
It was
complicated, the characters, the setting and even just the story. It’s
uncomfortable to write, and even uncomfortable to discuss with friends because
they think it’s so strange that I choose this topic to write about.
Did you learn anything from
writing your book and what was it?
You
learn a lot about yourself when you write a book, and I mean more than just if
you can finish or not. I learned with this book that the stories on the news
are very real, they aren’t characters in a story that I can control and work
with to give a happy ending to. They are real stories, and they don’t always
end happily, and the ones that do are very lucky. It’s difficult to think about
it like that, but it’s true. I wish we didn’t have to experience those stories,
and attempt to understand the pain the families feel. I learned that it’s
impossible to know them, and what they went through. All we can do is think we
understand, when really we have no idea what it’s like, and that’s what scary
to us.
What are your
ambitions for your writing career?
I hope to get a few more topics out into the open, and even a
few stories that I’m just excited to share. I still go to college, so school
comes first and writing will be a hobby until then.
What else have you
written?
I have dipped into a lot of genres, but I really enjoy Thrillers
and Suspense the best. It’s exciting to write and I hope it’s just as exciting
to read for those that read my books.
What’s the best
compliment you got on the work?
A few people told me that if it became a movie they would pay
money to go see it. It’s fantastic as an author to hear that, because you
rarely think someone will like the book after being turned down by so many
publishing companies, but that one person just keeps you going.
Can we expect to
hear more from you?
A lot more, like I said I have so many stories I can’t wait to
share with fans, friends and family. It’s exciting to find someone that wanted
to work with me on the series and I hope they like working with me because I
love working with them.
Can you share a little of your
current work with us?
It has
to do with one of my favorite characters, I don’t want to give too much away
since I’m still working on planning the second book. It’s another series; three
books with about three stand alone books that go with the series. I hope to
have it out by next year, after I finish the Amber Alert series. So I really
hope this launch goes off well because I’m really excited to share that story
with everyone. It’s my personal favorite.
Where can people
find you to keep up with you?
Twitter at SaraNSchoen, facebook (look up Sara Schoen and look
for the Amber Alert banner), wattpad (xxnightstripexx) and goodreads, just look
for Amber Alert by Sara Schoen.
About the author:
My name is Sara, I’m 19 years old, and I was born and raised in Alexandria
Virginia. I have always been interested in writing, even started a book in
elementary school, but it didn’t get very far. But it wasn’t until high school
that my friend, and writing partner, more or less forced me to join an amateur
writing site. After some convincing from her, I plucked up the courage and
posted one of my stories. While it wasn’t popular at first, I was shocked and
overwhelmed by the support of readers on Wattpad, and they gave me the support
and confidence to get where I am today. I continued to write religiously for
the next three years I was on the website, starting countless stories. I wasn’t
worried that they weren’t popular because I had once heard that you shouldn’t
be afraid to write crap, because it will make great fertilizer. I can’t wait to
start sharing more works and Ideas with you guys!
