The first book in Alyson Noel's series

Laguna Beach Author Alyson Noel could never have predicted that an idea about a girl who survives death and becomes immortal would land her on the New York Times Bestseller List. But Evermore and Blue Moon both hit number one and show no signs of slowing down. Her heroine Ever and the love-of-her-life, Damen have captured the hearts of young readers around the world. Alyson shares how the idea came to her, how she keeps up with her publishing schedule and what we can expect from the next installment, Shadowland.

Anaheim Literature Examiner: Did the idea for Evermore come to you in an aha! moment, or did it evolve over time?

Alyson Noel: It was gradual and it evolved rather slowly. It started as a side project, something I worked on between books I was already contracted for, just after I’d gone through this period of terrible grief where I lost three people I loved in five months, then almost lost my husband to leukemia (he’s in full remission now). Although I’d explored death and change in Saving Zoe and Cruel Summer, I knew I wasn’t quite finished though I wanted to do it in a different way—to further explore the themes of life and death, mortality and immortality, and how you can still feel connected to your loved ones long after they’re gone, and Ever and Damen’s story was born from there.
 

Examiner: Ever is a very vulnerable character whose assumptions mislead her into some cataclysmic mistakes. Why do you think she resonates with your readers?

Alyson: Well, despite her gifts, she’s still very much a normal, sixteen-year old girl caught in extraordinary circumstances. And while on the surface she appears to have it all—good looks, amazing boyfriend, and immortality—she’s still bullied by the mean girls at school, still trying to find her place in the world, and is painfully aware that the price of living forever means she’ll never get to see her family again, and never be able to form any long lasting relationships outside of Damen—it’s actually a pretty tough gig that she has!

Examiner: Do you miss your characters and their world after you've finished a book?

Alyson: Well, about halfway through the writing of each book, I get the burning idea for the next book and can’t wait to get to that!  But yeah, I do think of them from time to time, they’re like children I’ve raised and released into the world to find their own way!
 

Examiner: Describe your writing process. Are you an inveterate outliner or a seat-of-your-pantser?

Alyson: I outline. I don’t like it, but I make myself do it because I know if left to my own devices I’ll veer way off track. I use Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat method, listing the fifteen beats, the various turning points that crop-up along the way, and like any good road map, it always leads me to my final destination: “The End!”
 

Examiner: Has your success - making the NYT Bestseller list and optioning Evermore for a TV series - made it easier or harder to write?

Alyson: I think it has the potential to make it much harder to write, so I try not to think about it too much. I just focus on the story I set out to tell long before all that happened, and hope for the best!
 

Examiner: Will you continue the Immortals series or is there a new series in the making?

Alyson: The Immortals will consist of six books; Shadowland will be in stores on November 17th, Dark Flame will follow sometime in 2010, and books five and six (still untitled!) will follow in 2010/11.

I’m also working on an Immortals middle grade spin-off, starring Riley, Ever’s ghostly twelve-year-old sister, that’s set to debut in Fall 2010.