Amy has been taking all the questions and compiling them so that it's easier for anyone to follow the discussion. Her organization is just superb! It makes this a whole lot easier for me and for anyone who's trying to keep up with all the Q&As in the midst of all the comments and fangirling :D You will find compilation #4 below.
Q&A WITH K&B: PART IV
Q-
Have either of you done any of the daredevil type of stuff that Daisy loves? Cliff diving, high speed motorcycles, etc?
A-
The most daredevil thing, I think, either of us have done is ziplining. But I would hardly call it dardevil-ish considering every ten-year-old who goes to summer camp usually does it, lol. I'm a big scaredy cat and even going up a chairlift at a ski resort makes me pee my pants. Although, Becca has walked across a really narrow rock with a huge drop-off on either side, kind of like a rock tight-rope, when she went on her roadtrip out west. That's pretty ballsy! But I think we would both LOVE to have Daisy's ultimate fearlessness, which is one of the reasons we love writing the her character so much. Great question!
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Q-
Do you have any siblings? And are they the inspiration for any of the characters in the book?
A-
We do! We have an older brother. He's two years older than us and has that fearlessness that Daisy has. I would say he inspired a little bit of Daisy and a little bit of Ryke. He's very adventurous and loves the outdoors. He also cares very little about what people think of him, kind of like Ryke. Though he doesn't have the same affinity for curse words ;)
Here's a link to a Facebook post where we talk about him and there's a video of his fearlessness in action: FUN FACT: Our older brother largely inspired Hothouse Flower
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Q-
I know you've touched on this already, but I was wondering more about your writing process. Do you have a specific outline you both follow or do you sort of see where the story leads you? Do you each choose your own characters to create in the story and stick with them so their voice remains consistent? And, from where do you draw inspiration when facing a mental block in writing?
A-
Thanks so much! And these are great questions!! We don't necessarily outline on paper, but before we start a book we sit down and discuss character arcs and the two major plot points in our book (the twist and/or climax and the ending). After that happens, the one who is designated to write the first draft will sit down and write everything.
Both of us write all the characters. We're very good at mimicking each other's voices and melding our writing styles together. And a lot of times the second drafter will develop the characters further and actually flesh them out--all while maintaining the same voice. It's a fun process because we both end up having our own little stamp on each of the characters :)
Writing blocks are awful! And if that happens, we usually sit down and have to talk it out. We discuss plots, characters, and alternate paths for hours--or at least until we're both satisfied with the changes. Kiss the Sky was our toughest book to write, and we had a TON of these writing discussions. It sucks when you know something's wrong but you can't quite place it, and that's when we have to sit and talk and rework things.
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Q-
Ate Lanie and I got to wondering about whether or not you've ever approached any of your friends to be on any of the covers? Someone that you could possibly take with you to author signings and such?
A-
No we've never been approached by anyone to be on the Addicted covers. We used to use friends for covers when I first self-published that one series (when I was 17). But they were just "body" shots so you can't see their faces. I'm not sure if we'd do that again though, not because the pics didn't turn out that well but because there are more emotions involved when you work with friends. It gets complicated :)
Thanks, Jenn! I actually had a photographer friend who designed those covers and took the pictures :) We used my brother's friend as the model for the second book cover. Krista wasn't a photoshop wizard back then like she is now, or else she probably would have done them :)
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Q-
Okay so it's not really a question but… I think you guys need to get the series optioned by HBO… Call it the Princesses of Philly are Addicted. Give me (and everyone else of course) the opportunity to ogle real live embodiments of Lo, Connor and Ryke while laughing & crying along with all the fun and feels the gang are constantly experiencing.
A-
I'D DIE IF THIS HAPPENED. SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO PICK ME UP OFF THE FLOOR!!
...I don't think it's a big secret that I'm obsessed with television lol(I went to college to study TV production) I think that would be a super mega dream, my two loves -- books and television -- uniting!
I'm with Jenn though. I'd lean more towards CW than HBO (even though you have to sacrifice cursing and more graphic scenes), CW has a way of making series last FOREVER! Like 10 years :) *sigh* that would be heaven. And then Ryke, Lo,and Connor would be actual tangible people :D
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Q-
What's your favourite moment for each couple? And the second: who are you more similar to? Are you like Rose,Poppy,Lily and Daisy? Or maybe like Lo,Connor or Ryke?
A-
Favorite moment...
For Lily and Lo: I'd say the moment in Addicted for Now where she calls him her Scott Summers. But I also love the scene in Addicted to You where Lo tells Lily to ask him why he drinks. He has his "because" speech... which is what Krista and I call it.
For Rose & Connor, it's another tossup between two scenes in Kiss the Sky, one where Connor has her on the bed and he reveals how many children he wants to have. It's such a Rose & Connor moment, that between any other couple, I don't think it'd work. And then when
For Ryke & Daisy, I'm also tied between two... see I suck at this. I can never pick just one! I think the cliff diving scene in Mexico is just so monumental to the rest of their relationship. It really establishes that Ryke is the only one who can keep up with Daisy, and so it has to be one of my favorites. And then the scene where
Oh and the second part to your question, I remembered that we answered this in an interview awhile back. I just found it, so I'm gonna paste it here ;D Thanks for asking so more ppl can see the answer in case they haven't yet! (I'm putting it in a spoiler tag bc it's super long.)
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Q-
I feel silly saying this, but during one if the recent cast interviews Ryke referred to being annoyed by Lily's whining (and I can't think of many instances that she has). It hurt my feelings as if they were directed at me (she's my girl after all) and it didn't seem to bother Lily at all BTW. While I know Ryke has Lily's back 100%, and the group has a lot of live/hate relationships- is it crazy that it bothers me that he doesn't seem to like her very much? I'm sure he does....
A-
He definitely does like Lily, but she gets on his nerves the most. In Ricochet, Ryke talks about her whining. And I think he mentions it in Addicted to You. In fact, I'm pretty sure in A2Y Lily says that her voice turns high-pitched and scratchy around him for some reason lol. He irritates her as much as she irritates him. I think before they knew each other, their joking was sort of mean jabs, and now it comes from a better place and it's not really said out of spite or hate. It's just like, "you're bothering me, stop talking" sort of thing that siblings and really good friends can say to each other without letting it get under their skin. I think Lily and Ryke have finally come to that place with each other.
That being said, Ryke DID NOT like Lily when he first met her because he was overly protective of his brother, and he thought she was hurting him. It was an outsiders perspective, but in Ricochet he really got to know Lily and saw how much Lo needed her and how much she needed him. And he accepted her as a friend and as a strong, positive force in Lo's life :) ******************************************
Q-
My question is about Lily, she's changed the most over the coarse of 5 books. She seemed a lot more serious (while still kinda spastic and sweetly goofy) in Addicted to You, Richocet, and Addicted for Now. And now it seems that she's evolved into a sillier and goofier person once we've gotten to see her through the eyes of Rose, Connor, Daisy, and Ryke- as well as in the character interviews. Is it that she's much more comfortable in her own skin and around her tight knit group of family and friends? Or was it a way to make her feel softer and more relateable?
A-
I love this question so much! Krista and I talk about Lily's development over the 5 books all the time, and how she's more goofy in the spin-off books but yet way less confident in a way. For instance, in Addicted to You, she slapped a beer out of a frat guy's hand for insulting her. Sure, she felt like a wilted flower afterwards, but she did it. I'm not so sure she would even have the courage to do that after her addiction became publicized, that really changed her and her confidence plummets throughout the series.
But she's also found out who she is through these three years. Outside of sex, she's really come into her own identity and realized it's okay to be the goofy Lily who wears a Wampa cap (as seen at the end of Ricochet when she has Lily Vow Day). And it's okay to be awkward and have embarrassing moments and laugh about it with her friends, especially now that she has friends outside of Lo and is close to her sisters.
At the start of Addicted to You, she was so consumed by sex that she was pretty serious and morose. Krista and I often talk about how unhappy she was, how miserable she seemed, and through three years, she's really allowed herself to become this ball of light and discover who she is. We love her transformation, but she still has a lot of room to grow too, like I mentioned with her confidence and also her paranoia with the media. The media has really affected her for the worse, but her friends and family have really built her up and let her express herself when they're around.
Also, in the spin-off books, we're in different characters' POVs, and they see Lily a little differently too. So that weighs in. She knows they see her as the "quiet one" (as she's mentioned in A2Y) and they also see her as not the smartest tool in the shed, probably because of her grades and because she is so introverted. But when we're in Lily's head, she's not dumb at all. She's pretty normal on the smart scale :)
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Q-
Will we see Lily find something she's good at- other than sex, loving Lo, being a good sister, being an awesome bestfriend- will we see Lily find what she wants to do as a profession (even if it's working at the Comic store forever!)?
A-
Yes. Definitely. This is a part of the final Lily & Lo book: Addicted After All :)
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