Interview with Jo Treggiari

Jo Treggiari is the author of one of the most anticipated 2011 novels, Ashes, Ashes, which was released earlier this month! If you've read my book review here, then you'll probably already know that I thought it was amazing! Post-apocalyptic and the general dystopian novels have become a great favourite of mine in YA books and since I thought Ashes, Ashes was such a fun read, I thought it would be cool to ask Jo herself a couple of questions and she graciously agreed to have a small interview with me! Enjoy folks! :)

1. How did you come up with the idea of Ashes, Ashes? Did you always plan for it to be a post-apocalyptic novel?

Originally when I thought of the story my main goal was to write an adventure in the vein of the books I had read as a kid and teenager, but replacing the traditional hero with a heroine. I wanted to portray a girl who was strong but flawed, confident about some things, insecure about others. Someone forced to live with her own choices. Then one day I was with my young daughter at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park and I started re-imagining my surroundings. I visualized lake water lapping at the edge of the statue, and a tossing sea beyond, toppled skyscrapers and black smoke in the sky, and I had the setting for my story. So many things seemed serendipitous when I started my research. Details just fell into place from there.

2. I absolutely love Lucy and Aidan's character! So, out of the many characters mentioned, which one was the most fun to write?

Oh that's a hard question - I loved writing all of them. I guess I'd say that besides Lucy and Aidan, it's a toss-up between Grammalie Rose, an 80 year old woman with an undimmed spirit, and Del, a 17 year old teenage girl who is stubborn, hot-tempered, and majorly conflicted. I had a lot of back story figured out for the both of them. They are complex characters and I had them face difficult moral choices. The whole book really poses the question "what would you do if faced with having to decide between the individual and the fate of many?" My characters all approach the choice differently.

3. Some of society's worst fears come to play in the book - the likes of natural disasters and disease. The fact that it COULD happen one day in the near future . . . out of all the struggles Lucy has to face in Ashes, Ashes, which one would you fear the most?

The tsunami scene terrifies me. I could hardly bear to watch the footage of the Indian Ocean disaster on YouTube when I was doing my research. It made me look at the ocean in an entirely different way. The sheer mass of it, the unpredictability, our helplessness . . . (shudders). Compounding that is the fact that one of my dearest friends almost died in it.

4. Dystopian is becoming quite a popular trend in the Young Adult market. What do you think makes them so popular? What makes Ashes, Ashes something a little different?

I think it's that whole 'what if' thing? What if global warming caused rising sea levels and widespread flooding on a catastrophic scale, what if the government installed video cameras on every street corner or monitored our website searches, what if love was outlawed, or reproductive rights controlled? Some of these things have already happened which makes the fictional scenarios in books even more scary and plausible.

We are always interested in the tales of survivors because they have lived through horrors the rest of us can only dream of. That aspect of the human spirit intrigues me and I explored it in my book. I think that a focus on human spirit, strength, adaptability and hope is what makes Ashes, Ashes a bit different, and the fact that it is post-apocalyptic rather than dystopian and set in the near future.

5. Name your favourite scene in Ashes, Ashes?

Writing the tsunami scene was difficult and taxing but I am proud of my writing in it. I also loved writing the dancing scene with Aidan and Lucy - all that emotion and awkwardness that the characters were feeling!

6. If you were in Lucy's place and thrown into her dystopian world, if flooding occured . . . name the three items you would take with you and why?

Matches/tinderbox or magnifying glass so I could start a fire. Blanket which I could wear or make a tent out of. A knife which I could use as a tool and a weapon.

7. Any advice to aspiring authors?

If you want to write you must persevere. This means reading widely and across other genres, writing as close to every day as you can manage, revising and polishing your work as much as it is required, and above all believing in yourself and LOVING the process. It is hard work but in my opinion there is nothing so rewarding. Educate yourself about the submission process/query letter - there are tons of great resources on the web, network with other writers on Twitter and through critique groups. Try and have a long view as well, aspire to a career rather than a blockbuster book which comes out of nowhere and makes you rich and famous. Those book are rare and few.

8. Last question: Will there be a sequel to Ashes, Ashes? Are there any other books that you're working on at the moment?

I certainly hope so. I have a companion novel outlined already which gives more history on Del, Aidan and Sammy. I have a punk rock road trip featuring 2 teen girls in 1983 California out on submission. And I just finished a polished draft on a coming of age/fish out of water urban fantasy with great white sharks.

A big thanks to Jo for answering my questions!

Ashes, Ashes is available now and if you haven't already read it, you can add it to your goodreads page here!

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Release Date: 1st June, 2011

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 343pgs

The Story

A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

Epidemics, floods, droughts -- for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued by from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.

The Review

In Ashes, Ashes, the world has been hit with a series of natural disasters including droughts, floods, wild weather, and then of course there's the whole plague thing that wiped out 99% of the human and animal population. Unlike those who died, Lucy is a survivor. After losing her entire family to the mysterious plague, she's forced to live alone in the wilds of New York's Central Park . . . trying to stay alive as each day comes and goes. However, one of Lucy's main priorities is to keep away from the Sweepers - a group of people who kidnap the remaining survivors and infect them with the virus.

One day when Lucy is out looking for food, she comes face-to-face with a vicious pack of hunting dogs belonging to the one and only Sweepers. But with the surprise help of another human - that being a boy named Aidan, a survivor just like her and the first real human she's met in a very long time - she manages to escape them. But when she learns more about Aidan and the other groups of survivors who are out there beyond the wilds of her so-called "home", she suddenly is faced with the question: Can she continue to survive alone? As everything she knows changes and romance builds, the lies and secrets are also revealed.

When I first heard about Ashes, Ashes I already expected dystopian and one hell of an adventure. And that's exactly what I got. Reading about Lucy was as interesting as the depressing and yet creative world Jo Treggiari created. Lucy was a pretty tough chick at the beginning of the book and remained so in the end. Where other survivors formed community groups, there's Lucy trying to do it all on her own, managing to survive with lot's of hard work and determination. When it comes to Aidan, from his wit to his devil-ish smile, he too was a very likeable character and had his own means of surviving. As did the other characters you were introduced to.

Like any other young adult book, it must have some romance in it. When it comes to Lucy and Aidan's romance it wasn't love at first sight . . . thankfully. But you could definitely see the attraction between the two of them when they first meet. I think what I loved most about their relationship was how it started as a solid friendship, before hitting the characters with some romance. It gave them more depth and some that seemed believeable, if you were in their circumstances. But they took their damn time! As for the plot itself, while the beginning was a little slow and I already knew what direction we were heading toward in the book, I loved all the twists and turns the author put in. Some of them had me on edge.

Without any spoilers, Ashes, Ashes is a fast-paced adventure that all you Hunger Games fans can appreciate if you're craving for more dystopian. With the book full of hope and lot's of questions, it was a nice solid read. I liked the characters, the plot, the setting - but I find somethng missing. Maybe it's because I want more! I feel like Ashes, Ashes is the first book of a series, so I wouldn't be surprised if Jo Treggiari has another installment coming in the future! So be on the lookout for a sequel! If you like dystopian, a little romance, and some fast-paced action, then be sure to pick up a copy of this awesome debut novel!

The Rating

4/5 stars