Openbooksociety has had the honor of receiving an exclusive interview with New York Times best selling author; Aprilynne Pike!!

Her debut novel ‘Wings’ was released May 5th, 2009 in the US, UK and Canada. This fictional story about faeries has become a smash success, by becoming a New York Times Bestseller and Publishers Weekly Bestseller. Also adding to Aprilynne’s success, it was announced this past July, that Disney will be making it a film, starring the infamous ‘Miley Cyrus’.

She also received recognition from one of the biggest YA authors this generation. Stephenie Meyer bestselling author to the ‘The Twilight Saga’ offered her review, which is seen on the cover of Wings; ” Aprilynne Pike’s Wings is a remarkable debut; the ingenuity of the mythology is matched only by the startling loveliness with which the story unfolds.”

 OBS: We know you like to read. What are you reading right now?

AP:*whispers* I’m reading several books that aren’t out yet! It’s one of the perks of being an author!:D I am reading LIFTED by Wendy Tolliver, PARANORMALCY by Keirsten White, and THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan.

OBS: What is your favorite book of all time? and why?

AP:THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. I just think it is such a blend of imagination and philosophy. And it is a book that changes every time I read it because their is so much room for interpretation.

AP:Not my books. My six and four-year-old both read, but they are not quite ready for YA. Although my daughter occasionally reads the first couple of pages before getting bored. They like the Harry Potter series, Diary of a Wimpy kid, and the Roald Dahl books.

AP: Amazing! Well, it’s amazing now. It was actually a little scary in the beginning, especially when I hit number one. I spent several hours deathly afraid that I had been turned into the butt of the world’s most elaborate hoax. But now that the reality has set it, it feels amazing and I only hope I can do it again!

AP: I have loved faeries for as long as I can remember. In fact, one of the only parts of me that made it into WINGS is Chelsea’s obsession with faeries. I adore faeries of all kinds. So when I read on an agent’s blog that B&N was expecting faeries to be one of the next trends in YA, I had the total ‘Duh!’ moment and was like, why didn’t I think of that???

AP: I own that idea.:D That was my brain child. My husband helps me out a lot during the brainstorming process, but he tends to be more of a springboard that I bounce idea’s off of than a co-idea creator. He said that his role is to poke holes in all my ideas so they get stronger.:D The actual idea for my faeries came in the middle of the night . . . sort of. I was trying to come up with a new twist on faeries and in my very tired, and very pregnant state, I came up with this idea about a Goth teenage faerie who lived with three old women and couldn’t go out after midnight because there wasn’t enough energy from the sun. It was like this Goldilocks and the Three Bears meets Cinderella, meets Superman thing. And it sounded really cool and four in the morning, and not so cool at eight. But the idea that faeries got their power fro the sun led to the conclusion that it was because they got their energy through photosynthesis and that is how my faeries were born.:D

AP: Because I know how the series ends, I can’t answer that without bias.:D

AP:I don’t like to base any of my main characters on real people, because then I start thinking, Oh, what would whoever the character is based on do? Instead of what would David or Tamani do? Some elements of me make it in there–Chelsea is obsessed with faeries and runs cross-country, David loves Biology, and Laurel loves to sing. Those are all things that I do. But I think that is more me going with the “write what you know,” than really basing my characters on me. When I write characters, I really start to see people in my head, and their reactions start to feel natural as I get to know their characters. I don’t hear them talking in my head or anything, and I like to keep a firm hand on their reins, but I do try to pick the most natural course of action for them to take as I develop my plots.

AP: I am so excited. Disney has been putting out quality films for almost a hundred years! They have a great company and good people and lots of resources at their disposal that I hope they will make lots of use of in the WINGS movie. Assuming it gets that far, that is.:D

AP:I am! I have had a lot of mixed reactions to Miley being cast, but I have been thrilled since I found out in January that she might be involved. She brings a lot of fans with her, as well as name recognition, and like Laurel, she plays the guitar and sings. I haven’t yet found someone who I think exactly fits David, but fans have made a lot of suggestions that look good. I am rather partial to Ben Barnes as Tamani, but I say that lightly, knowing that I have absolutely no say in who gets cast. There are a lot of hot young actors who could play either of them.;)

AP: All of that has yet to be seen. We are simply too early in the process for me to have any kind of answer to that.:D

AP: I am in the middle of revising the third WINGS book and I have a ghost story that is a stand-alone that is currently in negotiations with Harper. My next project is another stand-alone that I am keeping a little under my hat right now, and I am fleshing out my idea for my next series as well

AP: Sadly, I got so used to writing and listening to my kids at the same time, that I tend to write in quiet now. I really enjoy lyrics, so I tend to stop working and listen to lyrics when I play music while working. What I will sometimes do is put on a song I am familiar with and listen to it over and over again. I did that with Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton when I was revising Wings. Four hours of Angel of the Morning. And I still love that song.:D I also will frequently listen to the musical Wicked, because it is my newest obsession and I know every word in it, so I don’t focus on the lyrics.:D

AP:That they are going to keep coming!!!:) I have loveloveloved writing this series and my stand-alones, and I am going to keep writing for as long and Harper will publish me, and readers will keep reading! I have the best job in the whole world!