Interview with Kasie West, author of PIVOT POINT!

Hey guys, I am super excited to have Kasie West here today, answering a few questions. Pivot Point is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was thrilled that Kasie agreed to do this interview!

Check out my review for Pivot Point here!

Amber: The concept behind PIVOT POINT is extremely unique. How did you come up with it?

Kasie: After that set up, I wish I could say, 'well, I'm so clever that I thought of it all on my own.' But that wouldn't be true. My inspiration for Pivot Point is the movie Sliding Doors. If you haven't seen it, you should. It is amazing. I took the basic premise of a choice being the hinge for two different futures/alternate realities and made it my own. I love the idea that one choice can change everything. And I find alternate realities so intriguing.

Amber: What kind of research did you have to do in order to write this novel?

Kasie: I spent a lot of hours looking at pictures of cute guys. It was very important to put me in the right frame of mine. Ha. Just kidding. I did, however, spend a lot of time googling Texas (even took a trip through there). And football. I'm actually a big football fan (unlike Addie) but I wanted to make sure I got the details right. I also spent some time researching different technological advancements that are on the horizon. But as for "research" there isn't a whole lot you can "research" about mind powers. I did spend a lot of time thinking about the different advancements that a mind might potentially develop. That was really fun to explore. 

Amber: I think the hot guy research was probably the most important and rewarding :). Was it difficult to pace this book with the two conflicting story lines going on simultaneously? 

Kasie: Yes!! You have no idea. I mean, trying to naturally develop two relationships was hard. I didn't want to rush them. But at the same time where I'd normally have a good 50 pages to develop a relationship, I knew I didn't have the same luxury with essentially two stories going at once because that would put me at 100 pages in and I knew people wouldn't have the patience for the "development" stage of the book for 100 pages. Because of that, I had to leave out some things that would only slow the story down. Plus, of course, on top of the relationships, I had two separate plots going that converge toward the end......wait what was the question?? Oh, pacing. Yes, it was difficult to pace. :) 

Amber: Your characters all read like real, complex people. Which character was the hardest to create? Which was the easiest?

Kasie: Aw, I like this question. Funny enough, both my boys, Duke and Trevor, are the answer to this question. Duke was soooo easy to write. He just jumped off the page. He told me all his secrets. He flirted. He was so obvious. :) Trevor was very hard to write. I had to figure out who he was. He doesn't say much in the book and when someone isn't a big talker and they aren't your POV character, it takes a lot of reading of body language and finding out through other characters, etc, who they are. He's kind of private. 

Amber: Do you have a playlist for this novel? If so, what are some of the songs on it?

Kasie: I actually don't listen to music while I write. I know a lot of authors do, but I get so caught up in the lyrics that they distract me. But, I am inspired by music. And I often listen to music before I write to get myself in the right mood. Some songs that either remind me of Pivot Point or that I listened to around the time I was writing it, are: "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas, "Timing is Everything" by Garrett Hedlund, "Over My Head" by The Fray. And so many more. 

Amber: That makes sense. I always wondered how the authors who listen to music while they write don't end up writing the lyrics instead of the story, haha. Who are some of your favorite authors? 

Kasie: Sarah Dessen, Cassandra Clare, Charles Dickens, Kristin Cashore, to name a few. There are so many authors I love and appreciate.

Amber: What book releases are you looking forward to?

Kasie: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen (someone give me this book already), Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (because, hello, it's Stephanie Perkins), Insomnia by JR Johansson (I love to be scared), Relic by Renee Collins (I got to read this book early and it's amazing!), Transparent by Natalie Whipple (yes to super powers!)

Amber: If you had to choose one of the supernatural powers from PIVOT POINT, which one would you choose and why?

Kasie: As you can imagine, I get asked this question a lot. And every time my answer changes depending on my mood that week. Ha. This week, I think I'd like to be Telekinetic because I'm feeling exceptionally lazy and I really don't want to have to get up to retrieve the remote for the television. I just want it to float to me. 

Amber: Good choice, haha! For those who haven't had the chance to read your book yet, can you describe it in 5 words or less?

Kasie: No I can't. (That was three words) :) Fine. I'll try. Hmmm. The funny thing about this question is that writing less words is harder for me than writing a lot of words. Kind of like the whole idea of writing a novel being easier than writing a query letter. Five words: Powers, football, boys, friendship, and choices.  

Amber: I figured that would be a difficult question. It's always interesting to see what words authors choose when condensing their work into a few words, though, so I had to ask. If you could have dinner with any literary character, which one would you choose?

All of them!! As long as they pay for themselves. That could get very expensive. I don't have a favorite character. Just like I don't have a favorite book. Usually my favorite book/character is the one I'm reading at the moment. So if that's the case, then I will have dinner with Hale (from Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter). And since he's loaded, he will definitely be paying.

Amber: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, Kasie!

Kasie: Thanks for having me, Amber! That was fun.