The eternally cool Amy Spalding is back at YA Magazine! This time, she and our very own Olivia are chatting about her latest novel, INK IS THICKER THAN WATER!
For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.
But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.
It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.
Olivia with YA-Mag: Amy, welcome back to the Young Adult Magazine! I hope you found oodles of fans with THE REECE MALCOLM LIST. (See our interview with Amy about REECE here.)
Amy Spalding: Thanks for having me!
YA: So let’s talk about your latest protagonist: Kellie Brooks. How did you meet? And how is Kellie the perfect character to tell this story?
AS: I wanted the story to begin with someone who was fairly happy with her life. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with thoughts about after–college, moving away, etc. I wanted to write from the point of view from someone who was actually pretty comfortable with where she was, so that when change hit her life, it would throw her for a bigger loop.
YA: What sets Kellie’s story apart from other contemporary YA novels, like PRETTY AMY by Lisa Burstein or ALL THE BROKEN PIECES by Cindi Madsen? What will readers find that isn’t anywhere else in YA books?
AS: I don’t want to compare my books to others’. Hopefully readers will relate to Kellie and her journey, but I hope that’s what readers get out of all books they love.
YA: What influences helped spark Kellie’s story? Any specific songs or shows?
AS: Kellie loves early and mid 1960s music, so I spent a lot of time listening to records from that era when I was writing.
YA: What’s YOUR relationships with tattoos? What’s one of the coolest tats you’ve ever seen?
AS: I’ve been getting tattoos for the last fifteen years of my life, and am fairly covered. For me, tattoos are an important way to express things, and also just an aesthetic I really love–when done well, of course.
My favorite tattoo artists are Mike Erwin and Stephanie Tamez, both of whom have inked me. Mike designed the cover tattoo for INK!
YA: What is the story behind the title INK IS THICKER THAN WATER?
AS: INK has nearly always had the same title, from long before I even had an agent. I wanted something that would tie all the book’s themes together. I thought it did a nice job pulling in family, identity, and tattoos. Luckily, there was never pressure to change it.
YA: What’s coming up next for you in the land of YA storytelling? Any planned returns for Kellie, or for REECE’s Devan?
AS: My next book, KISSING TED CALLAHAN (AND OTHER GUYS), is out in Spring 2015 from Poppy/Little, Brown. It’s a romantic comedy featuring music, making out, friendship, diner waffles, set in my neighborhood in L.A. At this point, I’m really just looking forward to telling new stories with new characters, though of course I think about Kellie and Devan all the time.
YA: If you could cast the Dream Film of INK IS THICKER THAN WATER, who would you cast as Kellie, Oliver, and the others?
AS: I always leave that up to my readers, and I love hearing what people suggest! (So everyone tell me on Twitter, @TheAmes!)
YA: Do you have any pet projects you’re working on? What can you tease our audience with about them?
AS: Right now, I’m knee-deep in edits for TED, so that’s where my focus is. After that… who knows! The fun/terrifying part of being a writer is that choice is up for grabs.
YA: Last one! With the winter holidays in full swing, if you spent them with Kellie, what would that be like?
AS: I think Kellie is someone who is very much tied into her family, their traditions, and spending tons of time together at the holidays. Also she’s obsessed with hot cocoa so I know she would love every single thing about Christmas. It’s totally a holiday built for all her favorite things.
YA: Thank you very much, Amy! And once more from all of us at YA Mag, congratulations on INK IS THICKER THAN WATER!
AS: Thank you guys for having me again!!
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Readers, be sure to check out Amy Spalding at her website TheAmySpalding.com. Or follow her on Twitter @TheAmes.
INK IS THICKER THAN WATER, published by Entangled Teen, is now available at your favorite retailers and local independent bookstores!
(Photographer credit: Jessie Weinberg)
Olivia Hennis is a transplanted New England girl dropped by a tornado into the magical Land of Jersey. For more info, follow her on Twitter.
For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.
Olivia with YA-Mag: Amy, welcome back to the Young Adult Magazine! I hope you found oodles of fans with THE REECE MALCOLM LIST. (See our interview with Amy about REECE 
YA: What’s coming up next for you in the land of YA storytelling? Any planned returns for Kellie, or for REECE’s Devan?