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Ask the Author: Shannon Messenger

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Hi, I am a big fan of your books and I just wanted to know because I am writing my own book. It takes forever to type things on google docs and other things. But what app do you use to type your books?
Shannon Messenger I write in Microsoft word.
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I am currently writing a story for fun. Do you having ant tips or Ideas?
Shannon Messenger The hardest part is finishing, because writing isn't always fun or easy (many times it is, but sometimes it's *work*). So make yourself a goal to finish no matter what. You'll be amazed at how proud you feel when you get to "the end."
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Was Sophie ever officially adopted? I feel like that was implied at the end of book one but she's never said her name is Sophie Ruewen?
Shannon Messenger She doesn't have to change her name to be officially adopted. :)
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In Keeper of the Lost Cities, was it hard to make Sophie understand that she's an elf? Because I love writing, and I'm writing a story similar to that at home for fun (Person finds out they have magical powers and goes to school for people who also do), and I'm having trouble making the person understand while still showing that this is obviously hard for them to believe. Have any tips?
Shannon Messenger It's always difficult to "make" Sophie do or understand anything, because I don't want her to read like she's a puppet just doing what I tell her to. I want her to read like a real person with her own thoughts and wants and feelings. Her own way of processing and reacting and responding. So for me, the trick with every scene I write is to start by simply asking myself, "what would Sophie do?" and putting lots of thought into the answer. Half the time, the things I realize she would do/say/feel/understand are very different than how I want/expect things to go--but trusting that and going with it always makes the book better in the long run.
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I know that you have written the Keeper series (which I absolutely LOVE) and the Let the Sky Fall series (which I am dying to read), but have you written any other books/series? Were there any that didn't make it out to where your fans (like me) can read them? Thanks!
Shannon Messenger I've actually been very lucky that every book I've written either has been published or will be published in the coming years--but don't let that make you think that everything I write is perfect. I spent a lot of time writing very bad screenplays that will never (and should never) see the light of day before I switched to writing books, and then it took me twenty drafts of KEEPER to get it right.
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My friends and I are OBSESSED with your book series. Do you think you will try to make KOTLC a movie?
Shannon Messenger Sadly, the author isn't the one who "makes" their book into a movie, because movies cost hundreds of millions of dollars. So that would be up to Hollywood, and I'm very much hoping that someday they'll decide to make a KEEPER movie. But if they do or don't is totally up to them
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Is there any way Humans are better than elves? I see the whole thing as kinda unfair for humans (But I absolutely LOVE the series.)
Shannon Messenger If you think about it, obviously certain elves see incredible value in humans. Why else would they choose to have Sophie raised by them?

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Hello Ms. Messenger!!! I was wondering if you could ever travel up the Pacific Northwest area some more to say, like Bend, Oregon? Me and a lot of my friends are huge fans!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!?!?
Shannon Messenger Aw, I love Oregon--and I would love to meet you and your friends. But all I can ever say when it comes to event travel is "hopefully someday my publisher will send me there." I don't have control over my schedule. My publisher decides my tour stops. Alas, alack.
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How many cats do you have that are so embarrassing???
Shannon Messenger I currently have 5. It is a LOT. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
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How far into Book 6 are you? I finished Lodestar and I'm so excited for Book 6 . . . do you have any ideas of what you will name it? You are the best author ever, and Keeper of the Lost Cities is my favorite series! Right after I finished Lodestar, I started rereading book one and plan to read the whole series over and over. I will never get tired of it!
Shannon Messenger I am still (sadly) writing the first draft of NIGHTFALL. And when I'm done there will be lots of revising to get the book *right*. So lots of hard work and sleepless nights for me ahead. Writing as fast as I can, I promise!
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What would happen if George Weasley, Keefe, and Leo Valdez, all came together at one point and pulled a prank on all the other main characters in those series? Just how bad would it be???
Shannon Messenger I'm pretty sure the world would never be able to recover. :)
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After Keeper of the Lost Cities is officially over, would you read some of the fanfictions?
Shannon Messenger Probably not, just in case I ever decide to revisit the story someday down the road.
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Do you have a Pottermore account? If so, what house are you in and what is your Patronus? Mine is a hedgehog. :) Thank you!
Shannon Messenger I'm a Ravenclaw and my Patronus is an otter. ;)
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You've alluded to this in other answers, but I wanted to see it clearly stated. Is it okay if your readers write fanfiction of your work? (If so, I won't send it to you or anything, I promise. :P) Sincerely, a high school senior who LOVES Keeper. :)
Shannon Messenger Of course fans can write fan fiction. The only time it gets tricky is if they try to make me read it (which I can't) or if they try to sell it (which violates copyright and makes my publisher very mad)
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Hi, sorry to bother you. My friends and I were wondering if you have time to judge a writing contest hosted on Goodreads. We know that you are extremely busy, but it would be literally AMAZING if you could. We all love your work. If you have to reject us, that would be okay, but it would mean the world if you could judge our short story contest. When? By January 31. Thanks so much! PS YOUR BOOKS ARE AMAZING
Shannon Messenger Alas, seeing as how the date has already passed, I would have to say no. But even if I had seen this before then, I sadly wouldn't have had time. It's a mad scramble around here trying to get NIGHTFALL done in time for all of you. I really need a TARDIS. *sigh*
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When are you going to post the Lodestar playlist?
Shannon Messenger It has been posted! So if you check my website (it's on the Team Keeper page) you'll find it.
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Hey, Shannon! I'm writing a novel and am taking your advice on making deadlines for myself, but it is stressing me out. Do you ever move you're dead lines up when you can't make them on time?
Shannon Messenger Yes, and no, because my readers don't like waiting any longer for my books than they have to (which is both awesome and HOLY PRESSURE) so if I miss too many deadlines, that can become a problem. But yes, sometimes I have to ask for an extension. The trick is to try to be balanced--stay motivated and productive, but also not end up feeling overwhelmed. (although I will say: deadlines are stressful. My schedule is very, very stressful. It's why I've had to scale back how often I answer questions and interact with my readers, how many giveaways I do, etc, because I'm trying to keep on track with all the writing I have to do, and there are only so many hours in the day)
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Do you know when lodestar will get an AR test?
Shannon Messenger It has one now! I believe it posted sometime in Jan, so if you search for it you should be able to find it.
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When will the title reveal for book 6 be? I. AM. DYING. TO KNOW.
Shannon Messenger It has now been revealed! NIGHTFALL!
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I'm writing a book right now and I read over it and it seems to be missing something. It then occurred to me that it has no mood. My book is for middle grade readers and it is a fantasy but it wasn't stimulating to read. I then thought of books that were stimulating to read and one of them was Keeper of the Lost cities so I thought I'd ask you the following question; How do you make a book interesting?
Shannon Messenger Yikes--this is one of those questions where there really isn't an answer, because there's no single thing (or even handful of things) that make something interesting. But I will say it's often helpful to try to work beyond the obvious (so, for example, when I could have my characters walk somewhere, or have them ride a super-cool creature--it tends to be way better to go with the super-cool creature). Also, if you have complex, layered characters that have a wide variety of personalities, they can give you so much more to play with.
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Shannon Messenger
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