[Blog Tour: Q&A with the Author and Giveaway] The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

Welcome to my stop for Pinoy Book Tours' The Peculiar blog tour, in cooperation with National Book Store and Harper Collins International. Read through the talented Stefan Bachmann's thoughts on writing and music, and do join the giveaways at the end of this post. We will also be holding a twitter party on February 2 (details will be released soon). Lastly, my review will be posted on the 25th, so look out for that post as well!

(Stefan says hi!)

Have you always wanted to be a writer or did the idea just came to you?

Umm, it kind of just came to me. I remember sitting at a restaurant with my family and then randomly announcing to my Mom that I was going to write a book. I have no idea why. This was when I was around 11 so the book that came from the announcement was horrible. But I'm glad I started!

You composed songs to accompany The Peculiar. Wow! Did these songs come first or did you compose them especially for The Peculiar?

Thank you! They were written specially for the book. My editor also let me write the music for the book trailer, which was fun.

So much has been written about fairies. What is your take on the fey and their world?

I wanted to go for the old-fashioned, wild, dark faeries. I haven't read many modern faery books, but I hear the faeries in them tend to be dashing and romanticized. I wanted to use the historical faeries, the one's people were really afraid of, and I wanted to see what would happen when they were put into an industrialized, smoky England and forced to co-exist with Victorians.

You're attending the Zurich Conservatory. What instrument do you play?

Piano and recorders are my main instruments at the moment, and composing is my main subject. I'd really, really, really like to be a film composer one day.

What is your writing style - how do you write a novel?

I try to find out where the book begins and where it ends first. If I know where it ends it makes it much easier to finish it. Then I plot out a few key scenes in the middle and just go from there. Usually. With Book 2, though, I outlined a lot more carefully because I was deathly afraid Second Book Syndrome would set in and I'd just freeze up and have no idea what to write next. Didn't happen luckily, but I do think the detailed outline helped in that case.

Are you interested in writing for a different genre or audience?

YES! After The Whatnot I'm doing something completely new, for me at least. It's partly contemporary with modern day teenagers (so YA this time, not middle grade), and partly historical, set in 18th century France, and it's full of madness and scariness and action. It'll be way different for me, especially after two slightly old-fashioned Victorian-style fantasies. I can't to start work on it.

And now.... for the giveaways!

(PH only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Open to PH and INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway