Interview with Bryony Pearce the author of Angel's Fury

In the tradition of The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a tale of sleepless nights and present day haunting, giving voice to the horrors of the Holocaust and the nature of persecution I've started to have dreams while I'm awake. I remember music I've never heard. . . . I've got all this extra stuff in my head, but I'm forgetting things from my own life. I feel like I'm being taken over. One fallen angel walks the earth to bring mankind to its destruction, turning love into hate, forgiveness into blame, and hope into despair. Through the fires of hell he will come to torment one girl's dreams. Every time Cassie Farrier tries to sleep, she is plagued by visions of a death: A little girl called Zillah. A victim of the holocaust. In desperation Cassie is sent for treatment in an old manor house. There she meets other children just like her. Including Seth, who looks so familiar. Her dream becomes a nightmare—and then reality. This stunning debut from a talented young author contains controversial and thoughtful themes that teenagers can relate to, including bullying and victimization in a contemporary and historical context. With its mix of mythology, fantasy, and real-life terror, this is a book unlike any other.

Ms. Pearce I'm really glad that you granted me this interview!

1) How and why have you started to write? Were there something or someone that gave you an impulse?

     I've always wanted to be a writer. For as long as I can remember I have loved books, made up stories of my own and dreamed of having my name on a book spine. I started to write seriously in 2004, that is when I had my idea for my first novel and decided to really do something about it. My husband's support enabled me to spend time writing, when I suppose I should have been doing other things.

2) Tell me something about your book Angel's Fury.

     Angel's Fury was my first published novel, which came out in 2011. It won two awards: the Leeds Book Award and the Cheshire Schools Book Award. It is about a teenaged girl who suffers from terrible nightmares, who discovers that she has lived before (and that she is dreaming about her past life) and that all of her lives are being manipulated by a fallen angel who is trying to destroy mankind.

     My second book, titled The Weight of Souls, is out on the 1st August. This is about a teenage girl who can see ghosts. If a ghost touches her she is compelled to avenge its death. It is about bullying and all the terrible things we will do to fit in ... and also Egyptian Gods.

3) While youre writing, have you discovered a character that you where developing feelings of love for? And was there a character that gave you headaches?

     I love all my characters, to be honest, even the really evil ones. They have all lived with me for so long and I know them so well. The character that gave me the most headaches is in a book that has not been published yet, he would not follow the plan I had laid out for him and eventually I had to kill him off to stop him misbehaving!

4) How have you done your research for this novel?

     I always do an awful lot of research for my novels, I like to write contemporary fiction and set my work in real places, but with a supernatural twist and I firmly believe that the more realistic the backdrop, the more creepy the supernatural elements become. For Angel's Fury I did a great amount of research into the second world war, the KKK, psychological techniques, reincarnation and Christian mythologies (and more). For The Weight of Souls I researched Egyptian mythology, archaeology and deindividuation theory. I visited London to make sure I remembered it clearly and I researched genetics to make sure I had Taylor's curse passed down correctly. I used libraries, the Internet, my own books and spoke to experts. I wanted people to believe in my worlds.

5) Is there a book that inspired your writings?

     I have always been very inspired by the writing style of Anne Macaffrey. I am a big fan and always wanted to write like her. Her characters are so vivid, her worlds so fully realised and she covers some very important issues in her fiction.

6) In the end, would you like say some words to your fans from Romania?

     Hi there, its a real pleasure to meet you, please do come and say hi, I can be found on Twitter as @BryonyPearce or visit my website www.bryonypearce.co.uk.
Thank you very much for all of your support.
Much love