BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Never Forgotten: The Collective [3]

A very warm welcome to Stacey Nash; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter today.

Stacey Nash has shared with us her music playlist for Never Forgotten (first four tracks) and for the Collective (last four) - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for Never Forgotten?

"I drew a lot of inspiration for Never Forgotten from my knowledge of ancient history, both Greek and Egyptian. Many of the settings reflect what I learned in classes at college. Add to that a slight Indiana Jones twist and you have the third book in my series."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"Gee, a little bit. There’s a new character to the series by the name of Harris, and he has a lot of my quirks. A love of history, a thirst for knowledge, and a large collection of geeky t-shirts."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Never Forgotten - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"The cover of Never Forgotten was made by the design department at HarperCollins Australia. I just adore all three covers they’ve created for the books in this series. The font with the fancy swirls, the light and the colours all create a great feel."

Why should we read Never Forgotten and the Collective series, and what sets it apart from the rest?

"The world as we know it is one giant conspiracy theory, designed to run according to the plans of a select few. Only the bulk of people don’t realise this, until one day ... one girl discovers the truth. And it does not set her free. It makes her number one on their hit list."

Can you tell us something quirky about Never Forgotten, its story and characters?

"The main character in this series is named Anamae, and she was one of those characters who name themselves. It’s a combination of her mother’s name and my grandmother’s name. Annabel and May."

Who would you recommend Never Forgotten to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves fast paced young adult with a suspenseful storyline. Oh, and there’s some romance too. Disclaimer: mild language and mild violence."

If you could / wished to turn Never Forgotten and the The Collective series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Oh wow. *rubs hands together* For the actors, I’d choose;
Will = Heath Ledger (in his young days)
Jax = Hmm ... I’m kind of loving James Dean.
Anamae = you know, I have this clear image of her in my head and no actress I can think of fits.

As for locations ... I’ve always envisioned the Collective books as being something like a cross between Virginia in the US and Victoria in Australia, so let’s make that up, okay? Then the chase would lead to those real places I mentioned earlier in Greece and Egypt."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I do like to dabble in different genres, but I like to write about young love, so I tend to stick to YA. I’m pretty much the same type of reader as I am writer. A good story, in my opinion, needs tension, suspense, romance, and a good dose of danger."

What is your writing process?

"I’m all about the first draft. I type like crazy, for hours each day, until the story is all on the page. I never go back and read what I have already written, but rather make notes as I go, then come back and fix things and change bits later. I believe the first draft is for telling yourself the story, the second for fixing inconsistencies and making changes, and the third is for making the writing shine."

Shh! Oxley College Saga Book 1 -
Digital copy free at all retailers
for a limited time.

What is in store next?

"Never Forgotten is book 3 in the Collective Series. There’s one more in the pipeline, which wraps up Anamae’s fight against the Collective and Manvyke’s hunt for the three keys of the Patriarchs. It’s an exciting conclusion to the series and I can’t wait to dive back into writing it.

Right now though, I’m working on the third book in my other series which is set to release later this month. It’s an upper YA contemporary romance and probably the hardest book I’ve ever written as it had me crying at every corner.

After Collective #4 and Oxley #3, who knows what’s next!"

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"This is me and my cat, Azrael. He’s never far away when I’m working, and that’s exactly what I’m doing in this photo – the thinking hat gives me away. The second photo is my other cat Elvis, who refused to have a selfie with me. :-)"