In anticipation for the third annual Charleston Young Adult Book Festival, YALLfest will be sharing a number of author interviews! I am thrilled to be one of the bloggers presenting these interviews, so stay tuned for plenty of them! First up, Cinda Williams Chima:

Photo Credit: Augusten Burroughs

What one thing do you need to have when you write?
A computer

Describe your book in 5 words
Wizards misbehave, magic goes mutant.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
Usually the lines in between.

Best writing tip you ever received?
Give yourself permission to write badly.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
1. I am a twin.
2. I am named after a character in a novel.
3. I didn’t really start driving until I was 27.
4. I am descended from Puritans and scoundrels.
5. I used to be in a folk music band.

Where’s your favorite place to write?
On a balcony overlooking the ocean.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing The Sorcerer Heir, the fifth book in a trilogy.

At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?
When I’m finished with a full-length novel.

Straight and to the point! Fantasy fans, if you want more, The Heir Chronicles series by Cinda Williams Chima is available now!