OPEN MINDS interview with Susan Kaye Quinn

 

  Good morning fellow readers, writers and eaters! Today I have a treat for you.  An interview with Susan Kaye Quinn who's book I recently read and loved.  It reminded me of a cross between Scott Westerfeld's Uglies and Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games. One of my favorite reads of this year. Here's a blurb about OPEN MINDS. Welcome, Susan, to Pots 'n' Pens!

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.
Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) by Susan Kaye Quinn is available in e-book (Amazon US (also UK, France and Germany), Barnes & Noble, Smashwords) and print (Amazon, Createspace, also autographed copies available from the author).

Tell us a bit about your book and what foods play a role, if any?

Kira is the main character (the girl who can’t read minds in a telepathic world) and her dad often goes on “deployment” with his job as a Naval Intelligence Officer. While he’s gone, Kira’s mom likes to cook, and she always has some kind of treat waiting for Kira when she gets home from school. Snickerdoodles get a mention in the book (I have a serious weakness for them), and in a way they represent the solace Kira wishes she could have from her mom. It’s not that her mom isn’t available, but Kira feels isolated, like her problems are all her own and that her mom won’t understand.

I love snickerdoodles too, pure comfort food. What's your favorite snack while writing?

Right now? Halloween candy (yes, we still have some, but it’s getting down to the Dots and Peppermint Patties). Usually, I just have a pot of tea by my side.

*giggle* We still have Dots too! Do you have a go-to meal when you're strapped for time and need to feed the family?

Pasta. Nothing fancy, just some kind of tubular noodles (easier for little fingers to spear with a fork) and sauce from a jar. And cheese, lots of cheese, on top. #Yum

Pasta is my go-to also. Penne is my daughter's favorite. Plain, no sauce. My little foodie heart cries at this. But let's continue. Let’s say a couple of your characters are raiding your fridge right now, what are they most likely to eat? Are they disappointed or excited about what they find?

My characters would be sadly disappointed and possibly could get food poisoning if they don’t avoid certain things that have been in there too long. I’m drafting a new book! That usually means Mac-n-Cheese diet for a while.

If you were marooned on an island, and Pots 'n' Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose?

One food? Cheese. Keeps a long time, it’s tasty, although a diet consisting entirely of cheese might be a problem. For the book, I would have to say Hunger Games. It will make me appreciate having only the cheese to eat. :)

Surprisingly, my favorite recipe doesn’t contain cheese! It’s a recipe that was given to me by a high school friend whose family had emigrated from Germany. We regularly have pancakes for dinner at my house, and these hit the spot.

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 C milk

1 C flour

¼ t salt

2 T butter

Combine. Put 1 T butter in each of two pie pans and melt as oven preheats. Pour batter in pans. Bake at 450 F for 20 min.

  I love this recipe. My mom would make something similar and serve it with fried apple slices and powdered sugar.  A very yummy dinner! :)  

Thank you for joining us Susan, and Happy NaNo, I can't wait for the next book!