Angela Carlie: Someday Famous YA Author

We have the pleasure of meeting a super-awesome author, who also happens to be an Indelible. Today, I introduce to you Cory Putman Oakes, Q and A style.

About Cory

Cory Putman Oakes was born in Basel, Switzerland, but grew up in Novato, California and attended Marin Catholic High School. She then spent three fantastic years at the University of California at Los Angeles before graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in Psychology. In 2004, Cory graduated from Cornell Law School with a Juris Doctorate Degree and her husband, Mark (the first was the intended consequence of attending the school, the second was a bonus). Since then, she has been an associate at a big law firm, taught business law to undergraduates at Texas State University and written several books for young people. Cory now lives in Austin, Texas with Mark and their beautiful daughter, Sophia. In addition to writing, Cory enjoys reading, cooking, running, and hanging out with her family and pets.
THE VEIL is Cory’s first published work.

Q AND A

1. The description for your debut novel, The Veil, sounds so mysterious and exciting. Please tell us a little about it and what inspired you to write it.

Thanks! The Veil is actually set in my hometown of Novato, California (which is near San Francisco). A lot of the locations in the book were inspired by places I used to hang out when I was in high school – like Jest Jewels (the awesome jewelry store), the Headlands, and Ghirardelli Square. But most of the other things in the book – like the Annorasi, the special powers, and the really hot guy – those were all things I made up. There was definitely nobody like Luc in my high school – but I always wished there was!

2. OMG! You're an attorney! Wow. Do you still practice? If yes, how do you find the time to do it all? If no, what made you decide to leave that field?

Leaving the law was a very difficult decision! But I knew I wanted to write and I didn’t have time to do that when I was practicing full time at a law firm. I taught business law at Texas State University for a while, and I was better able to balance that schedule with writing. But now-a-days, writing and taking care of my daughter (who is almost 2) take up pretty much all of my time.

3. Why YA?

The books that I really fell in love with – the ones that made me want to be a writer myself – were all YA books. I read a lot of Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley when I was young and basically I wanted to be them when I grew up (or their main characters – I would have been happy growing up to be Alanna or Harry too). I think that’s still where my mind goes when I sit down to write – back to the books that inspired me. I would love to make someone feel that way about my books one day!

4. I read on your bio that you were born in Switzerland. How cool is that? Have you gone back to visit? If yes, what's one thing you find shockingly different about life in Switzerland vs. America?

My parents are American but they lived in Switzerland for a short time, to have an adventure before they settled down. We moved back to the US when I was just a couple of months old. I’ve been back to visit a few times – it’s so beautiful there!

The only cultural difference I really know of (aside from the fact that they are really, really good at making chocolate) is that the Swiss are, in general, more reserved than Americans. Specifically, they do not squeal over babies in public, the way Americans do. After I was born, my parents thought there was something hideously wrong with me until they landed back in the US and people finally started telling them how cute I was. (Or maybe I was hideous for those first couple of months? I guess we’ll never know . . .)

5. List the top five of your top ten favorite things. ;) And/or what is one question that you want someone to ask in an interview, but they haven't. Then, answer it.

1. My family (my hubby, my daughter, my dog and two cats)

2.That moment while reading (or writing) when you say to yourself, “OMG this is going to be good.”

3. Chocolate

4. Feeling that I am organized, on top of things, and ahead of the game (this almost never happens!)

5. A good meal with old friends and a great bottle of wine.

Thank you, Cory, for spending some time with us today!

THE VEIL

Seventeen-year-old Addison Russell is in for a shock when she discovers that she can see the invisible world of the Annorasi. Suddenly, nothing is as it appears to be—the house she lives in, the woman who raised her, even the most beautiful boy in town all turn out to be more than what they seem. And when this strange new world forces Addy to answer for a crime that was committed long ago, by parents she has never known, she has no choice but to trust Luc, the mysterious Annorasi who has been sent to protect her.

Or so he says . . .