"Forests of the Night"

June 25, 1999

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, the 15-year-old author of "Forests of the Night," the story of a young vampire, discusses her novel and how she was able to get published at such a young age.

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CCCola: Welcome to NetCafeLive where we host authors and celebrities throughout the month. Thanks for joining us! Borders NetCafeLive is a joint production of Borders.com(tm) & Talk City(tm), a Talk City, Inc. Production. Tonight's guest is Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author of "Forests of the Night," a story about about a teenage vampire, who wanders back to the year 1684, when, as a human, she died and was transformed against her will. She wrote the novel in 1997, one year later Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers offered her a contract on her 14th birthday. Amelia, it's a pleasure having you here in Talk City, welcome! To start with, Amelia, we would love to hear what inspired you to begin writing novels!

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: I started writing out of sheer boredom, as anyone who lives in this town can easily understand.

Blueyes: Why did you choose to write about vampires?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: I chose to write about vampires because I enjoyed the subject. I was raised on "Dracula" and "Interview With The Vampire," and always enjoyed reading other vampire books, so I decided to try my hand at writing some.

Blueyes: Do you have any other books in the works now?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: I have finished several books, one of which we have a contract for that is due next spring, and have about twenty that I am working on at the moment.

CCCola: Is that also about vampires, Amelia?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: Most of them are about vampires, though I also write about shapeshifters, various breeds of witches, and other supernatural-type creatures.

CraigG: How did you manage at so young an age to get published?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: Sheer luck. The eighth grade tours the high school every year before making the change between buildings. The representative for the English department talked to me because he remembered seeing me in a play with his son. One of my friends started bragging about the books I had written, and he offered to look at them. He was also a literary agent.

Shawksie: When did you develop an interest in vampires, witches and such? Are these the type of stories you had read to you at bedtime as a child?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: The only story I can remembering being read to me was "The Fairy Princess," which gave me a phobia of wasps. I started reading "The Last Vampire" series in fourth or fifth grade, and that was the major book that interested me in the topic.

Shiela: Do publishers take you seriously?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: Shiela, they seem to. After all, they accepted both of the books we sent them.

Mel: What sorts of interests and hobbies do you have besides writing?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: Sometimes, when I have time for them, I enjoy singing, and playing the piano. And just spending time with my friends. In the winter I fence, and just received my varsity letters.

SHachi: Are you interested in other genres of fiction to write in? Or do you think that may develop in future?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes: I try to experiment with all types of fiction, but most of those books do not get finished before I get bored with them. I tried my hand at fantasy and sci-fi, but do not like either as much.

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