The Best Reader + TIME

1. Hunger involves a very emotional topic, anorexia. Was this story difficult to write?

Actually, it was very cathartic. I used to be bulimic, and even though I haven’t been in many, many years, tapping into that Thin Voice was very easy to do—I guess it never really goes away. Even the raw parts of the book—the bathroom scene, for one; the bulimic scene, for another—were freeing. Getting the words out didn’t just feel good. It felt right.

2. How did the idea for this book, and series, evolve?
I had the idea for HUNGER for a long time—about 10 years. But I’d convinced myself that no one would want to read it, so I didn’t write it. And then, in October 2008, when I mentioned to my agent that my goal was to become a big enough name so that I could write the book I really wanted to write, she asked what book that would be. So I pitched HUNGER. And she said to me, “Why haven’t you written this book yet???” Basically, with her blessing, I wrote the book. And once it was on submission, my agent said to me, “So which Horseman are you writing about next?” And that’s when the idea for RAGE began to percolate.
3. What has been the most surprising part of being a debut YA author and promoting Hunger?
The teen market is very different than the adult market—and in great ways! It’s exciting to see librarians and booksellers and educators so active in the publishing community.
Separately, the best writing advice I’ve gotten from a teen reader is “Don’t sugar coat things for us; we want the truth.” That’s brilliant and amazing and fabulous to hear—and it makes me eager to keep writing for teens. Write truth!
4. Do you have any other projects you are currently working on?
I’m currently working on LOSS, the third book in the Riders’ Quartet. That book is about a bullied teenage boy who gets tricked into becoming Pestilence. Very different from both HUNGER and RAGE.

5. Can you tell us a little about the next book in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse series, Rage?
RAGE is about a teen girl who self-injures, who becomes the new War. It’s the most difficult book I’ve ever written (including all my adult books), and I will donate a portion of proceeds to the nonprofit organization To Write Love On Her Arms.

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler Publisher: Harcourt Graphia (October 18th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Series: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, book #1 “Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

Find Jackie Morse Kessler Jackie Morse Kessler / Blog / Twitter

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