YALLfest interview #1: Beth Revis

Today I have the honor of welcoming Beth Revis to the blog. Like me, she's a Southerner and a Young Adult writer. Her book Across the Universe is a splendid read (especially if you're a fan of science fiction, and even if you aren't, her story has a way of transcending its surroundings). I got the chance to ask Beth a few questions about her Southern roots, as well as her plans for YALLfest.

What were you like as a teen?

I tended to be on the shy and quiet side, at least until my later years of high school. Somewhere between being a senior in high school and a freshman in college, I got dreadfully bored with being shy and quiet and opened up rather a lot. Before that though--and to a certain extent after that--I was a bit of a know-it-all nerd, a Hermione Granger minus the frizzy hair.

What were your favorite books as a kid?

As a very young kid, my favorite books were the Chronicles of Narnia. I loved discovering them and pouring over each story, finding new meanings. I also loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede (so funny!), books by Diana Wynne Jones, and also nearly everything Madeleine L'Engle wrote.

At what point in your life did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I cannot remember a time where I did not want to be a writer.

What musicians have influenced your writing?

Definitely the Beatles! Not only did my favorite song, "Across the Universe," become the title of my first book, but I'm building my next books after the trilogy around some of my other fave Fab Four songs.

What fueled your love for sci-fi and space travel?

I've always been fascinated by stars and the solar system. I think every little kid latches onto some branch of science naturally. My husband liked chemistry, my parents like ecology, my best friend liked marine biology. For me, it was always astronomy. 

If given a choice, would you be on the crew of Firefly's Serenity or Star Trek's U.S.S. Enterprise?

FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY

*deep breath*

FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY

Ah! I love the whole 'verse. I am SUCH a Browncoat! Sign me up for a trip with Cap'n Mal!

(Ryan's note: I wholeheartedly agree with this unhinged enthusiasm.  Firefly is clearly the right choice.)

What are you looking forward to about YALLfest?

So many things! First, I love Charleston--it where I went on my honeymoon--and I can't wait to get some seafood. Also: pie. But the best part? Getting to meet all the book lovers!

If you could choose only one Southern dish to eat for the rest of your life (along with other, non-Southern foods), what would it be?

My granny's chicken and dumplings. It's the best recipe in the world, and it tastes like home.

If you're interested, here's how you make it: Take a whole fryer chicken and put it in a CrockPot covered with water and cook all day. When it's done, remove the chicken and take out the bones and skin, then put the meat back into the broth in a pot on the stove on high. Get a ladle-full of broth, cool it off, mix with 1 egg and 1 cup of self-rising flour. Mix that together to form a dough, then flatten the dough out as thin as you can get it on your counter. Cut the dough in strips, and drop it into the boiling broth. As simple as that, you have the best chicken and dumplings ever made ever. 

Along the same vein, what is your favorite kind of pie?

I do love the Southern classic of pecan pie, but I'm a citrus lover, too, and have to go with lemon meringue as my fave!