Christina Lauren, the best selling author duo, talk about their first young adult novel, Sublime, and the challenges of writing a novel with supernatural elements.

Five Random Facts about Lo

Five Random Facts about Christina

Describe your novel in five words.
Atmospheric love story, mucho kissing.

What was it like to transition from steamy romance novels into young adult novels? What were some of the challenges in that transition?
It’s totally wonderful to be able to play in both genres. We were writing YA before the Beautiful series was even a thing, and when we started to hear interest about reworking the fanfiction The Office into Beautiful Bastard, it had been two years since we’d written adult romance. But rewriting that into this sexy, silly romp was like riding a bicycle, really. And then we went back to Sublime revisions and fell into it easily. We’re romance lovers at heart, and so no matter what we do, the love story itself will always be a central theme.

One difference between our adult stuff to date and Sublime is that Sublime is very earnest. And sometimes it’s a bit of a heartache’y story, so we had to take ourselves a little more seriously when we were working on that than we usually do.

Was it different writing a book that had a mystery and paranormal elements?
Very. Never again!! Just kidding. But honestly, writing paranormal/supernatural is hard, man. You create all these rules (whee!) and then you have to follow them (ugh!) and there is a lot of scrolling through the document to figure out where you first introduced something or whether you’re breaking a rule by writing x, y, or z. It’s hard, but let’s be honest, that’s also why it’s fun. Our adult work is contemporary and very much grounded in reality (other than the abundance of muscles, maybe), so being able to bend the rules a bit is a nice change of pace.

Where did the idea for Sublime come from?
Before the Beautiful series was published and took off in a wonderful way, Christina was working at a junior high counseling office, and Lo was doing research in neuroscience, trying to find ways to protect brain and retinal cells from age-or injury-associated death. One day, Lo’s boss came into her office and the two vented their frustration over the lack of creativity in disease research: many early-stage drugs people were getting excited about worked, in essence, because they shut down cell functioning. This looked great in cellular models of disease but would never work in humans.

“It’s like that urban legend of the kid up in Nova Scotia who fell in a frozen lake and stopped breathing from the shock,” her boss said. “The story says he was revived a few hours later, but because everything had sort of shut down, he was totally fine. We just can’t put the system in a frozen lake to protect it.”

Cryogenics is murky science at best, and neither Lauren nor her boss could find the ‘real’ story anywhere about the boy in the lake, but it was the perfect metaphor.

And it also sparked an idea.

From this idea came Sublime, the What If about a boy and a ghost, a glacial lake in the wilderness and the possibility of a place where life and death overlap. The title comes from one of Lauren’s favorite scientific concepts—sublimation—where a solid turns to a gas without ever going through a liquid phase.

The characterization of Colin and Lucy is very unique. How did you make decisions about them especially Colin and his recklessness?
It was one thing to imagine Colin falling in the lake once, having a near-death experience, and calling it a day. But what was more interesting to us was the idea of him doing it again, and growing obsessed with his ability to be close to Lucy, and the world that he saw in those moments. In order to do that—in order for him to believably think this was a good idea—Colin would need to be someone who is used to doing crazy things and coming out the other side with barely a scratch.

The message isn’t so much, “Do whatever it takes to be with the one you love” — for sure we wouldn’t suggest any teenager do what Colin does. But we enjoyed riffing off the memory of how everything felt so intense and enormous when we were seventeen, and it’s also when we feel the most immortal. That juxtaposition — the ultimate mortal boy with the dead girl — was irresistible to us.

What is it like writing together? What is the process like?
Writing together is the best! Everyone should have a co-author! No, seriously though. Not only do we have four hands between the two of us, but we also usually have one level-head at all times. Writing can be an isolating business and being along with your own thoughts and characters and ideas all day can make you insane. Having someone there to pull you back from the edge, or even just to talk to about the book anytime — and be just as excited and invested — is invaluable. Bonus points if that person is also your best friend.

We always outline together. Usually in California, and very often in line for the Tower of Terror at Disneyland because we are professionals, damnit. From there, we decide who writes what. Sometimes it’s based on the point-of-view. Sometimes it’s about what we know we can do well: Christina is great at the atmospheric, scene-setting descriptions. You feel like you’re there. Lo is good at the emotional gut-punches. We both write the kissing because duh. After that’s decided, we get down to it. We usually write a book every 6-8 weeks, and so our deadlines are killer but they also make it really fun. There are usually 2-3 active projects at any time, which is lovely because we never have time to get sick of anything, and even once we’re done writing it we know we’ll see it again and have time to make it awesome.

What one YA novel do you wish you had when you were a teen?
Lauren: You know, my answer popped into my head immediately but I’m actually glad I didn’t have Twilight or The Sky is Everywhere because I would have spent more time writing fanfiction than I would have studying and playing softball.

Christina: I would have been allllllll over Anna and the French Kiss. My world was pretty small growing up — I was the oldest of five in a military family — and I’d never dreamed of going to a place like Paris. I would have gobbled that book up and spent all day dreaming of Paris and kissing French boys. Sooo maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t have it!

What are you working on now?
We are currently writing Dark Wild Night which is book three of the Wild Seasons series (Oliver and Lola’s book), and are outlining another YA project as well as some other super sekrit things. Book two in the Wild Seasons series (Dirty Rowdy THing) is out November 4, the next book in the Beautiful series, Beautiful Secret, is out April 2015 (there is an e-short Beautiful Beloved out February 2, 2015, as well!), and our next YA novel, currently titled The House (but this will likely change, it was just a working title) will be out Fall 2015. Life is fun for us right now.

Fill in the blank
Lauren:
If I weren’t a writer I would be a mad scientist
If I could have one supernatural power it would be no need for sleep because sleep is for suckers.
My Hollywood crush is Theo James’s mouth.

Christina:
If I weren’t a writer I would be working with teens again.
If I could have one supernatural power it would be to fly. Duh, Lo. I win.

[Yeaahhh except you can’t also get invisibility so you’d be discovered and then captured by an evil corporation that would use you to make money. I win. I thought about this question for way too long earlier. ~Lo]

My Hollywood crush is SAM CLAFLIN.