Today we spoke with Richelle Mead about Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters. She gave us some insight to the script and our favorite characters Dimitri and Rose.

Question: I was wondering if a person or actor inspired the character of Dmitri? Or if you know any hot Russians personally?

Richelle: I’m afraid Dmitri came straight outta my brain. People have asked this and I have contemplated that maybe I should have mentioned it a long time ago, come up with a story to stick to and tell people. I can make up this great thing about maybe my car broke down and a hot Russian came and helped me fix my tire. I basically built a lot of mystique around the character. But the truth is he was born straight from me.

Question: From the actors that you have met playing the characters, which one have you met that matches your imagination from the character the best?

Richelle: I haven’t met any of the cast yet. They all are just spot on. I am so thrilled with the way that they did this casting. Everyone was just, I feel, very handpicked. The director was so conscientious about matching the character’s personality with them. I think the one that most is, Gosh, it’s really hard to pick anyone I would say is the most. I mean Zoey has that vibrancy and energy that Rose has. Danila’s got that stoic Dmitri thing going down. Maybe it’s ’cause he’s a little older than the rest of the cast, which is exactly how it should be for the books. I think the one that really knocked me out was when I saw Cameron Monaghan cast as Mason. He is just such a dead ringer for the Mason in my head, which is bitter sweet for those who know Mason and the rest of the series. I look, and I just think, oh Cameron. But ya, they all are, I just couldn’t be more thrilled with the way it panned out.

Question: You are pretty active online with your blog and your twitter. What have you noticed about the fan response since the movie has gone into production. Like, is it more new fans discovering the series or longtime fans rediscovering the first book?

Richelle: So far, with it being so early in production, we are mostly hearing from current fans, I think. When we actually start seeing some more footage and trailers, I think that’s when we are gonna see a big wave of newer people coming on board. But at the moment, I see a lot of long term fans, people who are following me into the Bloodline series who are going back and rereading the Vampire Academy books so they can be up to speed on it. They are super enthusiastic, and I think it’s really amazing that the people working on the movie and the cast are so active online as well. They feel very accessible, and I think that a lot of the fans, not just to be as they have in the past, but also to these people ’cause they are open, as much as they can be of course, about what they are doing and how excited they are for the project. And they have just generated a lot of enthusiasm for it that is spreading to readers as well.

Question: Did the script have any surprises or anything in it that you are really excited for?

Richelle: What’s surprising about the script was how true it is to the book. As an author, when you sell your options and you turn it over to a screenwriter, you never know what is going to happen. I was blown away with how the script not only follows all the main beats of the book, but all the pivotal scenes are there. It just really gets the spirit that I try and convey in my books. My books are always this mix of one part humor and another part that you have this deep emotional component and then there is action running through it. And all of that is there. Daniel Waters, who was the screenwriter for Heathers, is the one that wrote this script and he just nailed all of that. He got all of that. He understood what I was trying to do. He understands the characters. I was just kind of amazed. I remember when I finished, I looked up at my husband and was like, “We got this. Look what they did. It’s amazing.”

Question: Could you talk a little bit about the whole vibe of the movie. Mark Waters directed Mean Girls. Is it going to have that same sort of vibe or is it going to be different than that?

Richelle: It’s got, I mean, Mean Girls… it’s got some of that humor in it and that’s also reflected in the script, you know, that his brother Daniel wrote. But they both have that dark humor going on. It must run in the family. But I wouldn’t say it’s a comedy. I wouldn’t say its irreverent, like oh, haha, slapstick. It’s kinda what I said earlier, it goes a lot of different ways. It’s got those moments where you do crack up, because somebody, usually Rose, says something so ridiculous. And then something in the next scene makes your heart just stop ’cause there is just something emotionally ground breaking going on. And in the next scene you know its staking vampires and whatever. There is some of that for sure but I think that Mean Girls was more comedy in its ratio. I guess. It had its emotional components as well. But for people who like that sense of humor, they are going to like that because they will see pieces of that in this.

Question: I have a question about Rose in particular. You have chosen to have her kind of own her sexuality more then you see in most YA books, and we were just wondering if you got any push back on that? Or if that was kind of hard to sell in the beginning?

Richelle: Not so much really. I’m trying to…I am having to think now. There was none from my publisher, and I never heard much from readers either having a problem with that. I think that a lot of people like how in control she is. And even in regards to sex, it’s not callous or something she necessarily treats lightly. I think that’s what’s key. It’s not someone who gets used or isn’t thoughtful about her sexuality. She very much is, and I think that’s the important part of being strong about it is being decisive and knowing what you will do and what you won’t do. And I think that was the most important piece to care about with that.

Question: Is there one scene that you are looking forward to seeing on the big screen? Is there something that you are really excited about?

Richelle: I am definitely excited for the whole ending sequence, because the climax where we come to a head with Rose and Dimitri’s romance and then we also have the reveal of the evil that’s been running through the books. There is just some stellar action sequences that then follow. So that whole thing I am waiting to see played out. As I was saying when I talked about the script, they got all those key parts in there. So once that part is in the movie you are just gonna be riveted watching the way it will all unfold. I know those scenes in particular are ones that Mark has put a lot of thought into and I think it’s just going to blow people away when it unfolds on the screen. I’m just excited to see any – well I am just excited to see all of it – any scenes with characters and their energy. The actors all have that with each other. They are a really good group and really enjoying the project. I can’t wait to see any of that come out.

Question: Have yo gotten to see the set for St. Vladimir’s Academy yet?

Richelle: I have not seen the set yet. I will most likely be going in the near future. Probably next month. No hard and fast details on that yet. I have seen some pictures of it. The site they chose, a lot of deliberation went into it. They picked the U.K. for a lot of different reasons. But one of it was they had a good exterior site that looked like what you would pick out as St. Vladimir’s. I am definitely looking forward to seeing it in person.

Question: The movie has been in limbo for a while before it started happening. It would start happening and then it stopped happening. What was it that made you realize this is actually happening? What was the piece of news that came out that made you realize, okay it’s actually happening?

Richelle: There were a few pieces to it. One was seeing the script. That helps make it real. And I have already sort of commented on how amazed I was. How spot on it was. So THAT was one thing. But I think the casting announcements that followed shortly after really just knocked it into the next level. It happens all the time in Hollywood. People get all excited and they are talking about yes, yes, we are gonna make this project, it’s gonna happen and then it just fizzles out. People can talk all they want but when you reach that point where you are actually getting actors signed on and committed, that is a huge step. Of course, it can still fall apart at any point, unfortunately, but that just definitely takes it out a lot, so when we got those first three faces, and the announcement came out together that they had cast Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky and Lucy Fry, as the three leads, that was big, big. Those are the three lead characters, and we had faces for them. Not only that, but we had the actors that were talking about how excited they were. For me and the fans, that is what actually said, oh my God this might actually be a movie.

Question: What has your involvement been like with the film so far? Have you given any advice to the actors? Or advice to the film makers?

Richelle: Most of my involvement has just been advisory and a lot of fact-checking. I haven’t really spoken to any of the actors outside of social media, but I’ve talked to Mark and Daniel Waters quite a bit, and they’ve – especially Mark, being the director who has the finger on the pulse of the movie and directing all the details – he’s been very thorough about talking to me and checking the details that even surprised me, and I’m delighted that he’s doing that because I know that’s not a courtesy a lot of authors get. I think a lot of authors are surprised when they walk into a theater to see what became of their movie. But Mark has written me in the past just about like, ‘Is this an okay costume choice?’ or, ‘If I do this is this going to affect something farther down in the series?’ He’s just so thoughtful about everything he does, in getting the truest story we can get. So that’s been my role, and I am really happy with that. I like that balance. I don’t make movies. A lot of fans expect me to, like, be out there rolling with the camera and doing stuff, and that’s not me. You know, I write the books and I am content to do that. I like this balance, you know, that the people who are experts in bringing this visual world to life and, you know, they check with me to make sure it’s been captured from the book correctly. I think it’s a system that has worked out pretty well from everything that I have seen.

Question: Are there any scenes in particular with Dmitri and Rose that you are excited to see? One that is particulary sticking out?

Richelle: Are you hoping for the love charm? Is that the…

Question: It’s a big fan favorite.

Richelle: No, I am excited for all of them. Really I just want to see them together. I think Zoey and Danila are such amazing casting choices for it. And they get along off screen as well, which I think is fun. I love that everyone working on the movie is having such a good time with it. There are so many great scenes in the evolution of Rose and Dmitri’s relationship. I know that the love scene charm is the big hot one that people are excited about. Even their initial meeting, which is done really well in the script, you know where they had this standoff in the beginning, is just powerful as well. You know, where they are sizing each other up. Its just reckless scrappy fighter girl, and here he is, seasoned calm veteran. There is power in that. I am just, any of it, I am overjoyed to see.

Question: Will you be making a cameo in the movie?

Richelle: Will I be making a cameo in the movie? I haven’t heard any talk of that yet. I know some authors do that. I don’t know if it will happen yet. I think I am too old to be walking the halls of St. Vladimir’s. But, you know, if they come up with something, we can talk about it. Someone joked that I should play Rose’s mother in the next movie, which I think would be terrible. I would injure my hand just trying to throw a punch or do anything remotely physical like that. We will see. We will see what happens.

Question: What are you writing right now? What are you working on?

Richelle: I just finished copy edits for The Fiery Heart, which is Bloodlines number 4. Bloodlines being the spinoff of Vampire Academy. And then I am working on the sequel to Gameboard of the Gods, which is my new futuristic adult novel. Busy, lots of stuff going on. All good stuff. I love it.

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GRAND PRIZE TRIP INCLUDES:
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Airfare and Accommodations for Four Days in London, July 2013
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A Flip Camera to Document Your Experience
Tour of London

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