Kass Morgan is gearing up for the publication of the fourth (and final?) The 100 novel Rebellion, and we have two copies to give away!

Update: The giveaway is over and the two winners have been found! Thanks to all who participated!

Hypable’s Hype Podcast had the opportunity to speak to author Kass Morgan about her The 100 book series, specifically the upcoming fourth installment Rebellion.

The full audio interview contains several spoilers for the forthcoming book, so we’ll be releasing that on Hypable.com and Hype’s iTunes feed on December 6, which is when the book hits stores.

For now, we want to give you a little preview of the interview, and offer two readers the chance to get their hands on a copy of Rebellion! The giveaway can be found below the interview, and is eligible to residents of the U.S. and Canada.

Stay tuned for the full interview, in which Morgan dives into some of the exciting plot developments in Rebellion. For now, here’s what she has to say about being an author and a member of The 100 fandom.

What came first, the book or the show? And what was the process of the two stories being developed almost at the same time?

Kass Morgan: Well, I got in touch with Alloy, a creative think-tank that comes up with really fun, high-concept ideas for books; they were behind Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. They approached me with an idea for a book about 100 kids that are sent from a space station down to re-colonize Earth, and they asked me if that might be something I would be interested in, and I said, ‘Yes, yes it is!’ And they gave me so much freedom to come up with the characters and the world.

Around the time I was finishing the first book, we found out that The CW was interested in turning it into a television show. They had commissioned a pilot, and found a wonderful writer and showrunner, so the book was there first but the show happened really quickly after that, which was really exciting. And we sort of developed them parallel to each other, so there wasn’t a ton of collaboration, which I think is great because it allowed us to make choices in a way that works best for each of our mediums.

The book and show fandoms kind of overlap, and I imagine you’re approached by a lot of show fans, too. So how does that work, trying to build a fandom within a fandom?

We’re still figuring that out! ‘Cause the show and books are so different, it’s hard to communicate with everyone in a way that feels useful and respectful. In the books, as you know, Clarke is straight and dating Bellamy; that’s canon for the books. And I sometimes talk about that, because that’s the reality for my characters, even though it’s so sensitive because of what’s going on in the show.

And I just love that they made Clarke queer; I thought that was a great artistic choice, it was a great political choice, and I think it was so important in terms of representation. But I know it’s so sensitive for people who take offense to the idea of her with Bellamy, so I’m sort of caught in this awkward place sometimes, where I want to talk about my books and that world, but it rubs people the wrong way. I try to do my best to communicate, but it’s a challenge… but on the other hand, it’s so flattering and so humbling and inspiring to see how invested people are in this world. So I try to remember that when I say something and it doesn’t exactly get the reception I wanted it to.

There’s a new character in ‘Rebellion’ who’s described as really smart and good at science… is there a little hint of Raven in there?

Well it certainly wasn’t something I thought about, but who knows? Although actually, some fans of the book have a theory that Raven and Finn were based on [book characters] Glass and Luke, who aren’t in the show, but the show flipped them so Raven is the engineer and Finn is her boyfriend. I don’t know if that was on purpose or just a coincidence, but if it is, I thought that was a really cool way to flip things around.

The show and books started from the same place but have branched off in completely separate directions, so if at any point you or the show wanted to introduce a character or story element from the other version of ‘The 100,’ could that happen, or is that not a thing?

I don’t know… I think there would have to be some discussions, and I’m not exactly sure how that would work. So yeah, when people are mad that I don’t have Lexa in the books, well, she doesn’t exist in my world and she’s not my character to play with.

But that is important to clarify, because I’m sure a lot of readers like myself are unclear about what exactly the rules are… and also because your books have the TV show characters on the cover!

Yes, they do. It’s very confusing! [laughs] But it looks so cool, who cares.

But now that we know Finn is Glass it makes a lot more sense.

Total sense.

In your story, Clarke and Bellamy is obviously the couple, but in this book in particular they do have a lot of issues, and they’re still having to get to know each other. It’s a very nuanced relationship.

I’m glad you think so, that’s definitely what we tried to do. And especially for characters of this age; any teenager is going to grow and change a ton over the course of a year — and then imagine if you’re going through what these character are going through! They’re gonna grow even faster and change even more, and it’s interesting [to explore] how a relationship would be affected by that. And there have been things that have pushed Clarke and Bellamy apart and things that have brought them closer together.

Are you able to separate how you visualize your characters from the actors who play them in the show?

It’s interesting, because Eliza Taylor looks exactly like Clarke in my head, and Marie Avgeropoulos also looks exactly like Octavia. But for the others, the casting for the show is superb, but they are slightly different, I sort of have a different book-Bellamy and book-Wells [in my head]. But it’s been fun, I like having Eliza as Clarke running around in my imagination.

Is ‘Rebellion’ really the end? Could there be a book #5?

It is definitely the end for now, but that’s what I thought about Homecoming, too. It really depends on how it’s received and if there’s an appetite [for more]. If people are excited to spend more time in this world with these characters in book form, there definitely could be another one down the road. But it’s definitely not something we’re talking about yet.

But I do like to end it in a way that sets up the next one. Rebellion ends in what I hope to be a very satisfying way, with a particular scene, but then it definitely opens it up to a whole new adventure if that’s the next step.

Check back on Hypable and Hype Podcast for the full audio interview with Kass Morgan, where she reveals her favorite characters, her motivation for a big change-up in the new novel, her thoughts on Bellamy in the books vs. the show, and much more. The interview comes out on the release date for Rebellion, which is December 6!

Enter the giveaway for one of two copies of Rebellion below! We’ll select the winners on Sunday, December 4.