1. What was the inspiration for Nerve and Charisma?
For Nerve, the spark came while watching my niece on her phone and seeing how seamlessly she navigated between the real world and her virtual one. That, combined with what I was seeing on reality TV and how much people were divulging on social media got me thinking there could be a fun book idea in all of the above. Turned out, there was! For Charisma, I was planning a trip to Indonesia and noticed a travel advisory for rabies, which sent me into a panic. Trying to channel my anxiety toward something more productive than freaking out, I imagined a virus that was both scary, but could offer something irresistible, in this case, a rock star personality.
2. What were the challenges of writing both novels?
For Nerve, the challenge was learning how to incorporate editorial feedback for the first time. For Charisma, the challenge was in having to draft most of the book under a deadline since it was sold on proposal (meaning I’d only written an outline and fifty pages).
3. What was your favorite scene to write for Nerve and Charisma? (Make it as spoiler-free as possible.)
For Nerve, the prologue, since I’d always operated under the assumption one should never include prologues, until my editor asked me to write one. For Charisma, I loved writing the news clips, because they required both research and imagination.
4. First of all, congratulations on Nerve being made into a movie. Were you involved, in anyway, with the movie adaptation?
I wasn’t, but I did see an early script and spent a day on set, where I got a peek at some of the dailies.
5. In one word, how did you feel when you discovered that Nerve was optioned?
Thrilled.
6. If (or when) Charisma becomes a movie, would you like to make a cameo?
Haha. Big if. But that would be fun.
7. Have you ever thought of writing a sequel to Nerve?
I didn’t for quite some time since I really liked it as a standalone and thought the slightly open ending was a good metaphor for how once something’s shared on the internet, it never completely goes away. That said, last fall, I was finally struck by what feels like a workable idea for where the story could go. Nothing’s officially in the works, but you never know.
8. Do you have any upcoming novel you’d like to talk about and in what genre?
I’m working on something, but it’s too soon to talk about it.
9. Which author would you love to invite over and chat with?
I’m going to cheat a little and say Charlie Brooker, who’s the creator of a TV series called Black Mirror. I think that show is brilliant.
10. What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation (besides Nerve)? And why?
Harry Potter, because when I saw the first movie it looked exactly how I imagined it would when reading the books.
11. Last question, if all books in the world were to disappear forever, and you’ve the ability to save two books. Which books would they be (besides yours)?
Probably two books on surviving in the wilderness, since something catastrophic would probably have occurred to destroy all the other books.
It was truly a pleasure having Ms. Jeanne Ryan here and I hope to have more book interviews in the future. I really hope you guys get to check out both Nerve and Charisma. Again, the movie Nerve comes out in theaters on July 27th, 2016. It's definitely a must-see (those who've already read the book knows what I mean). Finger-cross Charisma gets to be a movie as well. Take care and happy reading!