Interview with the amazing Sarah Beth Durst!

1) Tell us a little about Chasing Power, what's the main plot?

It's about a girl with telekinesis.  Also lies and secrets.  And banter.

Okay, I should be more specific than that.  Here's my formal description:

CHASING POWER is the story of Kayla, a sixteen-year-old girl who can move things with her mind, and Daniel, a boy who can teleport across continents and who lies as easily as he travels. Together, they embark on an Indiana-Jones-style adventure to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family, and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive... or survive.

2) Who would you be if you were a character in the book and why?

I'm not at all like Kayla -- she radiates self-confidence and can always think of a clever thing to say -- but it would be fun to be her for a little while.  I'd love to banter with Selena or travel the world with Daniel and play with moving things with my mind.

3) What was the hardest scene to write about and why?

Probably the big climactic scene, which I can't tell you about for spoiler reasons.  :)  But it's always challenging to make all the little threads come together.  I must have rewritten that scene at least a dozen times before it felt right.

Love that feeling, when a scene finally feels right.  You half expect trumpets to sound and an elephant parade to march through the house.  Or at least a few ponies.

4) Do you like any one or two characters over the others in the book?

I especially love Selena, Kayla's best friend, and I admire Moonbeam, Kayla's mother -- she may seem flighty but she's so much more.

5) Where did your inspiration for the book come from?

I've always loved telekinesis -- from Yoda to Jean Grey to the kids in Escape to Witch Mountain -- and I've been wanting to write a story about a girl with telekinesis for a long time.  This story emerged when I decided my girl would have very limited powers.  She can only lift very light things.  Interestingly, by limiting myself in that way, it was freeing -- the story emerged because Kayla had to be clever more than powerful.

6) Can we look forward to anything else from you?

Yes!  I am working on a middle-grade novel called THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM.  It's about a girl whose family owns a secret store where they buy, bottle, and sell dreams, but who can't have any of her own, and the adventure that she and her pet monster go on when someone starts kidnapping dreamers.  It's coming out in fall 2015 from HMH/Clarion Books, and I'm really, really excited about it!

Thanks so much for interviewing me!

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