There’s no Con like San Diego Comic-con, in terms of size, hectivity, or sheer fan glee – but what often gets missed in all the Marvel/DC hullabaloo is that it’s not just Hollywood that shows up in force. A veritable horde of authors annually descend on San Diego along with the rest of us, and there are book panels galore – so here’s a taste of the novel underbelly of Comic-con:
Kendare Blake, on the importance of vulnerability in super smackdowns: “Oooh, is Superman going to get a bruise?”
Brandon Sanderson, on the greatest challenge when it comes to writing supervillains: “Coming up with names that Marvel and DC haven’t used.”
“If I had a superpower, it would be to get my son to stop arguing with me.” – Mark Frost
“The teenage brain IS a dystopia” – Marie Lu
“More YA is written about teenagers, not for teenagers.” – Ransom Riggs
“I think actually I write my books entirely for me.” – Holly Black
“Most people I know aren’t really grown up yet.” – Mark Frost
“One of the great passions we have as humans is complaining about things that change.” – Mira Grant
“As long as your characters are real people, no one cares what age they are.” – Gennifer Albin
“What’s important is for the protagonist to have her own story, her own goals, her own needs.” – Holly Black
Lauren Kate, on finding inspiration: “I do lots of eavesdropping on couples having arguments.”
Ally Condie, on her inspiration for Matched: “What if prom were evil?”
“Not everybody gets a great destiny. Sometimes you get a really crap destiny. Destiny is out to get you.” – Kendare Blake
“There’s no weakness to feeling love.” – Holly Black
Kendare Blake, on writing love scenes: “I got nothing. My lead character is a virgin goddess, and my other lead character was dead.”
“Swiss army knife and a condom. You can get through anything with those two items.” – Magnus Flyte
“It’s about finding someone who understands all your jagged places.” – Holly Black
“To play into people’s fears and hopes – that’s what it’s all about, as an author.” – D.J. MacHale
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