1--What is the title of your latest release?
TO THE BONE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
This gripping, shocking, and exquisitely crafted survival story reveals the truth of America’s colonial history in a powerful new way—visceral and breathtaking.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It had to take place in Jamestown, Virginia, because it’s based on historical fact!
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Maybe! She’s about the age of my oldest son. Maybe they would be friends!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Naive, rebellious, and curious.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
All about “The Starving Time,” when an estimated 90% of settlers starved in the Jamestown Colony.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Both! I am a pantser with OCD.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Real bakery bread, especially if it’s heirloom sourdough.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I’m just redoing it now! When it’s done it will have an ikea dining table as my desk, a bookshelf for my finished books, and green wallpaper on one wall, my first attempt at wallpapering!
10--Who is an author you admire?
Stephen Graham Jones writes the kind of literary horror I aspire to.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Alice Hoffman’s Here On Earth was the first time I experienced an unreliable narrator, specifically in the sense that she didn’t suspect her partner was abusive until he actually hurt her. It had a profound impact on my knowledge of what was possible as a writer, but also as a person who was, at the time, in an abusive relationship.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was extremely sleep deprived and at a wilderness park with my then-four-year-old. We were both in our pajamas and had unbrushed hair. I just didn’t have the energy to get dressed that day, but hey we still made it to the park! We were playing in the mud and I’m pretty sure I had a frog in my hand. Best day ever.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Unfair question!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Also unfair question! Official answer: Interstellar. Unofficial answer: My Neighbor Totoro.
15--What is your favorite season?
Definitely Fall. I don’t mind being basic.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Hide from the world.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Strange Darling. Totally not what I expected!
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Japanese.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Worry about things.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
A retelling of a Grimm Brothers fairy tale!
This gripping, shocking, and exquisitely crafted survival story reveals the truth of America's colonial history in a powerful new way—visceral and breathtaking.
After the long journey from England, Ellis arrives in America full of hope. James Fort is where a better life will begin for her: where she will work as an indentured servant to Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, gain financial security, and fall deeply in love with bold, glorious Jane Eddowes.
But as summer turns to fall, Ellis begins to notice the cracks in this new life—the viciousness of the colonists toward the Indigenous people and the terrifying anger Henry uses to control his wife and Ellis—leaving her to wonder if she has sentenced herself to a prison rather than a new home.
Then winter arrives and hunger grips the Fort. Ellis is about to learn that people will do whatever it takes to survive.
To the Bone is a riveting story of survival and horror that forcefully overturns the mythos of the American settler. It will stay with you, forever.
Young Adult Historical [Penguin Young Readers Group, On Sale: September 10, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593616208 / eISBN: 9780593616222]
Alena Bruzas grew up in Seattle and currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with her family. She is the author of the acclaimed novel Ever Since, and she hopes her writing will find the people who need it most. When she's not writing, Alena serves on the board for Ten Thousand Villages, Lincoln. She also occasionally cooks dinner, worries about commas, and wanders the prairie.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2026