Caster Girls & Boys

05/26/09

Kami & Margie Talk Caster Girls on Reverie Book Reviews

Caster Girls, you guys are famous. Here's our first ever BEAUTIFUL CREATURES interview — talking about YOU GUYS, of course — over on Vania's superfab blog, REVERIE BOOK REVIEWS. Aren't you dying to know what she (and we!) had to say about you:

Many of you might have seen my photos pop up around the Caster Girl's blog or Kami Garcia's blog and perhaps a few of you have been wondering what is the Caster Girl blog about? Who are the Caster Girls? What does it have to do with Beautiful Creatures?

I have the wonderful opportunity to bring you the Caster Girls and one by one I will be interviewing them in the next few weeks so we can all get a glimpse into who they are and why they are so important to Kami and Margie's Debut novel. I am excited to get to know each girl and hope that you all come check back and see what these lovelies have to spill….. * gives mischievous grin*

Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, authors of Beautiful Creatures call themselves Caster Girls. But they aren’t the only ones. There is a whole blog dedicated to the Caster Girls. I wanted to interview Kami and Margie and find out more. Because just like their book, the two of them are full of secrets.

Q: You have a link to the Caster Girls blog on your blogs, and those of us who read your blogs know that you talk about them a lot. Who are the Caster Girls?

K: When Margie and I set out to write Beautiful Creatures, we were writing it with a specific group of girls in mind. When we started the book, we gave them pages and they demanded more. They passed chapters to their friends and started asking questions. Their questions, ideas, and criticism shaped Beautiful Creatures- because for us, they were our audience. We had no idea we would sell BC, or even send it out. In the beginning, we were just writing it for them. These girls eventually became the Caster Girls.

M: A Caster Girl, in its broadest definition, is a girl with the power – the incredible power – the superpower, even – to be herself. Which isn’t easy. Each of our Caster Girls is as powerful and unique, quirky and talented, witty and complicated, and crazy as Lena Duchannes, from Beautiful Creatures. They’ve fallen into our lives in different ways – some are friends, family members, even students. But at the end of the writing process, they became the original sisterhood of the book. So to us, they’re family.

Q: Why did you create the Caster Girls blog?

M: The Caster Girls existed long before the Caster Girls blog. The Caster Girls are the girls we write for, and we believed they needed to be heard. I think it goes ultimately to the issue of YA readers having ownership of their own voice. Kami and I felt strongly that the girls who influenced the actual writing of the book should have a way to directly connect with the people reading the book, or even just following the book. Because in so many ways, it’s their book too.

K: Growing up is hard, even in your twenties. It’s hard to be yourself in the face of conformity and peer pressure. It’s hard to stand up to friends, teachers, even parents who don’t understand who you are. These are issues we explore in Beautiful Creatures and issues Caster Girls face every day. We wanted a place for our Caster Girls to express themselves and interact with other girls brave enough to be themselves. We don’t filter a word of what they write; they edit themselves. We wanted a place they could discuss not only BC, but share their experiences, their art, their talents. Because, as we wrote in the dedication of BC, “There are more of us than you think.”

Q: How did the Caster Girls influence Beautiful Creatures?

M: How didn’t they? Literally, we wrote the book for them. We handed the first page to two of the Caster Girls and they said, DO IT! They demanded pages, and every night we were hounded until we had to hand them over. It was like writing a serialized novel for a newspaper, like Twain or Dickens used to. After the first 50 pages, three more Caster Girls were on board; the story had taken off, and so the CGs were even more demanding, because they wanted to know what happened next. And the questions they asked about what happened next literally changed what happened next.

K: When we started getting texts from their friends in the middle of the night asking for more chapters, we knew the story had taken on a life of its own. When we were revising, three new Caster Girls came on board to read our completed drafts, but still had plenty to say. By the time were polishing the prologue and the ending, there wasn’t a Caster Girl who didn't weigh in. And believe me, they’re demanding and picky. And our toughest editors.

Q: The Caster Girls are anonymous. Why and how are they set apart?

K: We wanted to protect their identities and privacy, since they vary in age from 12 to 25. Each Caster Girl is identified by a photo of their favorite pair of shoes and a number (ex. Caster Girl 25, Caster Girl 15). Shoes are kind of a thing in Beautiful Creatures (no spoilers), and the Caster Girls happen to have some pretty wild kicks, which reflect their very different personalities. Checkerboard Vans, purple high-tops, tattered red Chucks with holes and graffiti, super-glued with gems from Michaels. What tells more about a girl than her favorite shoes?

M: No two pairs are alike, and no two Caster Girls are alike. We have a dancer/photographer, an animal activist/photographer, a poet/writer, an artist/athlete, an athlete/musician, and our resident book/music critic. Some want to be writers; others just love being readers. They have different ethnicities, backgrounds, ages, interests…but some things are always the same. The Caster Girls are like this crazy chorus of YA voices that help us remember who it is we’re writing for.

Q: Each Caster Girl has a talent. What are some of the talents we can see on the blog?

M: We love what Caster Girl 17 has done with the Photo of the Day, and 12, 13 & 18 have put together our Caster Girl Art gallery. CG 25 had some great coverage of Coachella. Mostly, we just love to see what they're thinking and read what they're writing.

K: They’ve been putting up everything from photography and art to poetry, writing, and social commentary. Each of the CGs is incredibly talented, and they never fail to surprise us with their unique view of the world. They also come up with some really creative concepts for their blog readers. Caster Girl 25 just started a gallery of photos for Wreck This Journal, a concept developed by writer Keri Smith. CG 25 is challenging other people to wreck their journals, so she can put photos of their journals up on the site.

Q: What are some other features on the blog we can look forward to?

M: Some of our CGs are huge fans of Frank Warren’s Post Secret books and site. In the same spirit, if you send the CGs an anonymous secret on a postcard, they’ll put it up in their Secrets album. Who doesn’t love reading other people’s secrets? They are also planning to have book debates soon, and everyone loves Vania’s Weekly Photo feature!

K: I know they’re also dying to start talking about Beautiful Creatures once the book comes out, but for now they have been great at keeping everything secret. No spoilers! I think they’re really excited to interviewed on your blog because they’re anxious to speak for themselves, and share their experiences working on BC.

M: I think 13 just wants to tell everyone that she stayed home from school to edit the book.

K: I don’t think we should let her tell people that, especially since we made her stay home and locked her in our office for two days. We might get in trouble with her teachers.

M: Do you think her teachers read YA book reviews?

K: I’m a teacher and I do. But then, I’m sort of crazy.

V: *la di da di da*

M: Hmmm…okay. Vania leave that whole end part out. Um, Vania?

V: *snaps back to reality* Ohhhh Um, yes!! Sure. Sure.

* Meet the Caster Girls at http://www.castergirls.com. *

And stay tuned for my exclusive interviews with the Caster Girls, beginning with Caster Girl 25 next week!

I'll Try really hard not to spoil anything but much like the Caster Girls I am dying to talk to them about "Beautiful Creatures" aren't you?

Check out Vania's REVERIE BOOK REVIEWS site here and stop by and leave a comment letting her know (if) you liked your fifteen minutes of fame! Live it up, Caster Girls! And a giant THANK YOU to Vania for having us visit her site today. We can't wait for you all to *meet* her :)