It Came From the Deep by Maria Lewis

Maria Lewis' new book, her first YA title, released on Halloween. I'm very happy to be part of the It Came From the Deep blog tour. Maria was kind enough to answer a few questions about the book and what we can expect.


It Came From the Deep sounds like a classic monster movie title. How has your love of popular culture, and movies in particular, influenced your writing?

My love of pop culture - and movies - informs everything I write. Whether that’s news articles, commentary pieces or novels, the kind of pop culture I consumed growing up was how I related to the world. I think that’s true for a lot of nerdy kids and it was definitely the case with me. Naturally the things I grew up with and the things that have shaped me as a person bleed into my work. Thankfully, a lot of my readers are just as geeky as I am and usually understand the inspirations and motivations behind my stories.

Tommi Grayson, from your Who's Afraid? series is a kick-ass, take no prisoners type of girl. How does Kaia Craig compare?

Kaia and Tommi are very different. They’re both kick-ass, but in different ways. For instance, Tommi often dives into situations by thinking with her heart, rather than her head. Kaia is a lot quieter and more reserved. Tommi literally has superpowers, whereas Kaia’s special abilities are her kindness, her compassion and her endurance. I love reading stories that feature diverse kinds of women with a range of strengths and weaknesses, so I always try and write something that’s different from what I’ve done previously.

What can we expect from It Came From the Deep? 

It’s my first young adult novel, so the characters are a lot younger than those at the centre of the Who’s Afraid? series. In the Who’s Afraid? books everyone is an adult, whereas in It Came From The Deep many of them are still trying to work out what being an adult even means. The issues they’re dealing with are also very different. Kaia Craig, in particular, has just graduated high school and is working through that transition period when you’re deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life and how you can get there.

Do you have a soundtrack for your writing? Were there any songs in particular that influenced or inspired you while writing this book?

Oh definitely, music is a big part of my writing process. I need it on in the background when I work, but I also think about specific bands or songs that different characters would listen to that shape who they are as people and often what they’re going through. I put together a playlist for most of my books and there’s one for It Came From The Deep up on Spotify.

I believe It Came From the Deep was a NaNoWriMo novel. Any advice for those doing NaNo this year?

It was! It Came From The Deep was the book I wrote the first time I did NaNoWriMo several years ago. As for advice for those doing it this year, the most important thing is just to get through the month and make it to the end. To pump out that word count, you need to keep smashing out the story and not waste time going over and over what you already have down. That’s not the way I’d usually write - it’s not the way most people write, as proofing during the process is rather an essential part - but NaNoWriMo isn’t normal so there’s a lot of ‘regular’ writing habits and instincts you have to put to the side to make it. I also recommend having a loose plan going into it, at least having a skeleton of what kind of story you want to write, the characters and a basic plot.

Sweet or savoury?
SWEET.

It Came From the Deep is available on www.amazon.com.au, and all major e-book platforms. 

You can add It Came From the Deep on Goodreads here.