Interview with Isabella Modra author of Rouge

1.Please, tell us your name, the city you are born and the books you write.

My name is Isabella Modra, I was born in Adelaide in South Australia and I write about anything that sparks my interest – usually depending on what TV show I am watching. Right now, I loooove stories about the underdog hero, and that’s why I decided to start a book series about a normal girl who develops supernatural abilities.

2. How did you become a writer?

That’s a funny story. When I was thirteen, my best friend and I were very into reading Nancy Drew stories. One morning on the way to school, we passed by a river that ran under a main road and spotted what we thought was a ‘body’ in this river. Of course, it was only a pipe or a piece of rubbish something, but we were so fascinated by how a supposedly real body ended up in this public river that we started thinking of a story behind it. It turned into an obsession, and I wrote the first 60 page book after days of discussing ideas for this mystery we embarked on together. From there, I spent two years developing 8 books in this mystery series, and since then I haven’t stopped writing.

3. Who inspired you to write?

Honestly I don’t really have any inspirations (except JK Rowling, but I wasn’t obsessed with her at the age of 13, just her books). I guess it was always the stories that inspired me to write. I wanted to create my own world, a world I could use to escape my mediocre life and pretend I was someone else. That’s what was so good about writing the mystery series I did as a teenager; they were essentially adventure stories about me and my best friend.

4. How old were you when you wrote the first book?

When I began Rouge, I had just turned seventeen. It was the beginning of my senior year and I was looking for a story to write. My friend and I thought of it on the school bus. Funny how all my ideas come to life on the school bus…

5. Your favorite books?

That’s tough. Honestly I don’t read as much as I should because I am very picky about books I read. If I can’t force myself through the first chapter, I give up on it. So my favorite books are, of course, the Harry Potter series, because they were my childhood and hold a special place in my heart. I liked the Hunger Games and the Infernal Devices series. I also love to read Peter Pan if I can’t get to sleep at night and my mind is in overdrive. It’s such a simple, beautiful story and always makes me laugh.

6. What inspired you to write Rouge?

As I said, I was obsessed with superheroes. I wanted to create a character that wasn’t invincible like Superman, but had a certain strength about her that only heroes do. The protagonist Hunter is a bit of a loner, but in desperate need of love. She is tough and goes through many hardships (in this book and the coming ones), but she puts other first. And she’s a badass heroine, which is important in female characters in my opinion. I just wanted a story that gave hope to people and wasn’t full of fake characters and plotlines, but had real, gritty people who weren’t afraid to fight for good.
         
7.A message for your fans?

Fans? I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with this term…
No, really, I don’t think I have many fans at the moment, but for those who claim to be my fans, my message is a simple THANK YOU for buying and reading and reviewing my book. Really, I don’t care what happens to me future-wise, I’m just so grateful to be able to share a story I love with people who appreciate books for the wonderful things that they are.

Enjoy!