Author Interview: Alexandra Bullen (Wishful Thinking)

Alexandra Bullen

Books (Young Adult):

• Wish (Scholastic 2010)
• Wishful Thinking (Scholastic 2010)

Alexandra Bullen:

Alexandra Bullen, author of Wish, was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in a nearby suburb. After high school, which she survived mostly by reading and writing, she moved to New York City, where she attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. She chose Gallatin because of its very long name, and also because there were no math or science requirements. Again, she was able to excel by studying only the things she loved: books, writing, and writing about books. To this day, she counts on her fingers and has no idea what happens to water when it freezes.

Wishful Thinking:

If you could wish for a different life, would you? What if that life changed everything you thought was real?

Adopted as a baby, Hazel Snow has always been alone. She's never belonged anywhere--and has always yearned to know the truth about where she comes from. So when she receives three stunning, enchanted dresses--each with the power to grant one wish--Hazel wishes to know her mother. Transported to a time and place she couldn't have imagined, Hazel finds herself living an alternate life--a life with the mother she never knew.

Over the course of one amazing, miraculous summer, Hazel finds her home, falls in love, and forms an unexpected friendship. But will her search to uncover her past forever alter her future?

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Wish and Wishful Thinking are all about wishes. What are your wishes?
I just had a contest on my blog about New Year’s Resolutions. I like resolutions because they’re like wishes you can control. I think mine this year will be to travel more and maybe learn a new language.

What was the hardest aspect of writing Wishful Thinking?
Without giving too much away – there is some serious magic at work in this book, in the form of time travel and waking up in a faraway land. This was a big leap for me, but I tried to stay focused on the journey of the main character, Hazel, and giving her just what she needed.

The covers for your novels are beautiful. Did you have any input to this?
Thank you! I love them too. I have absolutely zero input but am always stunned by how they turn out.

When you see your books in the bookstores, what's the feeling you get?
It is really bizarre. And thrilling. And completely impossible to describe.

There's a big concept of dresses in your novels. Do you have any favorite dresses?
Way too many to list, but I’d say about 85% of them are black.

Do you have any similarities or differences with Hazel?
I think Hazel is a bit stronger and also more protective of herself than I am.

If you had to pick a theme song for your novels, what would it be?
For the first book, I always thought of this really beautiful and sad song by Mindy Smith called “One Moment More.” Wishful Thinking was a happier book to write, and since Hazel is a photographer, I often found myself humming “Picture Book” by The Kinks. It’s a song about old family photos, which is fitting, I think.

What's next for you?
I’m about to start work on a new series. It’s something a little different from the Wish books – darker and more suspenseful.
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Thanks so much to Alexandra for stopping by!