Q&A Session with Natasha Preston, author of The Cellar

Today Natasha Preston, author of The Cellar, is here at The Hiding Spot to answer a few questions! Enjoy!

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Natasha Preston was born in England and has lived in small towns and villages in the countryside ever since. In 2010 she stumbled into writing completely by accident. While searching the 'app store', Preston came across Wattpad, an amateur writing site. Writing gave her an escape, and Wattpad gave her the self-confidence she lacked. Her novel The Cellar became a Wattpad sensation and comes out this March from Sourcebooks.

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The Cellar has an intensely dark plot. Was there a specific experience or reason you felt compelled to write this particular story? 

No, The Cellar actually started as a dream where I was kidnapped and thrown in a cellar, much in the way Summer was. When I woke up I asked myself lots of questions like why, by who, what did the abductor want, etc. By they time I’d figured out who Clover is I had a plot and was desperate to write it.

Did you have trouble writing any of your characters or specific scenes within the novel? Or, were any characters or scenes particularly easy to write?

I find it hard to focus on anything I write. I have the attention span of a toddler and Facebook is always calling my name. My biggest hurdle was sitting down and doing it. My characters take on a life of their own so apart from just not wanting to sometimes it was fairly easy. Don’t get me wrong, getting into the head of a sixteen year old girl that was kidnapped and terrified was draining and left me wanting a vodka but it wasn’t too bad. Clover’s chapters were entirely too easy to write to the point where I almost scared myself!

Has the title changed or stayed relatively the same as your novel journeyed towards publication?

Nope, that’s the title I’ve always had. It’s pretty to the point I think!

What book or author has most influenced you as a writer or in general?

I’ll sound like a sap now but pretty much everyone on Wattpad. I love that so many people are putting a little piece of them on the line and uploading their work for the whole world to see. Many published authors would never let you see something that hadn’t been through a heap of editors but Wattpadders have the courage to get it out there. I think that’s pretty great. It was actually what made me start writing in the first place.

Many people dream of their ideal jobs while working somewhere less desirable to make ends meet, never realizing what great experience those jobs of necessity are for their future. What jobs did you have on your way to becoming a published author? Is there a certain work experience that has shaped your writing? 

Umm… I’ve worked in admin since leaving school. I guess not wanting to do that for the rest of my life made me want to work my butt off to do something I love and make a living out of it!

If you had to pick a favorite word, what would it be and why?

Oh, I definitely can’t choose the real one so I’ll pick my favourite that won’t get me in any trouble. It’s probably Ian Somerhalder. That counts, right?

My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality?

My personal escape from reality is in my writing. If I’m having a bad day I can sit down and shut it all out by going into another world. A world where I can kidnap and kill without the jail time hanging over my head!

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Learn more about Natasha and her books here.