Interview & Giveaway with Carrie Vaughn, author of Steel

Carrie Vaughn is the author of Steel, a time-travel adventure in which a teenage girl named Jill travels back in time and finds herself on a pirate ship. In addition to this interview with her, thanks to HarperCollins I have one copy of Steel to give to a lucky winner. The details for the contest are listed after the interview.

About Steel:

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure. The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain. Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn

The story of STEEL is very unique compared to most YA books - what was your inspiration for the story?

I wanted to tell a pirate story -- this is in reaction to some other pirate stories out there, including a certain movie franchise. But I wanted mine to be different -- as historically accurate as I could make it, for one. And I wanted it to be about swords and swordfighting, since I'm a fencer (like Jill, but not nearly as good as Jill). I think every modern fencer wonders how they'd do fighting with "real" swords back in the day, and this story gave me a chance to explore that.

If you could be like Jill and travel back in time, where would you want to go?

A lot of people have been asking me this... The answer is London in 1600, so I could see an original production of Shakespeare's plays.

What are some of your own favorite books and authors?

Robin McKinley is probably my favorite author, especially her Damar books, The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. I love Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn. Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, which is space opera.

When you aren't writing, what do you enjoy doing?

I travel quite a bit. I walk my dog. Watch movies. I'm a bit crafty -- I do some costuming, and I'm learning to knit.

Is there anything else you would like to add? Such as your website, info on yournext book, etc.

My website: http://www.blogger.com/www.carrievaughn.com
My latest book, After the Golden Age, just came out. The next book in my Kitty series, Kitty's Big Trouble, will be out in June.

Contest details:

To enter to win a hardcover copy of Steel, leave a comment with your email address
U.S. mailing addresses only
Must enter by Wedneday, May 4
Extra entries: +1 for linking to this interview & contest on Twitter, +1 for linking to it on your blog