YA Unscene + Giveaway: Slated by Teri Terry

YA Unscene is a meme at Fragments of Life that features unseen or deleted scenes of novels, followed by a short interview and a giveaway.

Last week, I featured Taste by Kate Evangelista (giveaway still on-going.) This week, I’m featuring an exciting YA dystopian from Orchard Books.. Without further ado, here’s the deleted scene from Slated by Teri Terry!

Deleted Scene From Slated
 

I absolutely loved your debut! Where did you get your inspiration to write Slated?

Oh thanks so much. Slated actually started with a dream: a girl running, terrified, on a beach. As is often the case with dreams, I somehow felt I knew what was behind it. I started writing that day as soon as I woke up, and out of my early morning scribblings came the whole concept of Slating. So where it came from is hard to say: somewhere in the murky depths of my unconscious, I suppose! I always write from character, so I didn’t sit down and decide I wanted to write a tale set in the future, or that I wanted to deal with what makes us who we are, the balance of rights and freedoms in society, or when it is right to fight the system. That is just sort of what came out as I wrote.

Where did you get the concept of Levos?

I was free writing – which basically means I had a starting point, my character and situation, and just wrote as fast as I could by hand everything that tumbled into my mind. And there it was, on the page.

Though I’m sure there are a few influences here. One is the electronic tagging system used to keep criminals under control by keeping tabs on where they go, to make sure they don’t infringe rules of their probation or release. Also I know someone who is insulin dependent diabetic, and they have to check their blood sugar levels all the time. I think that is part of the origin of the idea also. Finally, I’m a little obsessed with the nature-nurture debate: ie. are bad people born, or made? If someone is bad through and through, wiping their memories wouldn’t make them change, would it? So you’d need a way to check on them.

Why was this portion deleted? Does the rose symbolize something in Slated?

This particular scene went to keep the pace up in the opening chapters.

The rose doesn’t have any particular significance to the story – it is more just to emphasize that she is experiencing the world and everything in it as if for the very first time. Putting myself in that position: I’d want to touch, smell and feel everything.

I loved how all of the characters in Slated revealed their true selves as the story progressed. Who is your favorite character? Why?

It was a very conscious decision with my characters to give them light and shade. Bad people sometimes do good things; good people sometimes get it wrong. I didn’t want all the adults to be evil like is sometimes the case in YA dystopian tales. And sometimes my characters surprised me as well.

As far as my favourite character goes, that would have to be Kyla. She is strong, but doesn’t know it. She learns from her mistakes, and carries on. In the secondary characters I’d say her mum: she is so multi-layered.

What can readers expect from Book 2?

In Fractured Kyla must make a stand: what does she believe in? There is a seriously badass boy in it to make things confusing; the action heats up, and the stakes are high.

What’s next for Teri Terry?

I’ve just finished writing Fractured: there will be some editing coming up. And after that, book 3! I haven’t started it yet and am itching to dive in.

In my dreams, there will be a movie deal of course!

Beyond Slated – I’m intrigued with ghost stories, so that may be next.

Giveaway: Finished Copy of Slated by Teri Terry

Thanks to Orchard Books, one of you can win Slated!

Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost forever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

Rules:

Be a follower.

Open internationally.

Must be at least 13 years old!

Ends on June 8, 2012.

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