Hi Gayle, my name's Alondra Vindel, and I'm from Honduras. Being honest with you this was the first book I ever read in my entire life, and it blow off my mind completely. And what's been bugging me out so much is, how come you did this magnificent piece of characters? From where did your inspiration of Mia and Adam came from? What was that amplitude that helped you out to discover those two young lovers.

Hi, Alondra.

First of all, thank you. I’m so honored to have blown your mind. Second of all, about characters… Mia just came to me. I woke up one morning and there she was: 17 years old, dark hair, serious eyes, and a cellist. Which was news to me because I don’t play the cello.  But she felt so solid and real, I had to start writing. Adam was based a bit on my husband, back in the early punk-rock days of our love story, but as I wrote the book, he took on a life of his own. It’s what happens to characters. They become real to you and you listen to them and they often tell you where the story should go.

Okay, thirdly, I’m not sure if you were being flattering by saying If I Stay is the only book you’ve read but in case it’s true, DON’T STOP THERE. THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING YA BOOKS OUT THERE.  Head over to the FAQ on my website http://gayleforman.com/bio/ and under the favorite author question, I list a bunch of recent favorite YA books. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Happy reading!

- Gayle Forman