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Our education was a
top priority for our parents and thus we were prohibited from watching a lot of
television. We spent a lot of time playing outdoors and a lot of time
entertaining our minds with reading. It was easy to do because our father had a
voracious appetite for nonfiction books and would sit in our family room every
night often reading 500-600 page books within one or two nights.
Watching him so
engulfed made sitting in a quiet room so easy. We had many favorite books
growing up, but our favorites were also so different. Much like our
personalities. One of the shared loves we have is Pride and Prejudice.
We think if you talk to most authors of young adult fiction novels, this
book will come up at some point.
William Darcy
epitomizes the “ultimate” man. Even though he was a man of few words, he
had a depth to him that has been mimicked throughout many love stories.
Devilyn Reilly shares a great many characteristics in common with Darcy.
His deep sense of loyalty, compassion, chivalry, good looks, deep love
etc., we could literally go on and on.
So this was by far the
book that most influenced Fae….some of our other personal favorites are…..
Colet:
In elementary school I
loved Scott O’Dell’s, Island of the Blue Dolphins. I literally think I read it
ten times and I all I wanted was a Rontu of my own. I think I felt a bit like
Karana because I was kind of a loner when I was younger. I preferred reading
and escaping to my own magical worlds and there was a deep sense of fulfillment
I got from that. I could live on this imaginary island I created and no one
could invade my space. I would literally sit for hours on end just reading by
myself or playing with my Barbies. I really preferred this to people company.
Karana was completely fine being on her own with just Rontu as a companion and
I felt so similar to her because I was the same, I just didn't have a dog.
Karana just resonated with me and I think that I definitely infused that into
Caroline’s character. And of course she has her own Rontu too… his name is
Famous and he’s a Pomeranian but he’s her companion. My other favorite when I
was younger was Indian in the Cupboard. Yes, I bought a bunch of little doll
houses with small plastic Native American Indian dolls hoping that one would
magically come to life. Unfortunately that didn’t work but my imagination ran
wild. In High School I loved A Separate Peace by John Knowles & Hamlet.
In college, Milton’s, Paradise Lost changed my life. It really did. Now, I read
whatever I crave at that moment in my life.
Jasmine:
There are many
profound books and authors that have influenced my life, but when I analyze my
writing I would say that the voice of my writing today comes from the many
fiction novels I’ve read. Starting as a child with books by Judy Blume, Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing, Are You
There God It’s Me Margaret, Otherwise
known as Sheila The Great. Ms. Blume had such a talent for understanding
the true emotional experience every child goes through in elementary and junior
high school and she does it such a comical way that you really can’t get enough
of her writing. I could so related to the fears and angst associated with
puberty that became the catalyst for Margaret Simon’s many conversations with
God. Those daily feelings of inadequacy appear in Fae through the eyes of
Carolyn Ellis as she walks the halls of Manteo High School. How
many conversations do we all have in our head, thankfully they mostly stay
there where they belong. I also loved the incredible world of Harry Potter, created by J.K. Rowling,
and am also a big fan of Judith McNaught’s Paradise,
actually anything written by Judith McNaught sucks me right into a peaceful
world making me lost for days and days. Dan Brown’s (The DaVinci Code) talents are also unparalleled and of course I
think I am among the millions who enjoyed Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight.
About the
authors:
C. J. Abedi is made up
of the sister writing team Colet and Jasmine Abed who wrote the upcoming series
Fae. They have always had a love of writing and began collaborating on
many projects when they were very young. Their passion for all things
creative led them to the world of the entertainment industry where they have
worked since completing their education.
Colet Abedi ran development for ITV Studios and is currently Executive Producer
on three shows that run in syndication called Unsealed: Conspiracy Files,
Unsealed: Alien Files and Now Eat This with Rocco DiSpirito. She was also an
Executive Producer on Posh Tots. Prior to that, she was a Head Writer for 20th
Television, a division of Fox, for two telenovelas, American Heiress starring
Annalyn McCord and Robert Buckley and Fashion House, starring Bo Derek and
Taylor Kinney. She alsorecently completed the feature filmFive Souls that will
be released next year.
Jasmine Abedi is an entertainment attorney, and has worked with entertainment
powerhouses such as Fox, NBC Universal, ABC, MTV and E! for the past 14 years.
She has also worn many different hats in the entertainment industry, with
Executive Producer credits for the television programs Posh Tots and the pilots
Club Bounce (TruTV), Divas(VH-1), and Life With The Clarks (CMT). In addition
to writing, she has also partnered with a law school friend to create the
natural cosmetic company Generation Klean, Inc. Their products can be found
online at www.generationklean.com
and at major retailers (Whole Foods, Fred Segal etc.) nationwide.
Rachel
died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first
time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text. 
