Cycler Interview

Posted on by scott

Early last year, I got to read the unfinished manuscript of a book called Cycler, by Lauren McLaughlin. It was about a girl named Jill who has a problem: she changes into a boy four days a month.

Obviously, this isn’t the best way to go through puberty, what with all the identity issues and stuff. So with the help of her parents, she’s managed to keep her transformations hidden. In fact, she’s repressed her memories of being a boy to the point where her male self, Jack, has developed his own personality–and he’s very much a boy.

A boy who’s getting really tired of being hidden . . .

Needless to say, the book was really awesome, and I wound up blurbing it:

Artfully fractured and wickedly smart. A brilliant screwball comedy about love, self knowledge, and the secret identities inside all of us.

The book has taken a while to come out, as first novels do, and in the meantime I’ve become pals with Lauren and her husband Andrew. So now that Cycler is on shelves, I thought I would convene with her and do a quick IM interview.

Here’s our conversation, unedited and in its original IM-y format! (Argh, so many typos.) I’m on the right side and Lauren, for reasons that will soon be revealed, is the cat.









By the way, Lauren’s husband (Andrew, mentioned above) is a fashion photographer, and he did the photo for the cover:

You can buy Cycler at Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon. Or at many fine real-life bookstores across the land!

If you have any questions of your own for Lauren, feel free to ask them in the comments, and I’ll see if she’ll answer them.

All best to everyone going back to school!

112 thoughts on “Cycler Interview”

  1. Ooh, that sounds really good! I like the IM chat as well — I, too, have just discovered IM. 🙂 Great interview, Scott!

  3. omg ill tootally go and read that now it looks really good. and yah def hard without the gender thing.
    and how does soemone hypnotize themselves if they dont remember in the first place y there being hypnomtyzed…
    im confused…..

    TOP 55555!!!!!!!!!!
    =]

  4. Very interesting with much big words. Well, not big words, but words bigger than the ones I usually use IMing.

    I also hate talking on the phone. Ew.

    *adds Cycler to list of books I should read sometime soon*

    But I’m re-reading Midnighters right now. And, while I’m thinking about it, I must say…I’d forgotten all the amusing similes. They make me happy.

  5. Hi Gabi. When the cycling first began, Jill remembered everything about her days as a boy and was so disturbed by it that she decided to hypnotize herself. So now, when she wakes up as a girl, as soon as any memories from her boy days intrude, she begins the hypnosis to erase it.

  8. i also hate talking on the phone–there can be so many…awkward pauses and such.
    i completley agree that mosta the time, movies based on novles STINK. like eragon, for example. they can’t even make a movie of eldest, cuz they left so much stuff out…it’s annoying. i mean it woulda been a good movie by itself, but compared to the book?

  13. Yess! Post # 13( I hope)

    Those were some pretty “juicy” questions..and a long IM…
    Cool interview, maybe if Cycler goes into my library I’ll read it, right now though like 10 books are still needing to be read.

    I don’t wanna go back to school, for me it starts tomorrow.

  14. I feel as if I’ve been “in school” all summer working on my next novel. I’m actually about to begin vacation starting Friday. It’s a little backward. And, unfortunately, I feel like I’ve missed the whole summer. I hope you all had enough fun to make up for that.

  17. sounds good!! I’ll have to see if they have it at the library… neat cover too. (ugh school, must you bring it up on a holiday??)

  22. Yay…. I was just about to order books on amazon, so now I can order this too.

    Thanks a lot…. really 🙂

  23. That sounds like a fun book and something different too! Can’t wait to read!

    Wait, do the boy and girl look anything alike. Similar eyes, smile, hair color, or are they very much different looking that they wouldn’t even look like siblings?

  25. Hi Tam-la. Jack and Jill look very much alike. In fact, the book cover features Jill on the front and Jack on the back. We cast it with models who resemble each other.

  26. I am really excited to by the book! My mom is limiting the number of books I get so I might get this by October with Bogus to Bubbly

  28. Self induced schizophrenia is possibly the most interesting term I’ve heard in my life, and it’s SO true.

    Not sure if you’re into Batman or not, or if I’m even right, but I’m pretty sure they’re doing something along those lines in a new arc right now.

    It seems like it could be a very entertaining notion. I’m definitely checking this book out.

  30. Yay 30! Ugh, school! Curse school!! Oh well at least this is my last year. ’09 baby!!! That sounds like an interesting book, I should go look for that at the bookstore(s). But I got a lot to read already 🙁 Neat IM. I’ve never IMed anyone in my life when I can just talk on the phone. huh….

  32. Sweet! I’ve been needing new reading material. Thanks Scott-sama.

    School is like, BLAH right now. Not to mention I think I have a virus and it WON’T GO AWAY! Grr. Someone needs to invent something that makes chemistry and trig homework do itself…

  33. wow, sounds like a really interesting book! i can’t wait to read it. for some reason, i’ve always kind of wanted to be a schizophrenic. it actually sounds really cool (and you have an excuse for everything!)

    question for Lauren: why don’t you write the script for the Uglies movie? now *that* sounds like a good idea.

    comment for scott: nice picture! hahaha

    Because I’ll totally make the Top 100 😉

  39. Okay, a little less busy at this time. I’m SO buying that book a soon as I can. It sounds really cool from what you guys have been saying about it. I don’t think I’d like to be in Jill’s shoes though, lol.

  40. Sounds like a great book! I can’t wait to pick it up and read it! You mentioned that her husband did the cover for the book. My dream is to be an author, and my fiance is a brilliant artist. I could see him designing the cover if it gets to a publisher. Could you ask Lauren if it was a difficult process to have her husband do the cover? I’ve heard first time novelists often have little say in the cover art of their books. Thanks so much, and great interview!

  41. I was thinking earlier and I don’t think I know a single person who doesn’t have some amount of self induced skitzo. I kno that I act differently around my family than I do my friends. They are both part of me I just like one part better. I think it’s an awsome book idea!

  42. Wow. That sounds really good. Although, as mentioned in the interview, i think it is weird how she would erase her memory. I’d use it to my advantage. Haha.

  43. The next time I can get to the book store (or maybe my school’s library, the librarian likes to order books i suggest [woot!]) I’ll get it. It seems quite interesting. Very apt title as well.

    Can you ask Lauren why she wanted to write about this? It just seems sort of random. Although, now that I think of it, it isn’t really. NOW I’M CONFUSED!!! Grrr. I need my english class back.

  46. Fallen: the difference between having two sides to your personality and being a schitzo is the fact that you can’t remember anything, and your “double side” does things against your will. i really really hope *that* isn’t ordinary…

    if these kind of things interest anyone, you should watch the TV show “Heroes” or the movie “A Beautiful Mind”

    Because I’ll totally make the Top 100 😉

  47. Hi Sarah-la. Although this is my first novel, I’m told that it is indeed unusual for an author to have any control over her book cover. Cycler went through several different failed covers without my involvement before the editor finally suggested that I get involved. The idea for the cover was theirs, but Andrew shot it and he and I cast the models and styled it.

    Hi ME!!!!! I originally wanted to write about this because I thought it would be an interesting way to explore gender. But once I started writing, it became much more about identity and secrets.

    Bran-la, I’m with you. I think if I had this strange condition, I’d exploit it rather than hide it. But for some reason when I created Jill she seemed much more apt to repress anything that would make her stick out. I’d love to read a story about someone who embraced their gender swapping. That would be very interesting indeed.

  48. Im wondering why its called cycler is it because of the whole she changes in a cycle ordoes it have something to do with biking because thats all that would come to mind in the morning.
    Also I like the cover it peeks my interests all by itself.

  50. Whoa. I totally have to read that book now. (after I finish “The Last Days” of course) And ummm…What movies did Lauren make?

  52. Sounds fun. Actually similar to Ranma 1/2. Have you ever read it? It was a manga series that was popular in the 90s. It was a boy who changed into a girl when splashed with water.

  53. Hi Audrey-Sensei. That’s a brilliant idea. If you have any pull with old Westerfeld, why don’t you put in a good word for me. I’ve already written the screenplay for Cycler. Uglies would be a most excellent gig.

    Andrea-la, “swimtastical?” What fabtastic word.

    Kenzie-la, you’re not alone in suspecting that this book is about bicycles. But I did choose the title because the main character’s condition is a result of an atypical cycle. Plus, I like one word titles. They’re easy to remember.

    Hi Miranda, I was what they call a “gun-for-hire” in the film industry. I was hired to write, adapt, and/or rewrite movies for other people. Sometimes this meant doing nothing more than writing silly jokes for a ski comedy, but at times it meant taking the basic premise of a book or another screenplay and writing something brand new. The movies I had the biggest part in writing were Hypercube, Prisoner of Love, and Specimen. I was also a producer on the films Buffalo ’66 and American Psycho.

    Hi Grace. I have only belatedly been made aware of Ranma 1/2 as well as a whole host of other books about gender-switching. I am currently amassing a list of such books to read and Ranma 1/2 is at the top. It comes highly recommended.

  54. WONDERFUL interview and AWESOME sounding book. Can’t wait to read it. Scott and Lauren, thanks for posting the IM and answering questions.

    This thread has me totally jazzed about books and writing.

  55. Sound like a good book. ANyways I was so shocked to read about it because… well my cousin Aaron Mclaughlin just got married in July to a Lauren. So, now she is Lauren Mclaughlin. Oh, adn they love cats. Is there some connection? Or is that just really weird. Oh, and my question is are their names Jack and Jill because of the nursery rhyme or just because.

  56. Hi Shaylaluna. I think it’s a very strange coincidence. I will consider her my doppeldanger from now on. I hope she behaves! Jack is the one who named himself. In the beginning, before the cycling began, the protagonist was just an ordinary girl named Jill. But when the boy splintered off into a separate persona, he decided to name himself Jack. I liked the symmetry of those names as well as the reference to those two kids who went up a hill for some water and had a disastrous wipe out. It seemed appropriate to the story.

  59. Cha, that looks like an awesomelicious book! *Runs out and buys* Can’t wait to start reading it! ^^

    Non-related, but still pertinent question:

    Did anyone else notice how the Twilight peoples turned Victoria-James-Laurent into a MBWF?! Seriously! P’sha… That is not right… XD

  61. My sis told me about Cycler and your review and I was, like “Omigosh! Why hasn’t he posted about it yet!” I spoke too soon, I guess. But whatevs. And, holy, I just found out that this picture I submitted b/c my friend made me actually made it on corpus! I almost cried (although I basically cry about everything, but still). My picture sucks! Hehe!
    *heartpounds*

  63. I read that whole interview! The book definitely sounds original and creative, and I’m very excited to see if it’s at the library for me to borrow.

    At first it reminded me of this manga I read once, “Instant Teen: Just Add Nuts”, but I’m not sure why since that was about a…ten year old girl, I believe, who turns seventeen whenever she eats some nuts that a professor gave her. And she has this whole other secret identity…

    Anyway, the book sounds awesome, I want to read it now!

  64. Audrey-Sensei
    I actually love both “Heroes” and “A Beautiful Mind” Both are amazing! Yes I understand that haveing two different sides is different then what happes to Nikki in Heroes or Russel Crowe’s character in A Beautiful mind. I kind of worded that post weirdly sry about that. But yeah all really cool things!

  68. oooo
    THANK YOU for this interview! I was recently looking at the YA section at borders, and I was really disappointed. It seems like YA books have been changing, and I’m not sure if I like that. Maybe it’s just the covers that bug me… either way, I am SO going to pick this book up!
    ^-^

  70. Omg, yes Lauren! I will use my all-powerful influence over Scott(/John Davis?) to put you on this project.

    (ha! i wish. i guess i’ll just hope he reads this and someone takes it into consideration)

    Because I’ll totally make the Top 100 😉

  73. HEY SCOTT!! So i was so bored that i went right out and bought Cycler. And boy was i pissed! How could they treat Jack like that?! He’s human you can’t lock him away in a cage! I hated how the mother seemed to side so much with Jill, personally i happen to agree with Jack on most everything, and i’m a girl!! I know if i were in that situation i would want to make peace with Jack and let him live his life for the four days he has it! It’s all the poor kid gets, so give him a break already will yah! Anywho i’m ecstatic about the idea of a sequel and a Movie?!! I say HELL YES!! That would be wicked awesome!! So just wanted to thank you for the GREAT recommendation and tell you YOU’RE THE BEST!! Also give lauren a heads up that personally i couldn’t stand Jill or her mother, I much prefer Jack in all his unglorified ways, and he seemed spot on for a guy. Completely realistic. And i must say i think i know guys pretty well. Oh by the way who are you voting for? Personally i don’t like anyone we’ve got up. I don’t think any of them are right for our presidency. Also I have a feeling you’re just like Jack. Which is totally cool since he was like the best character in the whole book.

  76. just click on her name (everyone in blue has a link to their website).

    Oh no, Kiran-la! you brought up politics!!!!! *evil music plays in background* not smart… all i have to say, is this will be one interesting election…

    Because I’ll totally make the Top 100 😉

  77. i have to get up EARLY for school…like, six fifteen. the only connection i had to that early world was my little sibbies, who can get up at like, five thirty and be HAPPY. creepy huh?
    and fallen: hehe. but the truth is, i get outta school later than you do. so you’ll be rubbing that into my face later on. sigh.

  78. I have to get up at 6.30am Mon-Fri for school. We are expected to reach school by 7.25am for the assembly which involves singing the national anthem and saying the pledge.

    The book sounds cool! I think I will look out for it’s release. =D Maybe I will buy it or borrow it from the local library. Haha~

    I had never used that software which Mr Westerfeld used…it doesn’t look familiar to me. It’s MSN for me.

    ~\(=^0^=)/ ~

  80. Hi Liset. I’m curious as to what you find changing in the YA section. I’m new to the field myself so I’d love your take on this.

    Kiran, you are a defender of justice and should embrace this aspect of yourself. I think it’s fantastic that you empathized so deeply with Jack. (So did I, by the way). In some ways, I think Jill’s unjust behavior represents the casual cruelty it’s so easy to resort to in one’s quest for acceptance and conformity. Although I can sympathize with her plight as well. I love when readers feel something deeply. Thanks for letting me know!

  81. geez, i want to go to Walden’s and check this book out! and if they don’t have it there, then it’s B&N! I read the review on bn.com. Jill’s mom gives Jack porn?! creepy! and weird. >.> yeah, i want to check out this book, i can’t wait till next week when we go! XO

  82. Guy you guys are lucky! I have to get up at 5:30 monday-friday!
    Can’t wait till I get paid and get the book!

  83. dude! i’m so mad! i went to barnes and noble to buy cycler and guess what? it’s out of stock. of course, thanks guys… borders is all the way across town, there’s no way i’ll have time to go there.

    stupid people.

    Because I’ll totally make the Top 100 😉

  84. Hi there Audrey-Sensei…

    I could sort of understand your feeling.

    Well, I had tried to find the UGLIES Boxed Set in Borders but they said that they don’t have it and they are not sure if they are going to order it anytime soon…..it’s been almost a year after it’s release and they are not going to order it?! O.o

    And Borders store I had been to is the biggest store in my country….

    Kinokuniya has it but…if I buy it at Borders, I could use my brother’s gift card to get it. That way, I don’t have to spend a single cent! =P

    P.S [Fallen] My brother has to get up at 5.30am for school too! Thank goodness I don’t have to wake up so early in the morning!

    +-+miko kagome+-+

  86. I actually understand what Liset means. All the YA books in the stores are pretty much about braty rich popular girls with a lot of drama. Its almost impossible to find a good book now with a good story. The YA section of the stores make me mad, so i’m happy I picked up the uglies that one day. And my entire AP english class is reading cycler for a book report this month. We read So Yesterday last year.

  87. That sounds like an awesome book…i should go get it once i’m done with the last of the tales of the Otori….

  88. Hi Miranda. Thanks for your feedback on the YA section. Very interesting. I’d love to know what your AP English class has to say about Cycler. I hope it inspires some interesting discussion. Let your teacher and fellow students know I’d love to hear their thoughts and I’d be happy to answer their questions.

  89. Also as a general note to anyone looking for Cycler in bookstores, as of now you won’t find it on the shelves in Barnes and Noble although you can order it from them. Barnes and Noble has decided it’s too controversial for them. It is available at Borders and most other bookstores.

  92. Read interview…..good grammar ^.^
    anyway sounds like a great book! imma go buy it! 😀
    btw lauren, wats it like knoing scott personally? and how do you ever manage to finish a novel? i tried to start one i have about nine pages from about 5 years of work b/c every time i go back to look at it again….it sucks…xP

  95. Hi John-boiii. I’m not sure how to describe what it’s like knowing Scott personally, but if you were to combine Christmas, wikipedia, and an excellent road trip, you’d be getting close.

    I think the secret to finishing a novel is obsession.

  96. woow, i think that that book sounds really good, i was laughing at some parts, but i liked it a lot. Cycler is now on my book’s to read list.
    🙂

  97. Hey Lauren, my AP English class so far likes the book. Of course the most annoying boy in my class only looks at the cover. They all think it is really interesting and are happy that I picked the book again. I was wondering if you have or are going to have your own website so we don’t have to keep using scotts. I feel bad. Scott rocks!

  99. Love the interview, although before reading it I wasn’t sure use of such propper grammer on IM existed, lol. It sounds like a really good book, tacking it on to my mental book-list. Sucks that my English requirements get in the way of my book-list, and because this is fantasy, and I’m using that for Twilight (I always read a book before movie!), not sure if I can. Well, it might be sci-fi…wait, wouldn’t be much better, I’m saving that for Bogus to Bubby! Drat. I’ll probably just read it on the sly and not tell my teacher or log it or whatever. Besides, not only do we need our teachers permission to read a book, but we have to bring it to school everyday. I personally love the abstract view which the cover brings to the situation, but I’m not sure I’d love to walk around class with it, lol. I can’t believe Barns and Nobles called it too controversial. How many books on politics, or global warming, or the Holocaust are sold there? They even had a Gary Soto book there (WORST book I was ever forced to read)!And yet they ban a YA novel. Oh well, I prefer Borders, any way.

  100. Hi PrettyxMindedxRusty. You need your teacher’s permission to read a book? Even at home? Am I missing part of the story here? Just curious.

  101. Hey Lauren! Your not missing much, at least not anything good. My English teacher seems to be a strong believer of the whole “all teens hate to read anything but magazines and therefore must be forced to” misconception. (Although with all the fun-sucking work we get assigned just to read a single book, it’s no wonder some teens do feel that way.) So we have genrue requirements, page and nighly reading minimum’s, literature letters, weekly logs, and on top of all that we need to have the book approved by her before we read it. Apparently it’s to make sure that all the books we read are on a good level for us. I don’t think the thought occured to her (or my school board) that some students might want to read extra and NOT get credit for it. I’d ask, but I’m almost positive I’d be discouraged from it, lol. By the way, extremely random, but it is SO cool to actually be talking to a real author (they’re like celebrities to me)!

  102. Thanks, PrettyxMindedxRusty. I’ve never been seen as a celebrity before. I feel as if I should be ferried around in a limousine now or something. Well, I do think it’s a tad odd that your reading habits are so closely monitored by your teachers. I guess they’re trying to do their best to encourage reading, but I’m not sure I agree with their methods. Sadly, there is much in our education system that discourages genuine curiosity and learning. But it sounds to me as if you remain a free thinker despite this. Keep that up. The world needs free thinkers.

  103. wow that sounds interseting i will look for it when it comes out … or has it already come out i don’t remember i read the interview couple of hours ago well anyway great interview scott i wish i could do that i would interview tons of authors inculding you 🙂 can’t wait for your next book and i’m not typing its name for the fact that i may buture it

  104. Lauren– Well, maybe not exactly Emmy-attending kind of celebrity. More the kind who has to be creative, unique and perserverive to get what they deserve, and who you learn more about from what they say then what others say about them. Those are way cooler. It’s not too odd, (they’ve been using similar tactics for years) I should probably be used to it by now, guess I was hoping that this year my school would finally loosen their literary cholk-holds, instead of pulling tighter. Thanks. A lot of people who know me probably think of it more as stubborn-oddness than free thinking, but I’m glad you see it that way.

  109. A few comments, even though I’m obviously late to the party:

    1) I’m more than halfway through Cycler and am enjoying it. The ski lift scene in particular had me laughing. That, and the phrase “Am I emboogered?”

    2) I am amazed… AMAZED that the two cover models are not twins. Their noses and mouths are so similar!

    3) I’m still smiling at Htebezele’s comment about the James-Victoria-Laurent MBWF in the Twilight movie. XD I notice MBWFs everywhere now – for example, during the election coverage.

    4) Just throwing in another plug for Ranma 1/2. It is SO much fun. 🙂

  110. Hi there,

    I was wondering how I could contact Lauren? My friend and I run a YA Lit review website and we’ve reviewed Cycler. We were hoping to get an interview with her for the website. I’ve looked on her weblog but there are no contact details there at all.

    Kind regards,
    Nikki

    http://www.yareads.com

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