The dame behind the Fallen series

MANILA, Philippines – Five hundred. That’s the number of books international bestselling author Lauren Kate researched on for her Fallen book series. And those books proved to be fruitful as the California-based author was able to weave her own unique mythology of angels and demons that spanned into five bestselling books — Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture and Fallen in Love — and a movie franchise based on the said book series.

“I think in a sense that’s why I was able to write five books on this topic, such a rich field, there’s so much to discover about the history of angels. And so many cultures have these many appropriations of angels. So it’s been a gift that keeps on giving to me, to learn more and more about angels,” Lauren told The STAR during an exclusive interview at the Long Bar of Raffles Makati last Sunday morning. The author is currently in the country for a book-signing event held last Sunday and for the promo tour and premiere night of the movie adaptation of Fallen.

And it’s a no-brainer that the Philippines will be one of the countries where the movie Fallen will be launched. After all, Lauren has been warmly received by her Filipino fans during her past two visits to the country. The author, whose other works include The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove and the Teardrop book series, also recalled having a wonderful experience sightseeing in Manila and Cebu.

“I’ve been very amazed and warmly welcomed by their (Filipinos’) enthusiasm and their excitement for the series, their openness to this love story. So I have nothing but fondness for the Filipino people,” she recalled. Lauren, who tried halo-halo for her first visit and then balut for her second time here, said that for her third time, tasting the lechon will be her “third pinnacle of Filipino cuisine.”

Also here in the country to promote the movie are stars Harrison Gilbertson and Addison Timlin. Fallen centers on the love story of Daniel Grigori (played by Jeremy Irvine) and Luce Price (Addison), complicated by a thousand-year-old secret and a curse Daniel is desperate to keep Luce from finding out. Harrison, on the other hand, plays Cam Briel, a fallen angel.

Lauren also served as an executive producer for the film, and got involved in the decisions regarding screenplays to the soundtrack.

“I wasn’t particularly involved in the production design but I went to the set and spent some time there and really got to see this beautiful thing come to being,” she said. Lauren also expressed admiration for the film director, Scott Hicks.

Produced by the same team as the blockbuster hit Twilight saga, it’s quite inevitable that certain comparisons will be made between the two series, or with any other young adult book series for that matter. Lauren, however, said that she doesn’t think much about those comparisons.

“I’m a big fan of other YA (young adult) literatures and sagas. And I really leave the comparisons to other people. For me, the hard part is writing and getting the story out the best way that I can. And the rest of it is up to everybody else,” she said.

But what sets Fallen series apart, Lauren said, is the unique love story of Luce and Daniel.

“This aspect of immortality and the actual history that these lovers have and this entire group of angel has, they’ve been together for 6,000 years, over time, over any historical scenario you can imagine and what they might have been doing, how that might have shaped them — that brings a richness to the series,” she added.

It was, after all, the notion of love beyond the mortal realm that inspired Lauren to write Fallen.

“It was that verse from Genesis that talks about angels looking down on heaven, seeing them (humans) and finding them beautiful that just drew me into the world of angels,” she recalled.

When asked if she believes in angels, Lauren declared her belief for the otherworldly creatures. “Angels have found me over the course of seven years, through my readers and through other means,” she said.

Aside from angels, Lauren also admitted to being fascinated by idea of reincarnation, sharing that when she was younger, she felt an “intense experience with a past life — deja vu.”

“I really like the idea of reincarnation, that we might be souls passing one another by, it’s very romantic to me and it seems perfect to put into the series,” she said.

And though Luce and Daniel are the main protagonists of the series, the author admitted that Cam is her favorite character.

“I’ll let Luce have Daniel, so I’ll keep Cam (laughs),” confessed Lauren.

Aside from being an enigmatic character, perhaps one reason that Lauren considers Cam as her favorite is because he is based on her singer-songwriter husband, Jason Morphew.

The couple lives in California with their three-year-old daughter Matilda — whom she named after Roald Dahl’s Matilda, a book Lauren admitted to being a great influence in her writing — and a two-year-old son named Venice.

(Fallen and other books by Lauren Kate are available at National Book Store and Powerbooks. The film Fallen premieres in the Philippines today.)

Lauren Kate on her third visit to the Philippines: I’ve been very amazed and warmly welcomed by their enthusiasm and their excitement for the series, their openness to this love story. So I have nothing but fondness for the Filipino people.