David Yoo - Author Of 'Girls For Breakfast'

Today’s YA interview is with David Yoo. He's a talented writer and author of Girls for Breakfast from Random House. It is edgy and wickedly hilarious novel. His upcoming novel AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL is due out in 2008 from Hyperion. He currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

EI: What were you like as a teenager? Please tell your readers more about David Yoo -- the man behind the author?

DY: Here’s what I was like as a teenager: I worshipped Let’s Active and XTC and The Replacements, and yet I more than willingly attended Motley Crue and Poison and Tesla and Warrant shows at the Hartford Civic Center…I revered the pre-Mighty Ducks ouvre of Emilio Estevez…Despite not really liking how they tasted, I ate, in retrospect, an appalling amount of Nerds candy simply because I liked the packaging…

I loved to talk shop about sports cars with gearheads despite not knowing anything about cars, and I’d invariably use the phrase “flux capacitor” in my extended b.s. soliloquoys about the latest model Maserati…I was the fastest in my high school at the shuttle run—those sprints where you pick up chalkboard erasers.

FYI, the key to success isn’t so much having quick lateral movement or an explosive first step, but rather it’s merely having a knack for picking up erasers really fast…I thought Edie Brickell was really pretty until she married Paul Simon--from that point on I thought she was really ugly. Contrasting this is the fact that I wasn’t attracted to Witchboard II’s Tawny Kitaen until after she married Whitesnake lead singer, David Coverdale, which, if I stop to think about it, kinda makes me feel confused…One time, on a dare during a study hall, I ate a dead bee. It did not taste like honey…

My protracted campaign to turn “what are you, a goddamned penguin?” into a national catchphrase, to be used immediately after anyone said, “Dude, chill out,” stalled after approximately three fruitless months…And what I probably regret the most from my teen years at this point is the fact that the sole reason I took French instead of Spanish in high school was because I knew that people in Montreal spoke it. Worst fricking decision of my life.

EI: Could you describe your path to publication--any stumble along the way? Is there anything about you that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

DY: Actually, that’s precisely how I’d describe my path to publication—a series of stumbles until I sold my first book, and while this would suggest I’d have a number of things I’d do differently if I had the chance, I don’t think I’d do anything differently, surprisingly, because I think it would have been detrimental to my writing career had I achieved publication any earlier than I did, and equally disastrous had it taken much longer. And yes, I’m aware that I pretty much said absolutely nothing just now, but I stand by it.

EI: What do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

DY: Every part about writing is really hard for me, but at the same time it doesn’t feel that way, because I type so fast. If I had to choose a specific aspect of writing, however, I’d say dealing with plot is a perpetual struggle. I’m a voice-driven writer, and having to consider actual plots almost feels like an intrusion.

EI: Was there anyone who really influenced you to become a writer?

DY: Would it be weird to say that a little boy named Tony who lives inside my mouth told me to? If so, then I’ll go with Salinger, McMurtry, Camus, and James M Cain.

EI: Can you tell your fans about your experienced working with the late, great fiction writer Lucia Berlin?

DY: Lucia taught what she excelled at in her own fiction: emotional honesty. While she drew heavily from personal experience, even the stories that were wholly made up felt true, because she had no interest in not cutting to the core of her characters. It’s something I try to do with my own writing, with far less success. Also, she just wrote and read and paid little attention to trying to put her stuff and her name out there, and as a result she’s the best writer most people haven’t heard of, a true ‘writer’s writer.’ She’s one of those people who keep me humble, the mere thought of her tends to balance out those moments when I feel like the world owes me something. But don’t get me wrong, the world does owe me something.

EI: Let’s shift gears... tell us about your edgy and funny book ‘Girls for Breakfast’ what is the premise? And how did you come up with the title and idea?

DY: Don’t ever shift gears so abruptly on me like that again, yowch. Anyhew, the simple premise of GFB is that it’s graduation day from high school for Nick Park, and he’s looking back on his life trying to figure out what went wrong and where in order to understand why he’s completely alone at the end of high school. And in looking back on specific moments from his life he comes to realize how closely tied his obsession with girls is with his utter self-loathing and ambivalence towards his ethnicity. Think Up the Creek meets Five Easy Pieces, with a dash of Proust thrown in there for good measure.

As for the title, there’s no real story behind the origin. Besides the fact that I came up with it immediately after getting struck by lightning. I am crazy about titles, though. I spend at least twenty minutes every day trying to come up with cool titles. My fear is that one day I’ll run out of good titles and be forced to publish a novel bearing a title so corny it demands being printed on the cover in a loopy cursive font. One of my biggest nightmares.

EI: How much of ‘Nick Park’ character life is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with his or with any of your other characters? What were your challenges?

DY: Usually I don’t think of my characters as characters who live on after the last page, I don’t really envision them outside of the novel or short story they reside in. However, I definitely do see Nick Park as a character I want to trilogize. I have a feeling that isn’t a real word, but you get what I mean. Reason why is Nick is a character that I invested a lot of time in and so I would like to see what happens to him in future books, down the road.

EI: Did you start writing this book with a different plan specifically in mind? How did your books get written? Is it inspired creativity, or a more disciplined hard work approach, with detailed outlines, scheduled writing times, etc.?

DY: With GFB, I started out wanting to write an episodic, ten-years-in-the-life-of epic novel, and the rough draft was well over 1000 pages long. To prepare for it I wrote a dozen short stories featuring Nick, trying to get a handle on his voice, the way he would act, etc. But it’s different with each novel.

I’ve been starting to address plot more lately, and while the story never unfolds remotely like the way I’d envisioned it, I suppose I am starting to lean more towards actually thinking through my stories rather than back in the day when I assumed it would work itself out and I just sat down thinking whatever I wrote would make sense and naively enjoyed the rush of typing really fast.

The struggle is to find a balance between that freewheeling, improvisatory rush of writing style that I used to embody with the more measured, plotty way I go about things today. As for writing schedules, it took me ten years to realize this, but I’ve finally come to the conclusion that on a good day I’ll write for four to six solid hours, but after that my mind is mush. Despite knowing this, I still try in vain to write for way more than 6 hours each day, and I fail to do so each day. I’m kind of an idiot, when you really think about it.

EI: Did you find an editor first or an agent?

DY: Agent. I’m fortunate to have an agent that I actually consider a friend. Granted, I mean one of those friends you and your closer friends secretly make up derogatory nicknames for for when he’s not around, like “The Third Wheel” and “We Need You To Drive.”

EI: Do you express your inner self in your writing, or do the personas you create exist only in your imagination?

DY: I do consider writing a form of therapy for me—I find that the mountain of guilt that resides inside my gut shrinks with every page I write. I think this is because my basic philosophy about writing is, “If you write about it, you didn’t really do it in real-life,” or something to that effect.

As for whether the personas I create exist only in my imagination or not, I have to admit I spend so much time going over and over my writing during the editing process that the scenes that are purely fictional eventually blur into reality for me. At this point I have trouble distinguishing what actually happened in ‘real life’ and what didn’t.

This sounds like a lie but I swear I recounted a story recently to a friend about how I accidentally licked something that had traces of squirrel urine in it and for weeks afterwards I was uncontrollably jittery and could jump really far, and as I was telling him this I realized in my head, “My God, there’s no way this is true.”

EI: What would you tell those authors considering applying to an M.F.A. program? In your opinion how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

DY: It’s about as important for a writer to have a writing degree as it is for a songwriter to have a degree in songwriting. Which is to say, it’s VERY important. Actually, I do think MFAs can be worthwhile if you use the time to actually work on your craft and produce pages.

It’s a waste of money and time if you go there and merely re-submit old stories to workshops and spend the bulk of your time loitering in vanilla incense scented coffee shops all day, staring at raven-haired girls as you pretend to read your tattered copy of The Sun Also Rises. Oh my lord, did I just use the phrase ‘raven-haired?’

EI: Do you let anyone read your manuscript, before you send it to your editor or agent?

DY: I don’t show many people my stuff. I ought to, but I’m protective of maintaining my vision for the story. The irony (note: the following might not be irony at all, it’s a problem I share with Winona Ryder, along with kleptomania) is that I rarely have a vision that makes any sense.

Another reason why I rarely show people my work is because I don’t like showing stuff that I know I’m going to polish further down the road. That is, I hate letting people read my raw writing. That’s why blogging makes me feel kinda gross—I hate posting for anyone to see stuff off the top of my head that reads crappily to me 24 hours later. And yet I can’t take it offline after the fact even when I really want to, because it feels like any form of editing or censoring breaks an ethical code of blogging or something.

EI: Readers and fans often like to get behind an author's writing routine. Would you like to share with them your typical writing day schedule?

DY: A good writing day (which occurs approximately once a week) goes something like this: I spend a couple hours in the morning grading papers (I teach fiction workshops), and then spend thirty minutes or so right before lunch writing in my journal and re-acclimating myself with whatever writing project I’m currently working on.

In the afternoon I write for a good four or five hours and keep interrupting my progress to jot down ideas for future projects in the aforementioned journal, and the work is going so well I weird myself out by singing impromptu little sentences out of the blue as I type, like “I love to write, writing’s fun, tra la la la la,” and “There’s not enough time in the day tee hee hee I live in a world of wonder,” as if I’m an elf skipping home from the mine at the end of the day or something, and if it’s a really good writing day the other thing that happens is late at night I’ll get out of bed a dozen times at all hours of the night to jot down ‘keeper’ lines for future stories in my notebook.

A bad writing day (which constitutes approximately 6 out of 7 days of the week) unfolds as such: Feeling uninspired, I spend all morning playing old school Nintendo games like Jaws and Contra and Karnov online, perpetually cursing at myself for wasting the morning, then I eat too much at lunch and subsequently pass out with a food coma and wake up hours later drenched in sweat and instantly livid, whereupon I write ten pages in my journal about how disgusting I am, and writing this negative pep talk in my journal takes up the rest of the afternoon, and then at around 6PM I get so frustrated that I’m wasting the day that I shadow box in the kitchen to let off some steam, but since I don’t know anything about boxing I always hyper-extend my right elbow, which has always been messed up with tendonitis since my junior tennis playing days, and I spend an hour icing my elbow and watching trick-shot pool competitions on ESPN2 (there’s nothing more depressing than watching trick-shot pool competitions, which, despite taking place in present day, look as if it was filmed in the early 80s) and at around 7PM I contemplate trying to write a rap album but stop the moment I hear myself shout, “Microsoft Woooooord,” and around midnight I take a deep breath and vow to myself in the mirror that I’ll work hard on my writing the next morning, and then I slide into bed with my ridiculously overheated laptop and go back and forth between watchng Youtube clips of sleepy cats and Google video clips of English Premiere League goals until I conk out.

EI: What can fans look forward from you in the coming months?

DY: To answer the one question readers tend to always ask me at some point (“Dude, is your next novel going to be called Girls for Lunch?”) my standard response still applies: “Nope, and just so you know, you have the exact same sense of humor as my dad. Congratulations.”

I’m currently working on my next novel, AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL (Hyperion, 2008). And for those of you out there in the seventh grade, I have a story in an 8th grade English textbook dropping this fall, so keep an eye out for it. For updates on publications etc, check out my web site, www.daveyoo.com and my blog, www.xanga.com/davidyoo . I’ll probably put a link to this interview in my blog, which will as a result create an inescapable, completely circular wormhole, where you read this interview up to question 13, then click on the link to my blog, whereupon you read the top entry that features a link to this interview, and you end up back here again, for the rest of time. I’ll probably go to jail for it.

EI: Mr. Yoo, thank you so much for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to work with you. Would you like to close the interview with a writing tip for young aspiring authors?

DY: Please, call me Chuck. And thanks for having me, it’s been a pleasure for me as well. My writing tip for young aspiring authors is simply this: BE HONEST.

To learn more about David Yoo, please visit him at:
Website: http://www.daveyoo.com/html/index.html
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=DavidYoo
http://www.myspace.com/davidyoogfb

Jennifer Echols - Former Newspaper Editor Turned Award Winning Author

Today’s YA interview is with Jennifer Echols. She has written two romantic comedies for teens and has won the Whatley Award for the year's best essay in the Journal of Popular Culture.

Her book ‘Major Crush’ is a double-finalist in the National Readers’ Choice Awards in the Young Adult and Best First Book categories. Her upcoming book “The Boys Next Door” is due out in June ’07.

EI: What were you like as a teenager? Please tell your readers more about Jennifer Echols -- the woman behind the author?

JE: I tended to throw myself into projects and take charge. I was editor of the student newspaper and drum major of the band. I wanted to be a high school band director myself and compose music for band, so when I was fourteen I bought a college textbook and taught myself how to arrange songs for 20 parts. Many times I thought living in a tiny town held me back. There were no special schools or camps for the arts. But of course as an adult I look back on the experience and see it was an idyllic childhood with parents who supported me in everything that interested me.

EI: Do you enjoy writing? What is it about this art form that enchants you the most?

JE: It’s like composing music but better, because you’re the composer AND arranger AND conductor AND musician. I’m addicted.

EI: Why have you chosen to write in the genre in which you write?

JE: When I started out, I was aiming for literary fiction. But after some soul-searching, I realized that romance is where my heart is. Even in the great works of literature, I’m most interested in the romantic subplot.

EI: In what ways does your writing benefit from your training as a former newspaper editor? Do you feel that the skills you possess as a college writing teacher, and PhD candidate in English inform the way you approach writing a novel and, if so, how?

JE: I wish I had been able to sell the first novel I finished, but I know I wouldn’t be the writer I am today if I hadn’t held those jobs. In different ways they all taught me that writing is not about you, the author. It’s about the reader. You have to be able to step outside yourself and see your writing the way a reader sees it, or no one will be able to identify with your message.

EI: Please explain to your fans about your previous life as a newspaper editor. What made you decide to leave that job? Do you think that life is a dream job or a nightmare?

JE: Actually I held two newspaper jobs--one as a copyeditor and one as lifestyles section editor. Both times I left to go to graduate school. For me personally, these jobs were both dream job and nightmare. The nightmare part came when, as lifestyles section editor, I served as an ambassador to the community. I am extremely introverted, so playing extrovert was a real struggle for me. The dream part was the editing itself. I love working with words, whether they belong to me or other people. I still work as a copyeditor--I just do it from home.

EI: Could you describe your path that lead you to publication--any stumble along the way? Is there anything about you that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

JE: I had several different agents who were not able to sell my earlier novels. If I had to do it over again, I would definitely have joined Romance Writers of America sooner. I knew about the group, but as an introvert I was loath to go and talk with people about what I was doing. In making my latest push for publication, I found the group invaluable for social support as well as networking and business advice.

EI: You have created a world where romantic comedy for teens does move forward sequentially but instead moves in a more random and fluid way. How did you keep your characters and storyline funny and straight?

JE: I draw charts, graphs and pictures. Whatever works.

EI: When did you get the first inkling that your book might become wildly popular? Can you describe your feelings upon realizing this?

JE: Some people thought a book set in a high school marching band wouldn’t sell. I knew it would because band is a wonderful and very popular activity with lots of opportunity for drama, intrigue and romance. So I feel smug. :)

EI: Your book ‘Major Crush’ is a double-finalist in the National Readers’ Choice Awards, and also in the Young Adult Best First Book categories. It’s a very romantic and a funny novel. Did you ever intend the book to be connected to these specific genres, or did it just evolve?

JE: I intended it as a romantic comedy. I’ve written other genres, but when I started this book I could see the whole thing.

EI: Do you always know a story's ending when you begin writing?

JE: Always. First I figure out the beginning, the ending, the climax, and the other important plot points. I may write the rest more fluidly, but I need that road map starting out so I don’t get lost.

EI: Let’s shift gears... tell us about your book ‘Major Crush’ how did you come up with the title and idea?

JE: I got the idea from my experience as the first female drum major of my high school marching band. My original title was “Queen Geek,” as in band geek, but another book coming out around that time had the same title. Elke Villa in Simon & Schuster’s marketing department came up with the title “Major Crush,” and I renamed a character after her as a thank-you (see page 58 of the book).

EI: How much of ‘Virginia Sauter & Drew’s’ life is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with any of your characters?

JE: I know exactly what happens to Virginia and Drew for quite a few years after the book ends, but I’d rather keep it to myself. I’m still holding out hope for writing a sequel someday.

EI: What challenges or obstacle did you encounter while writing and creating “Virginia” How did you overcome these challenges?

JE: I remember feeling somewhat distanced from her at first. I made her a little more like me so I could relate to her better. She’s not exactly like me, but a lot of the problems and emotions she wrestles with as drum major are taken from my own experience.

EI: Let’s talk about your soon-to-be-published 2nd YA novel. "The Boys Next Door" Can you give us a hint what it’s all about? And what inspired you about the book? And what about writing for teens appealed to you?

JE: From the back cover:

“Lori lives for summertime at her family's lake house. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties in the cabin next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

“But while Lori and the ‘baby’ brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

“But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard...”
JE: I grew up on a beautiful lake in Alabama, so I was able to put a lot of my experiences living on the water into this book.
As for writing for teens...I finished writing my first novel when I was twenty years old, and although I intended it as a literary novel, it was YA-ish in that it featured young characters. Since then I have gone back and forth writing for adults and teens. I have never left YA behind as a reader or a writer.

EI: What would you tell those authors considering applying to an M.F.A. program? In your opinion how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

JE: I think you should write down what you need and think you will get from this program, then examine the course descriptions very carefully and discuss the program with the folks in charge before you commit the time and money. Some extremely prestigious programs can help you get published because the profs can hook you up with their agents or editors if they’re impressed enough with you. I think this happens very seldom. On the other hand, I firmly believe no education is wasted. But from a purely practical standpoint, especially if you’re writing commercial fiction rather than literary fiction, you might do just as well by joining a professional writers’ group like Romance Writers of America and--very important--WRITING.

EI: What can fans look forward from you in the coming months?

JE: “The Boys Next Door” is coming out on June 26. I have more projects in the works for teens and adults. Check my web site at http://www.jennifer-echols.com for the latest.

EI: Would you like to close the interview by telling your readers any writing tips for the young aspiring writers?

JE: Write every day. Make it a habit. Talking about writing and actually writing are not the same thing. Talking is easy and writing is hard. But it will get easier and lots more fun as you go!

To learn more about Jennifer Echols, please visit her at:
http://www.jennifer-echols.com/

UPDATE: With M. Apostolina - Hollywood Screenwriter, Producer, Director & Award Winning Author

EI: If you may recall that I've interviewed M. Apostolina last March. In that interview we discussed his latest book, Meri Sugarman Strikes Back, which is his latest installment in the 'Sugarman' series. Recently, M. Apostolina. had some additional comments to add about the French version of the book, which was released this May.

The French cover is hot and edgy with a sensual sophistication that will leave you wanting more. For those of you who speak French here's a message for you all: If you are going to France this summer don't forget to order your copy of "Comment Ja'i Bizout Meri Sugarman". It's a fun read to carry with you while waiting for your flight or at the Champs-Élysées area. It would be a great conversation starter in a foreign land. The classic ice breaker! This should be on the "Top 10" list of books to read while you travel in Paris this summer. Hey! Make some room in your carry-on.

M. Apostolina: The French Version of "Hazing Meri Sugarman" (Excerpts from M. Apostolina's myspace blog) Meri and Cindy are going to France! Yipee! "Hazing Meri Sugarman" has finally been translated into French, and it goes on sale in all French-speaking territories world-wide May, 2007. I'm so excited, even though there's no way in hell I'll ever be able to really read the book. Yes, I lived in Paris for nearly three years, but most of the people I hung out with were able to speak English, and in fact, when they
heard me try to speak French, they blurted out, "Stop! No! Please! I will speak English with you! Do not speak French!" LOL.

As a result, I only learned "Survival French," or truly IMPORTANT phrases, such as...

"Je voudrais une vodka martini avec une torsion de chaux, svp," which means, "I would like a vodka martini with a twist of lime, please," and...

"Où est le cendrier?" which means, "Where is the ashtray?" and the ever important...

"Oui, je voudrais aller! Je suis un invité merveilleux de partie! Y aura-t-il de l'alcool?" which means, "Yes, I would love to go! I am a terrific party guest! Will there be alcohol?"

I encourage everyone to memorize these phrases before going to France, or at least the third one.

If you have any friends who speak French, or live in France or Belgium, or anywhere where they speak French, please tell them about "Hazing Meri Sugarman." I would sooooooooo appreciate it. It's called "Comment Ja'i Bizout Meri Sugarman." I can't WAIT to hear what the French make of Meri, who is, after all, something of a Francophile. She j'adores fine French film, gourmet French food. . .and yes, she's a complete psychopath, but still! You can order "Comment Ja'i Bizout Meri Sugarman" for al your French friends from Amazon's French site HERE!

To learn more about M. Apostolina, please visit him at:
http://www.mapostolina.com
http://www.myspace.com/mapostolina

Simmone Howell - Australia's Award-Winning Short Story Writer & Screenwriter

Today’s YA interview is with Simmone Howell. She’s an award-winning short story writer and screenwriter in Australia. Her short film Pity24 was awarded the 2004 AWGIE for Short Film Screenplay.

Her fiction has been published in journals and anthologies in Australia, Canada and the UK. Notes from the Teenage Underground is the first novel of Ms. Howell and it is being develop into a feature film in Australia.

EI: Please tell us about your latest book Notes from the Teenage Underground and how did you come up with the title?

SH: NFTU is about three girls Gem, Lo and Mira who decide to make an underground movie and it wrecks their friendship. The book is written from Gem's perspective. She's on the losing end of the friendship triangle and needs to sort herself out. She does this through film and art and family. Along the way there is outsider girls, dodgy boys, crazy parents, wild parties, art happenings, great movies and bad poetry.

The title is a little homage to Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground. Gem is given a copy of it for her birthday but she has trouble reading it.

EI: What can we expect from your characters?

SH: Trouble! You won't like them all. You might learn some strange information from them. And a bit of Australian slang.

EI: Some authors after spending so much time creating their character they become an extension to their life. Is that how you feel about Gem and her best friends Lo & Mira, do you now think of them as part of your family?

SH: No. Maybe. I'm a bit sick of them to tell you the truth. I'm still trying to work Lo out!

EI: How much of Gem’s life is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with her or with any of your characters?

SH: I have a definite idea of where Gem goes after NFTU ends. I'm not sure if I will write it. I'd like but I've got a few things to get done first.

EI: Do you have any fascinating experiences while writing your book, or while researching for your novel?

SH: The most fascinating thing for me was the fact that even though I had studied creative writing, I still managed to forget all the rules. Writing is a bit like reconstructive surgery - you know, when you get a nose job they have to break it before they can make it beautiful ... so there was a lot of backwards and forwards for a long while before the book came together.

My favourite thing was reading all about Happenings and Art movements - and working out how to put my own peculiar film knowledge into a 17 year old girl's head.

EI: How long does it take you to write a book?

SH: NFTU took 4 years all up. But the last draft was written in a fabulous 2 month frenzy. I wager I could write a good book in a year if I didn't have anything else to do. Finding the balance between art and commerce is my main concern in life. I'd like to live in a tree house and just read and write and eat tinned tuna but then there's my family to consider...

EI: Why have you chosen to write in the genre in which you write?

SH: I like the teenage voice. I don't have to dig too deep to find it. I remember my own teen years a being a time of grand defiance but also awful, awful emotional turbulence. Maybe I am trying to rewrite my life (!!!!!!!!).

EI: What can fans look forward from you in the coming months?

SH: Nothing for a while. There is the possibility that NFTU will become a film, and I am working on another YA book at the moment that hopefully won't take as long. Oh - but I am the writer in residence at www.insideadog.com.au this month.

EI: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share?

SH: You will always have that doubt. I stil have that doubt. I think it comes with the territory. The important thing is the doing, not so much where it ends up. Most of my favourite writers were unknown and dissed and they just did it anyway because they had to.

EI: Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which one are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

SH: I am all about character. Plots kill me.I find the hardest part of writing is starting.

EI: Would you like to close the interview by telling your readers any writing tips for the young aspiring writers?

SH: Um ... write first, revise later - don't do it as you go or you'll never get past the first paragraph! Read lots. Read everything. Read Shakespeare and Jackie Collins. If you write at night, don't expect to be able to understand it in the morning. Night brain and morning brain are two very different beasts!

To learn more about Simmone Howell, please visit her at:
http://simmone.livejournal.com/
www.myspace.com/simmoneh

Susan Henderson - Author, Of 'Motörhead' & Recipient Of Academy Of American Poets

Today’s YA interview is with Susan Henderson. Her debut novel will be published by St. Martin's Press in Spring of '08. She is a Pushcart nominee, and has a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation.

Along with Stephen King, Dave Eggers, Kurt Vonnegut and over one hundred fifty writers, Ms. Henderson is a contributor to 'Future Dictionary of America'. A book that was conceived by Jonathan Safran Foer, Nicole Krauss, and the staff of McSweeney's to promote progressive causes in the November 2004 election.

E.I. What were you like as a teenager? Please tell your readers more about Susan Henderson-- the woman behind the author?

Susan Henderson: By the time I was a teenager, I had already been an alcoholic, a fire-starter, a pill popper, a hitchhiker, a bully, a forger, and a
runt. I was bused back to my own neighborhood for high school and separated from my peer group, and suddenly I found a much more stable side of me. My teenage years were pretty peaceful by comparison.

From the outside, I looked like this: I was athletic (crew, shotput, weight-lifting). My hair was long. I was kind of pretty but didn't wear make-up and didn't do anything with my hair except let it air-dry. I grew up in Virginia, just outside of DC, so I had a slight southern accent, which I've since lost. I was in the gifted program for English and all of my sciences, and was the poetry editor of the school magazine. My big passion was dancing and reading. I also took care of a little girl with a brain tumor every day, so that probably shaped me more than anything else.

I think I appeared to fit in well, and in many ways I did. But I always felt a little different. When I hung out with other kids and we got to talking, my conversations always went in a vastly different direction than theirs. I would feel the most alone whenever I was in a group. My closest friend was the janitor. He wrote poetry, and we'd stay after school and read his poems and listen to opera on a little tape recorder.

E.I. Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? What do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

Susan Henderson: I write because I love the quirky nuances of people. That's the stuff I care about and what comes easily to me. I'm trying so hard to teach myself how to plot better, and particularly, to plot first and not try to jam a plot under a near-finished piece of writing. A couple years ago, I spent several months reading nothing but bestsellers to try to see what it was that made people buy them, and that was a really useful way to spend my time. It makes me understand what my writing
was missing, and I plan to outline the plot of my next book before I get going with it – though my heart is with the characters, the quiet moments, and the words.

E.I. What is your response to the public perception that writers' creative insight and energy is frequently the product of personal conflict?

Susan Henderson: Hmm, I didn't know that was the public perception. I suppose we may gain our hyper sense of awareness from old wounds. On the other hand, my brother, who had more or less the same childhood I had, is a doctor and doesn't create art at all. And my mother, who is very much a creative type and extraordinarily perceptive and attentive to details, doesn't write – though I think she'd be good at it. Maybe it's a temperament thing? Maybe a combination?

E.I. Do you express your inner self in your writing, or do the personas you create exist only in your imagination?

Susan Henderson: I'm very much inside of my characters. Sometimes I'll push them to do something more daring than I would in real life, but I have an intimate understanding of their sensibilities.

E.I.What would you tell those authors considering applying to an M.F.A. program? In your opinion how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

Susan Henderson: I don't have an MFA in writing – my Master's is in counseling - so I can't say. I'm certain the more contacts you have in the business is a plus, so that alone may make it worth someone's while.

I strongly believe that reading good books is more than half of what makes you a good writer. It trains your ear. It opens your mind to the possibilities of words and adventures. And other than that, like any job, you just work at it. You write and write and write and write, and surround yourself with writers just above your caliber.

If putting yourself in an MFA program surrounds you with good books and good writers and opportunities to write, then it's all good. I've heard it said that writers tend to lose their natural voice and storytelling style in MFA programs, but I don't believe any of that can be lost permanently.

E.I. Do you let anyone read your manuscript,before you send it to your editor or agent?

Susan Henderson: I used to solicit A LOT of feedback from my writer friends. I think that's a good thing at a certain stage in your writing career. But
after a while, you start to know what works, and sometimes the tweaks other people make to your work don't have your voice in their head, so they disrupt the rhythm or the quirkiness of your thought process.

When I finished the novel I just sold to St. Martin's, I didn't share it with anyone. I just knew it was ready, and now, only my editor will give me feedback on it.

E.I. Was there anyone who really influenced you to become a writer?

Susan Henderson: I have my school papers saved all the way back to Kindergarten, and it's pretty clear I always thought of myself as a writer. The trick, I think, is that no one discouraged me along the way by telling me I sucked or that being a writer is unrealistic. I didn't get that kind of feedback until I'd already committed.

I stuck myself to anyone who believed in me – it's always been my one great instinct: seeking out people who make me a better person or think more of me than I think of myself. So there's a whole trail of teachers and friends and strangers who took me to this place. Also there was one book – "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by "http://www.mayaangelou.com/">Maya Angelou – that kind of turned my head in a significant way about the power of giving voice to your experience.

E.I. Let's shift gears... tell us about your book 'Motörhead' how did you come up with the title and idea?

Susan Henderson: Motorhead is actually just a short story, but it's probably going to be part of the new book I'm outlining. It's about a lot of things I
know well – first love, hiding aspects of yourself so people will continue to love you, feeling alone in a crowd, relating better to book characters than to real people. The title comes partially from the music setting for the story – there are lots of references to heavy metal and the band, Motorhead. The title also describes the way the main character's mind races – her head is full of books and melodramatic thoughts, and she is less skilled at being in the moment or communicating any of those thoughts. It was a fun story to write.

E.I. How much of Lucy's life is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with her or with any of your characters?

Susan Henderson: Stories come to me in lots of ways – often one scene at a time. Or, more maddeningly, a few words at a time. Sometimes I'll see the wallpaper and the knickknacks but no characters show up.

Lucy is a character that has my ear. When she pops up in my head, all I really need to do is grab a pen and keep up. Motorhead came to me in one big burst, and I like to read it that way, too, kind of breathless to match the speed of her thoughts.

E.I. Readers and fans often like to get behind an author's writing routine. Would you like to share with them your typical writing day schedule?

Susan Henderson: Ha! Well, I don't recommend anyone copying my "routine" because the only thing routine about it is how much I like to horse around and waste time.

Okay, my routine involves placing myself among creative types all day long. On any given day, I might interview authors, read galleys of books, critique stories, blog at "http://www.LitPark.com/">LitPark, play soccer or eat Indian food with musicians. In my experience, surrounding yourself with people who are passionate and creating art rubs off. My writing builds up and comes out in spurts. I might not write anything formal for weeks, and then in one 45 minute sitting, I've written a short story or a chapter of a book. Once a character claims me, I can't stop writing until I'm absolutely spent. It's like someone else is doing the writing and I'm just trying to writing it down fast enough so I don't lose it.

E.I. What can the readers look forward from you in the coming months?

Susan Henderson: Well, my big project is my novel, which will be published by St. Martin's Press in the spring of '08. My editor and I are doing final edits and trying to re-title it right now, and I'm also working with the artist Tommy Kane on the cover. When that's done, I'll spend the summer outlining the next book.

I have some work coming out in anthologies soon – one is a six-word memoir project with Harper Collins, and another is an essay about James Frey's impact on memoirist. I also filmed a reality TV show last March, and that may air this fall. I play a workaholic writer.

E.I. Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for_me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

Susan Henderson: My writing tip is to read. Read at least a book a month. Read authors who blow your work out of the water, and also read as many different types of genres as you can stand. The best writers I know read as much as they write.

To learn more about Susan Henderson, please visit her at:
Publishers Market: Publishers Market: Susan Henderson
Maya Angelou: http://www.mayaangelou.com/
LitPark: http://www.LitPark.com/
Tommy Kane: http://www.TommyKane.com

Tanya Lee Stone, Author Of Teen, Young Adult Fiction, Picture Books, & Children's Nonfiction.

Today’s YA interview is with Tanya Lee Stone, author of the teen and young adult fiction "A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl."

E.I. Welcome, and thank you for stopping by Ms. Stone. Please tell us more about Tanya Lee Stone -- the woman behind the author.

TLS: Well, let's see, what would you like to know? I've been a bookie (one who is addicted to books) since I was a kid. My mother is a retired librarian and my father is also a writer. After college, I took a job as an editor, which I adored--and I did that for 13 years. That's when we moved away from a publishing hub and I decided to try my hand as a writer.

E. I. Would you please tell your fans a little about your writing background and what it took to sell your first book?

TLS: I was an English major at Oberlin College and wrote a lot of mediocre papers. I learned the skill of revision during those years, which was only reinforced during my editorial years. I always wrote for myself--journaling, etc.--but when I started writing toward publication my revision skills really became paramount to honing my writing skills. My first sale is not a typical story. As an editor, I had been developing ideas for books, and hiring writers to write them, for several years. When I had to leave my job for our move, I asked the my publisher if he might consider letting me try to write one of the books I had developed. Happily, he said yes, and they were happy with my efforts.

E. I. Was your first book written before, or after you landed the book deal? Did you or your agent approach a publisher, or vice versa?

TLS: We tackled this in the previous question, so I will add some bigger picture information. I did not have an agent for many years, and published many books with multiple publishers on my own. This was in part because of how I entered the business. But as time went on, my work changed and I began to write fiction and more creative nonfiction. That was when I decided I needed an agent to help me navigate my changing career.

E. I. Do you let anyone read your manuscript, before you send it to your editor?

TLS: Yes. I have two or three trusted readers. We read for each other when asked. I highly, highly, highly recommend writers have some kind of support system--whether it's a critique group, or just one or two trusted readers. And by trusted, I mean people who are able to read with a critical eye and give constructive criticism kindly.

E. I. Is research one of your favorite parts of writing your book? Share with us some of your favorite "discoveries" --- of any kind --- when you were researching for one of your books.

TLS: I must confess--I absolutely love research. It's taken me so many places--the inside of a harbor seal tank (alongside with the seals), behind the scenes at a snowboard factory, and my all-time favorite--conducting interviews with the fascinating people I'm profiling. Right now I'm working on a book for readers 10 and up about the Mercury 13 women, who began astronaut training in 1961 until the plug was pulled on their program. I've been interviewing many of the women, as well as some of the researchers involved with the program at the time. And I'm about to fly out to a conference where 7 of these ladies will be meeting with me. That book, Almost Astronauts, will be out in 2009.

E.I. Please tell us about your latest book A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl and how did you come up with the title?

TLS: The title was the first thing that hit me. I was listening to a lecture and the speaker said two phrases within a minute of each other: "bad boys" and "good girls." Immediately, my brain put them together and I scrawled my title in my notebook, realizing I had a lot to say about what that title might mean. I started writing the book that afternoon.

E.I. What can we expect from your characters Josie, Nicolette and Aviva? How much of their life is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with them or with any of your characters?

TLS: I'm not planning on revisiting those characters in another book at this time. But in A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, you can expect that each of these girls will follow their paths to satisfying conclusions, and come out the wiser in the end. But expect plenty of bumps, hard choices, and steamy scenes along the way.

E. I. Can you tell your fans a little about your writing schedule, editing and revision process, and novel development etc.? How long does it take you to write a story?

TLS: Every book is different for me. Some come out slowly, revealing themselves in bits and pieces. Others come quickly. Bad Boy was a fast one for me; I think I wrote the whole thing in about 9 months.

In terms of my writing schedule, I write every day for varying amounts of time, but always between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm. Then again late at night, if something strikes me.

E.I. What are your favorite books? What qualities in them appeal to you?

TLS: The Basil and Josephine Stories is a book I revisit time and time again, mainly for the beauty of the writing. F. Scott Fitzgerald strings words together like pearls. Childhood favorites included A Wrinkle in Time and A Phantom Tollbooth because of the limitless possibilities they implied. I read constantly, different books for different reasons.

E.I. What can fans look forward to from you in the coming months?

TLS: Well, I had a biography of Amelia Earhart come out in January 2007. The paperback of A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl (with a new sexy cover) will be released on June 12, 2007--just around the corner! And in 2008, slated to come out are Elizabeth Leads the Way (about Elizabeth Cady Stanton) and a YA biography of Ella Fitzgerald.

E.I. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

TLS: Although it's cliche, it's important--read, read, read and write, write, write. There's no substitute! Also, don't think about product--meaning, publication--as you write. Think only of process, story, character. Worry about selling your work later. All that other stuff is too distracting to the creative process.

E.I. Ms. Stone, I appreciate your effort to fit me into your schedule. So great for you to do the interview. Thank you so much.

TLS: Thanks so much for having me, E.I.!

To learn more about Tanya Lee Stone, please visit her at:
www.tanyastone.com/http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=167888628

Melissa Walker Former Editor at Ellegirl Magazine Turned Freelance Writer & Novelist

Today’s YA interview is with Melissa Walker. She’s the author of soon to be released novel “Violet on the Runway” from Berkley Trade in September 2007.

E.I. Good Afternoon Ms. Walker, would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager with your readers? Tell us more about Melissa Walker -- the woman behind the author.

M. Walker: As a teenager, I think really wanted to be known—I was yearbook editor, on the tennis team, in school plays. I had a great group of friends, and yet I still felt unseen/unheard somehow. That said, I have great memories—and great friends, still—from high school. I’m still quite close with my high school boyfriend and his family, too!

E.I. Ms. Walker, how did you get started in publishing? Did you set your sites right after college?

M. Walker: I loved working on the yearbook in high school and the newspaper in college. In the summer between my junior and senior years of college, I applied for magazine internships in New York—I landed one at McCall’s, a women’s magazine. After college (and after a year waiting tables and working at a pop culture dot-com in London), I returned to New York and went back to work with the same editors I’d interned under at McCall’s, but now it was ROSIE, Rosie O’Donnell’s magazine.

E.I. Please tell your readers something about your experience as a Senior Editor at Ellegirl? What was the career path that lead you to the level of Senior Editor?

M. Walker: After a stint at ROSIE as Editorial Assistant and Assistant Editor, I got a job as an Associate Editor at ELLEgirl. There was a small staff, so I was writing, assigning stories and editing quite a bit. After a year, my boss realized I was doing a senior editor’s job, so she gave me the promotion.

E.I. After ELLEgirl, what made you decide to leave your Senior Editor position to become a freelance writer and a novelist?

M. Walker: ELLEgirl folded in April 2006, about a month after I got my book contract for three YA novels. It was a good timing for me—I was wondering how I was going to work full-time and do my books. Suddenly, I had no job, but I also didn’t have to make the decision to leave a place I loved, which made things easier.

E.I. Do you think that your experience as an editor helped you succeed as a writer?

M. Walker: Definitely. It’s been extremely valuable to me to be able to see writing and editing from both sides of the table. I know what writers love and hate, and I know what editors love and hate, more or less. It’s a delicate walk on both sides, I think.

E.I. Do you still write for periodicals? What are the do's and don'ts of writing for periodicals, and how does the discipline differ from writing novels?

M. Walker: I do. Most of my income is from magazine writing (books aren’t quite paying the rent yet). The disciplines are quite different. For one thing, with a magazine article, a deadline is a deadline—there’s no pushing it back. You also have to be much more concise with magazine stories. 1000 words means 1000 words, not 1200. I think magazine writing hones certain skills like making every sentence count—that helps in fiction, too.

Also, when I’m writing magazine stories, I’m working on non-fiction. These three books are the first foray into fiction I’ve made, and at first it was hard for me. I kept thinking, “How will I know what my characters say if I can’t interview them?” My boyfriend suggested I do just that, so I have a pre-interview with my main characters that I can go back to if I need to figure out how they’d react to a certain situation. It helps, because I’m really used to reporting more than imagining.

E.I Would you give your readers ideas on how you as editor work with writers?

M. Walker: As an editor, I’m very sympathetic to my writers. I know that sending out a pitch is tough—and I make sure none go unanswered. I also respect writers’ voices within a piece, but there are always edits to be made. I know it’s hard to get that revision note, but I also know that it’s a writer’s job to give the editor what he/she needs. There’s nothing I dislike more than a writer who can’t follow instructions on a revise—that’s part of the job! That said, someone who maybe turns in rough first drafts but is very flexible about revisions might get repeat assignments because they’re easy to work with.

E.I. Now... let’s shift gears and talk about your first soon-to-be-published novel “Violet on the Runway.” What inspired you to write this novel?


M. Walker: Honestly, I read a lot of YA books at ELLEgirl and I realized that the bestsellers all had this “glam” element to them, but they didn’t necessarily have the greatest underlying messages. When the goal of the book is to fit in with the rich/snobby girls, that doesn’t equal a happy ending for me. I wanted to write a book that had a touch of glamour and a strong main character who could come to some helpful, hopeful realizations about what real friendship is.

E.I. Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced to publish your first book? What surprised you most about the publishing process from the writer's perspective?


M. Walker: My main challenge was having to write some of the book before I was sure it would be sold. I’ve been writing on assignment—with guaranteed pay—for so long in the magazine world that I had trouble finding time for something that wasn’t a sure thing. In the end, though, I wrote two chapters of VIOLET ON THE RUNWAY over two months, and I showed them to an editor who had expressed interest in the idea. She called and offered a two-book deal. That’s when I knew I needed an agent! So I got one before I signed and we shopped the book around, got another offer, and ended up going with the original publisher (Penguin’s Berkley/JAM) for a better deal and three books.

E.I. How has actually writing your first book changed the way you look at writing?

M. Walker: With magazines, 1000 words is a semi-long feature. When I’m on deadline for my books, I write 1000 words a day, minimum. I’m a lot less of a perfectionist with my writing now—when you have to get 1000 words on paper, you can’t agonize over a paragraph the way you can with a magazine article. I definitely think working on the book has helped my magazine story first drafts come a lot quicker.

E.I. What do you like most about your writing? Do you consider having your book adapted to film in mind?

M. Walker: What I like most is writing details that make people become three-dimensional. I think every author dreams of having their book turned into a film, and I’m no different. It’s a long shot, but I’d love it, of course!

E.I. If you were allowed total control of a Hollywood adaptation of 'Violet on the Runway', what actors would you cast? And who would you want to direct?

M. walker: Ooh, tough question. Honestly, I’d like Violet to be an unknown—someone who’s new to Hollywood. In terms of directors, I’m really not sure, but I wouldn’t mind if Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator-writer of Gilmore Girls, wanted to pick up the rights.

E.I. What was your inspiration for the book? Are any of the characters in the story actually based on real people in your life?

M. Walker: My inspiration was working at ELLEgirl and interviewing models, seeing that world and all its quirks. As far as the real personalities go, though, I think each character is an amalgam of people I know. And yes, Violet and I share a lot of opinions on things, and I did work at a movie theater in high school (those theater-worker characters may be lightly based on some people I know… you couldn’t make them up!).

E.I. Do you have any interesting experiences while writing, or researching the book?

M. Walker: I did spend 24 hours in a male model apartment(http://www.melissacwalker.com/media/ellegirl-male-models.jpg), which was fun. I actually pictured their apartment when I described Violet’s, bunk beds and all!

E.I. What is a typical work day schedule when you are in full writing mode? Would you tell us a little about your process for editing, revising, and novel development? How long did it take you to write ‘Violet on the Runway’ including the time it took to research the book?

M. Walker: When I’m in the thick of things, here’s how it goes: Get up, eat, go to the gym (this ensures that I get dressed and have at least a teensy bit of human contact). When I come home, I shower, put on something comfortable and climb into the overstuffed chair in my bay window. I sit there and write until I have 1000 words. No lunch until I reach 1000. Then lunch, and after lunch is all magazine work—writing articles, pitching new stories, reporting. I really try to divide my day sharply like that because the mediums are so different.

E.I. What is the premise of ‘Violet on the Runway’, which I understand is to be published by Berkley Trade in September 2007?

M. Walker: I’ll start with the tagline: A wallflower in the spotlight can do two things: wilt—or blossom…

A self-described mousy geek with stringy brown hair and glasses resting on her bigger-than-Minnie Mouse ears, 6’1” Violet Greenfield has two goals for her senior year at Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina: To make it through the next nine months with as little humiliation as possible and to not get any taller. But when a modeling scout from New York City approaches her at her movie-theater job and offers her a plane ticket on the spot, Violet’s world is shaken. A first-class makeover—complete with hair, makeup and photo shoot—turns Violet into something more than pretty. She becomes Tryst Models’ new It Girl. As she books runway shows and faces her own image in magazines—an image she barely recognizes—her life explodes in ways she never could have imagined.

E.I. Please tell us about ‘Violet Greenfield’ and ‘Angela Blythe.' What was your biggest challenge in developing these characters?

M. Walker: Violet is the average, insecure 17-year-old who really hopes college will be better than high school. She has her two best friends, Julie and Roger, but she feels like her life is nothing special. Until she meets Angela.

Angela Blythe is a top agent at Tryst Models. When she sees something she wants (like Violet), she goes after it, barreling through any “no”s that might stand in her way. Violet learns from Angela’s ruthless behavior, but will she be able to stand up to her intimidating agent when it really matters?

Both characters are incredibly strong, but Violet has an inner strength, whereas Angela’s is a more raw, overt power. My biggest challenge in developing Violet was to let her grow into some sense of self-esteem without completely losing her appealing soft nature and vulnerability. With Angela, I wanted to write a funny, tough character, but I didn’t want her to be one-note—and I wanted her to be slightly sympathetic as well.

E.I. How did you develop these characters? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

M. Walker: Violet I knew inside and out—I’d been thinking about her as a character for a while, probably since I was in high school myself. Angela came quickly as the book evolved—I know a lot of people like her who work in the fashion industry, so I could practically hear her voice and the way she yelled. I knew instantly what she would say or how she would react to certain situations.

E.I. What's up next? Is there another book in the works? What can you tell us about it?

M. Walker: The second book in the VIOLET series is called VIOLET BY DESIGN, and it’ll be out in the spring. In this book, Violet heeds the siren song of modeling once again and travels to Brazil and around Europe to do fashion shows. She battles pressure to lose weight as well as the expectations of new fans (and Angela) as she soars into the spotlight. And she also learns of a secret love that her best friend Roger has been harboring for years…

E.I. Ms. Walker, thank you so much for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to work with you. Would you like to close the interview with a writing tip for young aspiring authors.

M. Walker: Read, read, read. Read as many books as you can. You’ll develop an ear that will serve you as a writer.

To learn more about Melissa Walker please visit her at:
www.melissacwalker.com/about.html
www.melissacwalker.com/writing.html
www.myspace.com/melissacwalker