When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
I didn’t really know it until I was 19 and in-between transferring colleges. That’s when I said, “I want to write a novel,” and I did. It was a 600-page historical romance, a take-off on GONE WITH THE WIND. It never sold, but it made me realize “I am a writer.” When I look back, though, I was always reading and writing. I loved books and probably ordered more from the Scholastic Book Club than any classmates in grade school. I wrote a lot of stories (which my mom is constantly digging out of boxes in the basement and calling to tell me about), and I even completed three books in fifth grade: one is a Nancy Drew-type mystery, the second is a children’s story about two monsters who live in Monsterville, and the third features two neighborhood friends who solve crimes. So I figure I was destined to be a novelist, no matter that it would’ve been a lot easier to do something else!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It wasn’t quick, that’s for sure. After I graduated from the University of Kansas with a Journalism degree (my major was public relations), I made a conscious decision to take part-time jobs that allowed me time to write. Not something that thrilled my father, I must admit! I wrote one manuscript a year post-college, and I signed with various agents along the way. My work always garnered inspiring rejection letters, and I keeping feeling like I was thisclose to a sale. But it wasn’t until my eleventh manuscript, a dark mystery called AND THEN SHE WAS GONE, that I finally reached my goal of being traditionally published. The novel had been a finalist in the St. Martin’s Malice Domestic contest (though it was hardly a cozy mystery) and had won the National Writers Association’s Best Novel contest. So I entered it in a contest sponsored by a small Illinois press, with the prize being publication, and it won. That got my foot in the door. I worked my butt off publicizing it and its successor, OVERKILL, and I networked like crazy. That resulted in my signing with a New York agent who’d had some big successes with mystery authors, and she sold my first Debutante Dropout Mystery, BLUE BLOOD, to HarperCollins in a three-book deal. I wasn’t on the same page as that particular agent, so I signed with my current agent who negotiated my second contract with Avon, and then my deals with Random House for THE DEBS series. And I’ve recently signed with HarperCollins again to do a women’s fiction book. I like to tell people that my “overnight success” only took, like, twenty years!
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
Random House is calling THE DEBS “Gossip Girl on mint juleps,” though I think of it more as “Southern girls who kick butt.” On the surface, THE DEBS is about four very privileged Houston prep school seniors who vie for a coveted spot on the Glass Slipper Club’s debutante list; but underneath the sugar-coating of couture clothing and country club living are four very unique girls who are trying hard to find their paths in life. Their lives may look perfect, but they aren’t. How they deal with that creates a lot of interesting storylines. LOVE, LIES, AND TEXAS DIPS will follow in June of 2009, and that one’s even more wildly fun, as the characters get more invested in debuting and the stakes get higher.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My inspiration comes from everywhere: from my own life, from things I see or read, from what I imagine. So I can’t pin down any one thing. As my husband puts it, I have a “crazy brain.” It’s just the way I’m wired, and I never stop thinking about writing stories.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My family is basically insane, which is likely why I turned out to be a novelist. If I didn’t have that outlet, I’d be in therapy. My mom’s great, and I consider her my biggest cheerleader. We moved around a lot when I was a kid (my dad worked for IBM, which back then we called “I’ve Been Moved”), and my mom was everyone’s rock. She still is. My dad is a very straight-arrow guy who worked hard his whole life but isn’t creative (except with his golf game!). So he has no clue how I do what I do. My dad did tell me something I’ll never forget. While he read TOO PRETTY TO DIE, one of my mysteries, he had tears running down his face because he was so proud of me. That’s very cool. My husband, Ed, and his mom show up at most all my events. It’s nice having two families who just beam every time a new book of mine shows up in stores.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Oh, man, that’s a tough one. I’ll have to say a grilled cheese sandwich. I know, I know, that sounds so boring. But it reminds me of when I was a kid, and my mom would fix grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and I thought that was the best lunch ever.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
My brain instantly clicks on and starts thinking about whatever book I’m working on, and I usually have to run to the computer and turn it on. I’ll jot down notes first and then check emails. After that, it’s cat-feeding and litter-box cleaning. Yes, just another example of how glamorous an author’s life is!
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?
That I’m obsessively neat? Everything’s pretty well organized, and whatever isn’t probably belongs to my husband. My brain is so chaotic with thoughts and ideas that I like things around me to be in their place. Although perhaps a better answer is you’d be surprised that I have good taste. I love decorating, and it’s been really fun re-doing this house we bought two years ago. Oh, wait, did you think I’d say the skeletons in the closet would surprise you? Okay, those, too.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Can I be two colors? Some days I’m gray, like when it’s storming out. I’m such a gray-day kind of girl. I go into the writing zone so much better when it’s raining. Other days, I’m a fiery red or maybe a softer pink. Er, that’s three colors. I always was an overachiever.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Smurfette.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
The Road Runner. I’m always zipping around everywhere, not even thinking that an Acme anvil might fall on my head. It’s not a bad way to be.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?
I’m not good without electricity or plumbing, so it would probably have to be sometime in the modern age. How about the 1930s before the Great Depression when Hollywood was still so glamorous and Deco design reigned? That was a cool time, although it certainly didn’t last very long.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
My all-time favorite band is Def Leppard. I’ve seen them in concert three times (wish it had been more), and I worship Joe Elliott. I also like classical music and will never forget seeing Yo-Yo Ma in concert. The look of passion on his face as he played made me think of how I feel when I’m writing like a maniac. I listen to a mix of old rock, contemporary music, some country, and classical. But never while I’m writing. It’s too distracting. My brain wants to listen to the music instead of the words in my head.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?
I’m a reality show junkie these days and hooked on HGTV. Though I try to catch “Medium,” because all that psychic stuff intrigues me, and Ed and I are both “Lost” junkies. The last movies we saw were “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets” and the Stargate SG-1 flick, “Continuum.” Did I mention Ed introduced me to SG-1, and now I’m addicted? I could watch all of the Harry Potter movies over and over and never get bored.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Just one? I’m so not good at being brief! Be yourselves and don’t feel like you have to follow anyone else’s path. If I’d listened to the naysayers who said, “You’ll never get published,” I wouldn’t be where I am now, living my dream and loving every minute of my life. Never give up. Whatever you want to do, you can do. Sometimes persistence and determination are the defining characteristics in whether you’ll succeed or not. Believe in yourself. Every now and then, you might feel like you’re the only one who does. That’s okay. Play fair even when others don’t. And they won’t…a lot. And read as much as you can in as many genres as you can. Keep your mind open to new possibilities. I feel really sorry for close-minded people. I can’t imagine they enjoy life much when their heads feel so stuffy.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
After THE DEBS is out on August 26, I’ve got LOVE, LIES, AND TEXAS DIPS coming out in June of 2009. And I’ve just signed with Random House for two more in the series, so I’ve got another due by early next year. Plus, I’ve also signed with HarperCollins (who published my mysteries) to write a juicy beach book geared toward women. Kind of like a grown-up DEBS, I guess! So I’ll be busy the next ten months. Very busy.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at http://www.teensreadtoo.com/!
Thank you, Jen! It’s been a pleasure.
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