Interview with Debbie Reed Fischer

First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.


Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing stories in second grade. I had just moved from England to the United States and wasn’t too keen on my new school, so I stayed in the back row and wrote stories instead of paying attention to my teacher. When she realized what was going on, she made a deal with me: if I focused on the lessons, then she’d let me read my stories to the class at the end of the day. That started a pattern of writing and performing that I continued with throughout school and college.

Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

In college, I majored in screenwriting, so I always thought I’d write for film and TV. Instead, I wound up on the business end of the film industry as an agent, booking actors and models in everything from major motion pictures to German clothing catalogues. It provided great inspiration for my book BRALESS IN WONDERLAND, but after a few years, I wanted more tiime to write, so I went back to college and became an English teacher. I loved it, but I had even less time to write with all the papers I was grading. After I had my kids, I quit teaching and poured all my energy into my family and my writing. I met my agent at a writers’ conference, and we started corresponding. He liked my first manuscript, SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS, and signed me. I wrote my second book, BRALESS IN WONDERLAND, while waiting for SHARKS to sell.

Tell us a little bit about either your latest release.

BRALESS IN WONDERLAND (Dutton) is centered on Allee, a feminist-minded, small town-town girl who gets discovered by modeling scouts at her local mall and whisked away to Miami to model. She thinks models are shallow and brainless, but since it’s her only hope at getting the extra money she needs for college, it’s an opportunity she can’t refuse. By the book’s end, many of Allee’s beliefs are turned on their head. Like Alice in Wonderland, BRALESS IN WONDERLAND is a crazy adventure full of transformation and self-discovery, with a lot of glamour and fun along the way.

SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS (Flux) comes out in September. The main character is Peyton, who has finally earned a coveted spot on the varsity cheerleading squad. For her, it’s the end of standing on the social sidelines and the beginning of being in the Alpha Clique. The problems start when Lexie, the charismatic and powerful squad captain, orders Peyton and her team mates to drive another girl off the squad by bullying her. As the cruel hazing spirals out of control, Peyton is torn by her conscience, yet seduced by the chance to have everything she wants.

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?

BRALESS IN WONDERLAND gives you the real inside scoop about the modeling business. It’s fiction, but inspired by my experiences in the industry. Plus, people tell me it’s pretty funny. J I really tried to get inside the mind of a new model, her insecurities, her struggles to get work, her learning curve to know angles and get the shot right. Unlike what happens on a TV show, Allee’s transformation doesn’t happen overnight; it’s gradual. Big changes take time, on the inside as well as the outside.

SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS will hopefully make you think about what you would do if you were in Peyton’s situation. We all think we’ll take the high road when faced with a moral dilemma, but sometimes it’s not that easy.

What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

So far, a lot of my inspiration has come from family members, kids I grew up with, students I’ve had, and teen models I’ve represented. I draw inspiration from everyone, really. I saw a lady in the doctor’s office the other day and decided to make her a character in my current manuscript.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

My dad is a retired Air Force pilot from Boston, my mom is a Cuban-Jewish lady with a jewelry business, and I have two older brothers. My whole family has been very supportive. We are all very different, but respect each other’s differences, which is great.


Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

SweetTarts.


What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

Coffee, email, make breakfast for my kids.

If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

The mess. I hide everything in the closet. Baskets of laundry, unfinished manuscripts, bags of clothes to return to TJ Maxx, scattered photos, magazines, you name it.

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?

Turquoise. It’s blue, but better.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Wonder Woman. Except if I could rewrite Wonder Woman, she’d have kids, a packed calendar and to-do list, and a thicker waist. Or I’d make her a teen with a part-time job, 5 hours of homework every night and extra-curriculars. She’d still have the bullet-bouncing bracelets and gold head band, though. Wonder Woman had fabulous jewelry.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Road Runner. I’m always in a hurry.

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?

Ancient Troy. I visited Mycenae as a teen and I’ve been obsessed with The Iliad and The Trojan War ever since.

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

Music is really important. If I’m writing an angry character, I listen to Disturbed, Bjork, Green Day, some old Black Sabbath and ACDC . For a character in love, it’s Sia, Nikka Costa, The Weepies, Rufus Wainwright. If I’m writing a party scene, I like techno music or hip hop.

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?

Indie and foreign films are my faves, but I also love chick flicks and great big stupid comedies. Pan’s Labyrinth, Juno, This is Spinal Tap, Black book, Sordid Lives, Farewell my Concubine, Tristan & Isolde, Saved, Thirteen, Night on Earth, Election, to name a few


You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Don’t try to copy anyone else’s style. Enjoy finding your own voice. Just write what YOU like to write and stick to what blows your skirt up.

One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

Good ones, hopefully. Funny, smart stories with lots of surprises and lots of heart.

Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!