Interview with Lisa Yee

Lisa Yee.com

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 became a book-a-holic at a very young age. But I would say I was about ten-years old when I knew I wanted to be an author. I didn’t tell anyone my goal because I thought I’d get laughed at. Instead I read a lot and wrote stories in secret.

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

I took the back road to publishing although I was a professional writer for years. I had oodles of writing jobs, including advertising copywriter, and journalist, television writer/producer. I wrote Red Lobster menus, a tour of Walt Disney World for the blind, and was a speechwriter-- penning just about everything but books.

When I was featured in the Wall Street Journal as a career obsessed woman, it made me stop and reflect on what I had become. I realized that the dream I had as a kid to be an author was still my goal. So, while still working fulltime, I began writing a novel. Eventually, it was pulled out of the slush pile (that’s the place where you send your books if you don’t have an agent) by Arthur Levine, the editor of the HARRY POTTER series. The story wasn’t very good, but Arthur liked my writing “voice.” So he asked for more.

Six years later (yes, it took me that long to write it!) we published MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS, my first novel. That was in 2003. By the end of this year I will have six novels out.

Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release.

ABSOLUTELY MAYBE is a Young Adult book, so the subject matter is much edgier than my other books like MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS. (Edgier—doesn’t that word look weird?)

Anyway, the novel features the goth-ish daughter of an ex-beauty queen. Maybelline a.k.a. Maybe (she was named after her mother’s favorite mascara) is betrayed by her mom, so she runs away from Florida to Hollywood with her two best friends. She is determined to find the father who doesn’t even know she exits. What Maybe discovers along the way is an aging movie star, a taco truck, a Rolls Royce and her place in the world.

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?

ABSOLUTELY MAYBE is hilarious and heartbreaking. Oops. That was two things wasn’t it?

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

The inspiration for each book is different. I always have a particular reader in mind when I am writing. For ABSOLUTELY MAYBE, it was my daughter who’s seventeen. For an upcoming chapter book series I have, the reader is my son, as he was when he was a fourth grader.

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

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My parents were teachers and I have a brother who now lives in New York. I’m married to someone tall and have a 6^th grade son who wants to be an astrophysicist and a daughter who’s a junior in high school. She would make a great editor.

I think my biggest fan is my mom, though that’s debatable. When my first book came out, my dad carried a photo of it in his wallet.

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

When I’m on a deadline I like to eat Tom’s Jalapeno Potato Chips and wash them down with Diet Pepsi on the rocks. Chocolate is good, too. I have a cigar box on my desk where I stash my supply. Recently, my son came in, pointed to it and said, “You think I don’t know where you hide your candy?”

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

1) Pretend I am awake.

2) Wonder what day it is.

3) Wash my face, then brush my teeth.

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

If you peered into my closet, you’d probably wonder why I have so many black tee-shirts. I really don’t know the answer to that, so if you can figure it out, please let me know!

If you came to my house six years ago, you would have found over 8,000 Winnie-the-Poohs. They now reside in the Pooh Museum in White River, Canada.

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?

I’d be a burnt orange, you know a sort of cinnamon-y-ish. It’s warm and comforting, plus it goes with my house.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Calvin from CALVIN AND HOBBS. That comic strip was brilliant. I was so sad when it ended. Oh wait, does that count? Do comics count as cartoon characters? Please say they do.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Oooh, that’s a hard question. I guess Belle from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST because I’m reading all the time and I had to teach my husband table manners.

Just kidding about that manners part! (I had to add that because my husband may read this.)

Um, are Disney films considered cartoons? The last two questions sort of threw me.

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’d like to beamed 50 years into the future and check on my kids, who will be older than I am now! That way I could see my grandkids and see what everyone’s been up to.

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

At this very moment I’m listening to Boz Scaggs singing “You’re All Alone.” I love Rufus Wainwright, Five for Fighting and Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah.”

When I write I listen to sad songs so that I don’t get too carried away and bouncy. I also have a playlist called “No Words.” It’s classical stuff, plus songs in languages that I can’t understand.

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?

Current favorites include THE OFFICE and THE LATE LATE SHOW with Craig Ferguson. I own the DVDs of MY SO-CALLED LIFE and FREAKS AND GEEKS. I’ve seen ANNIE HALL numerous times, and I love ELF and THE GODFATHER, though for entirely different reasons. The last movie I saw was the SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. I’ll probably see it again.

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

It’s okay to mess up. Just don’t make it a habit. Oh, and if you want to dye your hair a weird color, go ahead--but do it on a Friday so you have the weekend to get used to it. (In ABSOLUTELY MAYBE, Maybe is always coloring her hair with Kool-Aid.)

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

I have a chapter book series coming out in the fall. The first book is called BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY). It’s illustrated by my friend Dan Santat--he has a Disney cartoon series called THE REPLACEMENTS.

I’m also working on a sequel to the MILLICENT MIN books. It’s about Marley, a Star Trek geek who appeared briefly in STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME.

I have a bright yellow stuffed animal Peep named Peepy who travels with me. She’s been bugging me to write her biography, but just between you and me, I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.

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

Thanks for letting me hang out with TeensReadToo!!!!