Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith

www.cynthialeitichsmith.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?

A writer? I was writing by second grade. I distinctly remember my short story about going crawdad fishing being read over the school sound system—my first audio deal.

I went on to write poetry for district competitions were I was awarded white participation ribbons. By sixth grade, though, I had my own column in Mr. Rideout’s class newsletter—“Dear Gabby, giving advice to the troubled and lovelorn.

I went on to become editor of my junior high and high school newspapers and later majored in news/editorial and public relations at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. I continued onto law school at The University of Michigan, and it was there that, after a break during college, I began diving into children’s books and comics again.

After graduation, I took a job in the law office of the Department of Health and Human Services, and I enjoyed it. But the writing life called, and so in my late twenties, I quit my day job to write full time for young readers.

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

I dived into the field with great enthusiasm.

Back then, there wasn’t much readily available information on the Internet. I remember going to my local bookstore and sitting down in front of the shelves of writer resource books. I bought as many as I could afford. Or perhaps a few more than that. I went through the Children’s Writers Illustrators Market with a highlighter. So, I did begin trying to make some progress on the industry learning curve as soon as possible.

But most of my attention went to craft, especially reading. I was studying a novel and often a handful of picture books a day. I joined SCBWI and found a critique group. I wrote every day.

Two and a half years later, I sold my debut picture book, Jingle Dancer, and signed with Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown.

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?

My latest novel is Eternal (Candlewick, 2009). It’s a companion to Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007), and the casts of both books will crossover in Blessed, which I’m working on now.

Eternal is a story about true love and second chances—who doesn’t want those?

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

Actually, when it comes to inspiration, “where” is probably the most accurate question. I’m a sense-of-place writer, and it’s no accident that all of my stories are set in places that I’ve lived or spent a lot of quality time.

Eternal, for example, is set partly in Austin, where I live now, partly in Dallas, where I’ve lived previously, and partly in Chicago, where I spent my first few years after graduating from law school. When I had a fairly solid draft, I went back to the Windy City in February to really get a feel for the cold again and to see each of the setting locales through the eyes of my characters.

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

Whole wheat mac-and-chese with spicy ground turkey.

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?

Green, which is interesting. When I was a teen I would’ve said red. But I think that living in sunny, eco Austin is having a calming, grounding influence on me.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Snoopy because he’s a writer.

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?

Honestly, I’m happy here and now. As a mixed blood Native woman, I would probably have to go back to Pre-Columbian times to find another era in which who I was wouldn’t be held against me. And really, I’m a big fan of air conditioning and indoor plumbing.

Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

I used to write to music that went to the mood I was trying to evoke. But now, I just go for something that works as background noise.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again?

My favorite current T.V. shows are “Heroes,” “Monk,” and “Bones.” But I’m also a huge “Buffy” fan. Fave movies include “My Cousin Vinnie,” “Xanadu,” “My Fair Lady,” “Ghost Busters,” “Kate & Leopold,” among others.

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

Don’t lose yourself in another person. Everyone loves love, but don’t forget to love and honor yourself, too. It’s okay to choose to stand strong on your own.

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

I have a couple of short stories coming out this summer—“Cat Calls,” which will appear in Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists, and Other Matters Odd and Magical, edited by Deborah Noyes (Candlewick, 2009) and “The Wrath of Dawn,” co-authored by Greg Leitich Smith, which will appear in Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (Little, Brown, 2009).

On the book front, I’m working hard on Blessed, which will feature the casts of Tantalize and Eternal as well as Tantalize: Kieren’s Story, a graphic novel adaptation of the novel from the point of view of the werewolf hero.

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

Thank you!