Interview with Joy Preble

www.joypreble.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?

Oh, good question! The very first time I knew I wanted to write was in second grade. I wrote a Thanksgiving play and begged my teacher to let me and three friends perform it. It was a ridiculous little play about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock and being concerned about washing their clothes and finding food – in that order. I played “Julie” – certainly a very popular Pilgrim name.

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

It’s been a crazy and amazing journey, actually. I’ve written on and off since that Thanksgiving play when I was seven – and published in newspapers and magazines, tried my hand at some not so wonderful picture books. But Dreaming Anastasia is actually the very first novel I ever wrote. Finished it in fall of 2005. I’d joined SCBWI by then, had started going to conferences, was part of a critique group. I’d pitched the book to some editors from an Editor’s Day, and to one agent and it had been rejected, all with just the standard rejection letter. The agent, though, wrote a personal note – actually a sentence. But it was an encouraging sentence! I re-grouped and on Super Bowl Sunday in February, 2006, during half time, while everyone else was downstairs eating hot wings, I went up to my office and queried four agents. One never responded. One rejected me before half time was over! And the other two eventually asked to see partials and then fulls. By May I was doing revisions for Michelle Andelman at ABLA. The revision process was a lengthy one for me. I often tell people that other than research papers, I’d never written anything longer than 750-1000 words and it’s the truth. So I will always be profoundly grateful for being pulled out of the slush pile that way, which is essentially what happened. We began subbing the book around March, 2007, and in August of that year, Dreaming Anastasia – at that time titled Spark – sold to Lyron Bennett at Sourcebooks. And now it will be on the shelves in 2009. So it’s a long journey and in the midst of it, my agent went on to other areas of publishing and I have since re-agented with the fabulous and brilliant Jen Rofe, also of ABLA. I constantly tell her – and myself – how lucky I am that all this happened and that I am where I am today.

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?

There’s a lot I’d like to say but if I could say only one thing about Dreaming Anastasia it would be that readers get three narrative voices, one very swoon-worthy love interest, a main character who finds out she’s got the power to change history, a real- life princess, a pretty scary witch, a very determined bad guy, and the wackiness that ensues when they all collide.

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

I don’t have any one inspiration for my stories. Dreaming Anastasia comes from my love of fantasy stories, fairy tales, and Russian history. I do come from a family – on both sides – with very strong, determined women who have always inspired me to never give up, and I wanted a story with a main character who was an amazing, strong female and I wanted to be able to throw her all sorts of curves to see how she’d react.

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

I’m married to my college sweetheart, and we definitely had a “cute meet” because I first met him when we were both on the same coed volleyball team and I executed a powerhouse serve – right into his stomach. It was the literal knock him off his feet! We have one son who is now 22 and graduated from Arizona State and lives and works in Phoenix . Other than that, I’ve got lots of cousins and a huge and wonderful posse of close friends who are like family to me.

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

I am trying hard to comfort myself with things other than food, but I’d have to say breakfast food: Waffles, really crispy hash browns, eggs, toast. It’s all good and soothing. I’m a huge fan of breakfast for dinner. Also, because I grew up in Chicago, a Chicago style hot dog from a place called Superdawg (go online and look at their website; the place is awesome!) will always do the trick. It comes in this box with crinkle cut French fries and there’s a picture of a hot dog guy wearing a Tarzan outfit on the box…

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

First I hit the snooze alarm. Then I hit it again. On the third ring, I finally drag my lazy self out of bed.

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

Well, I’m a fairly what you see is what you get kind of girl, so I don’t know that there would be that many surprises, other than how little closet space my husband has. I’m pretty bad about the whole over flow thing. Shoes… shoes…

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?

Brown. My last name before I got married was Brown. But even without that, I’ve always loved that color. It’s rich and dark, but a change from black, and it never fails to make me think of fall, which is the one season I really miss now that we live in Texas . Not that we don’t have fall here, but we don’t have that dramatic turn of color, that icy smell in the air.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Stewie on Family Guy is a definite favorite because he’s just so funny and irreverent and the whole ‘he’s still a toddler, really’ thing just makes me laugh. I’m also a fan of Thelma from Scooby Doo, because I’m a smart girl, just like her! Okay, maybe I’m not as smart as Thelma. But I’d like to be.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Cool question! I guess Underdog comes to mind first. I have always very much been an underdog – the girl everyone underestimated or didn’t think would quite make it in the way I always dreamed I would. Keeping your dreams when people don’t always think of you in the way you see yourself is an art form, that’s for sure. I have learned to believe in myself 100% because if I don’t, why should anyone else? So Underdog, I get you, dog! Really.

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 love to pop over the NYC during the end of the 19th century Edith Wharton times and see what it was really like, especially in the upper classes of NY. If I couldn’t do that, I’d like to spend a week in the Wild West. But only if I could bring my flat iron and shampoo.

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

I don’t typically listen to music while I’m writing, but I “binge” on certain songs and certain albums depending on which character or which book I’m working on. I’ve got a character named Andy Meyers in a book I’m hoping you will eventually see, called Cut Back, and musically, he was the product of lots of country music – Keith Urban and Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney and Trace Adkins, plus a healthy dose of Kid Rock’s Rock and Roll Jesus album and a touch of Godsmack’s Running Blind. Anne Michaelson in Dreaming Anastasia seemed to require a lot of Michelle Branch and a bit of old school Joan Jett, among others. As for what I listen to – it’s all over the charts. Everything from Metallica, AC DC and Bon Jovi, to Nickleback, Dave Matthews, and the aforementioned Kid Rock to more girlie stuff like Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson, Liz Phair, Norah Jones, and even classical, like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Oh and Mellencamp. Gotta love Mellencamp.

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 Joss Whedon girl – Buffy – particularly the first three seasons - Angel, Firefly. Currently, I also love Gossip Girl and I’m also a fan of the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch and Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker, which just sucks me in for some reason. As for movies, I’m a sap for sports movies like Rudy or Remember the Titans, the entire 80’s Molly Ringwald Collection (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink), and anything where James Spader played a rich bad boy, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched Legally Blonde and American President. It’s a lot. I’ve pretty much memorized Monty Python and the Holy Grail and most Mel Brook movies. Plus if it’s got Robert Downey, Jr. or Hugh Jackman (oh, Van Helsing…), I’m there. I’ve also seen every possible vampire movie ever made. I will not start a blog brawl by picking my favorite. The last movie I saw in the theater was a little indie film called Sunshine Cleaning, with Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. It was amazing – touching and funny and even profound.

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

Be brave. Be yourself. Do things that scare you. Not bad stuff, although I think sometimes we need a little dose of that, but challenges. Writing for publication scares the pee out of me, but it’s been the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re too young or too old to do whatever your passion may be. I think it’s amazing that I have met phenomenal writers in YA who are in their 20’s and equally phenomenal writers who are much older. It’s about the craft, not your age, and I think that applies to almost everything. And don’t be afraid to be alone once in a while. Sometimes I need to get a little lonely and a little bored to recharge my mental engines. Dream big! And when you creep over thirty, remove spandex mini- dresses from your wardrobe. I’m just saying…

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

Well, I planned Dreaming Anastasia as a trilogy, so if you all like it and buy enough copies, then I hope to be able to let you know what happens to Anne and Ethan and everyone else. More romance! More magic! More crazy Russian folklore creatures! The second book includes rusalkas, which are malevolent Russian mermaids. Lots of spooky fun. Beyond the Dreaming Anastasia series, I’ve finished Cut Back, which is my twist on Texas high school football and is a story of love, faith, football and the restorative powers of a plate of hash browns, and I’m almost done with Sweet Dreams, which is a frothy and fun love story with a serious center, about baker’s daughter KC Sweet, her parents’ separation, and her adventures in love as she’s torn between two very different guys. Plus pastry. Lots of it.