Interview with Sydney Salter

www.sydneysalter.com

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 can’t remember not wanting to write, but for a long time I kept it secret. I feared failing to achieve my dream so much that I didn’t even dare to write fiction. I did start keeping a daily diary and that helped me develop my writing voice.

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

I finally got the courage to attempt my first novel when my youngest daughter started preschool. I worked very efficiently for those 2 ½ hours a day! While I submitted that manuscript, I started writing another and another. I also wrote short stories for magazines. And, oh, did I collect an astonishing number of rejection letters! I also had a few small successes; a magazine story here and a contest win there, every now and then, a nice comment from an editor. Those little bits of encouragement kept me going. I also went back and revised old manuscripts as I learned more about the craft of writing. I wrote My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters during National Novel Writing Month (a challenge to write 50,000 words in November). Omigod—I had so much fun! I recognized that the manuscript I wrote was my most commercial story so I decided to find an agent. I got a some really nice rejection letters before signing with my current agent. After a few rounds of revisions he submitted the manuscript and it sold to Harcourt in a two-book deal. Very exciting!

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 Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters will make you laugh, but it will also make you think, and, hopefully, you’ll have more appreciation for your own unique qualities (okay, that might be three things…).

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

My mother has always been incredibly supportive of my writing and encouraged me to pursue it long before I was willing to admit to anyone that I wanted to be a novelist. She’s also an amazing, crazy, quirky, larger-than-life character. I could never put all of her in one story (people just wouldn’t believe it). So I sneak little bits of her into everything I write. Was she an image-obsessed socialite? No. Did she once do the Dinner For Breakfast Diet? Yes. (Roast beef at eight a.m., anyone?)

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

The other most supportive person in my life is my husband who has always believed in me, even when I’ve had trouble believing in myself. He’s beyond excited (and tells everyone about my book). I also have an incredibly proud 9-year-old daughter. Her thirteen-year-old sister? She’s too busy teasing me with snarky quips to give me a straight answer, but whatever (rolls eyes). I have asked both of my daughters to please, please, please not do anything novel plot-worthy as they navigate their teen years. No dating vampires, for example.

My entire family has gotten behind the book, nudging me out of my comfort zone when it comes to publicity (my little brother even arranged a TV interview!). But I’m most honored that my 96-year-old Grandma-in-law is reading (and enjoying) the novel.

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

My favorite: a bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and a chocolate shake. My daily comfort food is a square or two, okay three, of dark chocolate.

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

Put on my glasses (I’m quite blind), let my giant dogs outside, and check to see if I’ve gotten any exciting emails (okay, and I check my horoscope even though Pluto isn’t even considered a planet anymore so it probably has little bearing on my future, but it’s a habit…).

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 surprisingly organized underneath all the messy clutter that lives outside of my closet and basement. I can find things—just maybe not on my desk.

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?

Blue. I love the way blue can represent limitless hope like the sky, unknown depths like the ocean, and all kinds of moods from sadness to serenity and clarity. It’s a complex color.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

I love Mulan—finally a strong girl cartoon character!

Which cartoon character is most like you?

The Roadrunner! I just keep going no matter what.

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?

Ooh! I fantasize about this a lot (I love learning about history). But I think I’d have to start with the Jurassic era—I’ve always had a soft spot for dinosaurs. I wish I could see it all!

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

I do listen to music while I write—I put my iPod on shuffle and let it play all day. I have very eclectic tastes, influenced by my daughters’ favorite pop station as well as my husband’s more alternative bent (he passionately keeps up on new music). So, let’s see. I won’t miss Andrew Bird when he comes to town for a concert. I also try to see Neko Case whenever possible. I especially love live music because I always get great ideas during concerts (and where else could I spot a guy with a tube of cherry ChapStick in his gauge hole?). Favorites on my iPod right now are Vampire Weekend, Josh Rouse, Katy Perry, Baby Charles, Kinky, and LCD Soundsystem.

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 do like to watch TV. My absolute favorite show is Friday Night Lights, but I also enjoy Gossip Girls and more serious stuff like Mad Men. I’m a Reality TV fan too. Survivor, The Amazing Race, America’s Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance, and, of course, American Idol.

I love movies!!! My husband and I sneak off to a matinee most Monday afternoons (his day off). I like just about anything from silly comedies to really serious foreign films. The last movie I saw was I Love You, Man (funny!). I tend to watch comedies over and over again—like The Devil Wears Prada. One of my all time favorites is Strictly Ballroom.

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

Remember that life is long—take care of your bodies and minds and try to keep things in perspective.

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

My first middle-grade novel, Jungle Crossing, comes out in September from HM Harcourt. It’s the intertwining coming-of-age stories of two girls, one who reluctantly travels to Mexico with her family over summer vacation, the other an ancient Mayan royal stolen from her town and forced to make the treacherous journey back home.

I’m also revising a 2010 YA called Swoon At Your Own Risk about a girl with five ex-boyfriends who’s afraid of falling in love again. But, of course, there’s this guy… Oh, and her grandmother, a famous advice columnist, has moved in for the summer.

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

Thank you! I had a lot of fun.