Interview with Libby Schmais

www.libbyschmais.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 today…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.

Hi Jen. Thanks for inviting me!

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?

Hmm. I think I always wanted to be a writer, but when I was young, I didn’t view it as a real option for me. I thought of other people as writers, not me. I did have a great high school English teacher who encouraged me, which helped, even later on, when people were less encouraging.

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

When I was little, I self-published a tiny illustrated book of poetry, which I gave to my mother’s friend Sue. Then, there was a long dry spell until I published a short story called Bad Habits in Glimmer Train Magazine. That was probably the moment when I thought yes, I could be a real writer.

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?

The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein is a diary book about a young girl living in Brooklyn who dreams of going to France, becoming an existentialist and falling in love. I guess the one thing I could tell you to try to convince you to buy the book is that Lotus is a unique character and whether you love her or hate her, you will miss out by not getting to know her.

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

The biggest inspiration for everything I write is my own experience (hope that doesn’t sound too narcissistic).

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

Yes, they are thrilled. But, then again, I come from an academic background – both my parents were college professors -- so publication is kind of an expectation.

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

Definitely macaroni and cheese. There’s a restaurant near me called Cornelius, that makes an amazing one.

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

Press the snooze button a few times, drink coffee & then read for as long as possible before I absolutely have to get 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 not sure it would surprise you, but what would probably surprise most people I know is that I have a pair of hiking boots, because I’m not really the hiking type, although I have to say I did find pretty cute ones.

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?

That’s easy, Black, It’s slimming, doesn’t show the dirt, and goes with all my shoes.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Daria. (She was a very snarky, cynical, slightly depressed cartoon character on MTV in the late 90s.) If you’re not familiar with her, I recommend the show highly.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Daria.

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 would beam myself back to Tudor England in the early 16th century, which would help me enormously with the book I’m writing now.

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

I’m looking at my iPod right now, and I’m at the end of the alphabet, where we have The Weepies, Winterpills and Velvet Crush, which I would describe as slightly obscure Power Pop. I don’t listen to music when I’m writing, because I get too distracted.

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?

Right now, I’m into Glee, Mad Men, Modern Family -- I also have a weakness for cheesy reality shows Like The Real Housewives and America’s Next Top Model. Movies I watch over and over tend to be old ones - like The Women, All About Eve, Stage Door. The last movie I saw in the theater was An Education, which was a beautiful film.

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

Don’t worry so much about what everyone thinks about you – twenty years from now, you’ll barely remember their names.

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

I’m currently writing a story about a teenager who is obsessed with Tudor England, so hopefully you will be seeing that soon.

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

Thanks – it was fun!