Interview with Anne Osterlund

www.anneosterlund.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 published my first chapter book sometime around the fifth grade. The Pirate Queen. Quite dramatic. And deadly. The cover is made out of red tissue paper.

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

Tissue paper novels aside, I had written a lot of wonderful beginnings that lay filed away on notepads all over my apartment, but in 2004, I finally dedicated myself to completing something I could submit for publication. Aurelia volunteered for the position. By the time I finished the first draft, I had decided to take a year off from teaching and naively thought that by writing full-time, I could finish revising within about a month. Yikes! I attended classes and conferences and joined a critique group, all of which taught me that I had a lot more work to do. Ultimately, however, Aurelia had her way. In January of 2006, I sent her manuscript off to Angelle Pilkington, who I had met at the SCBWI-Oregon Fall Retreat, and a year and three months later, Penguin accepted the story! So do not give up!

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?

Academy 7 is the story of Aerin and Dane.

Aerin is a scarred fugitive in search of a better life. Dane is a self-destructive rebel seeking revenge. Despite her defensiveness and his pent-up anger, they form a tenuous bond as the top new students at the most prestigious school in the universe. But they must tear down their inner barriers and brave the scalding secrets of the past in order to meet the true challenge of Academy 7.

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

Oh! Louisa May Alcott; Laura Ingalls Wilder; Tamora Pierce; James Barrie; Ann Rinaldi; Sally Watson; S.E. Hinton; Eloise Jarvis McGraw; L.M. Montgomery; Richard Peck, Elizabeth George Speare, Esther Forbes, Avi, Sharon Shinn . . . I could go on and on.

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

My cat, Dance, is stubborn, protective, and terrifying to all the local tomcats. She enjoys sleep, camouflaging herself in the dirt, and going outside three times a day. And, yes, she much prefers when I stay home writing on the couch to working elsewhere, though she worries that I sometimes get carried away and should remember that dinner is at 4:30 p.m. sharp.

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

Chocolate.

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

Open drawer beside bed. Grapple for alarm clock (hidden in drawer because cat likes to knock it off the nightstand which causes havoc with the battery). Press snooze button.

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

Scary. Very scary.

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?

Sky blue. Because I would like to be a more calm color than I am.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Wendy Moira Angela Darling.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

The quiz at Disney World said “Cinderella,” but my mother thinks “Belle” because I am constantly walking around with a book. You can’t leave one behind! What if you get trapped in road construction on the way to work!

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?

Egypt. I am a tremendous Mara, Daughter of the Nile fan. Though seeing the country now would be just fine. History is fascinating, but I like toilets that flush and beds without fleas!

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

I love the song Unlimited from the Wicked! soundtrack. And I also like the version of Come On, Get Higher on Sugarland’s new CD. Forever’s As Far As I’ll Go by Alabama. Feels Like Today by Rascal Flatts and Astonishing from the Little Women soundtrack. But I never listen to music while I’m writing. Not even without lyrics. The characters are vocal enough.

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?

Oh, very long answer: Little House on the Prairie, Homefront, Jericho, Prison Break, Smallville, American Dreams, Judging Amy, The Mediator, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Gone With the Wind, While You Were Sleeping, Pride & Prejudice, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, The Princess Diaries 2, Ever After, North and South (by Elizabeth Gaskell). The list goes on . . .

The last movie I saw in a theater was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I also saw the play, All’s Well That Ends Well, not once, but twice, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer, both because it was wonderful and because I was so amazed they could make that play believable.

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

Dare to dream.

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

Well, I am very very excited! And I think my readers will be too, but I can’t say about what yet because nothing is official. So I promise to announce the news in my newsletter when I can, and if anyone wants to sign up to receive it, they are welcome to e-mail me at the contact address on my website.

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