Interview with Hannah Friedman

http://hannahfriedman.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?

One morning when I was five I wrote a humorous poem conflating school with drool or something like that, and was somehow able to persuade my parents to allow me to stay home for the day. After that I was pretty much hooked.

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

In 2004 I was published in Newsweek for an article about the college application process, and since then I’ve been fascinated by the hysteria that surrounds academia, and teenagehood in general. When I found out that my publishing company was looking for a teen memoir, I jumped at the chance to share my stories, both hilarious and heartbreaking, with an honesty I hadn’t encountered in other YA fare.

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?

Everything Sucks includes everything I wanted to know about, but was way too afraid to ask about growing up—everything from dieting disasters and Ivy league scandals to experimenting with drugs and Googling blowjobs to living with a real live monkey. That’s right- my older sister is a Capuchin monkey.

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

The greatest inspirations for my stories are other stories - everything from The Princess Bride to Bride of Chucky. I’m a huge movie geek, a television addict, a book hoarder, and even a conversation snooper—stories are everywhere! So who knows, maybe my next great story might even be inspired by yours!

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

My Dad’s a musician, my mom’s a monkey trainer, and my brother steals my socks before going off to play virtuosic jazz piano. My sister is a monkey.

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

Reeses cups and Chicken Tikka Masala. Hands down. But not together. Although that combination does sound pretty intriguing…

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

Press the snooze button, dream a little dream, stretch stretch stretch.

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

I have an alarmingly large collection of outlandishly ornate novelty hats. Like giant, Las Vegas, feathered, marching-band, sequined explosions of sparkle and poof. The alarming part is that I’ve never purchased any of these hats for myself… people just seem to think my head is bare if not adorned in neon feathers and rhinestones. I don’t know whether to be offended or flattered.

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?

Is Rainbow Sherbet a color? I love all those swirly patterns… I’m a huge fan of art in all of its forms, and I like to fill my days with as much reading, writing, music-making, and window-shades-closed boogying as possible. I’m a mess of contradictions and can be indecisive in addition to passionate about creating and learning, so I like the idea that I’m more than one color wrapped into one.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Gotta love Bender from Futurama and Cartman from South Park. They say all the antisocial, selfish, and hilariously awful things I’d never say aloud.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Probably Lisa Simpson. I’m a nerd and proud of it.

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 beam myself into the future, write down some choice Mega Millions lottery picks, then come back here and win the lot so that I could open up amazing education centers for kids all around the world. Young people have the capacity to bring about amazing change, but most rarely have the resources required to inspire and foster their talent. Education for all!

I’d also like to beam myself to sites of historical mystery and figure out what the heck was going on. I mean, Easter Island? Wtf?

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to?

I love musical theater, jazz, rock, and folk - pretty much anything with soul and everything with a rockin’ horn section.

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

I’m a huge fan of Arrested Development, Weeds, The Office, The West Wing… some of my favorite movies are Eternal Sunshine, Being John Malkovich, anything by Hitchcock or Woody Allen. I also must admit that I know the entire My Little Pony’s theme song. By heart. With key modulation.

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

Cool people are the ones who like you for you. Everyone else doesn’t matter.

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

Definitely check out all the songs, collaborative projects, and skits on my YouTube channel, and all the fun updates on my blog.

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