Interview with Jennifer Brown

www.jenniferbrownya.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?

Well, I've always written for fun. Literally, as far back as 2nd grade, I was writing to blow off steam and explore my imagination and all that. I did some writing for the school paper and so forth in high school, and kept very detailed journals. But every time someone would mention that I should consider writing for a living, I always shied away from the idea.

It wasn't until my middle child was on the way and I knew I'd be quitting my day job and staying home with the kids for a few years anyway that I considered trying to get some things published. I never really thought it would all come together like this, but I'm so happy it has!

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

I started off by writing short stories, poems, little essays and so forth. Then I got the idea that I would write women's fiction novels. So I wrote a couple of those, and actually signed with my agent for one of them. That was 2006. The book never sold, but I still kept writing. Wrote another women's fiction novel, which wasn't all that whippy, and then dove into writing HATE LIST. At the time, I was also doing a ton of writing for online magazines and also writing my weekly humor column, and I wrote most of HATE LIST during the wee hours of the morning.

I never told anyone (except for my husband) about what I was writing, because it was such a departure from what I normally write. But when I was finished, I sort of casually mentioned it to my agent, who responded immediately with, "Let me see it!!!" She started trying to sell it that day.

Within a few days, several publishers came back asking for full manuscripts, and next thing I knew I got an offer! And then another offer! And then a third! There was a week or so of haggling back and forth, and I finally signed with Little, Brown & Co., which has turned out to be an awesomely supportive and wonderful house.

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?

HATE LIST takes place in the fictional town of Garvin, where the community has just been rocked by a school shooting. But the story isn't about the shooting, so much as it's about the emotional journey of a girl, Valerie Leftman, as she tries to piece her life back together. You see, Valerie's boyfriend Nick was the shooter, and he used her "hate list" to choose his targets.

HATE LIST will make you think. Will make you re-assess your life and your role in other people's lives. It is not a light and happy book, but it is full of hope and has an underlying drumbeat of friendship and positivity.

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

My husband, Scott, who has supported me through more than one human deserves. He's amazing, and if it wasn't for him, I'd have never even considered that I could one day be a published author.

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

My mom and dad are super-proud of me, as are my step-mom and step-dad. My step-mom has probably put in as much PR for HATE LIST as I have! I have one sister and one brother, both older, and three step-sisters and three step-brothers, and a niece who is very much like a sister to me.

I'm happily married to the love of my life, and we have three beautiful and amazing kids. I have a 17-year old daughter, a 9-year old son, and a 6-year old son. Also, I have two 11-year old long-haired spoiled cats (George and Gracie), and a pair of 2-year old dogs (a basset hound named Ursula and a boxer named Aragorn). It's a busy house!

My husband and kids are over the moon with HATE LIST's success. My daughter has read the book twice! The cats don't really care.

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

Soup! I love soup. Any kind of soup. I eat soup year-round. I eat soup every day while I'm writing. I love places where I can buy soup. And I love winter because I can get away with making soup for dinner every night. Soup rocks!

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

Start the coffee, fire up the laptop, and open the blinds.

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

The books! I have this delusion that someday I'm going to have a house with a library in it, and I've never gotten rid of a book because of that delusion. Instead, I just stockpile them and there are literally hundreds of books in the basement. Also in each of our bedrooms, under my bed, and several large moving boxes full of them in storage. BOOKS!!!

And I'm afraid of the attic. It's empty.

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?

I would be a rainbow, baby!

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Mickey Mouse.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Donald Duck -- grouchy and impatient. But I wear pants.

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 totally be at Woodstock.

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 really have a favorite type. I don't really get into country too much, and I really dislike jazz (I don't know why), but I'll listen to almost anything. My favorite artists are The Beatles, Green Day, Justin Timberlake, and Daughtry.

Yes, I do listen to music while I'm writing, but I'm so easily distracted it has to be music either sung in a foreign language that I don't understand, or music with no lyrics. So I'll write to African music one day and Ray Lynch the next and Mozart the next and Chinese music the next, and so forth. I've found that the 99-cent bin at Vintage Stock is a treasure trove of really cool foreign music.

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?

My favorite TV show, maybe of all-time, is "The Office." I also watch a lot of cooking shows and reality TV and, yeah, even soap operas. I don't have a lot of time for re-watching movies, but if it's a Disney movie I'll watch it every time it's on. Also I'll watch Forrest Gump any time it's on, and My Best Friend's Wedding. And I can never seem to watch Polar Express too many times.

The last movie I saw at the theater was Where the Wild Things Are.

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

You will never regret reaching out in friendship to someone who really needed a friend.

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

More YA stories, for sure! I'm just finishing one up, in fact, and hopefully you'll see it on shelves in spring 2011.