Interview with Michelle Cooper

www.michellecooper-writer.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?

When I was six years old, and I realized that the books I loved so much had actually been written by real, live people (I think before that, I just assumed books popped into existence by themselves, like flowers).

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

I started writing when I was seven, but it took about twenty-five years before I was confident enough to show anyone something that I'd written. I saw a writing mentorship competition advertised, so I decided to use the competition deadline to motivate me to finish a half-written story. Then I figured it wouldn't do any harm to enter the finished manuscript in the competition. I didn't think I had any chance of winning, but I figured it would be really encouraging if I was short-listed. Then I won! So exciting! I was able to work on the manuscript with a published YA author, then she sent it to one of her publishers and they liked it. They'll be publishing my third novel later this year. I feel like the luckiest person in the world, although there was quite a bit of hard work involved, too.

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?

'A Brief History of Montmaray' was published in North America in October, 2009. It's about sixteen-year-old Sophie, who begins a journal about her life in a crumbling castle on a tiny island. Eccentric relatives, sinister strangers, ghosts, pirates, aviators, mythical treasures and her secret crush on an unsuitable young man combine to make life far more exciting than she’d ever planned. Why should you buy it? It's got a castle in it!

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

History is full of fascinating people and events, and quite a few of them found their way into 'A Brief History of Montmaray'. I guess all the books I've ever read and loved have inspired me, too. When I get lost in a book, when I fall in love with the characters and the setting . . . well, that inspires me to try to create something equally wonderful.

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

Dark chocolate, ideally Lindt. Fortunately, it's so expensive that I can't afford to eat too much of it.

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

Turn off the alarm clock, pull the covers over my head and try to go back to sleep. I am not a morning person. Luckily, I'm a full-time writer at the moment, so I don't have to arrive at an office at a particular time.

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

You wouldn't find an attic or basement, and my apartment is the size of a closet. But if you looked in my cupboard, you'd find that most of my clothes are black. Black's a very practical color for clothes - slimming, doesn't show the dirt, and goes with everything.

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?

Actually, no-one's ever asked me what sort of tree I'd be, which is a good thing, because I wouldn't have a clue about that. As for color, I guess I would be a very deep shade of blue. It's a very serene, soothing color, the color of the sky and the sea.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Wile E. Coyote. He's so resilient! It doesn't matter how many times he gets flattened by that giant boulder, he always bounces back with some new, crazy scheme.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Lisa Simpson. Except I can't play the saxophone (or any musical instrument, in fact).

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?

As I'm currently writing a YA trilogy set in the 1930s and 1940s, I'd have to say Europe, 1938. Fascinating politics, and it's one of the rare times in history when women's fashions were both comfortable and stylish.

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

I stopped paying attention to music in about 1992, so most of my favorite musical artists were big in the eighties and I suspect most teenagers now have never heard of them. The Housemartins, The Pixies, Split Enz, The Art of Noise, XTC, The Style Council, Single Gun Theory . . .

But I do like Lily Allen! And Eskimo Joe. They're from the twenty-first century, right?

I can't listen to anything when I'm writing, especially not music. I'm easily 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?

I've never owned a T.V., but I sometimes watch DVDs on my computer, and at the moment, I'm obsessed with 'Foyle's War'. It's about a detective in England during the Second World War and it's awesome. I've also just finished watching all eleven episodes of the original 'Brideshead Revisited' series, which was even better than I remembered. Yes, I am a history nut.

As for movies, I've seen 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' far too many times, and I cry at the funeral scene every single time. I think the last movie I saw at the theatre was 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', which was a bit disappointing. There wasn't nearly enough Snape in it for my liking.

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

Things will get better. I promise - being an adult is way easier than being a teenager.

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

Right now, I'm editing 'The FitzOsbornes in Exile', the sequel to 'A Brief History of Montmaray'. It's about Sophie's family struggling to regain what they lost at the end of the first book, and it has lots of international intrigue, diplomacy and adventure in it. Also, Sophie gets to wear fabulous ballgowns and meet some famous people. I'm planning to write another Montmaray book after that, but at the moment, it's just a pile of notes and some ideas in my head.

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

Thank you, Jen!