Interview with Zetta Elliott

www.zettaelliott.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 knew I wanted to become a writer when I started high school, just before I became a teenager. But the report cards my mother kept show that I was telling stories to other kids as soon as I started school! It was my 11th-grade English teacher who convinced me that becoming a writer was an actual possibility and not just a dream.

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

Well, it’s been rocky! I wrote for years before getting my first publication, and so I wasn’t even sure I had the right to call myself a writer. I became a published poet in 2002, and that’s when I started going by my middle name (Rosetta) because I felt like I’d finally evolved into the person I wanted to be. I published a few more poems, a few essays, and then in 2006 I found out I had won the Lee & Low New Voices Honor Award for my picture book, Bird. At that point I was sure everything would come together—I’d find an agent, and ALL my unpublished manuscripts would be in high demand. But that didn’t happen, even after Bird went on to win several more awards and honors. So I chose to self-publish a memoir, a young adult novel (A Wish After Midnight), and two books of plays in late 2008. In early 2009, I switched from Lulu to CreateSpace, and later that summer AmazonEncore contacted me about acquiring the rights to my YA novel. I had already sold over 400 copies, AWAM was in libraries and public schools here in NYC, and I’d gotten rave reviews from bloggers. So now my writing career’s entering a new phase, and I’m hoping my work will reach a much wider audience.

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?

Brooklyn is known for a lot of things but MAGIC rarely comes to mind…Genna’s a fifteen year old who learns that one fateful wish can magically open a portal that sends her spiraling through time!

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

Probably the kids I know and the students I’ve taught here in NYC. Everyone has a story to tell, and when I went looking for books for my students, I found that their stories mostly weren’t in print. I started writing for kids while teaching a creative writing class in Manhattan—I made a demo picture book and the kids loved it, so I kept writing and started sending my stories to publishers.

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

Uh—I guess so. I actually have a reputation for being a “troublemaker” in my family, and writing—being expressive, asking questions, searching for possibilities—is seen, I think, as a way of stirring things up. My extended family is very supportive—I have lots of cousins and aunts and uncles who are proud of me, and my grandparents were the first people with whom I shared my ambition of becoming a writer!

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

I’m definitely a cookies, cake, and pie kind of girl! I love ice cream but I’m lactose-intolerant, which sucks. Really, any food I don’t have to prepare is comforting to me! I guess I’d have to say sugar, though, since I love dessert.

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

Go to the bathroom, turn on my laptop, and turn on the news…

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

Probably how much stuff I don’t have! I hate shopping, so I try to make things last as long as possible. Ever hear that saying, “You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time”? That’s me! I think I have one of the least cluttered NYC apartments around…(except for books!)

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’ve never heard that tree question! Definitely a birch tree. Color’s hard…maybe periwinkle because I love purple and periwinkle reminds me of wisteria blossoms and lilacs…

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Lee from Bayou (by Jeremy Love), though I’m also partial to Linus and Garfield.

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’ve always been fascinated with ancient Egypt…so maybe a quick visit to Egypt during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut.

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

I used to listen to music constantly while I wrote—nowadays I find I watch TV (always PBS). Favorite musical artists include Janelle Monae, Coldplay, Asa, and I’m looking forward to the forthcoming album of Krystle Warren.

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?

Favorite TV show is probably Law & Order (the original and SVU). Last movie I saw at the theater…Fantastic Mr. Fox, I think. I don’t have cable but I do have five PBS channels and I could seriously watch PBS 24 hours a day! Movies I watch over and over? I love the Bourne movies with Matt Damon, but I also love classics like The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady…

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

Be who you are! And know that identity is fluid—you have a core self, but you’re constantly growing and evolving and that’s OK.

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

Right now I’m working on the sequel to AWAM, Judah’s Tale. I hope to have that done and available for readers next year!

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