Interview with Lisa Mangum

http://leosdungeon.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 think on some level, I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I have always loved books, always read anything I could get my hands on. And since my mom is a writer too, I grew up not only seeing how it was done, but that it could be done. All through my school years, I wrote short stories and poetry—mostly bad poetry—and I held up that idea of writing a book as a long-term goal, a lifelong dream. After high school, I took a little detour from being an author to pursue my goal of being an editor, but about six or so years ago, my friends and I started a writing group and I jumped back into being a writer with both feet.

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

Since I have worked for so long in publishing, I can tell you that no two books take the same path to publication. For me, my road was an exciting, and pretty fast, journey. I was working on something else entirely when I got the idea for The Hourglass Door. I was on my way to a writer’s conference and started thinking about a YA story. And suddenly the whole story just downloaded, almost as a complete piece. I hurried and scribbled down an outline, plot ideas, character names. Later that night, I pitched the idea to Chris from Shadow Mountain and he liked the idea enough that he encouraged me to write the whole thing. Roughly eight months later, I turned in the finished manuscript. Roughly three months later, I was on the schedule for publication. And I’ve never looked back since. Now I have two books out—The Hourglass Door and The Golden Spiral—and one more in the works, The Forgotten Locket.

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?

My latest release is The Golden Spiral. It’s the second book in a trilogy; The Forgotten Locket will be the third book (available May 2011). The Hourglass Door trilogy follows the story of Abby and Dante. Abby is a senior in high school when she meets Dante, who is guarding a secret that dates back to Leonardo da Vinci’s day. Dante has traveled through time—and he is not the only one. As Abby and Dante fall in love, they will need to rely on each other to help protect the river of time and make sure that Zo doesn’t change the past and destroy the future.

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

Well, the primary inspiration for the story of Abby and Dante was Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy. There is a beautiful passage at the end of the poem where Dante says farewell to his angel guide Beatrice. When I knew I wanted to write a YA love story, I knew I wanted to write a story that would allow me to reference that last passage from Dante. I also drew inspiration from other classic works, including Shakespeare and Virgil.

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

I’ve been married to my wonderful husband, Tracy, for eleven years. He is my best friend and has limitless encouragement for me. I’m the youngest of three; Tracy is the middle of five. I have four nieces and a nephew, who all help keep me young at heart.

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

I love dessert—anything chocolate, cheesecake, ice cream. I also love a good cut of steak.

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

1) Shower. 2) Dress. 3) Breakfast. I know, I’m super-predictable.

What I would like to do in the morning is 1) Recharge my superpower batteries. 2) Download my dreams into a virtual-reality machine. 3) Have my husband serve me breakfast in bed. (A girl can dream, right?)

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

In my closet I have a concert T-shirt from the 1996 Test for Echo tour for the band Rush. They are my favorite band ever and I’ve seen them in concert at least 7 times and have tickets to see them twice more this year. And in my basement I have a sombrero-wearing piñata, a cassette of Starship’s “It’s Not Over Til It’s Over” single, a bird woven from palm fronds, and a VHS copy of Son-in-Law staring Pauly Shore (and I don’t even own a VHS machine anymore; I think I need to clean out my basement!)

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 green because it is—and always has been—my favorite color. It’s the color of spring and vitality. Of new life.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

I love Wall-E from the Pixar movie. He has such an honest heart and I love his determination. (And I also enjoy Hello, Dolly as much as he does. :) )

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Belle from Beauty and the Beast. We both like to read, we both have big dreams, and we both are living happily ever after.

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?

Oh, tricky question! I would love to go to Italy during the Renaissance period because there were so many interesting things happening in art, music, and technology (but I would want to bring along my own toothbrush). It might also be a lot of fun to be a flapper in the Roaring 20s, or go on safari with Teddy Roosevelt. I’d love to see the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And I’d seriously consider jumping into the future to enjoy my next vacation—I could really use a break from work right now!

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

I like mostly pop and rock, though I grew up on classical and jazz. Some of my favorite artists (at the moment) include Barenaked Ladies, Tonic, Lifehouse, Glen Phillips, Rush, Queensryche, and Live. It’s always hard to pick just one. I do listen to music while I write. I often just set my iPod to shuffle and dive into my writing. Sometimes having the right song on while I’m working on a specific scene can really help set the stage or enhance the mood.

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 shows? Lost (even though the story is over), The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and oh, yes, a guilty pleasure: Project Runway. Movies? I love Pixar movies like Up, Wall-E, and Ratatouille; I also love good ol’-fashioned action movies like Aliens and Jaws. And I can’t forget the classics: Buster Keaton’s The General makes me laugh every time I watch it. The last movie I saw in the theater was Toy Story 3, which was fabulous!

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

I found this bit of advice during a trip to Disneyland with my husband. Some inspirational quotes were written on the wall and the one I remember best is, “Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. Don’t stop.” I really like that idea because at the end of the day, the most important thing about writing, the best way to improve at your craft, the most sure-fire way to get published is Don’t stop. So don’t stop doing what you love, what you are good at. You have a unique viewpoint, you have something important to say, so get out there and say it!

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

After I finish The Forgotten Locket, I have another YA story in the works—a contemporary novel about the transformative power of love—and a fairy tale as well. Plus, I have a huge chunk of an epic fantasy novel that just needs a strong ending to wrap it up.

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