Interview with Jordan Sonnenblick

www.jordansonnenblick.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 always, always knew. Even before I could read or write, I wanted to be just like my maternal grandfather, who had written several books. Actually, he wrote high-school science textbooks, so I didn’t follow in his exact footsteps, but nonetheless, he was my inspiration. Later on, he also became the basis for the character of Solomon Lewis in my novel Notes from the Midnight Driver.

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

It was bumpy! My first book, Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, was originally published by a teeny-tiny literary press, which proceeded to go out of business three days after the book came out. I spent a summer in total despair, but then through a bizarre series of coincidences, the mom of an editor at Scholastic bought a copy at my local bookstore, which was the only bookstore in the world that still carried it. She sent it to her daughter, and voila! Incidentally, I try really hard to support local indie bookstores, because if The Moravian Bookshop in Bethlehem, PA hadn’t supported me, I wouldn’t be giving this interview right now.

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 newest teen book, After Ever After, is a companion novel to Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie. You should buy it because my mom liked it. Or at least, she told me she did.

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

Real teenagers. I have never been able to write a book unless it was inspired by something goofy, bizarre, and/or tragic that happened to a real teen in my life.

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

You’d be surprised, actually. My 9-year-old daughter just told me the other day, “Everyone at school always says how lucky I am that my dad’s an author, but I tell them it’s actually pretty boring. You just sit around and type!”

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

Beef stew. Any kind of stew, really.

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

Bathroom. Coffee. Go online to check the Yankees score.

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 dunno ... maybe the assortment of gory, dismembered corpses?

If not, then I’d think it would be the unique combination of my guitar collection and my piles of unfiled school-visit paperwork, press clippings, promotional materials, and assorted other author-junk.

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?

Blue. Because blue always comforts me.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

The lady who makes the superhero costumes in The Incredibles.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

I’d like to say it’s some mighty superhero, but probably, I’m a cross between Charlie Brown and Bart Simpson.

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?

Wherever my kids are. Because they’re my kids!

Hopefully, they would be in London at the time -- London is my favorite city in the world.

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

I listen to tons of different stuff, but my fave group is the Beatles. When I write, I choose some specific genre of instrumental music for each book, and don’t listen to anything else until the first draft is done. That way, all I have to do is crank up that music on iTunes, and I am instantly in writing mode. It’s kind of like hypnotizing myself.

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 don’t watch much TV, other than sports -- because my 12-year-old son is the absolute ruler of the remote control. As for movies, I am a huge fan of anything Pixar. The last movie I saw in the theater was The Karate Kid, which I loved.

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

Whatever else you do or don’t do, BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL not to make any babies until you and your partner are fully ready to raise and support a child together. Seriously, that’s the absolute biggest biggie.

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

My next teen novel, Shooting Eagles, will be published in 2012. It’s about a star high-school athlete who gets injured, can’t play anymore, and has to figure out a way to jump-start his life again.

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