Interview with Amy Wachspress

www.wozabooks.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 have loved writing all my life. I’m not sure I can remember a time when I was not writing. That’s a long way back for me to remember. Once, when I was in fourth grade, I wrote a science fiction short story and read it aloud to the class. One poor girl in my class liked the story so much that she stole it from my desk. I was not that bothered, because I knew I could just write another story. But the teacher tore up the classroom looking for my story and finally found it. The principal was furious and wanted to punish the girl who stole my story; but I thanked the girl for the compliment. I could see she was a devoted fan!

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

I have been working on several books at once over the past 25 years while I was raising my children. During that time I often sent letters to publishing companies and agents to see if someone would publish my book or find me a publisher. I have a whole file cabinet drawer full of rejection letters. Finally I decided to publish the book myself. My husband and I borrowed some money and started Woza Books. We started the company in June 2006 and by November I had 3,000 copies in print. So far everyone who reads it loves it. I was surprised at how hard it is to get the word out to people so they know about it. I have had a lot of support from my friends and family or I would not have been able to get this far. My advice to someone else would be “be persistent and work hard.”

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?

I have only one book out right now. It is The Call to Shakabaz. This is a story about four children and their pesky parrot who travel to the fantasy land of Faracadar on a quest to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabaz from the malevolent enchanter Sissrath.

The one thing I would tell you to convince you to buy the book is that it is a rollicking fun ride—I dare you to put the book down! I am working on a sequel right now, but do not have much time to invest in it because one of my adult novels was recently accepted for publication and I am working with my editors to get that one ready to go into production. Plus I have a few other books that I finished that need homes, so I’m sending out letters to publishers about those ones.

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

There is no one person or thing that has inspired me. I sometimes say that I have learned everything important that I know about life from my children. I have read aloud to them and my stepsons for almost 30 years. A few of my favorite books are A Wrinkle in Time, The House of Dies Drear, Ender’s Game, Holes, Homecoming, The BFG, The Ear The Eye and The Arm, Half Magic, the Narnia books, and of course Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling is about as good as it gets. In the dedication to The Call to Shakabaz, I honor the young people who marched to prevent and protest the War on Iraq in 2003. They were definitely an inspiration to me when I wrote The Call to Shakabaz.

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

I am married and I have three grown up children. Two of them have graduated from college already and the third is in college now. I also have two stepsons, who are in their 30s. I am Jewish and my husband is Black, so my children are multicultural. Our family has a bizarre sense of humor so we laugh a lot. My daughter is a writer, so we have a lot to talk about when it comes to publishing.

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

My favorite food is pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. I have been vegetarian for 35 years. I don’t eat anything that walks, flies, or swims. But I adore cheese. I think it’s very important for people to cut way back on eating meat to save the planet from climate change. If you don’t already know that the biggest reason for climate change is the food system, particularly beef and pork production, then you should learn about it. Our lives depend on knowing and changing our habits.

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

I shower, make a cup of decaf coffee, and pet my cats. Very boring.

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

We don’t have an attic or a basement so you would be surprised at how much I can cram into my closets.

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 rather answer the tree question. I love trees, as you will see if you read The Call to Shakabaz, in which the trees are an important character. I lived in a forest for 17 years and when we moved closer to the nearest town a few years ago, I planted trees all over my yard. I could never choose my favorite. I love so many of them. Right now I’m especially in love with my Hawaiian Paulownia Trees. They grow really fast. It reminds me of the plant in The Little Shop of Horrors.

As for colors, when you read The Call to Shakabaz you will see how colorful everything is. Some of my favorite colors are bright green (symbolizes life), royal blue (it reminds me of the ocean and the sky), turquoise (because I look really good in turquoise), and burgundy (what a deep rich color).

Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?

I’m going to cheat and choose an anime character (which is not exactly a cartoon)—Princess Mononoke. I am fierce when it comes to protecting the environment and honoring the spirits of the forest.

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?

That’s a terrific question. There are so many historical events I would have liked to participate in. I would have liked to march with Dr. King during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ended on December 20, 1956. This month is the 50th anniversary of the successful conclusion of the Boycott. I would also have loved to help organize the Poor People’s March on Washington and to stand on the mall and hear Dr. King give his “I Have a Dream” speech.

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

I can’t listen to music while I’m writing. I need silence to concentrate. But my husband is a disc jockey on the radio and he plays R&B, Soul, Jazz, Blues, and Gospel. I love all that music. I also have a passion for old folk music, like The Weavers and Woody Guthrie. That shows you how old I am. I especially like political music with a message. Of contemporary artists, I like Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky. The first album I bought was The Beatles’ Abbey Road! I’m pretty old, huh?

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. I have better things to do. Except for football. I do watch a lot of football. After LOST finished on TV, I started watching it from the beginning and got hooked, so I’ve seen every episode on Netflix. I learned a lot from the writers for that show. One of my favorite movies is Galaxy Quest. I could watch that movie a million times and it would still crack me up. Tony Salhoub is a riot—his expression when he starts kissing the alien is priceless. I don’t go to the movie theater anymore because it’s so expensive. I wait for everything to come out on DVD.

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

Figure out what you love to do that you are good at and pursue it with a passion.

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

I’m working on a sequel to The Call to Shakabaz, in which the whales are in danger of being killed off and aliens have invaded Faracadar. It will be a lot of fun and more complicated than the first book. So stay tuned.

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

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!

Interview with Rachel Ward

www.rachelwardbooks.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 don’t think I ever really knew that I wanted to be a writer, and quite a lot of the time I don’t believe I am one. But about seven or eight years ago I thought that I’d like to have a go at writing, just to see if I could do it, and I got hooked.

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

The first thing I wrote was a radio play which was rejected by the BBC. Then I experimented with short stories and wrote two novels for younger children, also rejected. I wanted to make my third novel edgier and for teenagers, actually something that my daughter, then 14, could read. I sent the first chapter into a local short story competition in 2006 (the Frome Festival Short Story Comp) and it won a prize! It didn’t really work as a short story but the judges liked the voice and the idea. I drew encouragement from this and completed the first draft of ‘Numbers’ in about six months. Then at the following year’s Frome Festival you could book a consultation with the Fiction Editor of The Chicken House, a local children’s publisher. So I booked my session, and it was there that I met Imogen Cooper who is my editor. She liked what she read and asked to see the whole thing. We agreed to a contract about two months later and ‘Numbers’ appeared in the UK in January 2009.

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?

In ‘Numbers’ (or ‘Num8ers’ in the USA), Jem, a 15-year-old sees numbers when she looks into people’s eyes – the date of their death. You could go lots of ways with this idea. For some reason known only to my subconscious I turned this into a love story/road movie/gritty examination of life at the bottom of the heap in the UK. It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but it might be yours…

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

I just read this question out loud and my daughter pointed to herself and said ‘Hem, hem, sitting right in front of ya…’ but actually I think the real inspiration for my stories comes from my own teenage years. I draw on the intense feelings I experienced then, so although the characters I write about are nothing like me now or me as a teenager, the feelings I’m writing about are real.

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

I’ve got a husband and two teenage children. They’re super-supportive and I’m so lucky to have them.

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

Potatoes every time, in all their lovely forms. For sheer comfort it would be mashed or baked. I’m partial to a proper dessert with custard, maybe a fruit crumble or some sort of sponge – forget cream or ice-cream, custard is king.

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

I’m writing hard at the moment, so I’ve got a very rigid routine in the morning and I get up really early. Apart from the obvious bathroom stuff, getting dressed, etc. I have a glass of fruit juice, walk the dog through the fields, and then I write. (After which, I wake up my family and go to my day job.)

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

Monumental untidiness. We’re a family of hoarders – it’s not a good thing.

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?

So difficult. I’m going to say black, although I suppose technically that’s a lack of colour. My writing is pretty dark, and I think it taps into the dark, serious, twisted side that I didn’t really know that I had before I started writing.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Probably the little boy scout from ‘Up.’ Oooh, I love that little guy. And the dog. And the bird.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

I’d like to be like Top Cat – pretty cool, a bit goofy, one of the gang - but the truth would be nearer to Marge Simpson. Or Ralph Wiggum.

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?

This may show a lack of imagination but I’d go back to the first time my now-husband called me ‘darling.’ Sorry, I’m a sentimental old thing, can’t help it.

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 fairly diverse stuff and I’m fairly fickle – I’ll listen to someone over and over for a while and then move on. I still love George Harrison, my teenage crush, but you’ll also find me listening to Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder (who I saw at Glastonbury), Susan Boyle, Biffy Clyro and Rage Against the Machine. I don’t listen to music when I’m writing, but I quite often have a song in mind when I’m writing a book, almost a theme tune. With ‘Numbers’ it was ‘Love is a Losing Game’ by Amy Winehouse.

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 loved ‘Six Feet Under’ and ‘Thirtysomething.’ At present I enjoy the lightweight end of the entertainment spectrum with my absolute fave being ‘Project Runway’ – I’m a Tim Gunn fan. The film I watch over and over again at home is ‘Sense and Sensibility’ with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. The last film I saw was ‘Inception’ which went straight into my Top Five all-time favourite films.

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

It’s the advice I’d give to my teenage self if I could talk to her/me now. Life can seem pretty grim when you’re a teenager, but stick with it, have patience and things will get better. There are people and adventures waiting out there for you and everything can turn out so much better than you ever expect. Hang on in there.

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

The sequel to ‘Numbers’ is out in the UK and will be published in the USA next year. I’m currently writing the third and final book in the series, and then I’ll have to think of something else. I’ve no idea what that might be…

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

Interview with Steven Nedelton

www.snedelton.com

First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.

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?

Thank you, Jen. It is appreciated.

I started reading at twelve, I believe. I was in a hospital, sick in bed, and my grandfather gave me this thick red book as a present. I think that book made me wonder about writing. So, my writing goes way back to my early teens when, together with a few of my school buddies, I began to pen short stories and critique. My first successful creation was a short story based on a true paranormal life experience. It was published, but much, much later.

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

It was a complicated one. Initially, I tried to get an agent and spent six months before getting a fairly questionable one. And, of course, she did not work out. Then I tried a POD publisher, though at the time I thought they were a legitimate publishing company. I left them three months later. After a very positive review from an online reviewer, and as per her recommendation, I decided to have my book edited. Several months later, I got my first publishing contract.

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 published book is a five stars suspense novel The Raven Affair. The paperback was published in April. It is in Kindle format too. Here is a blurb:

A man on the run. Anton was on the run for the past twenty years. Italy, Spain, Ireland, America. What is he running from?

Two priests living in San Francisco, Father Dominic and Father Joe, had never heard of him, but the action starts with them. Interpol agents are hunting for Anton when their employer suddenly and unexplainably stops them. They are unaware that one of them is leading a double life and operating clandestinely as a high priced hit-man ‘Raven.’ And then, there are Mick and Lynnie in San Fran. Mick, ostensibly the very popular maitre d’ at the Westin St. Francis’ Michael Mina Restaurant and—unknown to Lynnie and his employers—a dreaded underworld figure codenamed ‘Clerk.’

I am quoting my latest reviewer, J. Knox, a professor of Creative Writing, a fiction editor at Our Stories Literary Journal:

“….The Raven Affair is destined to be adapted for the big screen. I found myself envisioning the scenes as I went along--quickly--unable to put the damn thing down.”

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

I get my ideas from the everyday news, from the everyday events. My novel Crossroads was based on a sentence I read in a local newspaper, in 92. The Raven Affair was based on the TV news about a court case/court proceedings in California, in the 90s, I believe. I do like suspense.

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

I doubt that children read their parents’ books. Actually, my children are pretty quiet about the affair. If I remember correctly, my daughter did mention my books once, I’m so sure of it. Once! It was one of those enthusiastic, semi-casual observations. I know she does not read much, she is too busy for that, but she writes very well. She has to, she’s with lawyers all day long. She’s a natural. My son, who loves all good movies and books, doesn’t say much. Occasionally he’ll mention a book he considers worth my time. Like, “Hey, Dad, I’m reading this novel….it’s great.” Glad to hear it, son. Let them discover another writer’s world, they already know mine. I doubt that children read their parents’ books. It’d be sooo un-cool.

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

Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m not a fussy eater. I like all good food and almost anything tasty will do. Starting with Pizza. By the way, I’d love to participate in a pizza eating contest and some day I might end up in one. I’m a Pizza addict. But, in these sweltering summer days, cold watermelon’s the king, naturally. Still I’d go for a thick burger from Burger King, with a frosty bottle of beer anytime.

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

Shower, do some exercise and have my breakfast while watching one of my favorite movies. Not always in that order.

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

So, you think I’d let you snoop around in my closets? Ha,ha. Try again, Jen. There are secrets in those deep dungeons of manhood, Jen. Big secrets. Guns, guns, guns and ammo. All caliber, all sizes. I’m a suspense writer after all, ain’t I?! And I do carry a faithful little Bersa 38 all the time. Thun--derrr! 380. Jus’ kidding. Or, maybe, I ain’t. Well, for one, unlike Steph King, I don’t keep mummies, vampires and dragons in my closets (filthy habit). At least not yet, anyway.

It’s funny but you’d be overwhelmed with smells of my freshly cleaned underwear, shirts, clothes. Ha-ha. Yup, I’m funny that way.

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?

My favorite color is red, red’s so popular. If I could, I’d make all my book covers big red, and I’d be the best seller in a jiffy.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Don’t read ‘toons anymore, I’d say it’s Politicians. But I’d vote for Goofy. So endearingly reminiscent of our Presidents.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

None, I’m too mean for those cute creatures.

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?

Old Rome. Times of Cicero, Caesar, Cleo. I’d love to see her rolled out of that filthy rug. Sit right next to my ancient cousin Julius and watch him drool. Those were the times…

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 all good music. Especially the sixties and seventies. Best music. Best singers. All of them.

Rarely, but I do listen to it while writing.

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?

None. Hate TV except for good movies. Too many politician-liars on it, plus all the cookie-cutter shows. Yes, too many. Movies? Good ones? Can’t recall, have them all at home.

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

Don’t read the junk the poor writers manufacture to get rich on writing. It’s a brainwash. It’s for dummies. It’s for babies. It’s like bad food, it corrupts your finer instincts. Turns you into a mushroom. Ha-ha. And you end up thinking like one too.

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

My next novel is called Dawn for the fearless/Fear Factor. It was submitted in April. I started Tunnel, another suspense, but I am too busy to work on it right now.

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

And thank you, too, Jen.

Interview with Clint Adams

www.clintadams.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?

Hey, Jen. How’s it going? Well, you started off with the absolute perfect and most relevant question, thanks. I’ve been asked this every time (I’ve been interviewed), and having been asked it actually led to my reason for quitting writing. Yes, you heard me correctly.

I never ever wanted to be a writer. In 1992, inside me, there was an overwhelming need to tell a very particular story (that was actually a well-kept secret). Finding someone else (a writer) to tell it, never happened. So, I learned all I could about writing, and I’ve been doing it ever since. It seems like this latest novel I’ve been working on for the past 15+ years was the hardest to complete, and now that I finished it and it’s been published, my (own personal) story’s finally been told. My story no longer lives inside me now; it lives on someone else’s bookshelf. Whew! I became a writer for this sole reason, to get my story out.

Again, because of being asked this question and the four teen novels I wrote, I’m now launching a student-led, after-school storytelling program for secondary school students here in the U.K. It doesn’t promote literacy or creative writing; it’s created to give time and attention to teens that have something to say, something they need to say. Rather than internalizing their emotions, they are now offered an opportunity to “tell all” and “get it all out.” I feel the need for this here, and elsewhere, is tremendous. To learn more about this program, please visit: http://StoriesAboutFacingFear.com.

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

It’s been a rather long and winding one (road, that is). The quest to publish and market my teen novels has taken me to many interesting locations. But, overwhelmingly, the greatest reward was meeting such a variety of interesting teens and learning about their lives…they’re incredible. Now, I have moved on, and I no longer write teen novels…instead I’m left with fantastic memories. More than all else though, I now owe these teens my eternal gratitude for having led me to my true purpose in life; helping them to tell their own stories, now that I’ve (already) told my own.

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 novel is a thriller for adults: The Seventh Ritual: a race for survival. It’s a book about a horrifying discovery…the truth. Yes, in my opinion, the truth sets you free but it’s nowhere near as powerful as what you decide to do after you’ve learned it. I’m hoping readers will find this book helpful so they will want to discover the depth of their own power that lives inside them.

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

The realization that life is all about learning the lessons that come with it. It’s your choice to learn them or not. This inspires me daily. I love seeing obstacles as opportunities…to learn. Lessons provide great meaning for me and that’s why I appreciated being able to share them with others via my writing.

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

I love, appreciate and understand my family a whole lot more after having written this last book (The Seventh Ritual). I love having been able to transform family secrets into fiction (a story that ends up being told by a fictitious “me”). I’m sure my family is proud of me and the extent of the journey I’ve been on.

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

Tzaziki! I put in on everything (vegetables when I’m dieting) and I’d eat it with every meal if I could.

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

1. I’m too impatient to meditate, but I do take a deep breath or two. Even this relaxes me a bit before I begin the day.

2. I realize that soon I get to eat my cereal with bananas and kiwi on top OR my runny scrambled eggs. I LOVE this. Yes, I AM a geek.

3. I look in the mirror to see if I’m still me, that I haven’t actually turned into who/what I was in my dreams/nightmares. Yikes!

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 own almost nothing. I think you’d be surprised that I have so few belongings. I tend to move around a lot and this keeps my life very simple. Of course, as a former writer, the things I value most are my laptop and my printer.

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?

Black. It’s not only slimming but mysterious. I like this combination.

Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?

My favorite: Fred Flintstone. Most like me: I wish I could be as gregarious, cocky and confident as Bugs Bunny, but Charlie Brown is closer to my reality.

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?

Duh. The easiest question of all. I’d spent years writing about heaven…so that’s got to be where I’d like to go most. I’d want to see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be. I’d be humiliated if what I’ve written ends up being horrifically wrong.

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

Without question, anything from the 80’s. Favorites: Pat Benatar, Blondie, B-52’s. Yes, I’m lost in time. In the U.S., country: Martina McBride, Patty Loveless, Terri Clark. I used to listen to classical when I write, not anymore. Now, I just listen to the noise coming from inside my head. Maybe I should meditate after all.

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?

Mama’s Family, Friends, The Golden Girls, Roseanne. Movies: The Color Purple, Shine, any movie where the protagonist has huge obstacles and overcomes. Yippee! I could watch To Kill a Mockingbird a million times over (a lesson each and every time). Eek, it’s been a while since I’ve been to the movies. I think the last one I saw was Precious; it was OK. I normally like movies like this, but the writing could have been a bit better.

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

Always believe…no matter what!!! Especially when no one else does! Do it yourself!!! You’ll only be let down when you expect someone else to help you, when you’re fully capable of doing/accomplishing “it” yourself.

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

After The Seventh Ritual anything else would be a piece of cake. It’s the ‘biggie’ of my lifetime. Something much lighter next time, for sure. Without a doubt, I’d want to return to writing if I could put together stories told by teens, a non-fiction book, Stories About Facing Fear: The (Teen) Interviews. I feel that everyone chooses to overcome fear and obstacles in different and unique ways. By sharing stories about others that have done so, may help and inspire those that haven’t quite yet.

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

Thank you, Jen! You and your site are great resources for teens/teen readers and I’m thrilled that you’ve expanded to include adults as well. Good luck always.

Interview with Kathe Koja

www.kathekoja.com

First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I'll be your server toda...oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule--which I'm sure is busy!--and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.

Thanks for asking me, Jen. I'm happy to do it!

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've been writing stories since I was small, about four or five years old. Writing has always been a large part -- a huge part -- of who I am.

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

I've been a freelance writer for more than 25 years, and have published everything from essays to short fiction to horror novels to books for young people to historical fiction. As I mentioned above, I started young, but never really planned to do much with my work; it was mostly just writing for the trunk, as the saying goes. (Nowadays I guess it would be the trunk folder!) What really gave me my start as a professional writer was a scholarship to the Clarion Workshop. Not only did Clarion provide me with the opportunity to meet writers whose work I'd read and admired, as well as peers from all over the US and Canada, it made ME believe that I could be, yes, a "real" writer, get my stuff out there and get it published.

I started submitting my fiction to magazines, and from those magazine publications, I was contacted by an agent, who sold my first novel in 1989. My YA novel, STRAYDOG, was published in 2002, the first of seven (so far).

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?

HEADLONG, my latest YA, explores the depths of friendship between two very different girls, Hazel and Lily, at an exclusive private high school: Lily’s the lifer, Hazel’s the newcomer, and the year they meet changes them both. Those very deep friendships can be more nourishing, and when they falter, just as heartbreaking, as first love, and linger even longer in our hearts.

If I could say only one thing to convince you to buy the book? I guess I would say that I wrote HEADLONG to speak to you, the reader. A novel is a kind of conversation, and a one-sided conversation is unsatisfying. When you read it, the conversation is complete.

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

That's a very difficult question. Whatever engine it is that drives inspiration itself, that desire to tell a story, to remake the world in words -- that's what moves and inspires me to write, every day.

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

My husband, Rick Lieder, is an artist and illustrator. We've been fortunate enough to be able to work together--Rick has done the covers for all my hardcover YA books. And we share our home with three wonderful, fierce, adorable companion cats (all shelter-rescued). Our son Aaron Mustamaa is an artist and animator in Brooklyn, NY.

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

Does coffee count as a food?

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

Feed those cats, make that coffee, and check my email.

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

That one house could hold so many half-filled boxes.

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 black, my favorite color: the color of serenity, certainty, and poise.

Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?

I love Lisa Simpson! and, in print, all of Lynda Barry's mad and marvelous girls. Which is most like me? -- hmm, I draw a blank. My family and friends could probably answer that one much more accurately. (I just asked a friend, and she said "That chick from 'Ghost World'!")

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?

Elizabethan England, to see one of Christopher Marlowe’s plays. I’d be a groundling!

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

I always listen to music when I write. Even years later, when I hear a certain song, I'll remember, vividly, the book I was working on with that song as a soundtrack. And I love all kinds of music, from Bach to the Pixies to Rufus Wainwright to Shearwater to Shostakovich to PJ Harvey to LCD Soundsystem to you name it. Shuffle!

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 is a tie between The Simpsons and the great lamented Deadwood. But I spend far more time online than I do watching anything else.

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

Be completely who you are. We need you.

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

My newest novel is for adults this time around, a historical novel set in Victorian times, called UNDER THE POPPY.

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

Thank you for inviting me. And please check out my blog, http://www.kathekoja.com/blog/ to continue the conversation.

Interview with Priscilla Cummings

www.priscillacummings.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 have loved reading and writing stories since I was four and five years old. I grew up on a dairy farm and my first stories were about the cats who lived in the barn.

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

After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in English literature, I took a job as a newspaper reporter for the Holyoke Transcript in Holyoke, Massachusetts. I then worked for four different newspapers in four different states over the next ten years. I continued a journalism career as a magazine editor and writer for three years before my first picture book was published in 1986, the same year my son was born. At that point, I quit my job to stay home and be a Mom to my son and later, my daughter, and have been at home writing fiction ever since.

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?

What if you were a typical teenager, fourteen years old, enjoying life with your friends, excelling at school and looking forward to the future, when all of a sudden one day you found out you would lose your sight within a few short months? How would you feel? How would you handle that? This is what confronts Natalie in BLINDSIDED.

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

I live near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and the bay has inspired many of my picture books as well as portions of my novel, RED KAYAK. But I have written many books that aren’t about the bay as well. I would say that everyday life is full of inspirational story ideas. If you pay attention to what’s going on and what moves you emotionally, you won’t find it difficult to come up with a good story idea.

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

I am from New England and most of my extended family lives back there in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine. I’m the one who left to take a job in Virginia and basically never went home. I live today in Annapolis, Maryland with my husband, who is Director of the EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities. My son, who is my tech guru, just graduated from Lehigh University and is working for a bank in New York City. My daughter, an English major, an artist and a beautiful harpist, is a student at The College of William and Mary.

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

No question: ice cream.

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

Pour a cup of coffee, let my daughter’s cat, Romeo, out the door so he’ll stop meowing at me, and sit down with the morning newspapers for half an hour. I was a journalist for 13 years, remember, and old habits die hard.

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 incredible mess. It’s because I spend most of my time trying to write great novels!

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?

Silly question, but blue, I guess. It’s the color of a beautiful day, and clear water.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Bart Simpson.

Which cartoon character is most like you?

Hmmmm . . .. I was stumped on this one so I asked my daughter who is away at school and here is what she emailed back: “I would say you are kind of like Velma from Scooby Doo....You are very bookish and cute and you're always ready to solve a mystery!”

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 listening to a wide range of music: classical, rock, opera, and harp, to name some. I do not listen to music when I’m writing. My house has to be absolutely silent.

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 except for the news and shows on PBS. I love movies though. Some of my favorites are An American President, Dr. Zhivago, A Beautiful Mind, The Painted Veil, Lawrence of Arabia, and Juno . . . The last movie I saw at the theater was Inception. I love Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Paige, but I didn’t much care for the movie. Too complicated, too much gratuitous violence and I didn’t believe in the characters.

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

Keep reading! It will expand your vocabulary, help you understand the world, foster empathy and tolerance – and it’s fun!

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

I am working on a “companion book” to a novel I wrote a few years ago called RED KAYAK. The new story follows up on one of the three main characters, which is why I call it a “companion book” and not a sequel.

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