On careers & the future & a lot of other hazy things

Website update: I've decided to stick with option 1 for the time being: you can find that site when you click StephBowe.com. I'm going to change that to something that's more appealing to teenagers, so if there are any good websites where they have free blog or website templates, it'd be great if you could share. I can do very limited HTML myself - I made Option 2 from scratch - but I'd like to do have something a little more appealing than that.


This week I completed work experience at my local library.

I shelved and scanned books and all the librarians told me I showed 'initiative'.

I also realised that working in a library didn't suit me.

I realised I need to feel challenged, and to feel like I'm accomplishing something.

While it's a fine career for many smart, bookish people, I think I'd forever feel bored.

I'm a person who does things. I'm frustrated by inaction. I need to always feel as if I'm learning, as if everything I'm doing is worthwhile. That's probably why I've already written two novels, and also why I don't have much in the way of a social life.

So this is what I've decided: I'm going to do work experience at a publishing house in the second semester (if you're a publisher in Melbourne, reading this blog, I am very reliable and eager to learn, so if you're looking for a work experience kid, send me an email. I do, however, tend to trip over things.)

I think work experience has been invaluable, but my future career is still incredibly hazy. At the moment I'm exploring all of my options for courses I can do while I'm still at school.

I want to ask: did you plan the career you have now? Or did you just stumble into it? And those of you still at school: can you say, with any certainty, what you're going to be when you're older?

Thanks.

EDIT: I also want to shoot myself in the foot for not going to Reading Matters. Though I will hopefully go in two years time, when I am seventeen and lovely and glamorous. Not that being lovely and glamorous has anything to do with anything, but I would like to be lovely and glamorous.

And another edit: I feel I have to mention, writing is my passion. My life is based around it. I'm being realistic about careers and things, though the only thing I truly want to do it write. I'd add a bad simile of writing being oxygen here, but I need to get to bed, so I won't.

Kids Today: this blog, Sex, Drugs and the Eventual Downfall of Civilization

I'll be posting about my conversion to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster very soon, but in the meantime, I'm going to continue on the discussion from my previous post, Sex in YA.

This is going to be long and rambly. I'm sorry.

I'm just going to respond with my thoughts to some of the commenters, so you might want to check out that post to see the comments in full (they are all quite long and thoughtfully written). Thank you all for offering your opinions - I think it's a touchy subject for some people, but it plays such a role in the lives of teenagers and the novels for them that I don't think we could not discuss it (I was tiring of zombies and vampires and bread).

Sarah Laurence - thanks so much for contributing your thoughts. I agree totally with you. I think teenagers should be introduced to sex through books written for their age group, rather than Mills & Boone (or, in my case, late night SBS.) Ignoring that teenagers are confronted with these things, and that teenagers will experiment, is only going to lead them to not be open with their parents, and be misinformed (I have so many funny stories my friends have told me, them believing these to be concrete facts, about the spread of STDs and what causes pregnancy, but I'm not going to share them here. They were, however, extremely funny, but also kind of sad considering the misinformation of teenagers).

Anonymous - I think I know who you are, and I'm not sure why you posted anonymously. No one will have a go at your beliefs! You are absolutely entitled to your opinions. However, I don't believe teenagers will be influenced by novels to a degree where they choose to try it; as Sarah Laurence mentioned in her comment, it allows them to explore that part of life without experiencing it first hand. I think that it's fine for teenagers to make pledges and purity rings and all that, but they should also be educated in birth control.

And - now I'm going to sound like your Health & Human Development teacher here - it's okay to talk about this stuff. Everyone's mature enough to respect each other's opinions and beliefs, and - though we have veered a bit off track - we are talking about sex in books.

I believe literature for teenagers should (and does) include all things which affect teenagers, things they can relate to, and things they can learn about without experiencing firsthand - premarital sex, gay relationships, drug use. It's up to the reader the way they interpret things.

Steph Su - I agree with you almost entirely. Though I believe that teenagers aren't necessarily having sex younger; it's just become more socially acceptable, and they're more comfortable to share this with their parents. And, as I mentioned earlier, I think it's okay for teenagers to makes pledges, or not believe in sex before marriage, as long as they're also educated in safe sex. And I don't think anyone younger than about fourteen or fifteen can make that type of promise.

Readergirl - I think we're agreed that Gossip Girl is not an accurate representation of youth today (I mean, do you know anyone who's rich and beautiful and morally damaged - you know, other than me?), and the only thing teenagers take from it is entertainment (keep it on the DL, but while I outwardly despise Gossip Girl, I secretly love it. Shh).

Rhiannon - I agree. But I think things that bad sexual experiences should be depicted in YA, because teenagers need something to relate to, or perhaps, on some level, be educated by. Because everyone's first time is not always Edward-and-Bella.
(Rhiannon also just posted a blog about a similar topic here.)

Donna - Ooh, this cat has claws! There's no need to insult Stephenie (though I always thought that Bella and Edward didn't have those sorts of relations because he might kill her, and then it turns out it was because he didn't believe in premarital sex - which I frankly think is stupid, since he was 110 or something, and he shouldn't be sleeping with a 17-year old anyway), but yes, you're exactly right. If it's necessary to the plot or character development, if it serves an important role, sex in YA is fine.

Summer - thanks, I'll have to check out that book. I've only been reading YA for the past two-three years (I'm fifteen), so not really long enough to notice it getting racier. I think it's important to separate upper YA and novels that are appropriate for those who are at a YA reading level, but are only eleven or twelve. When I first moved on to the teen section of my library, at about twelve, (I had to retype that three times. I kept on writing on sextion), I read a few novels that made me incredibly uncomfortable, novels I was unprepared for. Stuff I'd get now, that wouldn't shock me at all, freaked me out.

One such book was the Basic Eight by Daniel Handler. It was creepy. It has stuck with me for three and a half years. I can remember the plot better than I can remember the plot of any other book that I've read. But not in a good way. It's probably quite a good novel. But I was too freaked out to notice. There was a disturbing twist in the end. Someone is killed with a croquet mallet. And guess what? Daniel Handler also writes under a pseudonym.

He's Lemony Snicket.

The creep.

Scarred me for life.

Damn, how did I get here from talking about S. Meyer's bizarre no-premarital-sex-for-sparkly-vampires?

In conclusion:

Teenagers are going to have sex and drink alcohol and take drugs. They are wrecking balls of hormones, and for parents, their bizarre behaviour will both confuse and irritate you for upwards of five years, even though you experienced these same things yourself.

It's important for parents to be open with their kids. And it's important for teenagers to have access to literature which says to them, 'You're not a weirdo. This happens to everyone.'

Regardless of their sexual orientation, views toward sex, drugs or alcohol, family situation, the place where they live, and whether or not they are Steph Bowe, teenagers need to be able to see themselves in books, but also be able to escape into imaginary worlds when the pressures of their life (which seems like nothing to adults, but are all-consuming when you're fifteen) are too much.

Try and take some sense from my statement. Think about it a bit. Then write an amazing novel I can relate to. I'll love you for it.

Sex in YA with a side of eerily accurate horoscopes

Aquarius Jan 20th - Feb 18th
People will come from miles around to seek your wisdom on all manner of things, which is proof that people will do anything for a good laugh.

So true.

Now that you've listened to me rant about sparkly vampires and why freaks are awesome, I want your opinion on something.

Sex in YA literature.

Distasteful? Necessary?

Do you agree with Stephenie Meyer's concept that teenage sex is okay as long as you're married? Do you think sex has no place in books for teenagers? Do you believe that the sexual escapades of the characters in Gossip Girl are a true representation of youth today?

Which books have handled this well, or badly? And how much is too much?

I'd really like to know what you think.

One other thing: I need stuff to blog about. Ask me a weird question. I can expand no further on the topics of sparkly vampires and zombie strippers.

Steph Bowe: Staking sparkly vampires since the summer of ‘08

A rant on clichéd romance, and a quick vampire Q & A

This will sound bizarre, like most things on this here blog, but I don’t like romance; however, I love stories about love.

This is mainly because of the fact that in YA romance, the love interest tends to be a muscled, slightly older boy with amazing eyelashes and lips and eyes which our female protagonist could swim into. Now (and this is probably going to reflect my personal taste in the opposite gender, but bear with me folks), I like a flawed love interest. A shy, fat boy. Good. A strange looking psychopath. Better. A mentally unstable boy who’s dying of cancer. Better yet. A quick note: by ‘flawed’ I do not mean ‘vampiric’. If Stephenie Meyer had have exchanged ‘sparkly’ for ‘obese’ or ‘breathtakingly beautiful’ for ‘kleptomaniac’, I would have enjoyed Twilight. And yes, I realise that few people like freaks. I do. This is just me I’m talking about.

I like love stories that traverse things like ugliness, mental illness, etc. I mean, Romeo & Juliet was alright (I just thought of that because I’m listening to Romeo & Juliet by Dire Straits). I liked the whole feuding families thing. But if Juliet randomly set fire to things and Romeo was horribly deformed, it would have been better. Again, I don’t care if you have a sparkly vampire lover unless he’s a psycho or fat.

I can’t stand a novel where a girl falls in love with her male best friend who supported her through her break up with her dashingly handsome ex and she subsequently noticed that the best friend had been pining after her since they were both twelve. Or a novel where all that stands between Flatchested Heroine and Hot Older Guy with Awesome Car is her best friend, who is Hot Older Guy with Awesome Car’s younger sister. And then younger sister/best friend says, “Who am I to stand in the way of True Love/Underage Sex That May or May Not Be Legal?” And then Hot Older Guy with Awesome Car and Flatchested Heroine can be together.

If I read another book where this happens (or where female protagonist whines about her lack of breasts for 200 pages – I don’t care. I just don’t), I will put it in the ‘To be burned’ pile with the entire Twilight saga and that book that Robert Pattinson wrote, among others.

One more thing: I don’t like books where the main character can’t go on without a significant other. No, that’s nota thinly veiled attack on New Moon. It’s everywhere in YA. I want to say to every teenager: your own happiness is dependent solely on yourself.


Vampire hating and staking: question time.

Why are you a hater?
I’m not a hater. But everyone, even non-haters, needs something to hate. In Loathing Lola by William Kostakis, Courtney hates her stepmother Lola. In The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger, Marcy Lewis has her dad and Mr Stone. Political parties have one another to hate. Disenchanted women have men to hate. Disillusioned youths hate their parents. Aquarians hate Geminis. I strongly dislike sparkly vampires.

Why do you think so many people girls love Edward Cullen?
In case you didn’t notice, Edward Cullen has no personality, except for being utterly beautiful and vaguely James Dean-esque with the angst and the inner turmoil and the what-not. Thus, girls between the ages of twelve and (somewhat disturbingly) forty-something, siphon (for lack of a better word) all of their desires and hopes and perfect-ness into one neat vampiric package. It’s quite fabulous, really, for one character to represent Mr Right for several dozen million girls and women. If he were a real person, a jealous husband or boyfriend would have assassinated him by now. He would have bigger than Jesus. And appropriately James Dean-esque.

How does one kill a vampire?
Stake through the heart. Decapitation, I think, works as well. Whatever kills zombies will probably kill vampires, and vice versa.

Do you hate all vampires?
No. Only sparkly ones. I love Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys. I love Dracula. I love The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks. I love Angel from Buffy. And it’s not just because they aren’t sparkly (though that did contribute greatly). It’s because they’re FLAWED. They aren’t perfect. They could be real. Edward Cullen could never be real.

Do you like Bella?
I pity Bella for her weakness. I love the actress who plays her in the movie (her name evades me at the moment), because I think she’s been good in previous films (Speak immediately comes to mind). But I think Bella was basically just Stephenie Meyer turning herself into a Mary-Sue, making herself twenty years younger, and putting herself in a novel with a nice, virile young vampire that sparkles instead of melting because melting isn’t what a perfect vampire lover would do (when I write it out like that, it sounds like a fan fiction. Imagine Twilight as a Doctor Who/Harry Potter crossover fanfic where Draco and Harry are lovers). Stephenie Meyer should have done what most authors do with first novels; put it away in a drawer, then brought it out in a year or two and injected a dose of reality before sending it off to publishers. Or perhaps continued writing, and let Twilight stay in that drawer for an indeterminable amount of time, then written something that made a statement. Because I wish Twilight could have promoted racial equality, or something, because the impact that it has had so far could have really helped a social issue along, I’m sure. But instead, we have sparkly vampires and Bella popping out babies like a Pez dispenser (you know there’ll be another sequel. Afternoon Sun: Bella & Eddie’s Quintuplets).

Feel free to ask more questions about sparkly vampires. Though I think people will now believe I’m verging on a dangerous hating obsession. Edward Cullen is lucky he isn’t real, because I’m concerned for my sanity, and I have a lot of wooden stakes in my backyard.

EDIT: Just so you don’t get concerned, I’m kidding. I just talk about Twilight a lot because I have funny plots for possible future sequels. Like ‘Full Moon’ – ‘Bella becomes the mother-in-law of a cradlesnatching werewolf she once kissed. Tongue and all. #1 NYT bestseller.’ You can imagine that on the back cover, can’t you?

An interview with Kate Constable

Kate Constable is the Australian author of numerous fantasy novels for teenagers, as well as two novels in the Girlfriend Fiction series, and her latest novel, Cicada Summer, a fantasy for younger readers. She dropped in to Hey, Teenager of the Year for a glass of red cordial, a slice of fairy bread and a chat about her books and random snippets of trivia (well, not really, but I bet she likes red cordial).

You can find out more about Kate and her books on her website, or check out her blog.

1. List the books you've written. Which one are you most proud of? Which was the hardest to write?

The Chanters of Tremaris trilogy:
The Singer of All Songs
The Waterless Sea
The Tenth Power
The Taste of Lightning (a stand-alone Tremaris book)
Always Mackenzie (Girlfriend Fiction)
Winter of Grace (Girlfriend Fiction)
Cicada Summer (just released; a fantasy for younger readers)


Cicada Summer was probably the hardest, even though it's the shortest! It took me a year to write the first version and when I took it to Allen & Unwin, I said "It's a mess, isn't it," and they just looked at me sadly and said, "Yes. Yes, it is." So I chopped out a lot of the unnecessary bits and completely rewrote it and it's now a much better book.


The one I'm proudest of is one that isn't on the list because it isn't published (yet, though I hope it will be). It's tentativey titled Crow Country, and it's a fantasy set in Australia, which I found very hard to write also -- I had three stabs at it before I found the shape and story I wanted. And now I'm very pleased with it, I think it's some of the best writing I've done. I really wanted to infuse the Australian landscape with some of the magic that people seemed to respond to in the Tremaris books, but grounding it in my own country, and I hope I've managed to do that.


2. What three words would you use to describe yourself? (Don't use the words 'nice', 'pretty' or 'good' (because your Grade Six teacher will read this and be very disappointed)

Shy, wry, methodical


3. Complete this sentence: My teenage years were....

... a haze of self-doubt, bad hair, bad skin and secret longings.


4. Have you always wanted to write for young people? Or did you set out to become a brain surgeon and wind up stumbling down this path? Was the road to publication rocky for you?

The road was long, but not rocky. I knew when I was eight that I wanted to be a writer and I stuck to that until I left school, when for some deluded reason I decided that I wanted to be a lawyer, probably because half my friends were doing law too (some of them actually became lawyers, unlike me.) So that derailed me for a few years.
By the time I figured out law wasn't for me, I had a job in a record company (records are what came before cassettes, before CDs, before iTunes... oh never mind...) and I stuck to that for years because I could do the work while I was thinking about my writing. I did phone sales and reception and admin jobs, and wrote part time. I did that for about ten years.
I had some short stories published and toiled away at (adult) novels, none of which were published, until someone advised me to try writing something completely different. Then I thought, blow it (or words to that effect), just for fun, I'll try a fantasy. I didn't even know what YA was. But writing the book that became The Singer of All Songs was such pure pleasure, I never wanted to go back to writing for adults. Singer was picked up and published quite quickly, and that coincided with having my first baby, so I was able to give up the record company and write full time. It was a dream run, really, I've been very lucky.


5. Who were your biggest inspirations and idols growing up and today?
I always feel very unprepared for this question! I don't know really. When I was young, a handful of wonderful English and History teachers. Carl Sagan, who opened my eyes to the wonders of the universe. In my second year at uni, I saw a film about the psychiatrist and thinker Carl Jung, which blew my mind apart. Seeing that film was the single most valuable experience I took away from all my years at university. Needless to say, it had nothing to do with any of my courses!


Today, I am in awe of my husband, who can do maths; my elder daughter, who can invent fabulous objects; and my younger daughter, who can sing. Lucky sods.




6. Who are your favourite authors and what novels do you love best?

Changes all the time, and too many to list, but a random fave five might be Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love; LM Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables; Helen Garner, The Spare Room; Antonia Forest, Peter's Room; Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden.


7. If you were in a novel (any one you've read), who would you be?

Hermione Granger. Or Rosamund in The Millstone, by Margaret Drabble. I was about 14 when I read it and it was the first time I'd felt immediate, total and utter identification with a character. (Apart from the part where she accidentally gets pregnant and has the baby by herself. Otherwise she is ME.)


8. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? (Or today? Don't worry; we won't call the men in white coats on you)

Not an imaginary friend as such, but I did have an alter ego. I would tell myself stories about her every night before I fell asleep. I started doing this when I was around four and I still do it, sometimes. She started out as a princess (of course!) and became all kinds of other things, including a telepath, a time-traveller and a revolutionary. One of the hardest things I ever did was try to give up this habit when I was about eighteen, because I decided it was time I lived in the real world, not inside my head. But it was nearly impossible. It made me a writer, but I reckon it also made me slightly weird... It was worth it!


9. Complete this sentence: My life outside of writing is...

... chaotic, exhausting, crammed with children, food-wrangling, washing, reading, champagne, love and football.


10. If you were a superhero, what would be your name, power and costume?

I have a good memory for useless trivia so I would probably be Triviana, able to unearth obscure facts quicker than the speed of light. My costume would be a cape made of the leather bindings of old editions of Encyclopedia Britannica, with iridescent wings underneath, and big googly spectacles. (Google-y, that was an accident, ha ha.)


11. Xena Warrior Princess or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

I always identified with Xena's femme friend Gabrielle, actually... not I ever watched it...much...


12. Have you read Twilight? Did you enjoy it? Do you secretly believe your own books are better? (I know you do, don't try to lie…)

I haven't read Twilight, but I've read such a lot about it, I feel as if I have. I suspect I would have loved them when I was growing up. But they're not written for the person I am now, so in a way it would be unfair for me to go there now and judge. (Did I wriggle out of that one?)

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

You can also read my review of The Reformed Vampire Support Group on Allen & Unwin's website.

Nina has been fifteen since 1973, when she was infected by a rogue vampire, but instead of the glamorous, superhuman life that television and Nina’s novels suggest, her life as a vampire has been boring and sickly so far.

Then Casimir, the vampire responsible for infecting half of the reformed vampire support group he’s a member of, is found dead in his coffin – staked and reduced to dust – and the boring life Nina loathes is suddenly threatened. With a vampire-slayer at large, the support group holes up at Nina’s house, in spite of her ageing mother’s protests, and the resulting quest to find and stop the killer (or at least convince him that they aren’t a menace to society), reveals the courage behind their reluctant, pallid exteriors.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group put an original spin on a familiar concept. I deeply enjoyed this novel; the fact that it’s set in Sydney and distinctly Australian was refreshing, and the quirky humour and dry wit sprinkled throughout the novel sparkled. Nina, Dave and the rest of the support group, as well as the villains, were characters with personality and quirks, each with their own motivations.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group was deeply involving, and impossible to put down. The plot was extraordinary, but deftly handled by the author. It was simplistically but beautifully written. Next to other recent vampire novels I’ve read, The Reformed Vampire Support Group stands out for its originality. A novel well worth reading, and reading again – my new favourite.

An interview with Princess Tina Ferraro

I fibbed. Again. She isn't really a princess. But she is an awesome YA novelist (whose first novel, Top Ten Uses For An Unworn Prom Dress, has been recommended by Stephenie Meyer!) Remember to check out Tina's website, as well as YA Fresh and Books, Boys, Buzz - where she blogs with a host of other fabulous YA authors!


1. List the books you've written. Which one are you most proud of? Which was the hardest to write?

Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, 2007
How to Hook a Hottie, 2008
The ABC's of Kissing Boys, 2009
When Bad Flings Happen to Good Girls, 2010

At the moment, I am most proud of How to Hook a Hottie since Romance Writers of America has nominated it as one of three finalists for Best Young Adult Novel of 2008. (Like how I got that plug in???) The hardest was the last one because I was very distracted with real-life stuff. I have yet to edit it, and I'm suspecting my editor will want lots of changes!


2. What three words would you use to describe yourself? (Don’t use the words 'nice', 'pretty' or 'good' because your Grade Six teacher will read this and be very disappointed)

I'd be delighted if my Grade Six teacher read this. (Hi, Mrs. Strauss!) Okay: Focused. Scattered. Loyal. (And while those first two adjectives seem to cancel each other out, people who know me would agree: I am scattered in a focused way.)


3. Complete this sentence: My teenage years were...

really good research material.

4. Have you always wanted to write for young people? Or did you set out to become a brain surgeon and wind up stumbling down this path? Was the road to publication rocky for you?

I have been writing since I could hold a pencil. I did some other jobs along the way to pay the bills, but nothing resonates with me like storytelling. I sold my first short story shortly after college, but it was quite a few years later that I got serious about writing books...and a few more until I told my first. Yes, "rocky" is a good description.


5. Who were your biggest inspirations and idols growing up and today?

I have always looked at literary figures, screenwriters and songwriters as inspirations, anyone who could tweak emotions with words. So I'll mention some giants who have turned my head throughout my career: Bruce Springsteen, Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, Phil Collins, J. J. Abrams, Tina Fey...


6. Who are your favourite authors and what novels do you love best?

Oops, started answering that earlier. Okay, here's some books that *I* consider classics: Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, Christy, Catherine Marshall, The Stand, Stephen King, A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly, Looking for Alaska, John Green...


7. If you were in a novel (any one you've read), who would you be?

Hmmm...well, can't go wrong with Miss Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, especially at the end!


8. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? (Or today? Don't worry; we won't call the men in white coats on you)

No one has EVER asked me this before, and I'm happy to report the truth here: I did not. I wanted one, but I couldn't make it happen. Instead, I think I had scores of characters waiting offstage to come to life!


9. Complete this sentence: My life outside of writing is...

blessed. I believe in embracing the good stuff and giving the rest a swift kick, so I choose to look at my life as lovely.


10. If you were a superhero, what would be your name, power and costume?

Definitely a princess and the color is pink, So Princess Pink Pillow ('cause I'd love the power to manipulate people's dreams). And may no coincidence, I'm told my father carried me around on a pink pillow when I was a baby!


11. Xena Warrior Princess or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Again, I think I just answered this. I'll go with Princess!


12. Have you read Twilight? Did you enjoy it? Do you secretly believe your own books are better? (I know you do, don't try to lie…)

Yes, I have read Twilight, and while I am not vampire or paranormally inclined, I did enjoy it. And just like in the first question, I found a ripe opportunity for Blatant Self-Promotion, here I go again! :) Stephenie Meyer, bestselling author extraordinare, creator of the Twilight Phenomenon, is a fan of my book. Yep. (See attachment...I can prove it!) At her 2007 book launch, she recommended Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress to her readers. And it doesn't get any better than that, does it???

An interview with Beth Kephart

Beth Kephart is the author of YA novels Undercover, House of Dance, Nothing but Ghosts, and The Heart is not a Size, as well as several memoirs (a bit more about them below.) Believe it or not, she has a job outside of writing (how she manages this along with writing and dancing is beyond me!) Since first being published a decade ago, she has been named a National Book Award finalist, an NEA grant winner, a Pew Fellowships in the Arts recipient, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts winner, a Leeway Foundation award winner, the author of a Book Sense pick, and a Speakeasy Poetry Prize winner. Her novels Undercover and House Of Dance we're both on the Kirkus Best Young Adult Books of the Year list, in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Check out her blog here. Beth was lovely enough to be interviewed here! Thank you, Beth!


1. List the books you've written. Which one are you most proud of? Which was the hardest to write?

I’ve written five memoirs—A Slant of Sun, Into the Tangle of Friendship, Still Love in Strange Places, Seeing Past Z, and Ghosts in the Garden. I’ve co-authored a business fable called Zenobia. I wrote the autobiography of a river (a mix of poetry and history) called Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River. And I’ve written four novels for young adults: Undercover, House of Dance, Nothing but Ghosts, and (to be released next March) The Heart is not a Size. Three other books—two for young adult readers, one for adults—are floating through my mind and sometimes making their way to the page.I don’t ever think of a book as something I am proud of, just something that I urgently needed to write, or to say. The hardest books are the memoirs, perhaps. Truth is prickly and truth telling affects other people, whether you want it to or not.


2. What three words would you use to describe yourself? (Don’t use the words ‘nice’, ‘pretty’ or ‘good’ because your Grade Six teacher will read this and be very disappointed)

Wow. I’d have never used the forbidden words, so we are safe there. I am persistent, sometimes impatient, and extremely passionate.


3. Complete this sentence: My teenage years were...

very much like the ones I’ve captured in the novel, Undercover.


4. Have you always wanted to write for young people? Or did you set out to become a brain surgeon and wind up stumbling down this path? Was the road to publication rocky for you?

I’ve simply always wanted to write. My foray into the young adult world was something I didn’t see coming, despite the fact that I’ve taught young people writing for years and despite the fact that I once chaired the National Book Awards jury for Young People’s Literature. I was invited to write a novel for younger readers by Laura Geringer, then at HarperTeen. She opened the door and once I walked through I wanted to inhabit every room. I love this genre. I love the genre’s readers and bloggers.


5. Who were your biggest inspirations and idols growing up and today?

Hmmm. My son is my biggest inspiration. Idols? I am awed by writers like Michale Ondaatje, and by dancers who can actually dance.


6. Who are your favourite authors and what novels do you love best?

Michael Ondaatje, Alice McDermott, and Colum McCann are high on my list. Last year I loved The Book Thief, and that book astonishes me, still.


7. If you were in a novel (any one you’ve read), who would you be?

Liesel Meminger, the heroine of The Book Thief.


8. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? (Or today? Don’t worry; we won’t call the men in white coats on you)

No. I can honestly say that I did not.


9. Complete this sentence: My life outside of writing is...

rich and complex—mostly consumed by the business I run, accented and gifted by my huge garden, my love of dance, my happiness cooking, my passion for transporting beauty into the house, and, of course, my family.


10. If you were a superhero, what would be your name, power and costume?

I would be some iteration of Wisdom (I always wanted to be wise). My power would be knowing. My costume would be almost transparent, but not.


11. Xena Warrior Princess or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Um. Neither.


12. Have you read Twilight? Did you enjoy it? Do you secretly believe your own books are better? (I know you do, don’t try to lie…)

Um. No. I have not read Twilight, save for the first chapter of the first book, which is where I chose to stop. Better is in the eyes of the beholder. Certainly Twilight sells more than my own books.

You and me and him and her: My misadventures with multiple narrators

It turns out my review of Pink is the very first review of Pink as Lili mentions here. Aren't I special?


A few things happened to me yesterday:
a) I witnessed a car accident
b) I washed my dog
c) I got a grey, cable-knit cardigan
d) I got a rejection letter for Book Number 2
(Not in that order. It happened d), c), a), b). I felt it worked better in the order I put it in, though)

a) No one was hurt in the car accident. A woman accidentally put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake when she was parking and drove into the toy shop. A post supporting the awning came down, but otherwise everything was okay. She was in a bit of shock.

It scared me though, because I was sitting outside a café about five metres away, and at first everyone thought there might have been someone pinned under the car, since she drove over a pretty busy walkway. It’s the first time I’ve dealt with the fact that things happen that are scary and abrupt and random, things that you have no preparation for. And even though I wasn’t directly involved, it was very confronting.

However, I am one to overreact.

I’m going to skip over b) and c) because they’re pretty self-explanatory.

d) I received back my manuscript from a publisher yesterday, with a very kind rejection letter and almost an entire page of feedback, which must have been very time-consuming to write, which I am infinitely appreciative of. If she’s reading this (which she probably isn’t, because I imagine she’s very busy and important), I want to say thank you. It means a lot to me.

It was disappointing, but not as much as I thought it would be. I know I can keep writing and submitting and eventually it will pay off. I’ve got the advantage of starting very young. I know I have a lot to learn as a writer. Who’s mastered anything but Halo 3 by the time they were fifteen? (Or for older readers of this blog, Space Invaders.)

Now, here’s the bit about multiple narrators:

My novel is written in first person, present tense, from four different narrators. I can see you cringing already. What was mentioned in the letter, and that I’ve been told recently by friends and family who’ve read the book, is that it becomes difficult to tell which narrator you’re hearing the story from, because their voices aren’t particularly distinct.

I really can’t pull off multiple narrators, let alone four.

I think it’s because I write the way I think; largely that hasn’t changed the better I’ve become at writing, I’ve just learnt to articulate it better. I like the way I think; in jokes and daytime TV references, thinking about things far away rather than what’s directly in front of me. I like the way I write; sure, sometimes I’ll write something that’s complete rubbish, but most of the time it’s fairly decent, and every now and then I’ll write something that’s so fantastic it makes me wonder whether I really wrote it at all. Those instances, however, are very rare.

The problem is four different characters that think exactly like me makes things confusing and unclear. Funny, but still confusing and unclear.

Which books have you read that have multiple narrators? Off the top of my head I can think of Cold Skin by Steven Herrick and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. Drastically different books, nothing like what I write. I loved the first. I’m not so much of a fan of the latter (I could have written Breaking Dawn for Stephenie Meyer and it still would have sold. I think it would have been funnier, and there wouldn’t be any cradlesnatching).

Do you like multiple narrators? Can you think of any books where multiple narrators were used well? Can you think of any where they weren’t?

If I had a drawing board, I’d be going back to it. But really, I’m just sitting down at my laptop, making myself a peanut butter sandwich and getting started on rewrites. It’s going to be hard to decide which narrators will go. I might eat my sandwich first.

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Remember when I interviewed Lili? I was very lucky to receive an ARC of her latest novel, Pink, which is to be released in August of this year! Here's my review:



Ava is reinventing herself. She moves to the Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence, begins making glamorous new friends, auditions for the school musical and (gasp) wears pink - all the while trying to hide her new self from her non-comformist parents and edgy girlfriend Chloe. She misses out on a role in the school musical, joins the misfits of Stage Crew, and things are complicated further, before the collision of her distinctly different lives, to disastrous results.

Pink is engaging in its realism. Quite honestly, I loved this book; Lili Wilkinson is undeniably in touch with the youth she writes for. Pink was hilariously funny, and the way in which the characters spoke sounded as if it were straight from the schoolyard; Wikipedia references and silly in-jokes were abundant, the characters were easy to identify with and everything Ava dealt with was entirely relatable.

Ava's voice is honest and compelling - her struggles with her personal identity and sexuality are relevant and dealt with with much sincerity. The distinct theme of this novel is 'it's okay if you're not sure' - not an issue that's common in YA literature at the moment, but which is masterfully handled in Pink. Both thought-provoking and fun, Pink is a must-read for teenage girls, and is now on my list of favourite books of all time.

Recommended age: 14+ (Upper YA)
Star rating: Nine out of ten
In a word: PINK! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
You'll like it if you liked: Notes From The Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why follows one evening in the life of Clay Jensen, who has just received a box containing a set of cassette tapes from Hannah Baker – his crush and classmate – who died two weeks earlier. The tapes chronicle the thirteen reasons why Hannah Baker committed suicide, each tape detailing one person who caused, in one way or another, Hannah’s decision to take her own life.
It’s incredibly hard to encapsulate such an amazing, emotionally-charged novel, and properly convey how evocative and powerful it is. The concept and the structure seem flawless, characters three-dimensional. It’s wonderfully written – taking the reader to the verge of tears, evoking anger – but simple, conversational, easy to read. I read it in one sitting – it’s suspenseful, and even though you know Hannah has already died, you’re hoping someone will save her from herself. The style of writing – the script of Hannah’s audio tape interspersed with Clay’s very emotional reactions – is unique and gripping. Thirteen Reasons Why is unputdownable, and Jay Asher, this being his first novel, is an undeniably talented author, who will undoubtedly go on to success, and hopefully even better novels (and I’m also hoping his next book is less depressing).
I loved the way in which Thirteen Reasons Why involved so many people, examined the effect each person, each event had towards one awful thing – it’s impossible not to become emotionally involved – oft frustrating, and you feel like yelling at the characters. The interrelation of events was satisfying. I often dislike young adult fiction offering a moral, a lesson, but in Thirteen Reasons Why I didn’t mind so much. This is a book I believe teenager should read and will definitely gain from – be warned of somewhat harsh themes, so I wouldn’t recommend for anyone under fourteen.
Genre: Young Adult
Recommended Age: 14+
Star Rating: Nine out of ten
In a word: Wow
(Jay Asher has an excellent blog here.)

Always Mackenzie by Kate Constable

Always Mackenzie is the fourth book in the Girlfriend fiction series of standalone novels. They are fairly short – all under 200 pages – and can be read one sitting. Generally easy reads, and appropriate for teenage girls.
Jem is a nerd, and Mackenzie is popular, and they become friends. It sounds like (and is) an overused premise in young adult literature and yet it is executed in a new and different way, never even touching on being clichéd, and is both thought-provoking and engaging in the way it examines friendships, high school and cliques through the eyes of Jem (self-proclaimed Invisible Girl).
It is told from first person, Jem’s perspective, is often funny, and engages the reader from the first page. She’s easy to relate to, and situations she gets into I think a lot of girls can identify with. She deals with falling out with friends, bullying, and a lot of other issues that occur too often through high school, leaving Jem hurt and wondering why. From the start Jem and Mackenzie’s friendship is on shaky footing, and as her three best friends slip away, Jem is left lonely and confused.
Written simply but effectively, quite lyrical in parts, Always Mackenzie is great novel and well worth a read.
Genre: Young Adult
Recommended Age: 13+
Star Rating: Seven out of ten
In a word: Unexpected

Felicity Pulman is... Morgana, shapeshifter extraordinnaire!

Australian author of historical fiction 9amongst other genres) for teenagers, Felicity Pulman was kind enough to be interviewed here on Hey, Teenager of the Year, from whence no sane author has ever returned. Read a very interesting About Felicity on her website - she grew up in Africa! Aspiring writers, check out her writing tips.

1. List the books you've written. Which one are you most proud of? Which was the hardest to write?

I loved writing the Shalott trilogy and working with those archetypal characters from Arthurian legend - and those books were the hardest to write because when I started I knew nothing about medieval time and very little about the legend. I just started with the question: what if it's possible to go back in time and save the life of 'the Lady of Shalott' and so change the fate of Camelot? I also love best what I'm currently working on: in this case the Janna Mysteries.
In order of publication: Three's a Crowd - teen romance for the Dolly Fiction imprint. The next three are for younger readers:
Wally the Water Dragon - about a head-banging water dragon that's taken up residence in our garden (younger readers)
Surfing the Future - When Haley sees a dead girl lying on a beach, can he change the future?
Ghost Boy - a time slip adventure invoking the grisly history of the Quarantine Station in Sydney: a novel about identity, belonging and having the courage to face your fears. (There's a special Ghost Boy tour up at the QS for schools studying the novel. What a huge thrill to see my book 'come to life'!)
The Shalott trilogy: a timeslip to the court of Arthur at Camelot - and five teenagers who try to change a legend but rewrite their own destiny instead.
Guinevere Jones, Books 2 & 3 - based on the TV series which invoke the legend of King Arthur and Merlin.
The Janna Mysteries: Y/A medieval crime/romance. Janna goes in search of her unknown father hoping to avenge her mother's death and bring a killer to justice - and finds crimes, mysteries and true love along her journey.


2. What three words would you use to describe yourself? (Don’t use the words ‘nice’, ‘pretty’ or ‘good’ because your Grade Six teacher will read this and be very disappointed)

Stubborn, ambitious, loving - and also nice, pretty and good (I wish!)


3. Complete this sentence: My teenage years were...

spent incarcerated in a draconian boarding school at the beginning, and making the most of my freedom once I came out. I was a wild child: but I learned a lot from my mistakes!


4. Have you always wanted to write for young people? Or did you set out to become a brain surgeon and wind up stumbling down this path? Was the road to publication rocky for you?

I always wanted to be a famous something: dancer, musician, doctor - it varied depending on my age. Even though I've always written stories, I never thought of it as a 'real career' until I had a mid-life crisis and went back to school to do the HSC and then on to do a communications degree. (Yes, life really can begin at 40!)


5. Who were your biggest inspirations and idols growing up and today?

In my teen years we thought Elvis Presley & then the Beatles were the greatest (although I secretly preferred classical music. Sssh - I still do.) The people who inspire me today are those who work selflessly for the benefit of others, helping eg street kids and the homeless, and also those musicians, singers, writers and other artistes who bring beauty and pleasure to our world and who encourage us to question the true nature of things..



6. Who are your favourite authors and what novels do you love best?

I loved Enid Blyton as a child, and I think JK Rowling has taken on her mantle - writing fantastic page-turning stories that people love to read. My favourite books are two timeslip fantasies: Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book and Stephen Rivelle's A Booke of Days. But I also really admire writers like Helen Garner and Jodi Picoult, for their courage in writing about difficult topics; I loved The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (and I won't go and see the movie - it's much too clear already in my head.) And The Golden Compass trilogy by Philip Pullman (no relation!) And I read heaps of crime novels by a variety of English, American and Australian authors. I am a bookaholic!


7. If you were in a novel (any one you’ve read), who would you be?

Elizabeth Bennett, so long as Colin Firth was Mr Darcy.


8. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? (Or today? Don’t worry; we won’t call the men in white coats on you)

Yes, I did. His name was Julian and he was much braver than I was (this is pre-women's lib!) Now, my imaginary friends are all the characters in my novels - I talk to them and they talk to me. And sometimes they're more real to me than my own family!


9. Complete this sentence: My life outside of writing is...

very full. I have a loving relationship with my husband, two children and three grandchildren -with another on the way. I have a great group of friends both inside and outside the writing world. I enjoy doing lots of different things: reading, listening to music, surfing, snorkeling, bush walking, holidays, dining out - I feel very lucky and very blessed.


10. If you were a superhero, what would be your name, power and costume?

I LOVE this question! I've given it a great deal of thought and I think I'd like to be called Morgana (based on my writing of Morgan le Fay in my Shalott trilogy.) I would look like any noble woman in medieval time except I would have the power to change my appearance (young beauty / old hag) and also be able to shapeshift (anything from a robin to a wolf - or even a tree if necessary) and even to vanish. I would be able to speak to creatures, and have a healing touch. I would also like the power to sing my enemies to death!


11. Xena Warrior Princess or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Morgana: see above.


12. Have you read Twilight? Did you enjoy it? Do you secretly believe your own books are better? (I know you do, don’t try to lie…)

I tried, I really did, but I couldn't get into it. So yes, while there's plenty of action and adventure and romance in my novels, there are other layers too. My central characters are mostly strong women who act independently and with courage to fulfil their destiny (a bit of wish fulfilment going on here!) The Shalott trilogy and the Janna Mysteries are very much 'coming of age' novels in which the characters learn much about the world and about themselves, so I'm raising questions of identity, morality - how to live your life to the best of your ability, and faith - in yourself, your community, a higher being? All those big questions: why am I here, where do I come from, what is my purpose ...? Even though my novels might be set in other times and other worlds, I think every teenager's journey follows a similar path to my own characters.



Thank you, Felicity!

Bite Me, Part 2: What I have to say about Twilight

I’m not insulting Twilight or Stephenie Meyer’s literary genius here. I’m just pointing out my views on the books, and why it would have been so much better with zombies. And yes, there will be spoilers. Please read it all the way through before throwing things at me. I’m kinder near the end.

Stepford wives; they’re increasingly common.This really bothered me. You finally get a wildly successful series with a female protagonist, and it’s like reading a Jane Austen novel. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jane Austen novels; but this is over a hundred years on from then, and it doesn’t seem like women’s rights have gotten any further. Perpetuating the ideal that women (I wish I was a boy at this point, because I just sound like the bad kind of feminist, which I think may be a female chauvinist) are put on the earth for the sole purpose of popping out babies like a Pez dispenser, and that they can’t survive at all without a significant other. In New Moon, Bella’s life effectively stops when her sparkly vampire lover disappears. If I were her Student Welfare officer, I would be asking, “Is this a healthy relationship?” I didn’t mind at all that Bella didn’t do any fighting. She didn’t have any superhuman powers. Tough girl characters can be annoying if they aren’t written right. But couldn’t Bella have kept her chin up and moved on from Edward?

Sex before marriage is bad, but teen pregnancy is okay as long as you’ve got a ring on your finger. What is with that?

And then when Edward comes crawling back… (okay, he doesn’t crawl back, he stands in the sun and sparkles) Bella doesn’t slap him around like it’s an episode of Jerry Springer, like she should have. I actually saw quite a good episode of Jerry Springer the other night, and this man was telling this woman he loved her, and she was yelling at him, “But I don’t love you! You’re my cousin! It ain’t right.” Then she turns to the other guy, and says, “I love you. I want to marry you.” And the guy who isn’t her cousin, who she loves (she loves the one who isn’t the cousin, if you aren’t following), says to her “I’m not marrying you. I don’t want to marry someone like you. In my family, we don’t sleep with our kinfolk!” Now that would have been a good novel.

You need to re-educate yourself. Vampires do not sparkle in the sun. Vampire howl and wither away, like the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz does when she gets wet (though how she has a bath is beyond me. I wonder if moistened towelettes hurt her?). What I was trying to say before I began rambling, is that you need to read Dracula by Bram Stoker. You need to watch reruns of Buffy (Explain to your parents that this is necessary for your education. Watch Angel as well, if you have to). I suggest borrowing The Lost Boys from your local video shop (The original, not the sequel). Stephenie Meyer made up half of the vampire facts in Twilight. Vampires are not devilishly handsome. They are reanimated corpses. There are bits of skin peeling off them. They can only be killed with a stake through the heart. These. Are. The. Facts. You’re going to want to be educated in the coming apocalypse.

Tans rule. End of story.

Libraries shouldn’t buy it. I mean, it gets stolen within a week of getting a new copy. All they’re really doing is saving an unscrupulous fourteen-year-old girl twenty bucks

Cradlesnatching = not cool. Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. Now, Stephenie, I know you didn’t want to have to introduce another character for Jacob to fall in love with (because everybody has to have a true love. I mean, that’s what happens in the real world), but really, someone older than me falling in love with a newborn. This is causing me to overuse italics – and maybe even incorrectly placed ‘apostrophes’ in a minute, I’m getting kind of hysterical. Sure, you can love Renesme and love her creepy older werewolf betrothed, but I’m going to pass. I’ve got an episode of The Bold and The Beautiful to watch, and it’s less ridiculous.

And then they got married and had an evil abomination baby girl and lived happily ever after. That is not a conclusive ending. That is an ending which leaves me wondering; “Why did I waste three days of my life reading this gazillion page vampire love fest?” Couldn’t she have killed them all off? There’s still time! Breaking Dawn Part 2: Zombie Epidemic

Why did Bella have to have a baby? This was where it really lost me. You might be quite different, but I’m fifteen. I can’t relate to a character whose main goal in life is to have a baby to a vampire (who it seems she’s attracted to largely due to his pastiness) whilst still in her teens. Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon (I said Mormon not moron – I don’t believe she’s the latter at all). Thus explaining everything. In fact, I should be happy there was only one evil vampire-human abomination.

What did you like, Steph Bowe? I quite liked Alice. I didn’t mind the first book at all. I’m sure Stephenie Meyer is a lovely woman, and I envy her success. I’m just the type of girl who expects a bit more of a novel; and no, endless vampire sexual tension is not a bit more. Where were the real human emotions (yes, aware that half of the cast was vampiric or otherwise supernatural, but still)? Where was the part to make me actually like Edward? Where was the plot? To me, it felt like jazz music. Pretty and skilful, sure. But self-indulgent and drawn-out as well.

I’m probably just really critical of this because I don’t like romance novels. I’m also a critical person when I have no one to answer to. So tell me what you thought of Twilight. And please, hold your tomatoes and various blunt objects, I really do want to know what drew you to it, diehard Twilight fans (No, I will not say Twihard).

The Top 25 YA Clichés

A fantastic list compiled by YA author Joelle Anthony. You can check out the list on Joelle's website. All I can say about this list is that I agree, I agree, I agree. Just because it's here doesn't mean people should stop writing red-haired characters, it's just surprising to notice the recurring themes.

I'd love for you to comment below with other things you've noticed popping up a lot in YA - what drives you nuts, which name is in every second book you read, whether there's a theme of garden gnome stealing running through every new YA book (I sincerely hope not. That's the entire premise of the novel I'm working on). And many thanks to Joelle for letting me feature the list here (an interview with her is coming up soon!)

Updated & Expanded - Red Hair’s Not as Uncommon as You Think
Joëlle Anthony


“Simple fact: If I don’t read, I don’t write.” – Chris Crutcher, The King of the Mild Frontier.

Three years ago, after reading this quote, I embarked on a self-designed reading program because my writing was stagnant. At the time, I couldn’t have imagined what I would learn. Over the next thirty-six months, I read approximately four hundred young adult novels, with some middle grade and adult fiction thrown in for good measure.

My plan was simple. I primarily stuck to YA because that’s what I write, I looked for books published in the last two to three years so that I could learn where to market my manuscripts, and I kept a record of everything I read.

Before I was very far into the program I began to notice similarities in many YA and MG novels. At first it just made me laugh, but after a while I began to take notes. There may not be any original stories, and nothing may be new, but some things are way overused and here are the ones I’ve run across in my reading.

A countdown of 25 things that show up repeatedly in young adult fiction.

#25 – Vegetarian teens with unsympathetic meat-eating parents
#24 – Shy or withdrawn characters that take refuge in the school’s art room/ compassionate art teachers
#23 – A token black friend among a group of white friends - usually it’s a girl, and she’s always gorgeous
#22 – A tiny scar through the eyebrow, sometimes accompanied by an embarrassing story
# 21 – Using the word ‘rents for parents, but not using any other slang
# 20 – A beautiful best friend who gets all the guys but doesn’t want them
#19 – The wicked stepmother who turns out to be simply misunderstood and it’s all cleared up in the climax
#18 – Authors showing their age by naming characters names they grew up with (i.e. Debbie, Lisa, Kimberly, Alice, Linda, etc.)
#17 – Parents who are professional writers or book illustrators
#16 – Using coffee, cappuccino, and café latte to describe black people’s skin
#15 – Main characters named Hannah and making a note of it being a palindrome
#14 – Younger siblings who are geniuses, adored by everyone, and usually run away during the book’s climax, causing dramatic tension
#13 – The mean-spirited cheerleader (and her gang) as the story’s antagonist
# 12 – A dead mother
# 11 – Heroines who can’t carry a tune, even if it were in a bucket
# 10 – Guys with extraordinarily long eyelashes
# 9 – The popular boy dating the dorky heroine to make his former girlfriend jealous, and then breaking the heroine’s heart
# 8 – The diary, either as the entire format, or the occasional entry
# 7 – Fingernail biting
# 6 – Characters who chew on their lip or tongue in times of stress – usually until they taste blood
# 5 – Raising one eyebrow
# 4 – Main characters who want to be writers
# 3 – Calling parents by their first names
# 2 – Best friends with red hair
And the number one thing found in YA novels…
#1 – Lists

This was not a scientific study by any means, but if you have used any of these things in your manuscripts, think long and hard about how important they are to the story because you may want to cut or change them now. Stretch your imagination, make your characters’ career choices different than what you “know”, find new ways to show emotion, and read, read, read. Besides being fun, the best part of all that reading is it will make your writing stronger.

*While lists rule in teen fiction, red-haired best friends are amazingly predominant in both MG and YA, and certainly gave “lists” a run for its money. It might be an easy way to quickly identify a secondary character, but it’s a lot more common in books than red hair actually is!

So, what have you seen everywhere in YA lately?

An interview with Joelle Anthony, Enviro Avenger

Joëlle currently lives on a tiny island in British Columbia with her musician husband, Victor Anthony, and two cats, Miss Sophie & Grinder. As for the future, their only plan is to avoid real jobs, write and play guitar in front of the woodstove, and live happily ever after. Look for her debut novel, Restoring Harmony, in fall 2010 from Putnam.

Joelle Anthony is an American YA author, whose debut novel Restoring Harmony, is to be released next year by Putnam. She has a great blog on her website. This is her first interview as an author! Thank you, Joelle! Make sure you check out her website!


1. List the books you've written. Which one are you most proud of? Which was the hardest to write?

My very first book, Restoring Harmony, is scheduled to come out in the Fall of 2010 from Putnam. When I say “first” book, I mean the first one that my agent has sold. I’ve written others, and while I love them all, it’s hard to say if they will make it through the publishing gates or not! I’m also working on a middle grade series.



2. What three words would you use to describe yourself? (Don’t use the words ‘nice’, ‘pretty’ or ‘good’ because your Grade Six teacher will read this and be very disappointed)

Smiley

Happy

Enthusiastic

3. Complete this sentence: My teenage years were...

Fantastic. I absolutely loved being a teenager, aside from the usual angst, I spent all four years in the theatre and had a great time.

4. Have you always wanted to write for young people? Or did you set out to become a brain surgeon and wind up stumbling down this path? Was the road to publication rocky for you?

I set out to be an actress. My university degree is in theatre. After a year abroad I came home and when faced with the idea of setting off on an acting career, I realized that I wasn’t so much into acting anymore. I started writing because before I discovered theatre, that’s what I’d always thought I’d do. In the end, I did some of each. Eventually, I went back to acting, studied improvisation in Chicago, and did some professional theatre, as well as bit parts in movies. I played a bridesmaid in the movie What the $%#^ Do We Know? and I am very glad I did because that’s how I met my husband! Now I mostly write, doing just an occasional bit of theatre here on the remote island that I live on in British Columbia, Canada.

5. Who were your biggest inspirations and idols growing up and today?

I would say that growing up, I looked to actresses like Susan Sarandon and Dame Judi Dench. Now I look more to people in my life. My husband in particular. I am much more observant of people’s actions than I was when I was younger and when I see something I like, I try to emulate it. For example, I have friends that are just so kind and I make a note of that and try to apply it to my life. Or my husband, he never complains about anything. I’m not so good at that yet, but I hope to be. I even learn from my cats. They just want sunshine, and sleep, and love. What more do you really need in life?

6.. Who are your favourite authors and what novels do you love best?

Maud Hart Lovelace (The Betsy-Tacy series), Nevil Shute, and John Rowe Townsend. These are writers that stand the test of time for me. I also love Jane Austen. Contemporary YA authors that I really like are J.K. Rowling, Cathy Cassidy, Rachel Vail, Sarah Dessen, Meg Cabot, Louise Rennison, Jerry Spinelli, and a zillion more I can’t think of off the top of my head. Check out my Need To Read blog for more things I love.



As far as novels, Betsy and the Great World, Pride and Prejudice, Round the Bend, The Summer People…and on and on!

7.. If you were in a novel (any one you’ve read), who would you be?

Definitely Betsy in Betsy and the Great World. She travels by steamship to Europe for a year, circa 1913. It’s so fantastic.

8. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? (Or today? Don’t worry; we won’t call the men in white coats on you)

Nope. I had books!

9. Complete this sentence: My life outside of writing is...

full of laughter, food, music, and love.

10. If you were a superhero, what would be your name, power and costume?

Oh, gosh. I’ve never thought of being a superhero. Ummm… Enviro Avenger! I would wear green tights and have flowery plants in strategic places. And wings like a fairy. And I would fly all over the world, restoring tranquility where environmental disaster had struck. Of course, I’d be very, very busy these days.

11. Xena Warrior Princess or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Pass. I don’t have a TV so…but I do like witchcraft in books. I’d especially like the ability to disapperate a la Harry Potter so that I could pop down to see my parents regularly…just for lunch if I felt like it!

12. Have you read Twilight? Did you enjoy it? Do you secretly believe your own books are better? (I know you do, don’t try to lie…)

Never read it. Never tempted to. I’m glad that so many people enjoy it, and I think that ANY time a YA book hits it big it’s good for all writers. Some writers fall into a mentality that I can’t understand at all. They think that if someone else hits it big, it somehow makes it harder for them to get published because “everyone is reading Stephanie Meyers”. I feel the total opposite. Any time you get a particular market excited about something, it creates demand. I truly believe that J.K. Rowling single handedly created this current boom in YA reading/book sales. When I started writing fifteen years ago, picture books were popular and you couldn’t sell a YA to save your life. As the PB readers grew and Harry Potter arrived on the scene, they grew up readers. Readers who are excited by books and have created a market for YA writers. It’s silly to think she’s cornering the market with SEVEN books. If you like to read, you want to read more than seven books!

Thank you, Joelle!

Finding Violet Park

Finding Violet Park is a funny and original novel. It tells the story of Lucas Swain, our peculiar narrator, and how he comes to know Violet Park – a woman who has been dead for five years, who he finds in an urn in a taxi office. The Swain family have their own problems – Lucas’ father has been missing for years, and Lucas’ mother can’t deal with it anymore. Over the course of the novel, Lucas gets to know his grandparents better, deceives a Tony Soprano look-a-like in order to steal the ashes of someone he’s never met, gets a girlfriend called Martha and befriends a dead woman.
Somehow, by stumbling across an urn, he’ll discover his family’s secrets and what really happened to his father, as well as becoming his own person, not a copy of his father.
The premise is unique and the writer’s style is enchanting. I loved the way in which everything tied in together, but the story remained believable. Lucas is a hilarious hero with a great voice. Jenny Valentine is a fantastic author, and Finding Violet Park is an immensely readable novel.
Genre: Young Adult
Recommended Age: 12+
Star Rating: Eight out of ten
In a word: Quirky

Simmone Howell on Madonna, the Pussycat Dolls, and spandex

Simmone Howell is the Aussie author of two fabulous YA novels - Notes From The Teenage Underground and Everything Beautiful. Her books are incredibly real, raw and honest. My personal favourite is Everything Beautiful, but both novels are powerful. Check out her blog, Post Teen Trauma. Megan of Literary Life and I recently did a book chat on Simmone Howell's second novel, Everything Beautiful. You can still win a copy of the novel here!

1. List the books you've written. Which one are you most proud of? Which was the hardest to write?

notes from the teenage underground and everything beautiful
NFTU was the hardest - it took AGES - because I wrote it in bits and pieces and had to kill off weird characters and nonsensical plotlines... and I'd just a had a BABY. But I am proud of both books. I think there was a lot that I learned rewriting NFTU that made EB easier... and it was less of an 'ideas' book and Riley, bless her, wouldn't shut up!

2. What three words would you use to describe yourself? (Don’t use the words ‘nice’, ‘pretty’ or ‘good’ because your Grade Six teacher will read this and be very disappointed)

tired right now

3. Complete this sentence: My teenage years were...

full of sound and fury. I kept trying to run away. I was always asking my mum if I should go to a psychiatrist (she didn't think so). I could not get a boyfriend. I wrote essays based on song lyrics. My favourite occupation was watching TV movies.


4. Have you always wanted to write for young people? Or did you set out to become a brain surgeon and wind up stumbling down this path? Was the road to publication rocky for you?

i always always wanted to be a writer. Or an artist. If I was smart I would have become an art teacher - but it's not too late. Other dream occupations included film reviewer or band booker.

5. Who were your biggest inspirations and idols growing up and today?

I was obsessed with madonna until she started working out. Then in high school I loved pamela des barres, the 60s supergroupie. Today I am inspired by patti smith and my mum and people who are self-sufficient but I don't idolize anyone anymore...

6. Who are your favourite authors and what novels do you love best?

so many: j d salinger, patricia highsmith, charles willeford, paul auster, barry gifford, carsen mccullers, raymond carver, nathaneal west, TC Boyle, Denis Johnson, raymond chandler, gavin lambert

YA-wise I love jenny valentine, meg rosoff, kevin brooks, sarah dessen, cecil castellucci, francesca lia block, ron koertge, ellen wittlinger: some recent (ish) ozya books I loved are: pip, the story of olive by kim kane, a brief history of montmaray by michelle cooper, the push by julia lawrinson and the good daughter by amra pajalic ....

7. If you were in a novel (any one you’ve read), who would you be?

I would be moominpappa endlessly working on his memoirs ...
(from Finn Family Moomintroll)

8. Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? (Or today? Don’t worry; we won’t call the men in white coats on you)

No and no.

9. Complete this sentence: My life outside of writing is...

real nice.


10. If you were a superhero, what would be your name, power and costume?

i seriously don't know how to answer this question! For some reason I thought of spandex ... I would like to be able to freeze the world at will ...and erase bad people and mcdonalds and the pussycat dolls

11. Xena Warrior Princess or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

neither.

12. Have you read Twilight? Did you enjoy it? Do you secretly believe your own books are better? (I know you do, don’t try to lie…)

I read about a third of it then I had to give it back to the library and then it became huge and was stolen from the library and other books started calling to me ... I will find it again and finish it, however. And I applaud anyone who can write in their head while watching their kids at swimming lessons. I saw the movie because I love Catherine Hardwicke, but I have trouble with the whole suspension of disbelief thing. Maybe my books aren't better ... 50000000000000000 people can't be wrong (or can they?) I issue a challenge: get 50000000000000000 people to read my books and ask them.

Thanks Simmone! Remember to check out her blog! (And yes, I know the titles of my posts are misleading. I'm in training to write for soap magazines.)