Friday 5PM: To say I was nervous would be an understatement, like HELLO! These people are BASICALLY ROCKSTARS! Their books were all freakin' fantastic and I was trying not to poop my pants on the drive to the event.
Friday night 6PM: Nervousness was COMPLETELY unnecessary, Jennifer, Caleb, Mitali and Anna-Marie are some of the nicest, funniest people I've ever met! I had the BEST time talking to them about their writing process, characters, and a few other silly things!
--FIERCE INTERVIEW--
What's the weirdest thing you've used as a bookmark?
Jennifer: A nail file, that's not very weird but that's the weirdest I can come up with!
Caleb: I've used a shirt as a bookmark, just stuff it in there!
Anna-Marie: An oatmeal raisin cookie.
Mitali: Bazooka bubble gum.
Spotlight: YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR by Mitali Perkins
Which Das Girl would win an all you can eat competition?
Probably Ana. She's little and tiny but she doesn't like to lose.
Which Das Girl would end up on a TV game show?
That would be Tara because she's the actress.
Messiest family member?
Probably Sonia because she's most like me. The creative messy type.
Where do you do the majority of your writing?
Coffee shops. I like coffee shops, I like the background noise.
Coffee shops. I like coffee shops, I like the background noise.
Would you rather your book be made into a movie or TV series?
A TV series. I think a family sitcom/romance would be a good TV series. I think people would want to hang out with them.
A TV series. I think a family sitcom/romance would be a good TV series. I think people would want to hang out with them.
If you were trapped in a elevator who are 3 people you wouldn't mind being stuck with? I'm so claustrophobic. An elevator repair man, an elevator repair man, and an elevator repair man. Or a firefighter, an elevator repair man, and a police man--all hot!
Spotlight on WILD BEAUTY by Anna-Marie McLemore
Which Nomeolvides girl is most likely to cheer you up?
I'd say Gloria, she can always find the good in everyone.
Most ambitious: That's probably Azalea. She doesn't like to lose. She very much likes to tell people when she's winning.
Most gullible: That's a tough one. I'm going to say Estrella. You'll see why when you read the book. She believes something that she knows she shouldn't.
Biggest Prankster: Oh! That has to be Calla!
If you were tethered to a specific place where would you want it to be? Probably the kitchen. I love eating and cooking.
Fondest memory of your writing process? Getting to go to a lot of different gardens and calling it research. Just to spend time among all the pretty flowers and prance around and pretend I was a fairy princess--not that I did--no serious writer would.
Spotlight on LAST SEEN LEAVING by Caleb Roehrig
What would Flynn say the theme song to his life is? That's really hard to choose! I'd have to say We Are Young by Fun.
What are 3 things we wouldn't expect to find in his wallet or pockets? I think he's a pretty sentimental guy. So, he probably has a little stuffed thing, like a good luck charm. I think that in his wallet he probably has the movie stub from the first movie he ever went to. And I think he has random stuff in his pockets. Stuff that he doesn't even know about like a pen cap.
Flynn has been invited to a Halloween party, what's he going as? I think he's probably going as a low rent Batman...I think he'd buy the mask and then wear a T-shirt that had the Batman symbol on it.
Did you have any rituals while writing? I would go for my morning run and think about all the things I'd have to tackle for the day. Then I'd make a pot of green tea before sitting down to write and I always had my white noise app. Those are all the components I need on hand but I don't have any superstitions or rituals.
Hardest scene to write? There was a scene with four characters that had four very different feelings and points of views. I had to try and balance it so all of them shared the stage equally because they all needed to be heard from. I really needed those voices to come through. Orchestrating that was difficult.
You're a murderer... Yes. I mean...who told!? You're a murderer CLUE style...what is your weapon of choice and in which room did you do it? Candlestick! I'm doing the candlestick. I'd probably pick the library.
Spotlight on MOXIE by Jennifer Mathieu
What was the last thing Vivian watched on Netflix?
She liked Glow--Glow or Stranger Things, she's into both of those.
What is one thing we'd be surprised to find in her room?
I could see her being into socks. I could see her having like a funky sock collection, that's her thing. She's not really into fashion but she's into funky socks.
Was there a scene in MOXIE that you really liked but it ended up having to be cut? I'd have to actually say no! I didn't cut any scenes. There are scenes now that I think would've been fun to add but nothing that I cut, nothing major.
If the story was told from another characters point of view, who would it be? Lucy Hernandez. I love her.
What's tougher to write, the first sentence or the last sentence? The first sentence for sure. I've always had the end in mind.
Do you look at your book and go, "oh my gosh, I wrote this!?" is that like crazy? Yes, yes! But I don't read it once it's in print because I'm done reading it. I've read it too many times. But yes, it's amazing to look at.
I had a complete BLAST getting to talk with these four incredible human beings! I learned so much and had so many laughs!
After my time with Mitali, Anna-Marie, Caleb, and Jennifer they all took a small coffee break before the panel started.
The panel was led by Vania, who asked some really great questions as well and then she opened it up to the audience for a Q&A! Someone asked if any of the authors see the potential for a future sequel (GREAT QUESTION!) Jennifer and Mitali said no, but Caleb isn't ruling out a companion novel for LAST SEEN LEAVING! Anna-Maire said she will be writing more queer fairy tales (!) Their best advice for aspiring writers: WRITE! And read a lot too!
YAY FOR AUTHOR TOURS! Y'all need to go to one!
Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a hardcover copy of each book and a Fierce Reads tote!
(US ONLY!)
Thank you so much to Brittany Pearlman for inviting me and Little Shop of Stories for hosting! Photo credit: Elizabeth Lenhard
They all sound great, but I am making some serious grabby hands at Moxie right now!
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool that you were able to interview the authors before the panel! You asked some great questions! :D Of these books, I'm most excited for Moxie!
ReplyDelete