SBBT Interview: Mary Hooper

I suspect that many of you out there have not heard of Mary Hooper. I'm not holding it against you...but I do think that you ought to pay some attention to her latest title, Newes from the Dead. Especially if you are in front of teens searching for good historical fiction. Or any teens, really, this one is a cinch to book talk. Just TRY and keep them from tearing it out of your hands after a good book talk. And not to say that MY booktalk is that good, but here's what I said in my review:

"Anne Green wakes up in the dark. She can't move. She can't see and she can't cry out. Her last memory is that of being hanged for a crime she did not commit. As she relives the events that led to her execution, there are people gathering around her motionless body. These people aren't her loving family assembled for her funeral, but doctors and students preparing to dissect her for science...The best part? It's based on true events from 1650."

Well, at least it worked on Erin and Sarah Miller (damn. linked to her again. I must stop.).

So, peaked by interest and my life-long love of historical fiction, I was lucky to interview her:

1. Is this the first time your main character has been based on a real person? How is writing historically based people different than characters you create? I imagine that it’s more constraining.

I love using real people (Nell Gwyn, Dr Dee, the wicked Earl of Rochester, Aphra Benn and so on) because then you can think: these people actually existed, it could really and truly have happened like this. And I quite enjoy being constrained, or otherwise the choices for the ways people can act can become too great and you (the writer, I mean) can get bewildered.

(Jac says: Way to be ignorant, Jac. Nice.)

2. You’ve written books set around this time period before. I know you researched Anne Green’s life, but was there a new approach that you needed to take to set the piece in the world that concerned Anne?

This was the first time I’d based an entire book on a real-life incident, so I wanted it to be as accurate as possible. As, however, there were (at least) three different pamphlets about Anne printed in 1650, I decided to take the most interesting and amazing bits from each, rather than use a pamphlet in its entirety. I knew next to nothing about life under Cromwell, so there was this aspect to investigate, too.

3. READER: WARNING, DO NOT EAT WHILE READING THIS NEXT BIT:

“…a crone wearing heavy leg irons who’d been hunched into a far corner was found to be dead – and to have been dead for some days, too, for when they went to move her, it was discovered that her legs had quite rotted away from her body” p 147.

EW. SERIOUSLY. EW. I’m assuming that really happened. Did you find an account of it? It is the single sentence that most convinces the reader (ok, me) of how ghastly conditions were at that time. In my opinion it’s the single most horrifying sentence in the book - and there were some grisly events. What else can you tell us about prisons, and that lovely piece of imagery, that might not have made it into the novel?

I found an account of such a thing when I was researching Clink Prison (in Southwark, London) for The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose. It was too ghastly for Eliza, which is for a slightly younger readership, so I saved it up! I think the most fantastical thing about prisons at that time is that, if you were rich enough, you could live the life of Riley and come and go from your furnished private prison apartment as you liked. If you were poor, however, you’d be lucky to survive a hot summer what with dysentery, gaol fever, lice and worms. (Is that grisly enough for you?)

(Jac says: Yep. Plenty. Readers, how about you? Ghastly enough?)

4. I’d be interested in a novel that focused on Robert, or at least featured him. Any chance of that happening? I felt his story wasn’t finished.

Um…I have not attempted a whole book from a man’s point of view. Something else would have to happen to Robert to enable him to star in his own book.

5. Anne was repeatedly struck in the chest both while hanging and while on the dissection table (from the original pamphlet appended: “…a lusty fellow that stood by, he [thinking to do an act of charity in ridding her out of the small reliques of a painful life] stamped several times on her breast and stomach with all the force he could” p 2 of the appendix.) did you find any evidence or conjecture that suggested that they may have inadvertently kept her heart going by those actions?

Good thinking! This hadn’t occurred to me and I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere before now. Maybe it’s possible that this did happen.
(Jac says: I'm fascinated with archaic medicine. Go leeches!)

6. Anne was a victim of a grossly unjust law that targeted poor women – at what point did that law change? And how?

Although the law didn’t actually change until 1803, I get the feeling that once the Monarchy was restored in 1660, the world gradually became more enlightened and this patently unjust law was not applied so rigorously. (I have absolutely no proof of this so feel free to correct me if I‘m wrong).

(Jac says: Makes sense to me.)

7. You’ve written about the same number of historical novels for teens as you have contemporary. Besides the added burden of research, what makes writing the two genres different? Which is harder for you?

Oh, it’s not a burden at all! It’s the best bit. The planning, plotting, agonising and actual writing are the burdens, but research is the bit where you discover all the wonderful things that are going to bring your story to life. This is where I discovered that Christopher Wren was present at the “dissection” and that Charles I chose Sir Thomas Reade’s house to say goodbye to his queen in.

What makes them different? Modern YA novels, to make them authentic, should include stuff about Blackberries, ipods, text messaging and mobile phones. Yawn.

(Jac says: Yawn, indeed.)

Historical novels, meanwhile, can have dashing highwaymen, glamorous mistresses of kings, quack doctors, quaint customs, crystallised rose petals and frost fairs. No contest! I now find it much more difficult to make a modern novel compelling, and intend to stick to historicals.

(Jac says: Now that's more like it!)

8. I’ve noticed that most of your historical novels are primarily set in the 1600s. What is it about that era that appeals to you most? Are there other time periods that interest you?

I particularly like the Restoration period, when the monarch regained the throne and everyone went a bit mad with relief. Of course, two major incidents happened during this time on consecutive years: the Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666, so they are a bit of a gift to an historical writer. I intend to write a Victorian Gothic novel next, so that period is about to interest and enthral me.

(Jac says: Victorian Gothic?! Fantastic!)

9. Are there any British writers for teens that you think Americans should pay attention to?

Anne Cassidy (Looking for JJ) writes great, gritty crime novels.

(Jac says: That pic comes from the British stage adaptation!)

10. What would you recommend to teen fans that liked Newes from the Dead?

My other historicals, for a start! And Celia Rees’s Witch Child if you haven’t already read it.

Thank You Mary Hooper!

The Rest of your Friday SBBT:

Varian Johnson at Finding Wonderland
Jincy Willett at Shaken & Stirred
John Grandits at Writing & Ruminating
Meg Burden at Bookshelves of Doom
Gary D. Schmidt at Miss Erin
Javaka Steptoe at Seven Impossible Things

Your Thursday & Friday SBBT Schedule, and an entirely pointless meme forced upon me by an evil person.

Ok, that last part isn't entirely true. But first, your schedule:

Thursday
Elisha Cooper at Chasing Ray
Dar Williams at Fuse Number 8
Jennifer Bradbury at Bildungsroman
E. Lockhart at The YA YA YAs
Mary Hooper at Miss Erin
Charles R. Smith at Writing and Ruminating
Mary Pearson at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy

Friday
Varian Johnson at Finding Wonderland
Jincy Willett at Shaken & Stirred
John Grandits at Writing & Ruminating
Meg Burden at Bookshelves of Doom
Gary D. Schmidt at Miss Erin
Javaka Steptoe at Seven Impossible Things
Mary Hooper at Interactive Reader


Right, and now on to the meme. Sarah Miller. I really need to stop linking to her so much. Sarah: stop being funny. There. That should help. But really, can I help it if she tags me with these things?

Everyone seems to have done this whilst (don't you love that word?) I lived under that rock. It was a cozy rock. Softer than you think. Surprisingly clean. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Okaaay. Now that the crazy has past...on to the official blah-de-blahs before we get to the meme part.

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog. (this, will probably not be met by Jackie. Because she's lazy.)
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer (Sarah? Are you paying attention? 'Cause I might forget this step.).

What were you doing five years ago?
Er. May 2003. Waiting for my acceptance into Library School. Working 2 jobs and an internship. Not sleeping much.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
1. Be on time for work.
2. Get the post in to ForeWord.
3. Worry incesently that the ForeWord post will be no good.
4. Call kids who've filled out the volunteer apps and convince them they should be on my Teen Advisory Board.
5. Not kill the patrons.

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Anything chickpea/garbanzo bean related.
2. Bread
3. Cheese
4. Chocolate
5. ice cream

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Start a foundation specifically for teen services in libraries; especially the creation of teen spaces in them and collection expansion.
2. Travel the world.
3. Pay for friends and family to travel with me. It's more fun that way.
4. Take a good long sabbatical from a paycheck-driven life just to see what would happen.
5. Save for retirement, 'cause we SO can't count on social security.

What are five of your bad habits?
1. procrastination
2. being late
3. laying in bed too long in the morning (are we sensing a theme?)
4. Driving Kyle crazy with my need for cleanliness bordering on sterility
5. Not being a productive as I think I should be.

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Muskegon, MI
2. Grand Rapids, MI
3. Allendale, MI
4. Spokane, WA
5. Seattle, WA

What are five jobs you've had?
1. Outdoor Ice Rink/pond Monitor
2. Receptionist
3. Optician
4. Adult Librarian
5. Teen Librarian

The good, the unlucky, the tagged:

Let's get out of the kidlitosphere. Shane. Kyle. Dan. Angie. Kip.

Cybils Winners & SBBT

Tuesday & Wednesday's SBBT:

Tuesday

Ben Towle at Chasing Ray
Sean Qualls at Fuse Number 8
Susane Colasanti at Bildungsroman
Robin Brande at Hip Writer Mama
Susan Beth Pfeffer at The YA YA YAs
Debby Garfinkle at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
Jennifer Lynn Barnes at Writing and Ruminating

Wednesday

Delia Sherman at Chasing Ray
Ingrid Law at Fuse Number 8
Polly Dunbar at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Tera Lynn Childs at Bildungsroman
Siena Cherson Siegel at Miss Erin
Barry Lyga at At Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Also, if you could be so kind as to check out this plea from Cybils Queen Anne. She's having some difficulty getting prizes to a handful of winners, and would love some help.

Dude. Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Ok, so Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer freaked me out. Like, really freaked me out. I was unbelievably eager for the companion novel to come out, and thanks to a mysterious benefactor, I scored an ARC. It is just a riveting at the first, but a whole lot more macabre. It's disturbing, haunting, and totally awesome. Hence the interview - welcome Susan Beth Pfeffer!

1. Um, holy cow. the dead & the gone IS way darker than Life As We Knew It! How did you get there? How did you find the worst and then make it even more horrible? How did you know when you made it grisly enough? Did you ever think that you had gone too far? Did you take anything out, or abandon any ideas as too far-fetched or dark? Is that enough questions?

I don't remember having a lot of problems figuring out the story for the dead & the gone. I knew it would be darker than Life As We Knew It because the situation I set up for Alex, not knowing what had become of his parents, would make him much more vulnerable. Miranda is protected a lot by her mother and older brother; Alex has to take that role on himself (which he does with mixed success). I suppose the book is more grisly, because there's more death on the streets. Miranda's story is about her world getting smaller and smaller; Alex's is about his world getting more and more dangerous.

I was never worried about taking things too far. I named the book almost immediately, and figured anyone reading a book called the dead & the gone would understand there's going to be a lot of dead and gone in the story.

(Jac says: Touché)

2. Without giving anything away, there were a few scenes, especially the stadium, that were particularly emotional to read. Briana was also often hard to read about. Do you have that kind of approach some authors talk about where they feel a connection with their characters? Did you find any part of the novel especially difficult to write, revise or read?

I have to admit, after I got my first copy, I skimmed through the book, and thought, "Whoo this is dark." I use the Yankee Stadium scene as a readaloud (and there's a link to it on my blog - for anyone who wants to read it). It separates very neatly from the rest of the book, and gives a strong sense of all the themes. So it's lost its power to shock me, just from familiarity.

A character I'm very fond of dies during the book, and when I skimmed through it, I forgot which scene it happened in, and I got upset all over again.

Actually, a larger number of important characters die in LAWKI than in d&g.

(Jac says: If we are thinking of the same character, I liked him/her a lot, too, and that death was just wracking. I just didn't know how to bring it up without giving anything away. She's not kidding about the amount of death, either. Teens will love it.)

3. How did you settle on making your central characters Puerto Rican?

When I started coming up with the idea for d&g, I wanted it to be as different as possible from LAWKI, boy/girl, urban/rural, lower middle class/upper middle class. Miranda's family wasn't religious, so I wanted religion to be central to Alex's life. Making Alex's family Puerto Rican just felt right.

4. Religion is a major theme of the book. Faith is central to Alex's sister Bri's life, to the point where she believes in things that aren't rational. There was a small character in Live as We Knew It, Miranda's best friend, who essentially starved herself for her faith. On whole the treatment of religion in the dead & the gone is far different from the first book. Can you tell us a little about this?

When I first came up with the idea for LAWKI, I decided Miranda and her family wouldn't be religious. I didn't like they idea of their praying for conditions to improve, when I (their creator) was commited to making things worse rather than better.

(Jac says: Remind me never to lobby to be a character in one of her books, k?)

But there was no way of writing an end of the world book without some religious overtones, so I gave that viewpoint to one of Miranda's friends. Someone pointed out to me that by the book's end, Miranda is doing for love of family what Megan did for love of God.

Bri comes off as more religious than Alex or Julie (the youngest sister), but really, they're all very devout. Bri trusts in God in a way her brother and sister don't, but none of them turn away from their faith.

5. One thing that everyone says about these two books is that they really make them want to go stock up on canned goods. Have you personally thought about what you would do given some cataclysmic event? Have you a plan? A basement full of supplies?

I'm deadmeat. My cats will do okay, if they can figure out how to open cans. I'm a stockpiler by nature, but most of what I have in the house is cat food.

(Jac says: Two Months. Two months it took me after reading LAWKI to get over the urge to stockpile everytime I went past the grocery store. Not better this time.)

6. You've written A LOT of books for all ages – do you approach them differently due to their intended audiences? Are some age groups harder to write for than others?

I certainly aim different kinds of stories for different age levels. I would never write anything as dark as LAWKI/d&g for younger kids, and when I hear that young kids have read them, it upsets me (fortunately, I don't hear it often).

I have a grand total of one picture book in my collected writings. I like real little kids, but I don't understand them. But after that, I've written for just about every other age group except grownups. Most of my stories have to do with families, a subject that works very well in kids' books.

7. Why the special punctuation for the dead & the gone? Why no capitals?

When I wrote the dead & the gone, it was The Dead And The Gone (and it still is in the UK). But then I read an interview with my editor, where she referred to it as The Dead and the Gone. That looked kind of clumsy to me. I figured everything should be capitals or nothing should be. Then I decided an & would be kind of sexy. Harcourt was real nice about it. But that's actually just the way the title is on the book jacket. In the LAWKI paperback, the teaser calls it the dead and the gone. And the Harcourt website for it (which just takes you to my blog) is www.TheDeadAndTheGone.com

8. Were you at all surprised at the reception of Life As We Knew It? You said that it was the one book you never told anyone you were writing? Why was that? Did that one feel different to you?

When I wrote LAWKI, I did it purely on spec, and mostly to entertain myself. I told my brother, one of my cousins, and two close friends that I was working on it, but no one else (not even my mother, as she reminds me on occasion). I wasn't sure I'd finish the book, and I certainly had no idea what would happen with it. I figured the fewer people who knew about it, the fewer people who'd ask what had become of it.

I loved writing LAWKI. Some books are a joy to write, and LAWKI was one of them. I was immensely involved with it. I'd reread sections every night before going to bed. That's very unusual for me.

9. Last I noticed (and this is exceptionally dated awareness, I might add – and apologize for) on your blog you were talking about ideas for a third book – but also mentioning that there's no contract for another. Has that change? Will we get a full trilogy? 'Cause I really want one (that counts, right?)

I want a third book also, but it's Harcourt's decision. My guess is if d&g does well enough, Harcourt will give me the go ahead. If the dead & the gone turns into the dud & the gone, then we'll never know what becomes of the characters.

(Jac says: People. Buy. The. Book. Do it for the children.)

10. What other teen authors' books do you always look forward to?

I read very little fiction for any age level. I read biographies and history mostly, and choose books based on subject matter (I just finished reading a biography of Anne Boleyn's sister-in-law).

Why don't you read fiction? That seems unusual for a writer of fiction. When you do read it, what do you lean toward? What age group? What genre?

All right- when I read fiction, I favor suspense novels. I have a real fondness for American or British suspense novels from approximately 1946-1960, standalones where the wife is planning on murdering her husband or the husband is planning on murdering his wife. They're mostly by people I've never heard of and aren't that easy to find anymore.

As a kid, I read all the time, but I liked non-fiction as much as fiction- the Childhood of Famous American series and Landmark Books, for example. My interest in Tudor England comes from the Landmark Book on Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada (although even as a kid, I didn't find Queen Elizabeth all that interesting, but I loved the beginning of the book about Henry VIII and his wives).

I absolutely adore movies though. They're my favorite form of storytelling.

(Jac says: dang. The perfect opportunity to ask what her fav. movie is. I blew it. Sorry guys.)

11. Can you recommend any books for fans of Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone? You know, dark, painful books where most of the world dies and reader can't put down?

Actually, I can, but it's non-fiction. It's called Catastrophe and it's by David Keys. PBS showed a two part documentary based on it a while ago. I read it before coming up with LAWKI, and it was definitely an influence. It's about various horrible things (plague and famine and the suchlike) that happened during the dark ages, that the author believes were the result of a volcanic eruption.

(Jac says: Non-fiction are books too! And, I'll be checking at my library for that DVD.)

12. One extra question: I have a colleague who is featuring Life As We Knew It in her Summer Reading Program – all the kids in her community will be reading it. She'd like to know if you have any advice on cool related activities.

It makes me deliriously happy when I learn LAWKI is being used in summer reading programs and in schools. I went to a parent/kid discussion group about it where the librarian brought different foods mentioned in the book and we had a grab bag (did I get the chocolate? No, I got the Lime Jello).

(Jac says: I like lime Jello. Mom used to shred cabbage into it, which tastes WAY better than it sounds...I swear. It's the only thing I'll allow to float in my Jello.)

A school I know about had its students do a make believe shopping without telling the kids what the book was about. They were just told to buy the things they'd think they would need in an emergency. I'm told a lot of disposable razors were "purchased."

Another school had its students write diaries from any LAWKI character's viewpoint that they chose. One kid wrote a diary for Peter (the doctor) and another one wrote for Horton (the cat).

Harcourt is working on a teachers guide for both books, and they may include related activities.

Thank you Sue!

The rest of your Monday SBBT:

Adam Rex at Fuse Number 8
David Almond at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast
R.L. Lafevers at Finding Wonderland
Dave Schwartz at Shaken & Stirred
Elizabeth Scott at Bookshelves of Doom
Laurie Halse Anderson at Writing & Ruminating

Full WBBT Schedule

Woot. Here we go again. Organized by the lovely Colleen Mondor, here you find another round of fantastic author interviews. And I'm so lucky to have 4 up this week, Tuesday-Friday. I'm very excited! Take a look at some of those author names! Holy Cow! (And yes, I totally just copy and pasted this from Colleen's site. I'm lazy like that. I'm also really, really tired. So I's going to bed now.)

MONDAY

Perry Moore at The Ya Ya Yas
Nick Abadzis at Chasing Ray
Carrie Jones at Hip Writer Mama
Phyllis Root at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Laura Amy Schlitz at Fuse Number 8
Kerry Madden at lectitans
Tom Sniegoski at Bildungsroman
Connie Willis at Finding Wonderland

TUESDAY

Lisa Ann Sandell at Chasing Ray
Perry Moore at Interactive Reader
Christopher Barzak at Shaken & Stirred
Autumn Cornwell at The Ya Ya Yas
Jon Scieszka at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Gabrielle Zevin at Jen Robinson's Book Page
Judy Blume at Not Your Mother's Book Club
Erik P. Kraft at Bookshelves of Doom
Clare Dunkle at Miss Erin

WEDNESDAY

Lisa Ann Sandell at Interactive Reader
Christopher Barzak at Chasing Ray
Julie Halpern at The Ya Ya Yas
Micol Ostow at Shaken & Stirred
Rick Yancey at Hip Writer Mama
Jane Yolen at Fuse Number 8
Shannon Hale at Bookshelves of Doom
Maureen Johnson at Bildungsroman
David Lubar at Writing & Ruminating
Sherman Alexie at Finding Wonderland

THURSDAY

David Mack at Chasing Ray
Paul Volponi at The Ya Ya Yas
Elizabeth Knox at Shaken & Stirred
Ellen Emerson White at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy
Jack Gantos at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
David Levithan at Not Your Mother's Book Club
Micol Ostow at Bildungsroman
Laura Amy Schlitz at Miss Erin
Kerry Madden at Hip Writer Mama
Sherman Alexie at Interactive Reader

FRIDAY

Loree Griffin Burns at Chasing Ray
Lily Archer at The Ya Ya Yas
Rick Riordan at Jen Robinson's Book Page
Gabrielle Zevin at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Dia Calhoun at lectitans
Shannon Hale at Miss Erin
Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple at Shaken & Stirred
Alan Gratz at Interactive Reader
Lisa Yee at Hip Writer Mama

SATURDAY

Blake Nelson at The Ya Ya Yas

Yay! It's Brent Hartinger!!

When the power from above (Colleen Mondor) announced the blogger/author match-ups for this extravaganza of interviews you all have been enjoying since Sunday, I was pretty giddy. I already loved Dana. My best friend gushed over Story of a Girl. Pretty new writers. Fantastic work, but not an avalanche to cover.

And then there was Brent Hartinger. Dude's got a lot of books. A lot of short stories. Plays. Material to cover a whole mountain side. And I'd only read some of it, and it'd been a while. I'm a big picture girl. I like to have all the information possible. If I'm going to interview someone, I WILL have read all their books. Their short stories. Whatever I can get my hands on. I was manically excited because, well, it's Brent Hartinger! Who wouldn't be excited? So I read, and read and re-read the stuff I had read in the past. Prior to this frenzy, I had been in a crappy reading rut - you know - when everything you're reading is mediocre at best and it's just depressing? Brent was a gust of fresh air. Important, poignant, and never forgetting to have some fun. Oh, and I think I might have scared him just a little...

JP: Going from realistic teen fiction to children's fantasy in Dreamquest is a pretty big jump. There were hints of this interest in Grand & Humble, you contributed a short story to the fantasy compilation Young Warriors, and you've said, "fantasy has always been [your] one true love." Why haven't we seen more fantasy from you in the past? Why children's and not teen?

BH: Wow, you either do great research, or you're stalking me. If it's the former, I appreciate the time and effort.

(JP: Gas is too expensive for stalking these days. sigh. ;)

BH: Keep in mind that there are the books authors write, and there are the books authors find publishers for. My first few books were fantasy, but I was a terrible writer then and they were sucky books, so they didn't get published (thank God!). It was just sort of random chance that the first book I actually sold was realistic teen fiction. And once you establish yourself in one genre, publishers tend to like you to write more in that genre. It's all about branding, you know.

But trust me, I've been writing fantasy my whole life.

As for the children's thing, this story seemed to me to be sort of a "classic" children's story--in the vein of Alice in Wonderland or Roald Dahl, but with an edgy, hopefully contemporary twist. So I set it as middle grade.

JP: Dreamquest is equal parts fantasy and satire, and all good satire aims to point out the idiocies of life. It's immensely different in tone and attitude than everything else I've read by you. Was your experience writing it different in any way to past efforts? What are you poking sticks at with the satire?

BH: I wrote the first draft years and years ago, but it was one of those sucky early books I mentioned earlier, and I doubt a single word of it is still the same. But honestly, my process for all my books is basically the same: I get the story idea, then I fumble around for a while trying to find the right "tone" of the story, and the voice of the characters. It's true that this time around the tone and voice are very different from my other books, but only because it seemed to work for this story.

But yeah, this is my first outright satire. A girl plagued by nightmares wakes in a land inside her own head called Slumberia, in the "dream-studio" where they film her nightmares. The most obvious satire is of Hollywood, where I lived for a few years trying to sell my screenplays. But it's not really about Hollywood per se. I like to say it's about any place where people put profits ahead of people. Sadly, it's very timely these days.

And can I just say? The best children's books area always the ones that can be read and enjoyed even after you grow up, right? That's totally my philosophy. That said, kids get much more of the satire than adults think they do.

JP: You are very versatile in your fiction, both in subject and in format. You've said that you like writing fantasy best, but which of the formats that we frequently see your work in (novel, short story, play) is most comfortable for you to write in?

BH: Truthfully, I probably most like writing screenplays, because it's all about structure and plot and drama and conflict. I just absolutely love plot: the artistry of the character arc, or the perfectly crafted story with the perfect come-full-circle ending, totally inevitable, yet absolutely unpredictable. To me, a story is like a sculpture--just as precise, and just as beautiful. And it is storytelling we're doing, right? Emphasis on the story?

I also really like writing books for kids and teens, because I think kids really love plot too. But I do occasionally get discouraged, because I don't think writers of books get much credit for plot. I read these kids' books all the time that literally seem to have no plot. But because the language is evocative, they're praised to high heaven and win all kinds of awards. Meanwhile, a book with a clever, artful plot, but more straightforward language is sometimes ignored (by everyone except the kids we're supposedly writing for!).

Wait. Did I just say all that out loud? Yikes. I'm going to get in trouble.

JP: Last Chance Texaco and Dreamquest are darker stories that exhibit a certain disillusionment – what fuels that, and what is more difficult to write?

BH: It goes back to what I said before. The hard part is finding the tone and the voice. Once I do that, all my books are all about equally easy--or, more accurately, they're all equally insanely difficult.

But I totally believe there's a place for darker stories too. What is a book? It's a trip into the subconscious mind of the author. Some parts of my mind are happy, funny, optimistic parts. Other parts are bitter, cynical, and jarring. But hopefully both trips are worth taking.

JP: One thing that appeals to me about your Russel Middlebrook books is that there is an honest innocence and optimism. Much of what I've read depicting gay teens has a darker tone. Could you comment on the different representations within the genre?

BH: Good eye. Yes, that was totally intentional. I deliberately wanted to get away from the idea that a lot of gay teen books had fallen into, which is that being gay is all horribly serious and traumatic. First, that didn't describe my own teen years, which were sometimes horrible, but were also sometimes hilarious and just plain fun. Plus, let's face it: there's a lot of humor to be mined in the idea of a gay teen. I mean, a gay guy having to take showers with the hottest guys in school? Come on, that's just objectively funny, isn't it?

But I get why authors go in a different direction. So many people are so obstinately ignorant of what it might mean to be a gay teen, how hard it can be, that you just want to crack them over the head with the things that do happen and say, "Look, you idiot, can't you see how miserable you're making these people?!" But let's face it: those people aren't going to be reading gay teen books anyway.

JP: One of the bullies in Geography Club is named Brent… Can an author dub a character with his name and it be entirely coincidental?

BH: Well, it's not coincidental, but it could just be that the author couldn't think of another name that day and decided to get cheeky.

JP: We don't really meet Russel's parents until "Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies", which is the third Russel Middlebrook book. What's up with that? In fact, parents don't find too much love from you at all. In Dreamquest, the parents are pulling Julie apart. Why do you think that there is such a lack in positive parental roles in your writing and in teen lit in general?

BH: Hmmmm, I can't imagine any explanation for that, can you? Here's a hint: something about writing "what you know"? My mom died a few years back, and suddenly I started writing about all these bitchy mothers. I guess I have, uh, issues.

But the truth is, good storytellers look for drama, for conflict. I know a lot of people complain that parents don't come off very well in kids' books, but kids' books are told from the point-of-view of the kid. Who are the big antagonists in a kids' life? It's bullies, who also pop up pretty frequently in kids' books, and it's parents. Most of the characters in an engaging story are antagonists, so most of the parents in kids' books are antagonists too. If a character has a great relationship with his parents, they probably won't come into the story all that much, story being conflict, after all.

But I hasten to add I have written some positive parents: Manny's dad in Grand & Humble (more or less), and Min's parents in Split Screen.

JP: Ok, I'll give you Min's parents. Especially her mom, she's awesome, but Manny's dad? Dude lied. A LOT. Repeatedly. Blatantly. Now, I realize that it was all in furthering the plot, and I recognize your conflict argument, but still. He could have come off rosier. He was definitely a good dad otherwise, but trust is a huge issue, and lying doesn't endear me much, personally; this wasn't an Easter Bunny/Santa lie...(um, I say all of this with the utmost respect, really. no, really. oh man. now who's in trouble?) I suppose that's what you mean with the more or less bit. I just want to say that he's a marvelously flawed character, but... I guess: Do the means justify the end? Were the lies worth it? Were they necessary? (yes, to the plot, but to Manny's relationship & perception of his father?)

BH: Ha! You have a point.

Let's phrase it like this then:

Min's parents in Split Screen, for example, and Manny's dad in Grand & Humble, who has some flaws but is ultimately a decent guy.

JP: Split Screen's full title is awesome. I find it interesting that while the third book has the most light-hearted title, it's actually dealing with some of the heavier issues Russel has had to face - all while the characters are playing extras in a zombie movie. Were you wanting to lighten up those serious issues a little? Why zombies?*

BH: Another excellent insight! I'm totally impressed. You should, like, review books. Oh...wait.

Anyway, yes, I knew that the issue Russel faces would be pretty heavy, so I deliberately lightened the plot, and the titles. A spoonful of sugar and all that. (For readers unfamilar with the book, it's actually two books in one, one from Russel's POV, called Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, and one from Min's POV, called Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies. It's the world's first gay teen "flip book"!)

Ahhhhh, zombies! Well, aren't they just the best metaphor ever? The walking dead? I mean, there are just so many things you can do with that!

The book's been out for a few months now, so I guess I can now reveal one of the book's "Easter eggs": obviously the true "soul-sucking brain zombies" aren't the characters they're playing in the movie, they're characters from real-life. But every time one of these real-life soul-sucking brain zombie appears, I added a little clue. For example, the first time Russel's parents appear, they're taking down Halloween decorations--coffins and skulls and all the rest. Get it? They're "zombies," so they're clutching coffins and skulls?

Once you know what to look for, all the others soul-sucking brain zombies have clear identifiers too.

JP: I once heard (in those suspicious ways that librarians have) that Geography Club was challenged somewhere, not because of the gay content, but because Russel physically met someone he knew from the Internet. Can you tell us about that, or any other surprising ways your material has been challenged or banned?

BH: Yup, you heard right. It was a big fat ban in Washington State, which led to a series of copy-cat challenges around the state (and maybe elsewhere...no one ever tells us authors anything). But eventually the ban was overturned, and it was actually a very good thing, because, well, it got a ton of publicity for the book but, even more importantly, it got the whole community talking about literature, and libraries, and even gay teens. That was a very valuable conversation to have, and I'm flattered I played a small role in it.

As for other challenges, I always tell authors not to worry too much about that, because you can't ever anticipate what will get people upset. It's almost never what you think.

JP: In Split Screen, Last Chance Texaco and now Dreamquest, you write from the perspective of girls. How is that different for you than when you write Russel or the boys in Grand & Humble?

BH: It goes back to finding the voice. But yes, I'd like to think the voices are different. I do give it a lot of thought, and I certainly think of these characters as different genders. Whether that comes through in the writing, I'm never sure.

JP: What authors do you get overly excited for when you hear about their next book?

BH: Lisa Yee, David Lubar, Octavia Butler, Robert Sawyer, my partner Michael Jensen, Robert Charles Wilson, George R. R. Martin, and Ursula le Guin, at least before she got plotless and boring.

JP: (ouch) What book do you think everyone ought to read, and at what age or stage of life should they read it?

BH: I actually don't believe in the "universal book" theory. I've been given too many "life-changing" books by other people, only to find them totally unimpressive. But that's the great thing about books: they're so personal and individual.

I tell kids all the time: not every book is for every person, but there is a book for everyone. Lots of books, actually.

That said, here are some books that I totally loved, and occasionally reread: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison; Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin; The Lord of the Rings; The Chronicles of Narnia; The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant; Momo by Michael Ende; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne; and The Great Brain books by John D. Fitzgerald.

JP: One final penetrating question: What do YOU like on your pizza? Artichokes & Anchovies, like Russel?

BH: Oh! I totally forgot that I wrote that! Keep in mind that I wrote the first draft of Geography Club in 1999, so it all seems pretty foggy to me now. Crazy, huh?

But I'm a veggies kind of guy: mushrooms, olives, onions, etc. And artichokes. That part I agree with Russel.

JP: Thanks, Brent, for the interview!

While you wait for the sequel to Dreamquest and the I-Wish-It-Were-Sooner Kevin installment in the Russel Middlebrook series, you can find Brent all over the web. Try these first:

Official Website
Blog
As IF!
News Tribune
MySpace

The Rest of Today's Interviews:

Eddie Campbell at Chasing Ray
Sara Zarr at Writing and Ruminating
Justine Larbalestier at Big A, little a
Cecil Castellucci at Shaken & Stirred
Ysabeau Wilce at Bildungsroman
Jordan Sonnenblick at Jen Robinson's Book Page
Chris Crutcher at Finding Wonderland
Kazu Kibuishi at lectitans
Mitali Perkins at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Laura Ruby at The YA YA YAs

Since I'll be in Chicago, here's Friday's:

Tim Tharp at Chasing Ray
Justina Chen Headley at Big A, little a
Ysabeau Wilce at Shaken & Stirred
Dana Reinhardt at Bildungsroman
Julie Ann Peters at Finding Wonderland
Cecil Castellucci at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Bennett Madison at Bookshelves of Doom
Holly Black at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Justine Larbalestier at Hip Writer Mama
Kirsten Miller at A Fuse #8 Production

And because I'll be in Michigan - Saturday's:
Justina Chen Headley at Finding Wonderland

*for the record: I like zombies. In fact, in I once made a webpage about zombies for a class. Everyone else was doing stuff about quilts, pets and other boring things. Except for my friend Brian. I think his was about beer…Ok, back to the interview…

I love it when these things work out - Welcome, Dana Reinhardt!

Remember when I said that I wasn't just being nice because I wanted to interview the author someday? Hello, someday!

What excites me about Dana Reinhardt is that A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life and Harmless are vastly different books – you wouldn’t necessarily know that they were products of the same author. Reinhardt has exhibited significant range in just two books, and this makes me very eager to see what she’ll give us next.

So, when given the chance to interview her, I jumped, I clawed, I begged. Ok, not really, but I did ask very nicely, and Lo, Dana Reinhardt:


JP: Harmless is much darker in tone – so much so that I needed to take a break from its intensity and read something else before going back to it.
Has reader response been at all different between the two books?

DR: Reader response has been wildly different. Some people have had a hard time with HARMLESS. They’re so angry with the kids that it gets in the way of enjoying the story. To be fair, there are also readers who have let me know that they loved HARMLESS and thought it a much better novel than my first. To each her own taste, I guess.

Personally, I don’t quite get what all the anger is about. I have deep empathy for the characters in this book. I ache for what they’re going through and I feel like the mistakes they make could have been made by me, or by anyone at that age. The bottom line is that it’s much easier, I think, to love a book when you love the hero. HARMLESS doesn’t really give you a hero to love. But I think the other kinds of stories are worth telling too. Not every novel can be about the perfectly lovable kid.


JP: Some authors say that their characters are, in a way, real to them. It follows, under that philosophy, that characters could cause a certain amount of consternation to such authors. Since both novels are very psychological, did you ever struggle along with your characters while writing? Did they anger you or bring forth any other emotions? Because, I have to tell you, as a reader, both novels really hit me emotionally, and I'm normally a very cold, unfeeling person. Icy, really. I think that's a good descriptor. ;)

DR: Icy? You? I don’t believe it. I struggled more writing from point of view of a fourteen year old than I did a sixteen year old because at fourteen you’re less reflective and articulate and cognizant of the world around you. Because I cared about them, the characters in HARMLESS frustrated me at times. I watched how they made their bad decisions and sometimes all it would have taken for them to avoid the whole mess was someone whispering reason, but I couldn’t be the one to do that. I just had to watch everything unfold, and that wasn’t always easy. At the end of my first novel I felt terribly sad for Simone’s loss while at the same time proud of the young woman she’d become. I imagine it’s hard to spend all that time writing a book and not get emotionally connected to your characters. But you also have to know when to let them go.


JP: What those three girls in Harmless did was clearly very, very wrong. At every turn they seemed to make the wrong choice. Did you at all have any difficulty wrestling with that? Did you want to at all give the girls, who are, ultimately, while not forgivable, by the end a little bit sympathetic, any break at all?

DR: Again, I feel tremendous empathy for the girls in HARMLESS. In my opinion morality is inchoate in the teenage years. Often what keeps some kids on the good side of things is pure luck. Any kid could have done what these kids did on a night when they were feeling fragile or vulnerable, when the pull toward self-protection was particularly acute. There are details about each of their lives that I think earn each of them some sympathy. But honestly, I wasn’t trying to give them a break or invent reasons why a reader might sympathize with them, I was only trying to understand the forces beyond immaturity or an underdeveloped moral compass that might have led them to make such bad choices.


JP: Straight from my review of Harmless: Are there degrees of innocence and guilt? Is a small lie different than large lies? Does intent matter at all?

DR: Intent is everything, in my opinion. Well, maybe not everything, but almost everything. This would be a much different story if these girls sat by the river that night and decided that what they wanted to do was make up a lie that would bring them more attention at school. Or a lie that would get somebody in trouble. All they wanted to do that night was deflect attention. They each had a secret or an image of themselves that they desperately wanted to preserve, and the lie was an effort to do that. They didn’t think through the damage the lie would do. Had they intended to do the damage, this would be a very different book. Intent is what separates this story from a story like Mean Girls or any of the many stories out there about girls who seek to harm each other.


JP: In my review of Harmless, I mentioned that the novel reminded me, in some ways, of the Salem Witch Trials because of the hysteria and loss of rationale and control by the adults based upon the actions and lies of a small group of girls. Did history at all come into your mind while writing it? Any other instance? Am I a crazy person to think this?

DR: No, you’re not crazy. (And you’re not icy either.) With this novel I was drawing on something a bit more recent than the Salem Witch Trials. I wrote this novel as a response to the many current stories in the news about kids who’ve done something horrible. I started to notice that my reaction to these kinds of stories was different to those around me. Most people read those stories and think what bad kids. I always think hmmm…. I wonder why good kids would do something so bad. So this novel was an exploration of that, really. Trying to imagine how kids who deep down are good kids, as most kids are, can get caught up in a bad situation.


JP: Simone grapples with HUGE issues in Brief Chapter, issues that full-grown adults haven't always figured out. Did you set out to tell a story with so much questioning? Many would have thought that just the adoption would have been enough for one tale.

DR: I set out to write a novel about Jewish identity. The adoption story was initially a plot device. I wondered why a kid at sixteen would be asking herself all these questions about what it means to be Jewish, what it means to belong to a faith and tradition. And then I thought, maybe she didn’t even know she was Jewish and that’s why she’s suddenly engaged in all these questions. That’s how the adoption story came about. Of course, as it is with writing, often things that start out as secondary ideas wind up becoming your primary themes.

And as for grappling with HUGE questions, I think that’s a good place to start when you sit down to write a book. That’s what growing up is all about, and these questions should be reflected and wrestled with and torn apart piece by piece in books for teenage readers.


JP: What do you want your audience to take away from your books?

DR: I just want readers to have enjoyed the novel and been absorbed in the lives of the characters and felt some level of emotional investment in how it all turns out. I don’t write with messages in mind, I write to give a reader a good experience.


JP: What was the first thing you wrote for each of the books?

DR: The first sentence.
Neither changed from day one.
I like starting at the beginning.


JP: Which authors do you always look forward to reading their next book?

DR: That’s a great question because it made me realize that on my list of favorite books, there aren’t any repeats. No author gets more than one spot. Maybe this is true for any reader: once you’ve fallen head over heels for an author’s book, nothing else he or she produces can ever quite measure up. I’ll read new books by authors of books I’ve already loved, but rarely do I fall in love the same way. So for example, I’ve got the new Michael Chabon novel by my bed, but I’m nervous to read it because of how much I loved his last novel. I’m curious to read the new Ian McEwen book, but I’ve never liked any of his books as much as I enjoyed Enduring Love. Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth is one of my favorite books of all time, and I’ve only ever tried reading one of his other many books, and I never got beyond the first chapter. I love many of the early Richard Price novels, but haven’t loved his later, more popular fiction. You Must Remember This by Joyce Carol Oates is a book I treasure, but I can’t say I rush out and by every new Joyce Carol Oates novel. For one thing, who can afford to buy a new book every month?? Okay, that was a long answer. But you see what I mean.

JP: I do. As much as I absolutely LOVE L.M. Montgomery's Anne series, and as many times as I've re-read them, I've never bothered with any of her's beyond those eight. I just couldn't imagine that they would be better.

JP: Which book do you think that everyone should read, and at what age or point of life do you think that they should read it? Why?

DR: I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but my favorite novel is TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and one of the things I love about it is that it’s great for readers of almost any age. To me, it’s as close to a perfect novel as there is. It’s got it all. Read it when you’re young and read it when you’re old and you’ll learn something new each time. And she never messed things up by writing another novel!


JP: I have to ask – what can you tell us about what is coming up from you?

DR: I have a new novel coming out in 2008 called HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE. It’s about a girl who spends the summer building a house for a family who lost theirs in a tornado while sorting through her feelings about the break up of her own family. Forgive me-- I’m not very skilled at describing my own books, but I really am excited about it. I’ve just gotten over being sick of it and I’m able to appreciate it again.

JP: I can't wait to read How to Build a House! Thank You Dana SO Much!!

Your Wednesday Interview Schedule:

Mitali Perkins at Hip Writer Mama
Svetlana Chmakova at Finding Wonderland
Laura Ruby at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Holly Black at Shaken & Stirred
Hilary McKay at Bookshelves of Doom
Kirsten Miller at Miss Erin
Julie Ann Peters at A Fuse #8 Production
Carolyn Mackler at The YA YA YAs
Jordan Sonnenblick at Writing and Ruminating

Tomorrow you'll find my last interview of SBBT, with Brent Hartinger. By the time you'll actually be reading that, I'll be jetting off to Chicago and Michigan for 16 days! I'm very excited. Some people get all geeked to go to Europe, but Chicago's my favorite city, and I love my Michigan. You'll hear from me while I'm gone. ;) I'm bringing lots of books! Including my trusty iBook.