Tucson Book Fest – Brande, King, McMann
Liz Danforth -- School Library Journal, 4/15/2009
I had the considerable pleasure to interview Robin Brande, A. S. King, and Lisa McMann (photo, left to right) at the Tucson Festival of Books in March. Let me clarify: I had a smashingly, rollicking good time interviewing these three authors. They blew my barn doors off and left only tiny wood splinters. These women write amazing books categorized as Young Adult because the protagonists are young, not because they talk down to their audience. The Dust of 100 Dogs (Flux, 2009), Wake (Simon Pulse, 2008), and Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature (Knopf, 2007) are their best-known works to date, respectively. All knew each other beforehand, and they were at the Tucson Festival of Books to talk about being dorks, nerds, and geeks in school, and how that informs their writing. The 45 minutes I had to chat with them three-on-one made me believe they are wonderfully wise and witty writer goddesses. Let me share a little of what we talked about that day.
On The Question That Everyone Asks
King: Will there be a sequel to The Dust of 100 Dogs? I answer the way my editor answered a year ago: ‘I think 326 years in one book is quite enough.'
Brande: A lot of people want to know if any parts of my book are true. The part with the girl getting kicked out of church? Yes, that was my experience. They want to know if Casey is real, and yes, he’s real. I see him a couple times a year. I tell him there are junior high girls all over the nation who’d love to meet him and he turns deep red. He's a very shy boy.
McMann: I get asked, is Wake going to be a movie? No. Not so far. We didn’t have a deal after nine months of negotiating, and then the producer that wanted to do it left. There will be something better later.
On Working as a Writer (with Cool Tips)
King: I’m about to sit down and do the first draft of my new book. I have this April thing. My husband and I have a pact. I go into the cave, which technically is my basement, and write. He takes care of the kids, does all the stuff that needs to be done—dinner, grocery shopping, life. A good tip [for aspiring writers]: don’t think about getting published. Think about writing and loving writing. It’s so sad to see people who think it’s all about publishing. You have to love writing enough that when the first one doesn't sell, you have already moved on to the next one. Publishing isn’t all roses and happy smelling things.
McMann: For five or six weeks, go straight out. Finish your first draft. Then you can go back and fix it.
Brande: My tips are three. Read a ton. Write something every day, even if it’s email, a diary, something; anything to get the writing muscle going. The third is to pay attention to your life. Don’t just live in your box, look around and pay attention to your life. There are stories there. I love to start my research by going back to high school, sitting in on some classes for a few days (or a month, as I did with Evolution). I usually contact a school counselor first, and get hooked up with a willing teacher. I sit in the back of the room, watch and listen, see what kids are wearing, what they talk about, how they interact—and also get some quotable snippets from teachers as they’re teaching so my scenes sound more real. It’s fun for the teachers—they're flattered that a writer wants to come in and observe their class--and the students are tickled.
On Selling Books, Contests, and the Social Web
King: I knew I had to get the title out there, so I looked at the social network--Facebook, Twitter, whatever. A lot of authors say, “Oh, it's too much time!” It's only a few minutes a day. I have met so many booksellers and awesome librarians. I’ve made contacts; I have sold books. If you want to say no, say no. I am a yes person. But one thing did scare me. Blogging. Blogging is a time suck. I don't like giving my opinions out. People want to argue. I don't want to write about what makes me mad or happy or whatever, so I do contests, which are fun and take less time. The reason I started doing contests? Lisa McMann told me to.
McMann: You have to have publisher support, you absolutely do, but really, Wake was going to be just another book. So I set out deliberately, for everyone to see. I was online all over the place selling this book nine months before it even came out. That made the publishers sit up and take notice and was the beginning of the tour idea [for Fade, just released]. It never came up until months after I signed the contract. The editor said to me more than once, we are noticing what you're doing. (photo: modeling the Breath Right cactus)On Strong Women Characters
King: A local reviewer recently wrote that she was getting tired of weak female characters in YA books chasing strong, pretty men that could potentially hurt them. The next week she said, about my book, that even though my character pops a few eyeballs out because she’s a pirate, she's a great role model for today's girls. As a mother of two daughters, and the daughter of a strong woman who fought her whole life for women's rights, that made me feel wonderful.
McMann: Robin, your female lead, Mena, has to make some very tough decisions and is completely ostracized for it. Yet the way she handles that is incredible. She is definitely a character to admire.
Brande: None of us deliberately say “I'm going to create a strong girl character” when we sit down to write.
King: No, you're writing the girl you always wanted to read about.
* * *
I wish I had their books to read when I was younger; lucky for you, you do. If you haven't read their works yet, you have a delight ahead. Go for it—the sooner the better. (Photos by Earl Billick)
A. S. KING: The Dust of 100 Dogs. Flux. 2009. ISBN: 978-0-7387-1426-4. Gr 9 and up.Just announced: Ignore Vera Dietz (Knopf, fall 2010)
Web sites: www.as-king.com or www.thedustof100dogs.com
Blog: http://dogfact9.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1000875667&ref=name
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AS_King
LISA McMANN: Wake. Simon Pulse, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-4169-5357-9; Fade. Simon Pulse, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-4169-5358-6. Gr 7-12.Upcoming: Gone (Simon Pulse, spring 2010)
Web site: http://lisamcmann.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lisa_mcmann
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=541744050&ref=profile#/profile.php?id=679911056&ref=ts
ROBIN BRANDE: Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature. Knopf, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-375-84349-5. Gr 7-12. Upcoming: Fat Cat (Knopf, October 2009). ISBN: 978-0-375-84449-2.
Web site and blog: http://robinbrande.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Robin_Brande
Facebook: www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=616679922&ref=profile
Myspace: www.myspace.com/robinbrande
Liz Danforth, MLS, is a freelance game illustrator, scenario designer, and game developer who also has 18 years experience as a part-time paralibrarian in Phoenix and Tucson. She is one of ALA’s "gaming experts" currently studying the use of gaming to improve literacy skills and to develop a model "toolbox" for gaming in libraries. Through Danforth Design & Development (D3), she also works as an artist, a writer, and a library consultant.
