Visit with Annette Laing

www.annettelaing.com

I'm happy to be visiting today with Annette Laing (or, more correctly, Dr. Annette Laing!) author of THE SNIPESVILLE CHRONICLES series. Book One, DON'T KNOW WHERE, DON'T KNOW WHEN, was released in August 2007, and Book Two, A DIFFERENT DAY, A DIFFERENT DESTINY, was just released in December 2009.



Dear Readers: When Jen invited me to share this time with you, I was snowed in on the Isle of Skye, off the coast of Scotland, clutching a mince pie in one hand and a whiskey in the other. It is the latter that probably explains why I said yes.

Then, last night, she contacted me to ask gently, “Um, Annette, where is all your stuff? It’s your day tomorrow.”

This is why, readers, I am now sitting in front of the computer at 10 p.m., bleary-eyed, typing away. But ON to the main point!

So why read my books, THE SNIPESVILLE CHRONICLES, which are clearly posted as middle grade fiction? Because I didn’t write them as middle grade fiction. I wrote them as a mid-life crisis, and teenagers who get past the age label tend to bond with my angst. DON'T KNOW WHERE, DON'T KNOW WHEN is about Hannah, an Attitude Girl who takes no prisoners, her sweet befuddled brother, Alex, and the decent, clever and ambitious Brandon, their friend. It just so happens that the three of them end up in England. In 1940. During World War II.

This isn’t science fiction (although, obviously, time travel happens), and it’s not historical fiction. It’s about what it would really be like to visit the past, bringing all our modern issues with us. The experience could be hilarious to read about (if not to experience), desperately sad, very exciting, and pretty scary. My emotions about the thread between past and present tumbled into these characters, and into my books, including A DIFFERENT DAY, A DIFFERENT DESTINY, the second book in the series, which just came out.

Fair readers, I’m not a big name, or ever likely to be. I don’t expect my books to become New York Times Bestsellers or Major Motion Picture Events — since they don’t connect with what Big Publishing thinks you should be reading. But I keep on writing like a woman possessed because I have found kindred spirits all over America who have fallen in love with my books and my characters. That’s enough.

I had the chance to ask Annette a few personal questions about herself, her writing, and her life - and maybe it was the whiskey - but she agreed to answer them gracefully!

1)If you could bring any character from one of your books to life, who would it be and why?

Hannah, so I could give her a good kick in the butt.

2)Your own six-word memoir.

Yo-Yo Back and Forth Across Atlantic.

3)What was your favorite book growing up as a teen?

I mooned over poetry—as all teenage girls should—and so it was probably my prize volume of T.S. Eliot’s collected poems (not the frightful cat-related ones, though).

4)When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A journalist. Also rich and famous. These ambitions were not compatible.

5)Your favorite subject in high school – and your least favorite.

Favorite: History (seriously.) Least favorite: Swimming. I had a perpetual period so I could get out of it. I still hate water up my nose.

6)The one book everyone in the world should read.

The book about which each of them is passionate. One size does not fit all—even Harry Potter.

7)The book you wish you had written.

Harry Potter, so I could now be the owner of much of Scotland.

8)Your five favorite reads from 2009 (books you read during the year; they do not have to have been published during 2009).

I forget the authors and titles of books as soon as I read them, so, urm, I’ll try:

The great big thick history of 1950s England by David Kynaston; Penelope Lively’s FAMILY ALBUM; Sophie Kinsella’s TWENTIES GIRL; and Alison Light’s MRS. WOOLF AND THE SERVANTS. Also enjoyed the most recent DIARY OF A WIMPY KID installment, which I borrowed from my son.

9)Using the letters J L W (my initials!), create the title of your next bestseller. (For example, Jumping Love Walrus.)

Jen, that’s extremely self-indulgent of you… (LOL Annette...It is, isn't it?)

Okay. How does Juicy Little Warts grab everyone? Jacobean Lice War?

10)What is your ultimate vacation destination?

I don’t know, because I haven’t got there yet.

11)The world has suffered from a one-day only loss of power. You have no cell phone, computer, lights, or anything else that requires a computer, cell battery, or electricity. What do you spend the day doing?

None of your bloody business. (I hope she means this in a nice way! - Jen)

12)If you weren’t an author, what job would you be doing?

Wal-Mart greeter.

13)You’re invited to a White House function, and you have the chance to give a 10-minute speech to the President and everyone else attending. What do you speak about?

About 10 minutes, since that was the instruction… (Jen again - she's just too funny. I blame the whiskey!)

14)Your publisher has instructed you to write a new series based on an endangered species. What animal do you choose?

Publishers.

15)A movie is being made of ONE of your books. Which book is it, and who will star as the main characters?

My first book, DON'T KNOW WHERE, DON'T KNOW WHEN. Helen Mirren as the Professor, Fiona Shaw as Mrs. D., and various exploited child stars du jour as the three kids, with a cameo by Gordon Brown as Winston Churchill.

16)The paranormal genre is big in teen/YA literature right now. Most bestsellers feature vampires, werewolves, faeries, angels, or the like as a main character. In your opinion, why are teens currently fascinated with all things paranormal?

Because nobody does a very good job getting them excited about real life.

17)You’re writing a book where you can change one major historical event. Which event do you change? (For example, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t assassinated, or Japan never bombed Pearl Harbor.)

I would undo the earthquake in Haiti, because Haitians have suffered enough without that on top of everything else. Of course, if I had such God-like powers, I would also undo the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004.

18)Remember those “classics” that you were made to read in high school English class? What was your favorite, and which title should students never have to be subjected to reading?

My favorite was DAVID COPPERFIELD. My least favorite was anything by Jane Austen, who needed to get a life.

19)Someone tells you that you’ll never publish another book that you write. Do you still keep writing?

Of course, because clearly that someone is an idiot who has never heard of self-publishing.

20) A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

Go away and stop bothering me, young people. Actually, that’s what most writers would say if they were honest.

**Thanks so much to Annette for visiting with us today! She is so funny, and her books show that quality - you really need to check them out if you get the chance!

Be sure to visit her website listed above, or her Blog. You can also email her directly at Annette@ConfusionPress.com.

She'll be giving away a copy of the first two books in THE SNIPESVILLE CHRONICLES to one lucky poster today, so be sure to leave any questions or comments you have for her in the comments section.

Thanks again for taking time to visit with us, Dr. Laing! You've made my day a humorous one!