Visit with Robin Stevenson

www.robinstevenson.com

Today we're visiting with Robin Stevenson, author of numerous titles for teen and young adult readers. Her latest YA release, INFERNO, was published by Orca Book Publishers on 4/1/09!



High School Can Be Hell.

Dante thinks high school is an earthly version of hell. She hates her new home in the suburbs, her best friend has moved away, her homeroom teacher mocks her and her mother is making her attend a social skills group for teenage girls.

When a stranger shows up at school and hands Dante a flyer that reads: Woof, woof. You are not a dog. Why are you going to obedience school?, Dante thinks she’s found a soul mate. Someone who understands. Someone else who wants to make real changes in the world. But there are all kinds of ways of bringing about change…and some are more dangerous than others.

**Robin also has a new middle-grade novel, LIARS AND FOOLS, being released on 10/1/10!



You don't need ESP to spot a fraud.

Fiona's life changed forever when her mother died in a South Pacific sailing accident. One year later, everyone tells her it is time to move on. To Fiona, moving on means leaving her mother behind-something she has vowed never to do. But Fiona's father has started dating again. His new girlfriend, Kathy, is a professional psychic who claims she can predict the future and communicate with the dead.

Fiona is sure she is a fraud, although she secretly longs for her abilities to be genuine. With the reluctant support of her best friend Abby, Fiona sets out to put an end to her father's new relationship by trying to prove, with decidedly mixed results, that Kathy is a liar.

**Hey. It’s great to be here at the TRT Book Club. I’ve had a fabulous summer but have done very little in the way of writing, so this blog was a good way of reminding me—oh yeah, I’m supposed to be an author! Hmm. Should write something soon…

Actually, this summer is a bit unusual as I rarely take time off from writing. My first novel came out in 2007, and my ninth will come out in the fall of this year… in other words, I’m pretty much addicted to the whole writing process. When I was a kid, I was an obsessive and voracious reader--the kind of geeky kid that is known as a bookworm. I even read novels while I walked to school. Books were way up there with water and oxygen on the list of stuff I needed to survive.

These days, I kind of feel the same way about writing. I have another three books scheduled for release in 2011—a teen novel, a teen reluctant reader, and an early chapter book (written at the request of—and with the enthusiastic help of—my six year old son)—and I can’t imagine ever stopping. I feel very lucky to have found something I enjoy so much.

1) Your own six-word memoir.

Books, family, traveling, friends, laughter, chocolate…

2) Twitter your newest or upcoming release in 140 characters or less.

Fiona’s dad’s new girlfriend claims to be psychic. Still grieving her mom’s death, Fiona tries to prove Kathy a liar…. but secretly she can’t help hoping she’s for real.

3) You have the chance to spend the day with any character from one of your favorite books. Who would you choose and why?

Harriet, from HARRIET THE SPY. But I get to go back in time and be ten years old when I spend the day with her, and I want to meet her friends Janie and Sport too.

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

I had lots, way too many to name! As a kid, I loved Susan Cooper’s DARK IS RISING trilogy, A WRINKLE IN TIME, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I also loved Ray Bradbury and John Wyndham. In high school, I loved Jack Kerouac and the Beat Poets (though now the sexism appalls me). I first read Jennifer Dawson’s novel, THE HA-HA, when I was in my early teens and it has stayed with me in that haunting kind of way some books have.

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

When I was really young, I read EMILY OF NEW MOON and like Emily, vowed I would someday be a writer. But I don’t think it really occurred to me that this was actually a career option. I was into horses and science, and by the time I was twelve, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I also wanted to be a famous equestrian but that seemed even less likely than being a writer.

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

Ugh, high school. Well, I guess I liked English, except for Shakespeare. And Thomas Hardy. I probably shouldn’t admit this but my A paper on TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES was based entirely on the movie because I just could not get through the book. I enjoyed the little bits of creative writing we did though.

I was bad at math when I was a kid but was surprised to suddenly start liking it in my final years of high school— maybe there was something appealing about all that order and logic when my life was so, um, turbulent. I hated physics with a passion, mainly because of a teacher who thought girls wouldn’t be good at it. It didn’t help that Mr. Physics and my father got into an argument in front of the entire grade eleven class. I believe my father said something (and you have to imagine this in a British accent) about my teacher being “the rudest bastard he’d ever met,” while I stared at my desk and did my best to disappear.

Also I dreaded gym. I dropped it as soon as we were allowed to. I was a clumsy kid and by grade 9, I’d had enough public humiliation to last a lifetime.

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

I don’t think there is one. People enjoy such different things and I guess I think they should read what they want to. Having said that, I confess that there a few books I do try to make all my friends read; and Barbara Kingsolver’s THE POISONWOOD BIBLE is high on that list. Wonderful characters, convincing voices, intelligence, humour, family drama… and a very thoughtful critique of patriarchal values, racism and colonialism. It’s brilliant.

8) The book you wish you had written.

See above! THE POISONWOOD BIBLE is one of the books I reread often, with total absorption and a mixture of admiration and envy. For teen novels, I really do wish I wrote Meg Rosoff’s HOW I LIVE NOW. A beautifully written book and impossible to put down.

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

THE FLYING TROUTMANS, by Miriam Toews
JELLICOE ROAD, by Melina Marchetta
SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU, by Peter Cameron
NOTES ON A SCANDAL, by Zoe Hellerman
LULLABIES FOR LITTLE CRIMINALS, Heather O’Neill

10) You have the chance to go back and change a scene from one of your previous releases. What book would you choose, what scene would you change, and how would you alter it?

By the time my books are published I have generally moved on and am focused on whatever I am writing now. I’m sure if I did read one of them I would find all kinds of things I’d like to change… this is part of the reason I never read my own books once they are published! Just the thought makes me nervous. Even when I have to give a reading from one of my novels, I find myself mentally editing it.

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

Jeremiah’s Lovely War. Jokes Like William. Just Leaving Wollongong. Jellybean’s Last Wish… It’s funny but believe it or not, this is giving me story ideas. I may have to steal this question to use with my next writing class…

12) What is your astrological sign? How closely does it match your personality?

I’m a Scorpio. We always get the worst personality descriptions… secretive, unforgiving etc etc… so it’s probably lucky I’m not a believer. Though (co-incidentally!) it’s not all untrue: I am actually a very private person--and I admit I do have a tendency to hold a grudge. And the secret desire to triumph? Okay, okay, that’s probably true too…

13) What is your ultimate vacation destination?

I love traveling and would go anywhere. A round-the-world ticket and a year to travel would be perfect, but if I have to pick one spot, I’d go to Sarawak and Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo, and do some hiking in the tropical rainforest. I was there with my partner ten years ago but I’d love to go back and take my six year old son. He’d love the caves and the bats and the orangutans. All the little macaque monkeys scare me—possibly because I got chased by one last time--but he’d probably like those too.

14) 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?

It’s not too dark to read, is it? Because I have a stack of to-be-read books beside my bed which will probably crush me if we ever have an earthquake…

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

Tough question. I worked as a social worker for ten years, in hospitals and in community agencies, doing sexual abuse counseling, and support and advocacy work with people with disabilities. I liked my work but I don’t think I would go back to it now—not full-time, anyway. I enjoy teaching, so maybe I would do something in that field. I’d especially be interested in creating alternatives to traditional schooling.

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?

Obviously the incredible popularity of TWILIGHT has boosted interest in vampires and other immortals, but I think that a teenage love for the paranormal is more than just a current trend. I loved all things paranormal when I was a pre-teen, and remember reading tons of fiction about it. I also used to read about and practice astral projection, telepathy, precognition, levitation etc… sadly without success. When I was really small, I used to try to get through the back of my closet and into Narnia. I think many of us-- kids, teens and adults—are fascinated by fantasy, by heroic characters, and by the unexplainable. Fiction is always asking what if and paranormal fiction just takes those what if questions in a different direction.

17) 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?

I don’t think I had a favorite. There’s nothing like being told you have to read something to make it less appealing. And as for the second half of the question… teachers, please stop making teens read THE LORD OF THE FLIES! Not that it isn’t a good book—but high school is depressing enough without it.

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

Sure. I started writing with no intention of trying to publish a novel and I can’t imagine not writing now. I get grumpy when I’m not writing. Though if I couldn’t make money doing it, I suppose I’d have to get a real job… which would suck. And also cut into my writing time.

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

Here’s a few suggestions, none of them wildly original:
* Read a lot. Seriously. I know everyone says this but that’s because it really is good advice. More than anything else, reading is how I learned to write. And anyway, it’s fun.
* Pay attention to writing you enjoy. What stories catch and hold your interest? Which characters stay with you long after you finish reading? Then go back and re-read those books and try to figure out how the author made that magic happen.
* Write a lot. Know that your writing, like anything else, will get stronger with practice.
* Keep in mind that writing and publishing are two very different things… and that writing is of value with or without publishing. Try to focus on your writing and don’t be in too much of a hurry to get published (easier said than done, I know). Accept that the first book you write may not be the one that finds a publisher… that doesn’t mean all the hours you spent on it were wasted time.
* Be open to feedback. Try not to be too attached to your words or your stories. You don’t have to agree with every criticism or take every suggestion, but you can learn a lot from listening seriously to the feedback of other readers and writers. Revision is, for most writers, an important part of the writing process.
* When you are ready to submit, do your research and improve your odds by sending your work to agents or publishers who are a good fit for your manuscript.
* Remember why you write. Be true to yourself and write the stories you most want to tell. And have fun with it. Otherwise, why bother?

**Thanks so much to Robin for visiting with us today! Be sure to visit her website, listed above! Orca Book Publishers has also kindly offered to send one lucky poster a pack of Robin's releases as a prize today, including copies of INFERNO, A THOUSAND SHADES OF BLUE, OUT OF ORDER, IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, and LIARS AND FOOLS. This gift pack will be sent out after 10/1/10, when LIARS AND FOOLS is released. So be sure to leave any comments or questions you have for Robin in the comments section!