Author Interview with Maurene Goo

Today I bring to you an interview with YA author Maurene Goo (maurenegoo.com). Maurene was born in L.A. and raised in Glendale. At U.C. San Diego, Maurene studied Communication and at grad school at Emerson College, she studied Publishing, Literature, and Writing. I’ve read two of Maurene’s novels- SINCE YOU ASKED (Scholastic) and I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).  

In SINCE YOU ASKED, Holly, the candid protagonist, pens a high school column where she gets to vent about her school and offend the student body with her words. Holly also tries to find balance between living as both a carefree American girl from Southern California and being a dutiful daughter of a traditional Korean American family. When Holly rebels against her strict upbringing, she must face the consequences...

In I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE, Desi, a love-struck teen, schemes with her friends to win the affections of the artistic Luca. Desi’s guidelines for her plan come from her self-composed guide “K-Drama Steps to True Love,” derived from Desi’s observations of the Korean dramas that her single father watches. From faking a love triangle with a complicit guy friend to staging a car accident, Desi is rewarded when Luca falls for her. But Desi’s reward is short-lived when her plans are exposed...

From the sarcastic and cynical Holly in SINCE YOU ASKED to the dreamy and optimistic Desi in I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE, the female leads in both books were credible characters whose antics were often entertaining to follow.

In SINCE YOU ASKED, you offer a candid perspective of Holly's adolescent experience as a Korean American teen who is making her way through high school. What experiences and feelings did you have growing up, if any, that inspired this story? (And if this story wasn't conceived from your past, feel free to share how you were inspired to write this.) 

Maurene: I was definitely inspired by my own personal experiences. SINCE YOU ASKED was my first book and I initially wanted to write YA because I wanted to see a book that was close to my own high school experiences. So a lot of what Holly was going through—figuring out your place in high school, crushes, and family angst—came from a very personal place.  

While reading I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE, there were times when I was feeling concerned with how Desi could redeem herself after her dishonest scheme to attract Luca comes to light. What advice do you have for crafting a flawed and sympathetic character that readers can care about, the way I cared about Desi?

Maurene: A lot of times, when I draft, my characters are pushed to the most extreme version of themselves, so that I can fully figure out their “archetypes.” Then as I work on revisions, I really figure them out. With Desi, I think she became fully sympathetic and undeniable once I figured out where all the overplanning, controlling nature came from. And the reason was a very sweet one, something that endeared her to the reader. Think about the best villains—the ones that stick out in the best stories are the ones that we can relate to on some level, to see where their major malfunctions came from.

Since you have named a number of your books after songs, I take it that you're into music. How does music inspire you as a writer? Do you listen to music as you write?

Maurene: I always have to listen to music when I write! Especially writing YA novels—I have to channel teenage feelings and there’s no better way to do that than with music. I make playlists for each book and pretty much listen to that on repeat the entire time I work on it. 

What books/authors did you like reading when you were a kid?

Maurene: I loved reading series books like THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. I also went through a horse phase (THOROUGHBRED, THE SADDLE CLUB), a pen pal phase (PEN PALS), all the phases. Anything in series form about girls, I gobbled up. 

Tell me about your new book, THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL. Feel free to share about any other projects you are working on. 

Maurene: THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL is about an irreverent prankster named Clara Shin who takes one prank too far and, as punishment, she has to run her dad’s food truck with her nemesis over the summer. Over the course of this summer she becomes friends with her enemy, meets a cute boy named Hamlet, and learns to feel all the feelings. It’s also my love letter to LA, where I was born and raised!

Next year I have another YA coming out, SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW. It’s a romance about a K pop star who spends one life-changing day with a boy she meets in Hong Kong. I can’t wait for everyone to read it! 

Author Interview with Deborah Hopkinson

Today I am bringing you an interview with award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson (deborahhopkinson.com), 
who lives near Portland, OR. I read Deborah’s recently published picture books INDEPENDENCE CAKE (Schwartz & Wade Books, illustrated by Giselle Potter) and ORDINARY, EXTRAORDINARY JANE AUSTEN (Balzer & Bray, illustrated by Qin Leng). INDEPENDENCE CAKE offers a “made-up tale” about Amelia Simmons, the author of America’s first cookbook who lived during the Revolutionary times. In Deborah’s story, Amelia makes 13 Independence Cakes, one for each colony. In ORDINARY, EXTRAORDINARY JANE AUSTEN, Jane Austen proves that the ordinary world can be written about in an extraordinary way. The reader sees how Jane Austen’s keen observation skills, simple English home life and upbringing, and her passion for books and writing contributed to her future success as an author.

The stories and illustrations in both books engaged me as a reader and brought me to two different historical regions- one in New England, and the other, England. 
From reading the preface of INDEPENDENCE CAKE, I could see there isn’t a lot of information out there about Amelia Simmons. So how did you venture out to write a story about her?
I wanted to write about that time period, and I love stories about little-known figures in history. Since historians have uncovered very little about Amelia Simmons, it seemed the perfect opportunity to underscore the difference between historical fiction and nonfiction, something I try to emphasize in my author visits in schools. I read articles by culinary historians including the late Karen Hess, who, in an introduction to the second edition of AMERICAN COOKERY, published in Albany in fall 1796, speculated that Amelia Simmons may have lived near the Hudson Valley and been influenced by Dutch settlers. Simmons used terms such as “slaw” based on the Dutch “sla” for salad, and “cookey,” from “koekje.” 

When I share the book with young readers, I also use it as a chance to talk about gender roles. I like to say that in our time, everyone helps at home, but who did the housework in 1789? We also look at Giselle Potter’s lovely spot art pages illustrating the various chores Amelia did, from picking apples to washing clothes, to spinning, sewing, and quilting and use that as a chance to talk about past and present and how technology has (or hasn’t) had an impact on daily life.

Unlike Amelia Simmons, there’s more out there about Jane Austen. How were you able to write an interesting book such as ORDINARY, EXTRAORDINARY JANE AUSTEN and make it unique from other books out there about Jane Austen? How did you research Jane Austen for your picture book?
I’ve read quite a bit about Jane Austen, but to research this book I splurged and purchased Deirdre Le Faye’s masterful book, A CHRONOLOGY OF JANE AUSTEN, which delves into basically everything we know about Jane and her family. Although another picture book, BRAVE JANE AUSTEN, was published at the same time as my book, there haven’t been, to my knowledge, any picture books about Jane until 2018.

The most difficult part of writing this book was to try to capture elements of Jane’s life that would be of interest to young readers. When I speak to students, I always emphasize that anything hard – whether it’s sports, playing a musical instrument, or writing– takes determination. What’s wonderful about Austen is that she began practicing her writing craft from the time she was a child. She embraced revision, and she persevered in the face of rejection.

I like how you shared historical details of how people lived in the past, from how young ladies would play cards and trim their bonnets with lace in ORDINARY, EXTRAORDINARY JANE AUSTEN to what food people ate during the Revolutionary times in INDEPENDENCE CAKE. How do you research the setting for the historic places and time periods in all your books? (I see you have written a lot of books with historical themes.)
The short answer is that I read a lot, and depend heavily on scholarly works as well as memoirs and first-person accounts, or, sometimes, fiction written during the time period in which my books are set.

I write both nonfiction and fiction, and sometimes find myself more stymied by research questions when writing historical fiction. In nonfiction, first-person accounts can guide the narrative. But in fiction you suddenly find yourself spending hours tracking down some seemingly insignificant detail that doesn’t seem to be mentioned in any secondary source.

Since you wrote a book about dessert and another book about Jane Austen (both things I love), please tell me what is your favorite dessert (besides Independence Cake) and what is your favorite Jane Austen novel.
Alas, since developing food sensitivities that require me to be gluten free, I don’t get to indulge in dessert much these days. However, I will say I am partial to an excellent gluten-free chocolate cookie.

As far as Austen novels, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is still at the top of my list, with PERSUASION and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY right up there too.

What books did you enjoy reading while you were growing up?
I loved THE SECRET GARDEN. I believe I first read Austen and Charlotte Bronte by the sixth grade, and also loved mysteries and read a lot of Dickens. (Whether I understood much about what I was reading then is another question!) In high school, I also read a lot of World War II books, adventure stories, and long historical fiction.

What upcoming book projects would you like to announce here?
Speaking of World War II, two of my new books are set in that period. D-DAY: THE WORLD WAR II INVASION THAT CHANGED HISTORY is a nonfiction title to be published by Scholastic in Fall 2018. In Spring 2019, my middle grade spy novel, HOW I BECAME A SPY, will be out from Knopf.

In addition, I am part of a YA project entitled FATAL THRONE: THE WIVES OF HENRY VIII TELL ALL, released in May 2018, and a picture book biography of the Buddha, UNDER THE BODHI TREE, coming this fall. 

IWSG: Turbulence

For new visitors, IWSG Day is a monthly event where authors in the blogosphere can share about insecurities...or in my case sometimes, just random thoughts. Today’s IWSG question is: How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal or finish a story? I fuel myself with chocolate quite a bit. Once I ran out of chocolate in my home and I don’t know if it was a coincidence that I was just less productive that week. 

Today I don't have an insecurity to share. 

Instead, I will share a short travel piece. During a recent plane flight I was on, the plane was experiencing turbulence near the end of the flight. Passengers were asked to remain in their seats. Then a passenger near me got up. She was chatting with her friend during most of the flight and might've missed the announcement. So as she was leisurely making her way down the aisle toward the bathroom, a flight attendant directed her back to her seat. With a dumbfounded expression, the passenger began to wander back to her seat. Then the plane really started shaking and before the passenger reached her seat, she fell over me. Although I was a bit annoyed, I was fine, as was she. Nonetheless, the moral of this particular story is to remain in your seat during turbulence on a plane flight.

But that doesn't mean when there is turbulence around us, that we must always remain in our seats. Lately, it has been hard for me not to feel affected by the turbulence from current events as well as stuff that has come up in social media. I'm relieved that people have been getting out of their seats and taking a stand for things that are worth standing up for. 

How do you deal with turbulence?

IWSG & Author Interview with Julie Dill

For new visitors, IWSG Day is a monthly event where authors in the blogosphere can share about insecurities...or in my case sometimes, just  thoughts on various subjects. Today's IWSG question is: What do you love about the genre you write in most often? Well, I can dish on what I love about any genre I write in. Since I'm working on a YA food novel right now, I will say that writing or reading about food allows me to think about something I enjoy doing, which is eating good food. Nom nom nom! 

Back in December, I shared here that I would like to profile authors here regularly again. 

For my first author interview of this year, I bring to you Julie Dill, an Oklahoma City resident whose debut young adult novel BLUFF (Amberjack Publishing) was released in 2017. You can follow Julie on Twitter @JulieDillOKC.

In BLUFF, 17-year-old Chelsea struggles with managing her cheer team expenses and her financially struggling household consisting of just herself and her single dad. Secretly, Chelsea assumes a new name and takes up playing poker at a local casino. Luck is on her side and a series of big cash wins at the table motivates Chelsea to keep returning. Things get challenging when sparks fly between Chelsea and a young pit boss. The pit boss doesn’t know that she’s an underage gambler. To keep up with her new hobby, Chelsea has to keep lying to those around her, and then things start to get out of hand...

What inspired you to write BLUFF? It’s weird how a character evolves. I really tried to create a unique character- a high school girl who wasn’t the norm. My personal life, as a teenager, could not have been more opposite than Chelsea’s so I really had to get outside of what I knew and what I was comfortable with to get in Chelsea’s head. I was reflecting on my first visit into a poker room, and in the early nineties there were hardly any women at all. Even today, you can still walk by a poker room and notice that the majority of the players are men. I think when you’re developing a character it’s important to raise the stakes as much as possible (pun intended). With BLUFF, I really wanted something different and that wasn’t already “out there.”

While BLUFF can be regarded as an “issues” story about a girl’s oncoming gambling addiction, I also considered this a fantasy fulfillment story. It was fascinating to observe the life of a teen who masquerades as a grown-up with some success. And don’t many teens wish they were adults? What would you say this story is about? Initially, it was Chelsea's attempt to try to get some quick cash. But long term, it became escapism for her. She could enter this world where she didn’t have to think about all of her responsibilities and just escape. My hope is that readers will recognize how easy an addiction can form.

Though I was often concerned for Chelsea’s safety and didn’t necessarily agree with her choices, I found myself looking forward to seeing what she’d do next. Tell me more about the character development for Chelsea.

Life is never easy for Chelsea, and that's what gives her some grit. She manages. She doesn’t have a choice. I think down deep Chelsea is longing for some maternal guidance, and that’s why I wanted her to have Ms. Stella. Overall, I view Chelsea as a good kid making bad choices, and that informed a lot of my decisions.

What books/authors did you enjoy reading when you were younger? THE BOXCAR CHILDREN was always my favorite. I still have the copy from my childhood with my name printed in the front. Bill Wallace (A DOG CALLED KITTY) visited my school when I was in fourth grade. I'll never forget it. I still have his book, too!

Tell me about the sequel for BLUFF. Will readers get to meet Chelsea’s mom? I continue to work on the sequel. Ms. Stella is my favorite character, and readers will get to spend a lot more time with her.

IWSG: A Sign from the Universe

It's Insecure Writer's Support Group day, a monthly event where authors in the blogosphere can share about insecurities and other stuff going on in their lives. First, how was your Halloween? The good number of trick-or-treaters who came by my house as unicorns, Rubik's Cubes, and Ghost Buster characters tells me that the '80s are making a comeback. 

Today's IWSG question is: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?  I "won" NaNoWriMo awhile back and am still working on the manuscript- it's my YA food novel KISS MY BUTTER. Earlier this year, I had to put the project aside although I still worked on it inside my head. As I was preparing to immerse myself back into the writing and re-read the working draft, I worried the break I'd taken would make me rusty. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Reviewing my manuscript, I can better see the story's strengths and weaknesses now.  

What's funny was that the night after I picked up my manuscript again, an author friend I hadn't corresponded with for a really long time emailed me out of the blue that following morning.  She wanted to know if I was still working on my novel. She even remembered my book title. I took this as a sign from the universe that I should continue to push forward on this book project....even though it has been quite awhile since I started it. 

What do you think of when you think of the '80s? Are you doing NaNoWriMo this month? Have you ever received a sign from the universe?

No Good Deed...

It's Insecure Writer's Support Group day, a monthly event where authors in the blogosphere can share about insecurities and other stuff going on in their lives. Today's IWSG question is:  Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing? I don’t know if this counts but once I wrote a short story about the supernatural and later found myself frightened by some of the ideas I created in my own work. 

Today I don't have an insecurity. I just want to speak in vague generalities about some stuff I've been thinking about: Back in the winter, I did a small favor for someone. It was a favor I didn't have to do, and refraining from this favor wouldn't have been a breach of ethics in any way. Someone I know needed guidance and I helped out. Since then, the ripple effects of my favor have sometimes been a source of stress for me.  

My experience makes me think of the saying: "No good deed goes unpunished." Come to think of it, I can think of a bunch of other instances in my life that this quote supports.

That said, I still believe in helping others (but while being mindful of my personal boundaries and natural instincts.) 

Being a writer and a reader, I have been reflecting on how much of the fiction I've seen tend to show positive reinforcement for kind deeds. While I've also come across fiction where negative consequences punish a good doer, I'd say I spot this less frequently. But with the latter kind of story, the potential for character development could be quite interesting. After all, what is the motivation for one to continue doing the right thing if they have suffered for doing just that? A story that addresses this question could be more enticing to explore than a story about a character who consistently gets a pat on the head for doing the right thing.

Have you ever been "punished" for doing a good deed? Can you name stories that illustrate negative consequences from good deeds?

IWSG: Beauty and the Beast

It's IWSG day, a monthly event author Alex Cavanaugh started to get writers sharing about insecurities and other stuff going on in their lives. This month’s IWSG question is: What’s the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story? I don’t know if this is considered weird or cool…But since my WIP has a culinary theme, I’ve been spending time in the kitchen trying new recipes. When my recipe is successful, it’s fun to eat my research. (And when the recipe is a fail, I consider it a learning experience.)

Today I don’t have an insecurity to share but a thought about how stories can be interpreted differently from one audience member to another.

Back in March, I took my daughter to see the live-action movie for Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson. Both my children have seen the Disney animated movie. Lately, they have been listening to the soundtrack for Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast. 

I’ve always interpreted the story’s villain as Gaston, who shows no empathy to the suffering of others, tries to have Belle’s father incarcerated and killed, and attempts to kill the Beast once he realizes Belle has feelings for the Beast.

The other day, my son asked me if the Enchantress who cast the spell on the Prince to turn him into a Beast was a bad guy. I responded that the bad guy was Gaston. My son persisted and asked why the Enchantress had to turn the Prince into a Beast. I explained that the Prince wasn’t nice to the Enchantress- he unfairly judged her looks-and so the Enchantress wanted to teach him a lesson about looking past outside appearances. My son responded, “Just because someone isn’t nice to you doesn’t mean you have to turn them into a beast.”  

I have always been fascinated by the character of the Enchantress in Beauty and the Beast. In the recent live-action movie, I was particularly pleased to see that the Enchantress played a bigger role than she did in the animated feature.

(Actress Hattie Morahan did a great job.) I never saw the Enchantress as a villain but a character who existed to support the fantastical elements of the story.

Nonetheless, my son’s perspective is also valid and offered an idea I hadn’t considered before. It is true that you don’t have to turn someone into a beast just because they aren’t being nice. (You can just imagine doing it, haha.)

What do you do when you encounter someone who isn’t being nice?