The Ultimate YA Reading Group

Interview with Laura Resau (Part 2)

9) I’ve been reading that “The Indigo Notebook” will be a first book in a series. How is writing a series different from writing a stand alone book?

I have to keep in mind the overarching storylines that will span all three books, while making sure each book can stand alone.  I also need to make sure that the characters and their relationships continue to develop in meaningful ways across all three books.   Not an easy task, I’m discovering!

10) What main theme or lesson do you want readers to take away from The Indigo Notebook?

I don’t write books with the intention of giving any particular lessons, but I do notice that certain themes emerge as I write a story.  The  biggest one in this book was the idea that what you think will make you happy isn’t necessarily what will bring you true joy.  Zeeta is certain that if she can ever convince her mother to settle down, her life will be perfect.  Wendell’s greatest wish is to find his birth parents and have them explain some things to him.  On Zeeta’s and Wendell’s adventures, they begin to wonder if there aren’t other paths to true happiness.

I’d love it if this book made readers question their own assumptions about what will make them truly happy.  Also, I think it would be cool if this series inspired teens to develop a passion for traveling and a desire to learn about other cultures and languages.  Most of all, though, I want my readers to be swept away by the story…

11) There are mentions of a few interesting dishes in the book. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever eaten?

When I spent time in indigenous villages in Oaxaca, Mexico, I had the opportunity to eat lots of interesting foods.  For special occasions, people would kill one of their goats, and we’d spend the next several days eating various parts of the animal (blood, guts, meat) in different dishes.  My favorite was goat meat in mole sauce, made from chocolate, chiles, raisins, tomatoes, almonds, cinnamon, and heaps of other ingredients.

12) What authors/people do you think have influenced your writing?

I’ve read thousands of books over my lifetime, and I’m guessing that each one had an influence on my writing, at least in some tiny way.  Some authors for adults I’ve admired for years are Michael Ondaatje, Barbara Kingsolver, Amy Tan, Louise Erdrich, Sue Monk Kidd, and Haruki Murakami.  Kids and teen authors who’ve influenced me include Natalie Babbit, Sharon Creech, Louise Fitzhugh (Harriet the Spy), Jerry Spinelli, Kate DiCamillo, and many, many more.

13)  I love the cover of your book. Did you have any hand in choosing/designing it?

Thank you!  I was actually lucky enough to give some input… some of the items in the suitcase are mine!  For the photo shoot, I sent my publisher the crystal, the white embroidered Ecuadorian shirt, the photos of the Andes, and the photo of the Quichua guy who is supposed to be Wendell.  The cover went through a few versions before we settled on this one.  For the full cover story, see the guest post I did for readergirlz.  [ http://readergirlz.blogspot.com/2009/10/cover-stories-indigo-notebook-by-laura.html ]

14) How often would you encounter writer’s block while writing this story? How did you deal with it?

I don’t remember having any major writer’s block for The Indigo Notebook. There were some tricky parts, like settling on a good personality for Layla’s love interest, Jeff.   He was hard for me to pin down, and his personality went through many incarnations until I found one that was likeable, but not too likeable.  I dealt with problems like this one by talking with my writers’ group and my mom. I also did lots of brain-storming in my journal.

15) Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

I think that nowadays, it can be hard to find the deep source of creativity and stay focused on it.  There are so many distractions!  The Internet and other forms of technology can be an amazing resources, especially to network and understand more about publishing and finding agents and editors.  But I think that the most essential element in writing a good book is to carve out regular time to access the source of creativity and let it flow into your stories in a focused way.  Set short-term and long-term goals for yourself, so that you have end points in mind… but ultimately, write because you love it, because it’s a sacred act.

16) Do you have any book suggestions for the people in our group?

Some of my recent favorite YA books this year have been The Hunger Games, Graceling, Fire; The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Before I Die, How I Live Now, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, The Disreputable History of Frankie Ladau-Banks, Paper Towns, and I’m sure there are some big ones I’m forgetting, but that’s what comes to mind at the moment.

Please visit me at http://www.lauraresau.com to find out more about this book and my others.

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Interview with Laura Resau (Part 1)

1) What was the inspiration for writing this book? How did you get the idea for it?

Once in my twenties, when I was living in Mexico and teaching English, I considered creating a nomadic life for myself… traveling endlessly from one country to the next, teaching English, learning new languages, and immersing myself if new cultures.  I didn’t end up going that route, but sometimes I imagine what my life might be like if I had.  I envisioned this series (trilogy, actually) as a way to live this alternate life through my characters (plus, it’s given me an excuse to travel more for *research*!)

This first book is set in the Ecuadorian Andes.  A few years ago, I was researching another book (a collaborative memoir) in Ecuador, and I fell in love with the landscape and Quichua culture there.  I heard some fascinating stories as I was spending time in indigenous communities, which I later ended up weaving into The Indigo Notebook.

2) Travel is a huge part of this story. If you could travel any place in the world where would it be?

Right now, I really want to go to southeast Asia—I’m particularly enthralled by Laos, Cambodia, Bhutan, and Bali.  I want to wait another year or two before going there, since I have a toddler who doesn’t always do well on long airplane rides or adjusting to different time zones.

3) I have to applaud the way you describe places in the book. It always felt like I was actually there…what do you feel is most important when trying to paint a picture of the setting for the reader?

Thank you!  I try to be observant with all my senses, and record those impressions in my notebook.  I think this gets me in the habit of incorporating all five senses—smell, taste, touch, smell, and sight—into my settings.  For me, multi-sensory details are essential to good descriptions.

4) Which character from the story do you most relate to and why? Any of the characters based on people you know?

I’d say part of me is like Layla— adventurous, spiritual, poetic, spontaneous, flighty, spacey—and part of me is like Zeeta—grounded, down-to-earth, responsible, home-body-ish, stable.

Many of my characters were originally inspired by real people, but usually by the time the book is finished, only a spark of that original person remains, and they’ve evolved into their own unique selves.  For example, the character Gaby— who sells alpaca scarves and sweaters at the marketplace— was a kind of composite of a number of strong, witty, wise, middle-aged Latin American women vendors who I became friends with living and traveling abroad.

5) Our main character, Zeeta, has this Indigo Notebook where she writes down the answers of questions she asks the new people she meets. Did you always carry and write in a notebook when you were younger? What did you write about?

I’ve carried a notebook with me for about fifteen years now, starting after college.  As a kid and teen, I loved the idea of toting around notebooks— a favorite book of mine was Harriet the Spy.  One of my best friends in middle and high school was always writing in those classic black and white composition notebooks, which I thought was very cool.  I did occasionally write in a journal.  I wrote about my dreams (literally) and things I wanted to do with my life (travel was a big one) and philosophical stuff—questions about the universe and existence (still searching for answers…)

6) There’s a lot of quotes from this wise poet, Rumi. How did you first come across his work and why did you want to include it in your story?

Years ago, I was hanging out in a bookstore in Steamboat Springs one day, while my husband and relatives were skiing (which I don’t do because I hate being cold and wet).  I spent all day in the bookstore, writing a story at the café, and periodically getting up to stretch my legs and look at the books.  A copy of The Essential Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks) was on display, and it captivated me. I bought the copy.

It’s one of my favorite books, and I always keep it in my writing space to inspire me.  It seemed natural that Layla would gravitate toward Rumi, since his mystical take on life fits with hers.  Zeeta, in contrast, expresses major annoyance at her mother’s propensity for quoting Rumi’s poetry, but secretly finds some wisdom in it, too.

7) How much research did you do before you started this book?

I already spoke Spanish fluently from living in Mexico, and I knew quite a bit about Latin American indigenous cultures from my travels and background in anthropology.  My two research trips to Ecuador were useful, and I was lucky to have close Quichua friends who provided me with connections to families in indigenous communities around Otavalo.  I also read books about Quichua culture, social issues, and folktales… but honestly, I so much prefer doing a “participant-observation” style of research—just hanging out with people in their homes.

I also did research for the subplot of Zeeta helping her love interest, Wendell, search for his birth parents.  I was in the process of adopting my own child (from Guatemala) as I was writing this book, so I was immersed in books on adoption, and workshops, and trainings at the time.

8) What was the road to being published like? Is writing stories and publishing them easier when you have already published a first novel?

It took me a few years of revising and facing rejections from editors and agents before I got a contract with Delacorte (Random House.)  I think the process took so long because I was bumbling my way through it—I didn’t really have a clear idea of the publishing industry worked or how to choose which editors and agents to submit to. At first, I did it fairly randomly, which I don’t recommend!

My first lucky break came when a kind editor at a small press gave me a detailed revision letter, without committing to anything.  She had great suggestions about voice distinction, character development, and other craft elements.  After my revision, the manuscript was worlds stronger.  She wasn’t able to offer me a contract because of changes in her company, but the next editor I submitted to (at Delacorte) offered me a contract.  After that, I easily found an agent, who negotiated the sale of my next five books to my editor, and yes, they all went smoothly!

The lesson of all this?  Try to make your manuscript as good as you possibly can before you start submitting.  And take the time to understand the children’s publishing industry, so that you submit strategically to agents and/or editors.

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7 Fun Facts about Laura Resau

1. One of my most interesting meals in rural Oaxaca, Mexico was tortillas drenched in goat blood sauce.  It was spicy and delicious.
2. I never fold clothes—just stuff them into drawers, if that.
3. I had a life-changing revelation while fireballs were spit at me by a healer in Ecuador. (I explain this in the author’s note in The Indigo Notebook.)
4. Like the main character’s mom in The Indigo Notebook, I’ve dated more than my fair share of clowns and wild-haired musicians (but am now married to a computer scientist, whose hair is very long, but not exactly wild.)
5. I never eat anything labeled “low-fat.”  Full fat all the way.
6. My favorite after-school snack as a teen was microwaved Kit-Kats. Mmmm.
7. Scorpions sometimes climbed up my shower wall and across my living room table in Oaxaca, but they never bothered me until the night I stepped on one and it stung my bare foot.  Ouch.

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Featured Author of the Month: Laura Resau

Laura Resau’s award-winning YA novels Red Glass and What the Moon Saw were inspired by her adventures in Mexico and Guatemala.  An expert at finding excuses to travel, Laura has created a new travel-adventure series that takes off with The Indigo Notebook, set in the Andes mountains of Ecuador.

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How to Contact Bennett Madison

Bennett is active online and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and his tumble-log! You can also discuss Bennett Madison’s books, his interview, or anything else about him with fellow readers on our own Facebook group!

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Interview with Bennett Madison (Part 2)

8.  Do you have any book recommendations for readers in the group?
-    Natalie Standiford’s new HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT is fantastic. I also think THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE has a lot in common with the graphic novel GHOST WORLD, so if you like my book and you haven’t read Ghost World yet you should check it out. Same goes for Daniel Handler’s THE BASIC EIGHT.

9.  Your book has a lot of descriptions on shoplifting. Have you ever shoplifted before?
-    I have not really shoplifted. Maybe a few little things over the years but I was never really into it the way some people are. I worked in retail for years, though, which is where I gained my expertise.

10.  How is it that you are so gifted at writing from a teenage girl’s perspective? (Most of the books I’ve read, written by male YA authors like yourself, have male protagonists.)
-    Thanks for saying I’m gifted! I hope you’re right; I don’t know. But I guess I just don’t think of teenage girls as being that different from boys. I mean, I can think of a lot of guys I would relate to less than I relate to the female narrators I’ve written. That said, my next book is written from the perspective of a guy. I never meant to be known for writing from girls’ perspective; it just kind of happened with the books I ended up writing.

11.  What advice do you have for aspiring young writers?
-    Advice to young writers: try to smell as good as you can. That means diligent showering, consistent laundering, the best deodorant, and no smoking. A fresh scented writer is always more successful than a rank one.

12.  Francie is bold, exotic and badass. Was she created from your mind or did you base her on someone you knew?
-    Franice was inspired in small parts by a lot of people I knew in high school and college. You can find many of them named in the acknowledgments. But although certain aspects might have come from different people I have known, she really developed into her own woman as I was writing the book.

13. What does Francie symbolize?
-    I don’t really think Francie symbolizes anything in the traditional sense. But to Val, she represents different things over the course of the book. Freedom, power, powerlessness, whatever. As to what she is supposed to stand for, I don’t know. Whatever you want, I guess! I think the reader is usually better than the author at answering those kinds of questions.

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Interview with Bennett Madison (Part 1)

1. How did you come up with the idea for The Blonde of the Joke?
   -    My really great psychic, Rabbit of The Sacred Well in Berkeley, told me that I should write a book about shoplifting skanks at the mall. So I guess you could say it was literally in the cards. I never think of my own ideas; it’s too much trouble.
2. Which character in your book do you relate the most to and why?
   -    I most relate to Francie, because we both have really great hair.
3. What was your favorite part in writing the book, and what was the hardest?
   -    The funnest part of any book— in terms of the writing of it— is always the beginning. The hardest part is the middle. The end should be fun but usually by the time you get to it you just want to get it over with as soon as possible.
4. Did you draw on any people/places/experiences from your life while writing?
   -    A fictionalized version of one of my high school teachers has a role in the book. The character I based on her is much more sympathetic than her real life counterpart, though. I wanted to make her a lot worse— cause what’s the point of being a novelist but to skewer fictionalized versions of people who have annoyed you over the years?— but it didn’t really serve the plot.
5. If The Blonde of the Joke was made into a movie, who would you cast?
   -    I’m not quite sure who I would cast as Val— Dakota Fanning, maybe? — but clearly there is no one other than MK Olsen who could play Francie. I don’t know who would play Max, either. I can’t think of anyone hot enough. Maybe Ryan Gosling but he’s about fifteen years too old. So Ryan Gosling at age fifteen would be perfect, I suppose.
6. What is your favorite thing to do (apart from writing)?
   -    Writing is nowhere near my favorite thing to do. It probably falls somewhere on my list of least favorite things to do actually. My favorite thing to do is socialize. I also like making out.
7. Do you have any future books that you are working on?
   -    Yes, I have another book that should be out sometime next year. It’s about a mysterious tribe of girls that lives at the beach. They all work as waitresses and hotel maids and prey upon virgin boys. It’s a love story.

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7 Fun Facts about Bennett Madison

1. I’m an Aries with an Aquarius rising and a Capricorn moon. I was born in the year of the “rooster.” My enneagram number is 4.
2. I have prematurely gray hair.
3. I am available as a Robert Pattinson impersonator at Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, and christenings. (Inquire for rates.)
4. My favorite member of The Baby-Sitter’s Club is Claudia.
5. I didn’t know if I was going to graduate from high school until the day of graduation.
6. My signature karaoke song is Bruce Springsteen’s THUNDER ROAD. (Or sometimes ALONE by Heart.)
7. I have several secret identities.

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Featured Author of the Month: Bennett Madison

Bennett Madison is the author of THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE as well as several other books for young people. He has been employed as a phone psychic, a no-nonsense receptionist, and a clerk at The Gap. He attended Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City.

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