Author Interview: Rosalind Wiseman

Today, I have the talented, Rosalind Wiseman! Her adult book Queen Bee's and Wannabe's is a New York Time bestseller! Mean Girls was based on this movie! Her YA debut novel, Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials (which I'm totally in LOVE with) is coming out TOMORROW! All of you guys should definitely check it out, it's a great book for teenagers! You can read my review here. =)


Describe yourself in one word.
Impatient

What are you strengths and weaknesses in writing?
I'm think I'm really good at writing realistic dialogue and have a really hard time describing the environment in the appropriate amount of detail. I feel like I am always either including too much or too little in my descriptions of a setting in the first few drafts--but I guess that is what editors are for!

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials is your first young adult novel, what made you write young adult?
I decided to do it because I knew it would be a big challenge. I tell my students to take risks and be uncomfortable all the time, but when I was asked to write this novel I realized it was an opportunity for me to practice what I preach. I have been terrified of failing throughout the whole process, but I pushed through and did it anyway.

How are you and Charlie alike? How are you different?
Charlie and I are alike in that we can both be pretty self-conscious at times. We are different in that I think she is more independent-thinking than I was when I was a teenager. She knows herself better than I did, and she isn’t as focused on impressing people as I was. But I think that as a writer you often want your main character to be the things you couldn't be. You want them to be real, but push them to do the thing you couldn't have done yourself.

What was the most difficult aspect of writing BGOHM?
All of it. :-)

Is there anything you would like readers to take from BGOHM?
Yes, I’ve been thinking a lot about that. I wrote a story that is in some ways very typical of a young adult novel, but I tried to weave in a lot of subtle, quiet injustices that kids see every day but never talk about. I am pushing and challenging the reader to see things that are totally normal and dissect them. I want them to be able that even though something is normal, it doesn't make it right.

Do you have any "must-have's" while writing?
Music. It was absolutely critical to the process. I listened to a lot of the stuff that I loved when I was a teenager because it really brought me back to some of those more emotional places. So for me that was a lot of Depeche Mode and The Smiths. But I also love a lot of contemporary stuff and listened to a lot of Rihanna and Three Doors Down and Lily Allen.

Lastly, is there anything else you'd like to add?
I'm not trying to suck up to you, but teen bloggers honestly ask the best, most fun, thought-provoking questions. I'd rather talk to a teen blogger than a famous journalist any day of the week. Keep it up!

Thanks Rosalind for that fun interview! Remember that Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials comes out tomorrow!