You may have noticed that the blurb for my book is by Suzanne Selfors. I feel particularly lucky about this, not just because of what she said, but because I have been a fan of Suzanne’s fantastic writing for a very long time. Her YA, Saving Juliet, was one of my Fave Fifteen of the year, and her latest book, Coffeehouse Angel is one you don’t want to miss.

Suzanne was nice enough to answer some questions for me today. Welcome, Suzanne!

Joëlle: What were your favourite books as a teenager?

Suzanne: I’m remembering sweeping historical romances like The Thornbirds, The Crystal Cave and then there was the Fitzgerald period, and the Herman Hesse period, and the Steinbeck period. The one writer I never connected with was Jane Austen. Guess the Victorian era wasn’t my thing.

Joëlle: Oooh…I love The Crystal Cave myself. I might have to go reread it! So, if I picked up your iPod, what kind of music would I find on it?

Suzanne: I just downloaded Adele’s “Chasing Pavements” and, though I’m not usually a country fan, I really love Sugarland and just downloaded “It Happens” and “Something More”.

Joëlle: Fess up…what do you read in the bathroom? Good lit? Bathroom humour?

Suzanne: Smithsonian Magazine and if I’ve read that, then I’m stuck with my husband’s latest edition of Surfing Magazine, which is really boring.

Joëlle: Do you eat right, get plenty of exercise and eight hours of sleep, or are you too busy writing?

Suzanne: HA! Exercise? Eat right? Sleep?

Joëlle: What’s the best piece of advice, writing or otherwise that you’ve been given?

Suzanne: In the writing world, the best piece of advice I got was from a writer with a very long career who said, “The worst mistake writers make is staying with the wrong agent for too long.” This piece of advice is the reason why I’m published today.

The best piece of life advice I got was from my mother. She said, “When you’re in high school, do not date boys who are out of high school.”

My favorite piece of advice came from my grandmother who said, “Don’t sit on the cold wet grass or you’ll get hemorrhoids.”

Joëlle: Hmmm…I’ll have to ask my grandmother if she’s ever heard that. What’s the riskiest thing you ever did (besides possibly sitting on wet grass)? How did it turn out for you?

Suzanne: This whole writing thing is pretty risky. You send your words out into the world and people can say whatever they want about them. Sometimes they say nice things, sometimes they don’t. It’s hard not to take it personally. It takes time to get used to.

Joëlle: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Suzanne: I’d love to write for television. I’d love to create a series. Whenever I see a really great new show, like “Glee” or “Community” I think, I could write for that show. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Joëlle: What’s the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you in high school? Come on…you know you want to tell us! And you other authors reading, no fair lifting this and putting it in your own YA!

Suzanne: When I French-kissed my boyfriend for the first time, and it was my first kiss too, I asked him if I’d done it right and this girl I hated and her friends were spying on us and they told everyone. But guess what? I did it right!

Joëlle: What’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you since you sold your first book?

Suzanne: Cool things happen all the time and they usually come in the form of readers, young and old. Why, I was just in Portland and this eleven-year-old girl told me that I was her teacher’s favorite author. Huh? Me? What?

Joëlle: Well, I can totally see adults loving your work as well as teens. Before we finish up, I’d love it if you’d leave us writers with some worldly wisdom.

Suzanne: Create a writer’s group for yourself. My work-in-progress has been a total nightmare because I veered way off track, and couldn’t recognize the story, and got to the point where I had no idea what the story was about. My group is always there to set me straight.

Thanks Suzanne for stopping by! And for those of you who didn’t know this, Suzanne also writes fantastic Middle Grade. Today is my niece’s birthday and I’ve helped make it special by sending her Suzanne’s wonderful MG, Fortune’s Magic Farm. Happy Birthday, Ashly! And thanks again, Suzanne.