Interview with Young Adult Author Jill Alexander
I’m thrilled to welcome debut author Jill Alexander who’s written a real southern treat of a book. The Sweetheart of Prosper County features a cast of colorful characters that leap off the page and make Prosper County a place you’ll want to visit.
EDITH: The story is fourteen-year-old Austin Gray’s, and like a lot of kids, Austin wants to fit in. But there’s a mean-spirited boy at her school, Dean Ottmer who’s making that difficult. I was so happy to see a book that tackles bullying at the high school level. Dean Ottmer feels so much like 10th grade to me. Just when I thought he couldn’t possibly get meaner, he did. We all want to know how to create villains with a string of insults as rich as Dean’s. What can you tell us about writing good antagonists?
JILL: With all my characters, I try to tell the truth. In Dean’s case, the truth is he’s an acid-tongued bully who uses verbal slams as a way of gaining attention. It’s the thing he’s good at. So I went there, to the dark side. I drew not only on my awkward teenage memories, but also my experience as a high school English teacher. Through Dean I did what bullies, high school bullies in particular, do. They sniff out their victim’s self-perceived flaw, usually physical, and attack it publicly. Relentlessly. Consistently so that the “verbal slam” becomes a part of the victim’s identity. Such is the case with Austin in THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY, and it drives her to take control of her own image.
When it comes to writing antagonists, my advice is to be as true to them as you are to your main character, and hold nothing back. Be careful! I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I had a wicked good time creating Dean-O and his dialogue. When you don’t spit snark on a daily basis, it certainly is intoxicating when you start writing it.
EDITH: I find myself always curious about titles, and I know from listening to your agent speak at conferences that your book used to be called A Hood Ornament in the No-Jesus Christmas Parade, which is now the title of the first chapter. To give readers a hint of the book’s setup, can you talk a little about the meaning of this working title, and how it eventually came to be The Sweetheart of Prosper County.
JILL: The original title came from an observation Austin makes regarding the girls she sees riding on the hoods of cars in the local parade and her view of the hypocritical, town mayor’s banning Jesus-themed floats. Although the phrase captured the story and reflected the voice, it came with a concern. Putting Christmas in the title affects when booksellers display the book. And it’s definitely not a Christmas book. My fantastic editor Liz Szabla suggested early on in revisions to explore other title options. We tried taking “Christmas” out, but we lost the oxymoron with “No-Jesus.” Thus, we lost the ironic humor of a Christmas parade that excluded Jesus.
But thank goodness for Team Sweetheart! I turned in a short list of possible titles, moving away from “Hood Ornament.” Liz and my publisher Jean Feiwel settled on THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY. I was thrilled. It was the obvious title for the book; I was just too close to the story to see it. It spoke to everything: the iconic sweethearts, the small-town setting, Austin’s quest. When Rich Deas, the art director, came up with the cover idea of putting a prize-winning bantam rooster, posed like a little Napoleon sitting for his formal portrait, we had the humor. Great books are collaborations. The Feiwel & Friends team rocks.
EDITH: One of the things I love about your book is the insight we get into Austin’s best friend, Maribel’s life. Maribel is Latina, and readers of your book get a front row seat at a quinceañera. I was in Denver recently, and in my touring, I happened upon a quinceañera party on a bridge. I snapped a picture, which I’m going to include, because I think it’s so fortuitous that your book was waiting on my doorstep when I got home. Who or what was your inspiration for Maribel and her fantabulous quinceañera?
JILL: I went to my first of many quinceañeras when I was teaching. It is a beautiful coming-of-age celebration. No one girl inspired Maribel’s quince, but I hope the depiction in Sweetheart honors all the girls who shared this special time in their lives with me.
EDITH: You do an amazing job developing secondary characters, which is why almost all my questions are about them. I adore the way you used the word “marshmallow” to describe Sundi Knutt’s character and make the girl Austin aspires to be like more than just a parade princess. Do these zinger secondary characters just come to you or do you work to develop them?
JILL: Well, first let me say thank you very much for the compliment. I suppose I write “zinger” characters because I love to watch “zinger” people. Growing up in a family of eccentrics, I’m fond of the unique. I keep a “characteristics” list in my journal that is somewhat evocative of Eudora Welty’s circus freak photographs from the 1930’s. For example, I recently became fascinated with a 400+ lb flea market vendor who sat in the bed of his truck and held a ladies hand mirror while he plucked hairs from his third chin with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Really. He’ll be in a book one day. How would you like to bring home a date to meet that?
EDITH: Being from the south, I adore that your book is genuinely southern. On your website you define southern gothic writers. Can you talk to us a little about what that means and what southern authors influence your work?
JILL: The definition I wrote for my website is this: Southern Gothic writers tell their stories through quirky outsiders bound in a rural setting where truth is found in the ironies of life. This is the heart of what I know and live. I am completely under the spell of Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote, Harper Lee. I’m also a student of Texas songwriting storytellers like Robert Earl Keen, Don Henley, and the very young but brilliant Miranda Lambert. I like the sharp edge of the simple truth lived by common, everyday rural folks.
EDITH: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about you and your book!
The Sweetheart of Prosper County (Feiwel & Friends, 2009) is now available in hardcover. Shop your local bookstore or click here to purchase from Indiebound.
You can also visit Jill’s website and Jill’s blog
EDITH: The story is fourteen-year-old Austin Gray’s, and like a lot of kids, Austin wants to fit in. But there’s a mean-spirited boy at her school, Dean Ottmer who’s making that difficult. I was so happy to see a book that tackles bullying at the high school level. Dean Ottmer feels so much like 10th grade to me. Just when I thought he couldn’t possibly get meaner, he did. We all want to know how to create villains with a string of insults as rich as Dean’s. What can you tell us about writing good antagonists?
JILL: With all my characters, I try to tell the truth. In Dean’s case, the truth is he’s an acid-tongued bully who uses verbal slams as a way of gaining attention. It’s the thing he’s good at. So I went there, to the dark side. I drew not only on my awkward teenage memories, but also my experience as a high school English teacher. Through Dean I did what bullies, high school bullies in particular, do. They sniff out their victim’s self-perceived flaw, usually physical, and attack it publicly. Relentlessly. Consistently so that the “verbal slam” becomes a part of the victim’s identity. Such is the case with Austin in THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY, and it drives her to take control of her own image.
When it comes to writing antagonists, my advice is to be as true to them as you are to your main character, and hold nothing back. Be careful! I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I had a wicked good time creating Dean-O and his dialogue. When you don’t spit snark on a daily basis, it certainly is intoxicating when you start writing it.
EDITH: I find myself always curious about titles, and I know from listening to your agent speak at conferences that your book used to be called A Hood Ornament in the No-Jesus Christmas Parade, which is now the title of the first chapter. To give readers a hint of the book’s setup, can you talk a little about the meaning of this working title, and how it eventually came to be The Sweetheart of Prosper County.
JILL: The original title came from an observation Austin makes regarding the girls she sees riding on the hoods of cars in the local parade and her view of the hypocritical, town mayor’s banning Jesus-themed floats. Although the phrase captured the story and reflected the voice, it came with a concern. Putting Christmas in the title affects when booksellers display the book. And it’s definitely not a Christmas book. My fantastic editor Liz Szabla suggested early on in revisions to explore other title options. We tried taking “Christmas” out, but we lost the oxymoron with “No-Jesus.” Thus, we lost the ironic humor of a Christmas parade that excluded Jesus.
But thank goodness for Team Sweetheart! I turned in a short list of possible titles, moving away from “Hood Ornament.” Liz and my publisher Jean Feiwel settled on THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY. I was thrilled. It was the obvious title for the book; I was just too close to the story to see it. It spoke to everything: the iconic sweethearts, the small-town setting, Austin’s quest. When Rich Deas, the art director, came up with the cover idea of putting a prize-winning bantam rooster, posed like a little Napoleon sitting for his formal portrait, we had the humor. Great books are collaborations. The Feiwel & Friends team rocks.
EDITH: One of the things I love about your book is the insight we get into Austin’s best friend, Maribel’s life. Maribel is Latina, and readers of your book get a front row seat at a quinceañera. I was in Denver recently, and in my touring, I happened upon a quinceañera party on a bridge. I snapped a picture, which I’m going to include, because I think it’s so fortuitous that your book was waiting on my doorstep when I got home. Who or what was your inspiration for Maribel and her fantabulous quinceañera?
JILL: I went to my first of many quinceañeras when I was teaching. It is a beautiful coming-of-age celebration. No one girl inspired Maribel’s quince, but I hope the depiction in Sweetheart honors all the girls who shared this special time in their lives with me.
EDITH: You do an amazing job developing secondary characters, which is why almost all my questions are about them. I adore the way you used the word “marshmallow” to describe Sundi Knutt’s character and make the girl Austin aspires to be like more than just a parade princess. Do these zinger secondary characters just come to you or do you work to develop them?
JILL: Well, first let me say thank you very much for the compliment. I suppose I write “zinger” characters because I love to watch “zinger” people. Growing up in a family of eccentrics, I’m fond of the unique. I keep a “characteristics” list in my journal that is somewhat evocative of Eudora Welty’s circus freak photographs from the 1930’s. For example, I recently became fascinated with a 400+ lb flea market vendor who sat in the bed of his truck and held a ladies hand mirror while he plucked hairs from his third chin with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Really. He’ll be in a book one day. How would you like to bring home a date to meet that?
EDITH: Being from the south, I adore that your book is genuinely southern. On your website you define southern gothic writers. Can you talk to us a little about what that means and what southern authors influence your work?
JILL: The definition I wrote for my website is this: Southern Gothic writers tell their stories through quirky outsiders bound in a rural setting where truth is found in the ironies of life. This is the heart of what I know and live. I am completely under the spell of Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote, Harper Lee. I’m also a student of Texas songwriting storytellers like Robert Earl Keen, Don Henley, and the very young but brilliant Miranda Lambert. I like the sharp edge of the simple truth lived by common, everyday rural folks.
EDITH: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about you and your book!
The Sweetheart of Prosper County (Feiwel & Friends, 2009) is now available in hardcover. Shop your local bookstore or click here to purchase from Indiebound.
You can also visit Jill’s website and Jill’s blog