Interview with an Author: Kimberley Pauley
Here is the promised author interview with Kimberley Pauley, writer of "Sucks To Be Me," and it's sequel, "Still Sucks To Be Me." My questions are the bolded font, and Kimberley's replies are the normal text, although I did add the hyperlinks to her website in her last response.
As a quick reminder, "Sucks To Be Me" is a YA, humorous vampire novel about a girl named Mina. Mina's parents happen to be vampires, and because of that the The Northwest Regional Vampire Council is after Mina to make a decision: join her parents in their status of undead-ness, or get her memories wiped and be separated from them forever. To help her make this decision, Mina has to attend vampire night class where she mixes with an interesting variety of vampire wanna-be's. (And yes I know undead-ness isn't a word. :P)
1. Why write about vampires?
Kimberley Pauley: Well, that’s a good question. I was actually working on an entirely different book (that definitely wasn’t about vampires) and, as you heard from my panel discussion at the Southeast Wisconsin Book Festival, I’m not actually a huge vampire fan. But a few things conspired to bring me to write this book. One, I’d studied Dracula a lot in college and one of my professors, Dr. Twitchell, literally wrote the book on vampires. Two, early in 2005, I read a new YA vampire book that annoyed the heck out of me (and no, I won’t tell you which one, but I will say that it really relied on the Dracula legend and part of what annoyed me is how much they got wrong). Probably the last vampire book I read before that one was Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot or possibly Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire.
At any rate, that story got me to thinking about how vampires are traditionally portrayed and I started thinking it would be a lot of fun to subvert the standard story, so that vampires aren’t all sexy and urbane and there are no vampire slayers wandering around with stakes, and where it wasn’t a male vampire stalking a female human. I wanted to write for teenagers, so I asked myself what would a teenager consider the most boring and mundane thing? And that’s how Mina’s parents became vampires (and her dad’s an accountant).
One of the intriguing things for me about vampires are the original myths and how prevalent they are in every culture. I went back to the original myths and used them, rather than more current literature, for the basis of a lot of things in my story. For instance, the eye color turning either blue or green. That came from the original myths.
Anyway, that’s kind of a long rambling answer. The short one would be: Why not? (keeping in mind I wrote the first book before Twilight came out and the whole vampire thing exploded into a big, sparkly phenomenon).
2. How did you come up the idea of Mina and the whole "becoming a vampire"/big decision issue?
I wanted to write a book that would appeal to people who didn’t read genre novels or vampire novels or even, necessarily, fantasy. So I wanted to fill it with things that any teenager would go through - boy problems, high school issues, and big decisions. Though most teens (I hope) don’t have to decide whether or not they want to become one of the undead, they do have to make huge decisions - where and when to go to college, what they want to do with their life, etc. My husband actually calls it a vampire bat mitzvah story. I was even considering re-writing it as a non-vampire story when I had trouble selling it.
3. Have you encountered any backlash from Dracula fans, Twilight fans, or general vampire fans?
Not too much. I get a lot of Twilight fans, actually, which is nice. I’ve had a few people who want to argue that the original Dracula story was pro-woman (not according to any of my college professors, but to each their own, I suppose) and some people who go into it thinking it’s a normal vampire story are disappointed. But I’m really happy that, based on feedback from readers, I generally hit my goal of writing a book that non-vampire people would enjoy.
4. Were you always planning on writing "Still Sucks To Be Me?" If so, how did your plans for Mina change from what you were originally imagining? If not, what inspired the sequel?
My original proposal to the publisher included two possible sequels. However, one of the big things they had me change in the novel was to make Mina younger. I had originally written it so that she was 17 going on 18. They had me change that to 16 going on 17. That radically changed the second book, since Mina’s senior year would still be ahead of her.
The second book was also heavily influenced by reader feedback. It honestly would not be the book it is without all the input I had from fans.
5. You mentioned your newest manuscript is about a girl with the superpower, or stupidpower, to talk to cats. What inspired you to write this story?
I suppose I like to subvert things. I was brainstorming one day and trying to come up with the stupidest superpowers I could think of. The talking to cats thing was one of them. Some of the others I’d thought of were things like a girl who changed the color of her hair depending on what she ate and a boy who could go invisible…but for only 15 minutes at a time, once a day. I’d thought about making a whole series of books, each featuring a different character, but now I think I’m (hopefully, if my agent sells it) planning on a series around Nat, the girl who can talk to cats instead.
6. What inspired you to become a writer?
I always wanted to write. I wrote all the time when I was a teenager and filled up notebook after notebook. This was really before the whole Internet thing (that really started up when I was in college), but I’m sure I’d have been a prolific blogger if it had been available then.
After college (where I’d studied English), I wound up doing corporate jobs. I really didn’t like it. I don’t have the temperament for it at all. When the opportunity came up to quit and write (with the support of my husband), I took it.
7. How did you land an agent and get your first book published?
I actually sold my first book by myself. However, I’d been a YA reviewer with my own website since 1998 (YA Books Central, which I just recently gave up running after 12 years). I knew a lot about the industry, but I didn’t have a lot of luck finding an agent at first. They mostly told me they liked the writing, but didn’t think vampires were a good sell (or they were vampire traditionalists, and missed the blood and guts).
A friend of mine mentioned my book to her editor and introduced us. I sent it off and after a long while, they decided to take a chance on it. It was a very different book for them, so it was a big chance. I love my editor, Nina, who’s also a writer herself.
Anyway, I wound up with an agent after that, though I’ve since switched to another agent (not that there was anything wrong with the first one, but I really feel like I click with the second one). I’ve actually blogged about those things in depth, so if you check my website and go to the Q&A section, you’ll see those stories.
As a quick reminder, "Sucks To Be Me" is a YA, humorous vampire novel about a girl named Mina. Mina's parents happen to be vampires, and because of that the The Northwest Regional Vampire Council is after Mina to make a decision: join her parents in their status of undead-ness, or get her memories wiped and be separated from them forever. To help her make this decision, Mina has to attend vampire night class where she mixes with an interesting variety of vampire wanna-be's. (And yes I know undead-ness isn't a word. :P)
1. Why write about vampires?
Kimberley Pauley: Well, that’s a good question. I was actually working on an entirely different book (that definitely wasn’t about vampires) and, as you heard from my panel discussion at the Southeast Wisconsin Book Festival, I’m not actually a huge vampire fan. But a few things conspired to bring me to write this book. One, I’d studied Dracula a lot in college and one of my professors, Dr. Twitchell, literally wrote the book on vampires. Two, early in 2005, I read a new YA vampire book that annoyed the heck out of me (and no, I won’t tell you which one, but I will say that it really relied on the Dracula legend and part of what annoyed me is how much they got wrong). Probably the last vampire book I read before that one was Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot or possibly Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire.
At any rate, that story got me to thinking about how vampires are traditionally portrayed and I started thinking it would be a lot of fun to subvert the standard story, so that vampires aren’t all sexy and urbane and there are no vampire slayers wandering around with stakes, and where it wasn’t a male vampire stalking a female human. I wanted to write for teenagers, so I asked myself what would a teenager consider the most boring and mundane thing? And that’s how Mina’s parents became vampires (and her dad’s an accountant).
One of the intriguing things for me about vampires are the original myths and how prevalent they are in every culture. I went back to the original myths and used them, rather than more current literature, for the basis of a lot of things in my story. For instance, the eye color turning either blue or green. That came from the original myths.
Anyway, that’s kind of a long rambling answer. The short one would be: Why not? (keeping in mind I wrote the first book before Twilight came out and the whole vampire thing exploded into a big, sparkly phenomenon).
2. How did you come up the idea of Mina and the whole "becoming a vampire"/big decision issue?
I wanted to write a book that would appeal to people who didn’t read genre novels or vampire novels or even, necessarily, fantasy. So I wanted to fill it with things that any teenager would go through - boy problems, high school issues, and big decisions. Though most teens (I hope) don’t have to decide whether or not they want to become one of the undead, they do have to make huge decisions - where and when to go to college, what they want to do with their life, etc. My husband actually calls it a vampire bat mitzvah story. I was even considering re-writing it as a non-vampire story when I had trouble selling it.
3. Have you encountered any backlash from Dracula fans, Twilight fans, or general vampire fans?
Not too much. I get a lot of Twilight fans, actually, which is nice. I’ve had a few people who want to argue that the original Dracula story was pro-woman (not according to any of my college professors, but to each their own, I suppose) and some people who go into it thinking it’s a normal vampire story are disappointed. But I’m really happy that, based on feedback from readers, I generally hit my goal of writing a book that non-vampire people would enjoy.
4. Were you always planning on writing "Still Sucks To Be Me?" If so, how did your plans for Mina change from what you were originally imagining? If not, what inspired the sequel?
My original proposal to the publisher included two possible sequels. However, one of the big things they had me change in the novel was to make Mina younger. I had originally written it so that she was 17 going on 18. They had me change that to 16 going on 17. That radically changed the second book, since Mina’s senior year would still be ahead of her.
The second book was also heavily influenced by reader feedback. It honestly would not be the book it is without all the input I had from fans.
5. You mentioned your newest manuscript is about a girl with the superpower, or stupidpower, to talk to cats. What inspired you to write this story?
I suppose I like to subvert things. I was brainstorming one day and trying to come up with the stupidest superpowers I could think of. The talking to cats thing was one of them. Some of the others I’d thought of were things like a girl who changed the color of her hair depending on what she ate and a boy who could go invisible…but for only 15 minutes at a time, once a day. I’d thought about making a whole series of books, each featuring a different character, but now I think I’m (hopefully, if my agent sells it) planning on a series around Nat, the girl who can talk to cats instead.
6. What inspired you to become a writer?
I always wanted to write. I wrote all the time when I was a teenager and filled up notebook after notebook. This was really before the whole Internet thing (that really started up when I was in college), but I’m sure I’d have been a prolific blogger if it had been available then.
After college (where I’d studied English), I wound up doing corporate jobs. I really didn’t like it. I don’t have the temperament for it at all. When the opportunity came up to quit and write (with the support of my husband), I took it.
7. How did you land an agent and get your first book published?
I actually sold my first book by myself. However, I’d been a YA reviewer with my own website since 1998 (YA Books Central, which I just recently gave up running after 12 years). I knew a lot about the industry, but I didn’t have a lot of luck finding an agent at first. They mostly told me they liked the writing, but didn’t think vampires were a good sell (or they were vampire traditionalists, and missed the blood and guts).
A friend of mine mentioned my book to her editor and introduced us. I sent it off and after a long while, they decided to take a chance on it. It was a very different book for them, so it was a big chance. I love my editor, Nina, who’s also a writer herself.
Anyway, I wound up with an agent after that, though I’ve since switched to another agent (not that there was anything wrong with the first one, but I really feel like I click with the second one). I’ve actually blogged about those things in depth, so if you check my website and go to the Q&A section, you’ll see those stories.