Alex McAulay - His Book "Bad Girls" Was Optioned For Film By MTV

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing his views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with Alex McAulay, author of Bad Girls and Lost Summer. 'Bad Girls' was optioned for film by MTV.

EI: Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Please tell us more about Alex McAulay -- the man behind the author.


A. McAulay: As a teenager, I was primarily interested in playing in a rock band. I formed a band with some friends from high school (we were called Vegetarian Meat--which was truly the worst band name we could think of). We got a record contract with a label in New York City when I was 17, and throughout college, we continued to release albums and tour.

EI: Do you enjoy writing? What is it about this art form that enchants you the most? Why have you chosen to write in the genre in which you write?

A. McAulay: I love writing, because I'm able to tell different stories and inhabit different worlds. Writing a book for me is like entering into some kind of dream or sustained hallucination.

EI: Could you describe your path that leads you to publication--any stumble along the way? Is there anything about you that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

A. McAulay: I got very lucky when it came to getting my first novel published. I had no contacts or connections, and no clue where to send the manuscript once it was completed. I wrote a letter to a local author who had written a novel that I liked. He was generous enough to agree to read part of manuscript, and submit it to his agent. His agent liked it, signed me as a client, and sold the novel a few weeks later.

EI: Was there a central theme that you wanted readers to grasp?

A. McAulay: That the world can be harsh, and beautiful. And that there are no easy answers or solutions. Right and wrong are just illusions.

EI: Are there any kid or teen books rocked your world while growing up? And why?

A. McAulay: Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, Ender's Game, House of Stairs, Carrie, Pet Semetary, The Stand, The Talisman, among many others.

EI: How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

A. McAulay: It depends on the book. For my first novel, Bad Girls, I had no outline or synopsis--I just wrote a couple pages every day and let the book guide me. For my second novel, Lost Summer, and my third novel, Oblivion Road, I worked off a brief 8 page outline that was little more than a general plot summary. The books are like experiments, or journeys for me, so it's fun to just go with the flow. My goal is to entertain and challenge both my audience and myself.

EI: Let’s shift gears here for a second... let’s talk about 'Caitlin Ross' the protagonist in your novel ‘Lost Summer.’ How much of Caitlin planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with her character?

A. McAulay: Caitlin is based on a girl my wife and I observed when we were camping on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I had a glimpse of her for perhaps thirty seconds, but that was enough. I immediately began constructing an entire "reality" and story for her. The book was finished six months later.

EI: What was your biggest challenge and obstacle while writing and creating 'Caitlin and Luke?' Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story? Are any of the characters in the story actually based on real people in your life?

A. McAulay: Caitlin and her brother Luke felt very "real" to me. It was as though I was overhearing their dialogue and transcribing it. It felt like I was decribing a movie I had seen, or some strange dream I had once had. They seemed to naturally evolve as I wrote the story.

EI: How did you develop or come up with the idea of 'Bad Girls?' What inspired you to write this book? What about writing for teens appealed to you?

A. McAulay: I wrote Bad Girls because I thought it would be interesting to write an all-girl version of Lord of the Flies (which is a book with no female characters in it). I was also interested in the idea of these "teen boot camps" for troubled kids, which really just seemed to be places that wealthy parents sent their problem children to get rid of them. So I just fused the ideas together, and wrote about a teen girl boot camp in the wilderness.

EI: If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of 'Lost Summer' who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

A. McAulay: I admire edgy actors who take challenging roles, such as Jena Malone, Amber Heard, and Evan Rachel Wood. I would love to cast Henry Rollins as Adler, the sadistic male guard who runs the wilderness camp. In terms of directors, I would vote for Jonathan Levine, who directed a brilliant and unusual thriller for The Weinstein Company called "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" (it hasn't been released yet, but I was lucky enough to see it through a friend of mine who works at a talent agency--it's excellent).

EI: What is a typical work day schedule when you are in full writing mode? Would you tell us a little about your process for editing, revising, and novel development? How long did it take you to write ‘Bad Grils’ including the time it took to research the book?

A. McAulay: I only write very late at night (between 10pm-3am). When I'm writing a book, I write every day until the book is done, and then I take a break. Bad Girls took about 3 months of writing, and then 3 months of editing.

EI: As a first time fiction writer, do you feel more pressure, feel insecurities fade away or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

A. McAulay: I feel very, very lucky to be able to write full-time. I feel a constant sense of pressure to keep up the level of quality and inventiveness in the books, but I think that pressure and stress can be very positive motivators.

EI: What's up next? Is there another book in the works? What can you share with us?

A. McAulay: My third novel, OBLIVION ROAD, is being released Nov. 13 of this year by MTV/Pocket Books. I am also working on a screenplay, because I recently moved to Los Angeles, and it seems like the thing to do.

EI: Mr. McAulay , thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

A. McAulay: My only advice is to read as many good books as possible. Some of my current favorites are: The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, The Beach by Alex Garland, The Magus by John Fowles, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

To learn more about Alex McAulay, please visit him at:
http://www.alexmcaulay.com/
http://alexmcaulay.livejournal.com/
http://www.myspace.com/alexmcaulay

Photo of Mr. McAulay (BW) By Elizabeth McAulay, Los Angeles, CA.

Neal Shusterman - Award-Winning Author, Screenwriter & Television Writer For X-File

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing his views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with Neal Shusterman. His book ‘Everlost’ is currently being adapted for a feature film by UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. His bestseller book ‘The Schwa Was Here’ is being made into a DISNEY CHANNEL MOVIE. Mr. Shusterman has also written episodes of the popular Goosebumps television series as well as Nickelodeon series, Animorph.

EI: Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager with your fans? What were you like as a teen? Please tell us more about Neal Shusterman -- the man behind the author.

NS: I guess I was a pretty typical teenager. As a student, I was kind of a self-sabotaging over-achiever. I always did good work – but always managed to turn it in a day late – or write everything but the writing prompt. I did well in classes where I liked the teacher, and poorly in ones that I didn’t regardless of the subject. I was always into creative things – art, writing, music, acting. Athletically, I kind of missed the boat when it came to most team sports, but excelled at tennis, and swimming. I went on to swim in college. It was during college that I really got interested in writing stories for teenagers, because I worked at a summer camp each summer, and got to be known as the camp storyteller. I had to come up with stories, and I really enjoyed it.

EI: When you look back on your enormously successful career, is there anything you would've done differently? If so, what and why? If not, how do you manage to move forward without regrets?

NS: No one who is successful thinks they’re successful ENOUGH. I know I laughed when you wrote “enormously successful career.” Who me?

Things I would have done differently? Very difficult to say, because who knows what lies down the road not taken. If I put more time into film, would I be a big-time film director? If I wrote adult, would I have a larger audience? If I forced myself to stick to a single genre, would I be better known, with more bookstore shelf space if somewhat limited in scope and style? I suppose rather than regrets, I have frustrations. I get frustrated when a project doesn’t sell, or doesn’t do as well as I would like it to. I get frustrated when I look back on the day, and feel as if I’ve wasted time that could have been better spent. But that’s all a part of life!

EI: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share?

NS: You’ll never know unless you try. For me what got me writing was that I simply loved it. I couldn’t NOT write – even if nothing ever sold, it’s just a part of who I am. If it’s inside you like that, it doesn’t matter what the world thinks – you’ll do it anyway – you have to. And if the world “gets it,” all the better!

EI: Do you express your inner self in your writing or do the personas you create exist only in your imagination?

NS: When you’re a writer, the characters come from you, so I think it would be foolish to think that they’re not a part of you. The things my characters think about, I’ve thought about. The way they grapple with a situation is exactly the way I would, if I were that person, in that specific circumstance. Even if I’m writing a villainous character like Cedrick in Red Rider’s Hood or Cassandra, in Full Tilt, I put myself in their shoes, try to see the world the way they see it, and then make their choices as if I were them. That’s particularly evident than in the character of Mary in Everlost – who justifies everything she does so well, you can ALMOST side with her... With my heroic characters, it’s really wish fulfillment. “If I were him or her, this is how I’d rise above adversity, and triumph.” It’s all about BEING your characters, so you can’t help but put yourself into them, and take a bit of them with you when you’re done.

EI: Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

NS: I think I’m more of a “Theme” writer. I say that because, I might have a fun character I wan’t to write about, like The Schwa in “The Schwa Was Here,” or I might have a really exciting idea, as in my upcoming novel “Unwind,” but it’s not the plot or the characters that motivate me to write the book. What motivates me is the underlying question – the underlying idea that I’m exploring. I say question, not “message” because I don’t like to give messages. The way I see it, the only questions worth asking don’t have simple answers, and I don’t want to pretend to have all the answers. I do like to pose unique, and thought-provoking questions, though.

EI: Are you armed with notebook and pen at all the times? Do you always carry your laptop or PDA with you to write?

NS: I always have my notebook, I always have my laptop, and always have a micro-cassette recorder, so if I’m stuck in traffic, I can dictate into it, then transcribe it later. I usually write long-hand, mainly because it forces me to have to rewrite it as I’m typing it into the computer.

EI: You are well known in the writing community as an award-winning author, a successful screenwriter, and television writer. Your books have received many awards from the International Reading Association, and American Library Association. One of your recent books has been sold to Universal Studios to be made as a feature film. Do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

NS: Every writer has a level of insecurity. That little voice inside that says “What if this is the book that nobody likes?” But you just deal with it, and get over it. You can’t let that insecurity stop you. As for pressure, the pressure is constant – mainly because I always bite off more than I can chew – but I guess it’s better to be busy than not.

As for separating business from creativity, that’s very difficult, and I find myself constantly struggling to find time to write, as the “business” end of things can take up 110% of your time, leaving you with no time to write, (and 10% of the business work that didn’t get done on top of it!) For me, my best writing gets done when I go on writing retreats, and can get away from everything that would otherwise take my attention.

EI: Has there ever been a character in one of your novels that people clamored to see again, but you just didn't want to bring back? If so, which character?

NS: There are a lot of those. People want to see the Schwa again – but even though I’m writing “Antsy Does Time,” which is a sequel, the Schwa’s not in it – it’s another story told by Antsy. People want to see the characters in Full Tilt again. The thing is, in most of my stories, the main characters have gone through the big live-changing event that will change them forever. Once they’ve gone through that, there’s not much more to tell about them. No story will ever live up to the original, and I don’t want to write a sequel just for the sake of writing a sequel. If I write one, I have to be as passionate about it as I was when I wrote the original.

EI: Who is your favorite character to write about? Who is your creepiest?

NS: Antsy, from The Schwa was Here my favorite character to write. He has such a fun, quirky voice. He’s also one of the hardest to write, as well, because he’s always so unintentionally funny. It’s hard to do that! Creepiest, I would say Mary and the McGill in Everlost, and Okoya in Thief of Souls. The whole “Star Shard” trilogy (Scorpion Shards, Thief of Souls, and Shattered Sky), have some of my deepest, and most troubled characters – and yet some of my most heroic characters as well.

EI: When you look back at your work, do you have a favorite lines or sections in each of the books?

NS: Yes, there are quite a few favorites. In Downsiders, my favorite is the opening of the chapter “The left half of Memory,” which begins with an omniscient aside – sort of a mini-essay about the nature of cultures, and conquest. In Full Tilt, the chapter where Blake must relive the bus accident over and over, until he can remember how he survived. In Everlost, the opening of the chapter “The Forever Places,” which is also an omniscient aside, that, with great respect and reverence, tells of places that have left such a mark on our memories, and are so beloved, that they can never truly be lost – like the World Trade Center. That’s just a few.

EI: Would you describe yourself as a confident writer, always ready to face the next new challenge? Or do you have to psyche yourself up to try different venues?

NS: Trying something new is what excites me, and part of what motivates me. If I have to do something that is NOT fresh, that’s when I get worried, because I find it harder to motivate myself if the prospect of uncharted territory is not part of the equation. For that reason sequels are very difficult for me. Even though the characters and relationships are already in place, my own enthusiasm is often less than if it were something totally new, so it’s harder to write. On top of it, I will never be satisfied with a sequel, unless I feel it is equal to, or better than the original, so it’s even more daunting a task.

EI: How do you choose which chapter or pages to read from your book when you do a book appearances?

NS: Easy: I always read my favorites!

EI: Now let’s shift gears for a second....What was the inspiration for your novel ‘ Everlost?’ What is your response to the public perception about your creative insight with your book?

NS: My initial inspiration was the simple concept of two kids bumping into each other on their way to “the light” at the moment they die. That led to the idea of a “world between life and death.” It was very compelling for me, because in this particular world, there were no adults, no fear of dying, and you can’t feel physical pain. With the “rules of existence” changed like that, I was really intrigued as to what I could do within those parameters. It was an idea I had for a while, but the heart and soul of the story came when I realized that The World Trade Center would be in Everlost, and there, the towers would stand forever, and nothing will ever bring them down. That’s when I knew I had to write it.

EI: How much of Nick & Allie is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with their characters? What was your biggest challenge in creating them?

NS: My biggest challenge in creating Nick and Allie was to keep them pro-active, rather than reacting to the events around them. Nick was a bit harder than Allie, because, between the two, Allie is more of a leader. The biggest challenge in the book, however, was reigning in the rules of this world, and making them clear. When you create a “natural law” within a fantasy world, it impacts everything. For instance, in Everlost, the characters, who are basically ghosts in our world, sink into the earth if they stand in the same place. Even a rule as simple as that opens up a can of worms: Your characters have to keep moving. They can’t drop things, or they sink as well. What happens to kids who DO sink? Could other characters push you down? Are there certain places where they won’t sink? Do you sink faster into wood than you would into a steel floor? What would happen if you tried to cross a bridge? If you sink in “solid” ground, how fast would you sink in water? Would the whole idea of sinking be a pivotal issue for one, or more of the characters? With every single rule, you have to deal with dozens of ramifications, you have to make them all work, you have to be consistent, AND you have to make it look easy.

EI: How did you develop these characters? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

NS: They always evolve. All I knew when first began conceiving of the story, is that I’d have a girl and a boy from modern times, and a slightly younger boy, who was an innocent, from a hundred years ago, who never left his forest. I also knew I’d have a monster. Once I set the “sinking” rule, I decided the monster would be a kid who sank to the center of the earth, and clawed his way back to the surface. Then I needed a know-it-all, who could help explain the rules of Everlost. That became Mary, but as she developed, I realize that she was the character around which everything else revolved. I also knew that she and the monster had to have some history. Discovering the characters as you go along is one of the most exciting parts of writing.

EI: How do you imagine your audience as you are writing?

NS: First and foremost I write a story that excites me, and that I feel needs to be told. I try to pretend that the book is somehow “important” in the grand scheme of things. I know it’s just a book – but when you’re a writer, if you can convince yourself that your work is somehow meaningful, you rise to the occasion, and maybe it becomes meaningful in its own small way. On the other hand, if you tell yourself “I’m just going to write junk so I can pay the bills,” then junk is exactly what it’s going to be. My goal is to write a story that works on many levels. Younger kids can appreciate it, as well as teenagers, and adults. I want the stories to resonate within every reader, regardless of their age. I often have adults come up to me and say “if this is a young-adult novel, then I must be a young-adult.” I only wish that more adults could realize the books speak to them, not just to kids.

EI: You also wrote under the pseudonym name ‘Easton Royce’ when you wrote your X-File books which you collaborated it with Eric Elfman and Michelle Knowlden. Could you share with us about your other pen names?

NS: I came up with Easton Royce as a name to use when I was collaborating, or if I was working on a project that was not original – such as writing novelizations of episodes of the X—Files TV show. The idea was to create a “mass market” persona for writing stuff that was less literary. The “pay the bills” stuff that would go directly to paperback, and not get reviewed. I haven’t used the name much. I guess I like being myself a whole lot better!

EI: Who are some of the authors you keep returning to as a reader because of their ability to create vivid, three-dimensional characters?

NS: Orson Scott Card, Jerry Spinelli, John Irving, to name a few. There are very few “best sellers” that I like to read anymore. Of course I used to when I was growing up, but I’ve become a very impatient and unforgiving reader. If the book follows a familiar formula, and the characters and style feel too similar to other books I’ve read, I lose interest very quickly. The only books and authors that excite me are the ones that leave me saying “Wow! I wish I had thought of that!” I tend to find myself reading authors I’d never heard of before, rather than ones I’m familiar with. I’m excited by new voices – or at least voices I’ve never heard before!

EI: What would you tell those authors considering applying to an M.F.A. program? In your opinion how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

NS: I don’t have a writing degree - but I did study with Oakley Hall, who ran the MFA writing program at UC Irvine – but I was an undergraduate majoring in theater and psychology. Basically I took every creative writing course the school offered, and when there weren’t any more to take, did independent study with Oakley. I’ve heard both good and bad things about MFA writing programs. The pitfall can be a tendency toward being so esoteric and so literary that it becomes pretentious. On the other hand, MFA programs have turned out some of the finest contemporary writers in the world. The way I see it – anything that gets you writing, and teaches you the art of critiquing, and ACCEPTING criticism is time well spent. Anything that exposes you to a vast variety of writing styles, and ideas is also time well spent. Whatever your life experiences are, those will flavor your subject matter, and your treatment of it. There’s no one path to becoming a writer – but an MFA program is definitely an option that will lead you in the right direction.

EI: Mr. Shusterman, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

NS: Four things I always tell aspiring writers:

1) Write. You can’t get better unless you do it, and do it a lot. In fact, it needs to be a part of your life that you can’t live without. If you want to be a writer, but don’t find yourself filling up page after page after page, then maybe you like the IDEA of being a writer more than you really want to be one.

2) Rewrite. Nothing is ever done the first time you write it, or the second, or the third. You have to learn the skill of listening to constructive criticism, and using that criticism to improve your work. This is the most important part of the writing process. Show me a writer who “gets it right” the first time, and I’ll show you a writer who threw away the opportunity to make their work as good as it could be.

3) Read. You can’t be a writer unless you’re an avid reader. Like anything else in life, we learn by imitation, and by seeing how others do it. We learn how to evoke emotions, how to balance action, dialogue, description, and introspection, through reading how others do it. We develop our own styles by internalizing the styles of authors we’ve read, and synthesizing something new, that ultimately becomes our own.

4) Persevere. There are many talented writers out there. The ones who become successful are the ones who are relentless in pursuing their craft, in spite of disappointment, and things that might otherwise discourage them.

To learn more about Neal Shusterman, please visit him at:
http://www.storyman.com/
http://www.myspace.com/nealshusterman

Photo of Mr. Shusterman (Color) By Scott Hensley, Henderson, NV.

Eric Luper, Author Of "Big Slick" & Other Fine Literature

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing his views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with Eric Luper, author of Big Slick which is his first novel. It is an action-filled book about hot cars, growing up, relationship, bad choices, gambling and hot girls. It's a great book with lots of surprises. It's now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

EI: Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Please tell us more about Eric Luper -- the man behind the author.

Eric Luper: I was quiet as an early teen, but things changed suddenly when I was in 10th grade and I refused to show my PSAT results to my homeroom teacher who was going up and down the aisles looking at everyone's scores. She made the comment that ever since I had gotten contact lenses something changed about me and that it was NOT for the better. So, I made the comment that ever since she had gotten braces she was spitting more bits of croissant on the first three rows than ever before. This propelled me to temporary stardom in my high-school (okay, maybe more like there was a few hours of buzz around the lunchroom) and I realized that I had a choice: 1) I could be that quiet kid in the corner or 2) I could not be that quiet kid in the corner. I chose the latter. Junior and senior years turned out to be far more fulfilling.

EI: Do you enjoy writing? What is it about this art form that enchants you the most? Why have you chosen to write in the genre in which you write?

Eric Luper: The more I write, the more I like it. That's not to say it's not hard or it's not frustrating or it doesn't drive me to the brink of insanity. What I love most about it is the concept that there a finite number of words, yet an infinite number of ways to express yourself through them. Give a gazillion authors the same idea and none of them will write it even remotely alike. I love writing YA in particular because it's got the rawest emotion of any genre. It's like an exposed nerve. Oh, and also because I'm pretty darn juvenile myself.

EI: Could you describe your path that led you to publication--any stumbles along the way? Is there anything that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

Eric Luper: I met my editor, Wesley Adams, at a writing conference in New York City. He is the editor for Jack Gantos, a writer I've admired for years. He had forgotten his glasses and was unable to read his notes, so he just winged it. From that moment, I knew he was the editor for me. I consider it an honor to have Wes helping me bring my debut novel to the shelves. As for doing something differently, I suppose if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

EI: Was there a central theme that you wanted readers to grasp?

Eric Luper: I write by creating characters that I love and putting them into tough, tough situations. I kick my characters when they're down and then I kick them some more. Themes, I think, are things that happen on their own, as a result of relentless kicking.

EI: Are there any kid or teen books that rocked your world while growing up? And why?

Eric Luper: I was a reluctant reader growing up. In fact, I was a terribly reluctant reader. TV was so much easier to take in. I could tell you dozens of television shows and movies that rocked my world. However, I did cleave to certain books: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (trilogy) by Douglas Adams were two favorites. I think what attracted me to these books was how the authors used creativity and humor with such flair. Both books also have such an "otherworldly" feel to them. This is likely due to the fact that they both take place in another world!

EI: How do you imagine your audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in story boards all over your walls?

Eric Luper: The only audience I'm thinking of entertaining is me. I try to keep myself entertained from the first page forward and hope that my readers will be as entertained as I am. As for my technique, I write by the seat of my pants. I'm not a good outliner and character sketches make me feel confined. I just grab a concept and let things unfold as I go. I know something good is happening if I make myself laugh or get choked up as I'm sitting at the keyboard.

EI: Let's shift gears here for a second... let's talk about Andrew Lang, the protagonist in your novel "Big Slick". How much of Andrew is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with his character?

Eric Luper: Before I typed a single word, Andrew was a complete character. Rather than having lists of his likes, dislikes and favorite ice-cream flavors, I just knew him instinctively. Andrew told me what he was going to do. The same went for every other character in my novel. I know them all very well.

EI: What was your biggest challenge while writing and creating Andrew? Did you work him out in advance, or did he evolve as you wrote the story? Are any of the characters in the story actually based on real people in your life?

Eric Luper: I often base characters on people I know in real life. More often I blend different personalities and features from people I know and set them free in my brain. I knew Andrew a long time before I started Big Slick. Scott is a mélange (I love that word, mélange) of several different people I know. Jasmine comes from someplace different. Cincinnati, I think.

EI: How did you develop or come up with the idea of 'Big Slick ?" What inspired you to write this book? What about writing for teens appealed to you?

Eric Luper: Big Slick originated as a short story. In fact, chapter 1 is very similar to the original short story (you can read it on my website). When I read the story to my critique group, they clamored for more. Over the next few months, ideas percolated in my head. Once I started typing, the novel came relatively quickly. As for writing for teens, kids this age are dealing with so much. They are still kids, yet they are experimenting with being adults by interacting in an adult world. It is a crucial time in every person's life, it's fascinating to me, and it's a fertile ground for fiction!

EI: Would you care to tell us about Jasmine's character? What do you think readers would expect different from these characters?

Eric Luper: I love Jasmine. She's quirky and Gothy and definitely an individual. She's the kind of girl I wish I knew when I was in high school. Maybe I did and I don't even realize it. Andrew, Scott and Jasmine all bring something different to the table and it still amuses me thinking about how all three interact and fit together through the course of the book.

EI: If you were allowed total control of the Hollywood version of 'Big Slick' who would be in it? And in your opinion who do you think should direct?

Eric Luper: I love asking other authors this question, but I hate answering it. Despite how visual my book is, I never linked my characters to specific actors. Doing it now is tough because it confines the images in my brain. I would have to leave the casting to a good director, one who understands the book. I'd be honored to have John Hughes direct. His work was such a guiding force when I was younger that I trust he would do the right thing. I wish he would get back into coming-of-age films because he's so good at them! So, Mr. John Hughes, if you happen to Google yourself and read this, please get in touch and I'll send you a copy of Big Slick right away!

EI: What is a typical work day schedule when you are in full writing mode? Would you tell us a little about your process for editing, revising, and novel development? How long did it take you to write 'Big Slick' including the time it took to research the book?

Eric Luper: I have a day job, so I write or edit or polish when I can. I get to my office before hours or I stay up late at night. My muse comes at the strangest times, then sometimes not for a long while. I ride the wave as long as I can and then spend as much time as I need to regroup. Then, when I'm ready, I lace up my steel toed boots and go back to mercilessly kicking my characters.

EI: As a first time fiction writer, do you feel more pressure, feel insecurities fade away or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

Eric Luper: Writing is a great means of escape for me. When I am immersed in what I'm writing, everything else drops away. It's the in-between time when I get nervous and feel pressure and crawl under the table and curl into a fetal position.

EI: What's up next? Is there another book in the works? What can you share with us?

Eric Luper:I finished my second novel a few months ago. It's called "Bug Boy" and is about an apprentice jockey during the 1934 Saratoga track season. Back then, conditions for these kids (who were as young as 8) were deplorable. Abuse was rampant and they were treated as property rather than as people. Bug Boy is about a struggling young apprentice who is pressured to help fix a big race. The book is filled with tough choices and a lot of opportunity for me to kick characters.

My third book is top-secret. I'm about 30,000 words into it, and the acronym for the top-secret title is EMLM. (Figure that one out, David Lubar!) It is a piece that is exciting me quite a bit, but it's just too early to share.

EI: Mr. Luper, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

Eric Luper: It's going to sound corny, but my advice is to write from your heart. If the story doesn't move you, you can't expect it to move anyone else. For me, it's the toughest part of what a novelist does. It means putting things out there that most people would like to leave buried.

To learn more about Eric Luper, please visit him at:
http://www.ericluper.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ericluper
http://blog.myspace.com/ericluper

Melissa De La Cruz, Filipino-American Bestselling Author of 'Au Pairs' Series Writes For Teens & Adults

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing her views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with Melissa De La Cruz, she's the author of Au Pairs which was bought by the WB Network for television. Her book How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less was sold to Universal Studio as a reality program and to Walt Disney Studio as a motion picture.

She's a former fashion editor and has appeared as an expert on style, trends and fame for CNN and the E! Ms. De La Cruz is a graduate of Columbia Universtiy. She grew up in Manila, Philippines.

EI: Ms. De La Cruz, would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Please tell us more about Melissa De La Cruz -- the woman behind the journalist & the high-fashion author?

MDLC: Ever since I was a teen, I have always looooved to read as well as shop. My two favorite places were the mall and the library. I read a lot of Stephen King, Anne Rice and LOTR (including the Silmarillion), and my favorite labels were Benetton and Esprit. I went to an all-girls high school so on the rare, eagerly-anticipated free-dress days I planned my outfit VERY carefully. I liked to adopt different fashion personas--sometimes I was a bit goth--one of my favorite outfits was an oversize Cure concert t-shirt, slouchy gray pants from the Gap and black Roman sandals from Payless and a black blazer from the Salvation Army that I bought for three dollars. And sometimes I was totally Cher from Clueless--very matchy-matchy and cutesy (hey it was the 80s). My other favorite outfit was a houndstooth blazer and matching miniskirt, with tights and black knee-high boots. And yes, sadly I had really big hair. I used to roll my bangs upwards from my face in a style that resembles a croissant.

As far as what I'm really like, I think most people would say I'm a lot like my blog. I'm obsessed about shopping, and I work a lot, and I read everything I can get my hands on, and I don't see my friends as often as I'd like, and sometimes I get to go to some pretty great events, like fashion week or a golden globes after-party, or a Hollywood gifting suite, so I need to leave my house and get my hair done.

EI: Ms. De La Cruz, Please tell our readers about your experience as one of the founding editors of 'Hint Magazine.' What was the career path that leads you to that level? And do you express your inner self in your writing or do the personas you create exist only in your imagination?

MDLC: I was lucky enough to meet three very special guys who became my very good friends, and we all founded Hint together, I think what led me to Hint was luck--I was a fashion journalist in New York, so I had a bunch of clips already and a solid reputation as a writer. I was looking around for something fun to do, and it sort of fell in my lap, and the four of us really got along. For a few years, we were inseparable, and raised a lot of havoc in New York. It was like being in a rockband. The fabulous Lee Carter, whom I met at a fashion show, was the one who brought us all together. I'm very proud of where we all ended up. Horacio Silva is now an editor at the New York Times Style magazine, Ben Widdicombe is a big-time gossip columnist for the Daily News, and Lee still runs Hint, which has won countless of awards, including a Webby. We joke that they should do a "Behind the Fashion" story on us, since we kind of "broke up" right when we started winning all the awards. I think of my time at Hint very fondly.

Hmm. Do I express my inner-self in my writing? I guess so. I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin though. It took a long time to feel that way, but now that I do feel that way, I look back at my insecure, awkward old self and I wish I hadn't been so hard on myself back then. I think my outer-self and my inner-self are pretty alike. I've been the bitchy mean girl, but I've been the outcast girl, I know what it's like to have tons of friends and fun, and I also know what it's like to be the one standing outside the circle. A lot of people ask if I am "Cat" from "Cat's Meow". And while Cat certainly has my sense of humor, she's not me. My characters all have parts of me, but they are their own creations.

EI: What about your experience as a fashion editor for Marie Claire, Harper Bazaar, The New York Times, Seventeen, Glamour, Cosmo Girl to name a few? How did you manage to be in the limelight?

MDLC: I was a freelance writer for all those publications, not a fashion editor. It was great to write for all those magazines--it's a tough industry to crack, and I feel honored that I have contributed to all of these publications that I read avidly. I think it just takes persistence, determination and luck. I never say 'no' to anything. I have written for all of those above but I have also written for a ton of magazines that have died (Lifetime, Rosie, Men's Style to name a few) as well as tons of magazines and publications no one has heard of. I think you have to start writing for a lot of places before the big names take notice.

EI: Do you think that your experience as an editor and a journalist helped you succeed as a writer? Do you still write for periodicals? What are the do's and don'ts of writing for periodicals, and how does the discipline differ from writing your famous novels?

MDLC: Writing for magazines and newspapers is great training. You learn to work under deadline and with an editor. I don't write for magazines as much as I used to--I don't have time with all the books under contract. Dos and don'ts? Every magazine has a certain style that you have to fit. I would say do study the magazine and know what kind of stories they like to run before you pitch them. And don't miss your deadline. Writing short pieces is a lot easier because it doesn't take as much time. Novels are harder because you have to keep at it for an extended period of time, and the payoff isn't as quick.

EI: I understand that you where twelve years old when you immigrated to this country with your family? You were practically a teenager when you left the Philippines, perhaps a six grader? Did you attend one of the exclusive private schools in the Philippines, such as Saint Paul in Ermita, Saint Theresa's or the Assumption Catholic School in Dasmarinas? What was life like growing up in the Pacific Rim?

MDLC: I had actually finished my first year of high school when we moved. I guess I'm young for my grade? But we don't have eighth grade in Manila, so really I had finished eighth grade when we moved. You know, now that I think about it, I was thirteen when we moved, not twelve. Oops. My bad. I turned fourteen here during my freshman year of high school in America. And yes, I attended Assumption Convent. Life in Manila seems like a dream now. I remember being very sheltered. And having lots of gates and security everywhere. Bodyguards at the mall. Lots of maids and nannies. And my parents going off to tons of fabulous parties--and throwing tons of fabulous parties in our fabulous house. My mom would have her facialist, her seamstress, and her hairstylist visit the house every weekend. It was decadent and dreamy. Lots of hanging out at the country club and three-month vacations to Europe.

EI: In one of your interviews you noted that you grew up in Manila as a 'rich kid', before moving to the States. Did you live in one of the elite neighborhoods of Forbes Park, Dasmarinas Village, or Greenhills in those days? And you also mentioned that your family maintained a staff of nine servants in Manila, plus a chauffeur. What was the transition to life in America like for you?

MDLC: We lived in Valle Verde II in Greenhills. Oh dear. Transition to life in America was very hard. It's still hard! LOL. My husband (who is American and from the Midwest) says that I don't know how to do anything. I expect everything to be cleaned up after me, like a little princess. I guess half of me grew up very entitled and the other half is kind of this flinty, no-nonsense immigrant. I understand the dynamic of rich communities, the insulation, the snobbery, but I also understand what hardscrabble struggle is like.

EI: How does the Filipino American community respond to your books? Do you make an effort to connect with them? How accepted are you?

MDLC: I think they like my books. I get a ton of email from Filipino teens. And I've been featured in a lot of Filipino publications. My publisher (Simon and Schuster) has said they would like to send me to Manila some time, as there is a lot of interest there if I visit. I hope to visit sometime soon!

EI: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share? What surprised you most about the publishing process from the writer's perspective?

MDLC: My main advice to all writers is NEVER GIVE UP. You just need someone to say yes, to take a chance on you. Which also means SEND YOUR STUFF OUT. You have to deal with rejection, get your stuff out to the world--don't NOT send it because you're scared they're going to say no. They're going to say no. Definitely. But one day, someone will say YES. And the other thing is to hone your craft--keep reading, keep writing.

What surprised me about the publishing process is that it is an industry. It's a business. Your book has to sell, it has to appeal to an audience of readers, or there is no reason for it to be published. I guess I was very naive, like many writers, when I first started. I thought I would publish a book and it would change my life. But it's about having career longevity, and sales. I feel very lucky that I have found an audience for my writing-the Ashleys, which is coming out this December, is my 10th novel and my 4th series. I love my readers--they are so enthusiastic and appreciative. And so cute!

EI: Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which one are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

MDLC: I think I started out a character writer. I think I have to say this because Cat's Meow had no plot when I turned in the first draft! But I've slowly become a plot writer, I think. I love a hard-to-put-down book, one you can't stop reading. The hardest part of writing, for me, is trying to figure out what the unexpected is, and trying to have it happen naturally in the story and not have it 'forced'. I also really hate to have a predictable plot--when books are predictable, they become really boring. The most predictable outcome is the one that seems easiest to write, so it's a struggle to NOT go there, and to try to see if the story can go somewhere else. And usually, that happens only through lots of hard work and rewriting and facing off at the computer. If you write the first thing that comes to mind, it's usually the first thing that the reader will think of also.

EI: Would you describe yourself as a confident writer, always ready to face the next new challenge? Either in front of a TV camera, famous celebrity or an editor? Do you have to psyche yourself up to try different venues?

MDLC: I think all writers have to be confident, otherwise, you'd never get anything done, and I certainly have always had confidence in my work. I know I'm a good writer, even when I got rejected from various MFA programs. :-) Writing has always come easily to me. I've always been drawn to books, and love to read, and I'm lucky enough that I'm able to write as well. Being in front of the TV camera does not come as naturally, but it can be learned. I deal with having to be on TV by never watching myself on television. I just cringe! But here's how to pull it off--wear a bright, solid color, get your hair and makeup done, and never-stop-talking. Dead air kills.

EI: You are well known in the writing community as the beautiful, talented, former fashion editor, wears high end fashion clothing, a celebrity journalist, and now a bestselling author. How do you manage being the center of public attention and the limelight? Do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

MDLC: Why thank you! That is very nice of you to say. *Blush* Part of me certainly loves the spotlight. I've always loved fashionable parties, VIP rooms, and the torrent of camera flashbulbs. We are in the middle of book tour for my new anthology "Girls who like boys who like boys" and we had more than a dozen events, and two book parties and it was so much fun just to plan what I was going to wear! I think it's so nice to get attention for a book, readings are very invigorating. It's all a hoot. I also figured out that if I angst about the appearances, or worry too much about everything, I don't get to have any fun. My personality tends towards the goofy, and I love to entertain. I've always loved telling stories, whether on paper or to a large group of people. So it's just a natural extension of my private life. My father was a huge raconteur, so I think I inherited some of that.

EI: When you look back on your enormously successful career as a 'fashion editor' is there anything you would've done differently? Ever dream of having your own "designed fashion line?" If so, what and why? If not, how do you manage to move forward without regrets?

MDLC: At one point when I was much younger I did think it would be fun to be a fashion designer, but I don't think I have the patience or the imagination to think up entire collections every season. I realize I'd much prefer to buy clothes rather than to make them. And I love to describe them!

EI: Your book 'Au Pairs' was a phenomenal bestseller --- what do you think most appeals to people about your work? And how difficult was it to muster up the courage to write another, risking a jinx'?

MDLC: I think my books are very entertaining, fast reads, and I work very hard to make the characters appealing and the stories fun. Skinny-Dipping, which was Book Two in the Au Pairs series, was hard to write because I was worried that it wouldn't live up to the first one. But at some point, you just forge ahead, and get it done, and it's just up to the public to decide. I'm a risk-taker and I'd rather try and fail at something rather than never try anything at all. (At least when it comes to books and my career. I'm a big fraidy-cat when heights are concerned.) I'm not scared of failure, I think it's the only way you'll ever have success in life.

EI: Each of your novels seems to take a moral question and dramatize it without trivializing it. Are you consciously exploring issues of "teen sex's sells" versus " GOODY TWO-SHOES", or personal evil, etc.? How does this work for you?

MDLC: This is unconscious, although I think when you write a book, you are writing from a certain point of view, and perhaps the morality comes through even though I think I'm just writing something very entertaining. I just never would like to be preachy. There is a lot of me and my personality in the books, and I do believe in certain things, like that you can like fashion AND be smart at the same time, and that working hard is the best way to get ahead, but it's also really fun to live the high-life at nightclubs and VIP rooms. One of my favorite books is SNOBS by Julian Fellowes, where he writes about people who are drawn to worldly things and how does one hold on to "True Values" when you're angling to get into the private Royal box at Ascot, for instance. I think the thing to do is not to take everything so seriously and have a good sense of humor about yourself.

EI: You've written many novels in which your main characters 'Johnny Silver, Mama Fay, Taj. Sutton, Eliza, Mara, Jacqui, Ryan Perry, Jeremy, Schuyler Van Alen, Oliver, Dylan to name a few --- , and of course Cat McAllister--- in parallel, to solve their conflicts. What challenges do returning characters pose? How do you keep the complicated, and life --- like, relationships clear in your mind -- and have you found yourself to be surprised with the strains, turns, changes among these characters? Do you ever tire of them? What happens then?

MDLC: I think the challenge in writing a series is keeping the characters true to themselves but also letting them grow and letting the story develop. I'm constantly surprised by my characters--like when Schuyler asks Oliver to be her human familiar in Masquerade--you'd think she'd know better! (And you'll have to read the book to find out what happens! I don't want to give away any spoilers.)

As far as the characters' relationships and lives, those are all clear in my head, what's hard with writing a series is sometimes you forget if the character has blue eyes or green, or what color hair. Did I say Schuyler had blue-black hair? Or was it more a dark brown? That sort of thing.

EI: What made you to decide to start writing books about vampires? What do you hope readers take with them after finishing "Masquerade...?"

MDLC: I've always been interested in vampires. My favorite books growing up were Anne Rice's Vampire saga and Stephen King's Salem's Lot. I loved Anne Rice because Lestat was such a wonderful character--so flawed, so beautiful, so evil. And Salem's Lot just scared me to death. Blue Bloods just came naturally out of a desire to write something in that vein, but also to figure out a new mythology for the vampires. Masquerade is the second book in the series, which I think is deeper and a richer read, and I hope readers like it enough to read the next one--Revelations!

EI: Your readers and other writers often like to get behind the author's writing routine. Would you like to share your fans your typical writing day schedule now that you have your beautiful daughter?

MDLC: It hasn't been typical at all! Which is really hard. I used to be able to write until three in the morning under deadline. But now that I am breast-feeding and she is still not sleeping through the night, it's been impossible. I'm just so fatigued! I used to go to this writer's office in Brentwood that I loved, and I think it's time to go back since I can't get any work done at home. Writing and parenting is a 24-hour job. I just feel like I'm always working. I guess the typical day now is I work from 9-5 when the nanny is here, then have playtime and dinner and try to see my husband and putting-her-to-sleep time from
5-8. Then around 9pm I try to work again until midnight. Luckily my husband and I both work from home, so we do see each other even when both of us have crazy deadlines.

EI: Now... let's shift gears here for a second. Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced to publish "Girls Who Likes Boys Who Likes Boys?"What inspired you to put together this anthology?

MDLC: Girls who like boys who like boys: true tales of love, lust and friendship between gay men and straight women is an anthology I edited with my dear friend Tom Dolby. It was inspired by the close friendship we shared, and I thought there should be a book that celebrated the alliance between gay men and straight women. We were looking for a lot of variety--stories about best friends, but also stories about families--we have an essay by Philip Himberg where he writes about how his ex-girlfriend, Cathy, gave birth to his daughter and gave her to him and his partner to raise. Also an essay by Sex and the City's Cindy Chupack, where she writes about her gay ex-husband and how they were able to wish each other well when the marriage ended. We really didn't face any challenges at all. My agent sold the book in a week to Dutton, and then we put together our "dream lists" of writers we'd love to work with and most of them said yes. Simon Doonan, Gigi Grazer, Andrew Solomon, Ayelet Waldman, Mike Albo, David Levithan, Anna David, Alexandra Jacobs, Karen Robinovitz, Elizabeth Spiers---and tons more are in the book and share their wonderful stories.

EI: Please tell us about Schuyler Van Alen, Oliver and Dylan? What was your biggest challenge in developing these characters? How did you develop them? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

MDLC: A long time ago, there was a club in New York called "The Bank" and it was a bit of a dorky goth club, not at all like the swishy velvet-rope nightclubs with thousand-dollar bottle service that are all over New York now. My best friend Morgan and I looooved the Bank, because they played all our favorite bands: Sioxsie Sioux, The Cure, Bauhaus, all the songs we loved as teens. When I was writing Blue Bloods, I thought of the Bank, (because it was a nightclub in an old crumbling bank) and Schuyler came into my head as a teen who was worried about how to get into the Bank. I was also very inspired by how Mary Kate Olsen dressed--all those layers and hobo chic and thought Schuyler would dress this way. Oliver is based a bit on Morgan, his sense of humor and his sophistication, and Dylan is based on another friend of mine from college who was broody and gorgeous and a bit of a 'bad boy.' They evolved into their own beings as the story progressed. It was fun to find out Oliver was Schuyler's conduit, for instance, and that Dylan was also a vampire (oops--spoilers, uch!).

EI: Please tell us about ' The Au Pairs: Crazy Hot' the 4th book in the series. Would you care to share a little a bit about it?

MDLC: Crazy Hot is the fourth Au Pairs book, with all new adventures for our favorite partying babysitters. Mara has a cute new 'intellectual' boyfriend, the anti-Ryan, who seems perfect for her--but is he really? Jacqui is discovered as a supermodel by two hot saucy Aussie photographers, and falls for one of them, and Jeremy proposes to Eliza with what she thinks of as a "Holly-rock"--an engagement ring just for show, just like the one Paris Hilton and any number of starlets wear in Us Weekly and say they're "engaged." But Jeremy's really serious--so is it icebergs ahead? It's another fun romp in the Hamptons!

EI: If you were allowed total control of a Hollywood adaptation of "Masquerade: A Blue Blood Novel" which actors would you cast? And who would you want to direct?

MDLC: I try not to say because I like my readers to imagine the characters instead of the actors when they read the book. I think that's the fun thing about reading--you get to imagine on your own what they look like. I love the LOTR movies but now when I read the book, I picture Orlando Bloom instead of the Legolas I had seen in my minds' eye.

EI: Would you give us a hint about your upcoming book "666?" What can you tell us about it?

MDLC: 666: The Number of the Beast is a horror anthology from Scholastic. I have a short story in it called "Shelter Island" about one of our favorite Blue Blood vampires. Readers will find out what happened to Dylan! And it's from the point of view of a human girl, which I thought was fun and interesting to write.

The next book in the Blue Bloods series is REVELATIONS, which comes out next fall. And the second book in the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series is THE STRIP.

My next novel that is coming out is THE ASHLEYS in December, which kicks off a new series about the most popular girls in seventh-grade. Truth or Dare. Sleepover Parties. Rank Calls. Gossip. Shopping. Cute Boys. Don't miss it!

EI: Ms. De La Cruz, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers? Maraming Salamat Po. Thanks once again and good luck with your next book "THE ASHLEYS". We are all cheering for your success!

MDLC: Thanks very much! This was a lot of fun and thanks for thinking of me! I would say to all aspiring writers, not to give up! Never take no for an answer, and keep writing...the more you do it the better you get at it!

To learn more about Melissa De La Cruz, please visit her at:
http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/
http://www.myspace.com/melissadelacruz

Photo of Ms. Melissa De La Cruz (BW)By Ruffy Landayan, Los Angeles, CA.

Michael Standaert - A Journalist Turned Novelist

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing his views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with Michael Standaert, author of the new released novel Pisco Kid. His writing has appeared in TechCentralStation.com, Far Eastern Economic Review Hong Kong), San Francisco Chronicle (book reviews), Central Europe Review (Prague), Vietnam News Network, Seoul Times, Boston Review, Maisonneuv (Montreal), Nthposition.com, CritiqueMagazine.com and others.

He has worked as a journalist in the U.S. and Europe over the last few years, and helped found Euro-correspondent dot com. Besides journalism, his fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in a variety of notable publications, magazine and has completed three novels.

EI: Would you share some insight into who you were as a teenager? What were you like? Please tell us more about Michael Standaert -- the man behind the journalist and author.

MS: Probably both pretty normal and a bit odd I think. Your regular awkwardness, goofiness, and shyness at times; other times a bit more daring, exploratory, outrageous. I had bad acne early on when I was about 13 or so, and hit puberty earlier, so grew rather quickly. I was a good football player for a while in middle school and in high school, a poor golfer, wasn’t really that studious unless I was reading what I wanted to read. I would spend a lot of time in the school library reading Hemingway, Douglas Adams, and Tim Cahill and others. These were my favorite writers early on … so a strange mix of realism, humorous sci-fi, and wry travel writing. I wanted to be something like Hemingway for a while, and this probably led me to pursue journalism since I knew he’d started that way. I still haven’t been able to give up journalism like he did, since I really haven’t made any money at all off the two books I’ve written. The first could still break even and the second is just out, so I don’t know if I’ll get above the line yet. It’s funny, I ran into a guy a few years ago when I was out at a bar in my hometown and who I’d gone to school with from grade school through high school, and he remembered me as something of a preppy football player type, kind of like Zack (I think that was the name) from Saved By the Bell, but I never really saw myself that way. By later in my senior year I’d started rebelling a bit more and getting into your usual teen age trouble, experimenting and all that.

EI: Mr. Standaert, please tell our readers about your experience as a journalist in the US. What was the career path that lead you to that level?

MS: I started as a sports journalist, and later was kind of a roving correspondent for the Des Moines Register while attending the University of Iowa. After finishing at Iowa I moved to Europe to start an MA program through Cardiff University in Wales and after a year that moved to Brussels, Belgium where I freelanced most of 2002, covering the EU and a variety of other stories. That was when I started writing for some higher profile publications. Part of it was luck of being where other American journalists were not, but a lot of it was hard work just trying to build myself up as a freelance writer. After running low on money I came back to the U.S. from Europe and went underground for a while in 2003, working as a janitor at night, living at my parents, and writing the Pisco novel. After that I moved back to Iowa City where I’d studied before and covered some of the Iowa Caucuses and interviewed about 30 writers from around the world who were there for the International Writing Program, selling quite a few of these stories to publications abroad. I was also writing the Skipping Towards Armageddon book for Soft Skull at this time. I think it was around this time I started reviewing books as well. In Iowa I met the woman who would be my wife. She was born in Canada, grew up in Taiwan, and was my interpreter for an interview I did with the Chinese writer Yu Hua. She eventually moved to California to continue her studies and I followed her out there and got a job as a writer for a foundation, a great job that gave me the opportunity to live in and write for the community of Big Sur, and also allowed me the chance to go to India and Sri Lanka to help document projects they were involved with there. This last year I did a review every couple weeks for Publishers Weekly, but had to give that up upon moving to China since it isn’t very cost effective for them to send books all the way over here. So, now in China I’m working as an editorial consultant for a weekly English language magazine that is basically overseen by the government, something that’s both been frustrating and illuminating. After my year contract is up, I’m not sure what will be next. It depends on what both my wife and I have going on.

EI: Do you think your experience as a journalist helped you succeed as a writer? Do you still write for periodicals? What are the “do's and don'ts” of writing for periodicals and how does the discipline differ from writing your novels?

MS: I think journalism can help to an extent, but it can also blunt your fictional instincts, so it’s good to be able to take a break now and then. I’ve mostly been a freelancer, which has its good and its bad … you have a lot of time to devote to your writing, but it’s a catch-22 since if you want to eat, all of that writing has to be journalism. But you find ways. The last few years I haven’t found those ways to devote to fiction though; getting married, having a full-time job, moving to China for a full-time job, and the two books hanging over my head diverted me from any fiction writing. That’s about to change though. I can feel a good period coming on. I’ll still write for periodicals when I can, but I only want to do it if the story is interesting or important, or if I’m reviewing books, which I enjoy since it helps me keep up on what’s current. I don’t really have any tips other than to try to write the best you can, no matter what it is. That’s a hard thing to do at times. That aspect isn’t any different from writing a novel, but a novel takes much, much longer and can really wear you out compared to a 1,500 word article. And don’t blog too much, unless you’re blogging fiction. I have a feeling that my own blogging has taken some energy and drive from me.

EI: Do you enjoy writing? What is it about this art form that enchants you the most? And could you describe your path that leads you to publication -- any stumble along the way? Is there anything about you that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

MS: Journalism writing can be interesting at times, but I don’t enjoy it as much as writing fiction. I hate press conferences. You never get much out of them. I do enjoy one-on-one interviews with though, which is a benefit of journalism … getting out and meeting people you would otherwise probably never talk to. I enjoy writing fiction, and in crazy moments poetry, but it can be a long and weary process writing fiction, especially a novel. Yet when you’re in a groove nothing else is better.

EI: Was there a central theme that you wanted readers to grasp? What surprised you most about the publishing process from the writer's perspective?

MS: The central theme for Pisco revolves around lies. Big lies, small lies. Pisco is constantly lied to in the story, lies to others, and lies to himself. There are other themes weaved into this, but I think that’s at the heart.

EI: Mr. Standaert, you are well known in the writing community as a China based writer and journalist currently living in Beijing. Your writing has been published in notable publications such as: San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Review, Eastern Economic Review Hong Kong, Seoul Times, Central Europe Review in Prague etc... and now an author? Do you ever feel pressure or insecure, or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

MS: My wife and I were joking the other day that if I wrote something very critical of the Chinese government, I might get kicked out of the country and that the publicity would be good for the book. I can see the headlines now: “Unknown Writer Booted from China” or “Minor Author Banned” … I am not know at all, so it was funny to read your question. As far as pressure or insecurity, yes, they are there, they are always there. Sometimes pressure is good if you channel it correctly. Insecurity can freeze you in your tracks. When that happens you must go forward somehow. But as far as any pressure from being ‘known’ … that’s not there at all. I’ve lately felt the opposite pressure since there hasn’t yet been a review of Pisco, and it just leaves a person wondering why. If I get all bad reviews, that’s fine. It’s more of the fact that if I didn’t have any response, I would never know.

EI: Are there any kid or teen books rocked your world while growing up? And why?

MS: Where the Wild Things Are … but that was when I was very young. I was also a big Dr. Seuss reader. I didn’t really read many teen books, though I did read a lot of classic adventure stories in larger print. Both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were extremely important to me. I thought I was Tom Sawyer for a while, and growing up along the Mississippi River lent some reality to that. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series was as well. I think I was drawn to its weird humor. A couple books that rocked my world in my late teens were The Stranger by Camus and Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Lately it’s been Haruki Murakami.

EI: Let’s talk about “Moses” in your novel “The Adventure of Pisco Kid”. How much is ‘Moses’ planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with his character?

MS: Moses is actually Pisco, or the name Pisco’s adoptive mother gave him. He liked the name Pisco, since that was the word on the cloth bag he was found in. Pisco is a liquor made in Peru. She has something in her mind about him becoming a savior type, and tries to press him on this. I didn’t have a lot planned out from the start with Moses/Pisco. I knew he would be a rodent exterminator, that he would like folk and bluegrass music, that he was really just a regular imbecile like the rest of us who happens to have a series of events change his course in life. You know where to go next by what has just happened or what you think might happen next. I really didn’t plan this one out in great detail, though I did have some Point A to Point B plotlines I wanted to move Moses/Pisco to and from. Between that is unknown territory.

EI: What was your biggest challenge and obstacle while writing and creating “Moses?” Did you work him out in advance, or did he evolve as you wrote the story?

MS: He evolved as I wrote. I think the biggest challenge was trying to not hurry him through my plotline since whatever humor, or whatever statements are being made, or whatever character development between those points takes time to develop. A lot of it is linguistic gymnastics, compilations of images, and other experiments creating a mood that Pisco is swimming through.

EI: How did you develop or come up with the idea of ‘The Adventure of Pisco Kid?” What inspired you to write this book? What about satire writing appealed to you? What do you think readers would expect different from ‘Pisco Kid’?

MS: I knew I wanted to write about a young man who’s mother thought he was a messiah. I also had in mind various stereotyped characters that I wanted to play with, either accentuating the stereotype or changing it slightly, just playing with it to show some of the absurdities of those stereotypes. I don’t know if I was totally successful with that or not. On another note, I wanted to satirize this notion of “spreading” whatever it is to the rest of the globe … faith, democracy, materialism, whatever … this messianic tendency that is engrained in the American spirit, folklore, music, art. We haven’t even perfected our own democracy and we go around trying to shape others in our image. There are good and bad points to this … you have someone like Martin Luther King, with his very religious messianic messages that helped deliver a people (somewhat) from their poor place in societ, and on the other hand you have some folksy snake oil salesman like George W. Bush who is very clumsy at the messages, half-articulate, but somehow (at least for much of the time) was able to get a lot of people to buy his charms. Means, ends, outcomes and intentions all vary, though my thought is that it’s generally a damaging thing if a nation deludes itself with messianic tendencies, especially imperial ones. But Bush was born of that. His generation first thought it could find inner utopia in peace, drugs and rock-n-roll, later they thought they could find it in the stock markets, Jesus and capitalist globalization. Iraq was just part of that latter manifestation, though it probably would have been better if they’d stayed in their youthful, drugged up, idealistic mode. There is both something terrifying about Bush’s shoulder slapping, smirking, head pumping ways, and also endearing, like hey, this is a guy that would probably have been fun after a few beers. Unfortunately he got drunk on power and Jesus. He’s a sad character really. I kind of crafted one character in Pisco slightly on him.

EI: How do you imagine audience as you are writing? Do you try to do character development, chapter outlines, various novel-related brainstorming? Do you have sheets of newsprint covered in a story boards all over your walls?

MS: I don’t think much about an audience for fiction. I just try to write whatever appeals to me or I want to explore at the time. I do sometimes do character sketches, outlines and brainstorming, but it’s usually very rough. If I really plotted everything out it might take some of the enjoyment out of me of discovering the unknown territories between the plotlines. I think Pisco was the most fun I’d had writing anything, since I just kind of let go and didn’t really care anymore if I was doing this or doing that. No storyboards. I know people who do a lot of prep work though. The advantage is you don’t get stuck as much. The disadvantage of the way I do it is you can get lost and not recover, which is bad news if you’ve been writing a novel for six months. I have two other completed novels that I’ve put in the drawer. I don’t know if they’re very good or not, but I don’t think I could ever go back to them totally. I may be able to do some salvage work for spare parts from them though.

EI: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share?

MS: If it is something you really want to do, go for it. If you’re halfhearted about it, it’s not going to work. Keep polishing, keep writing and it will get better, or at least you would hope. Sometimes it doesn’t. Half the time you’ll think your brilliant, the other half that your shit. It comes with the territory.

EI: Would you describe yourself as a confident journalist & a writer, always ready to face the next new challenge? Either in front of a TV camera, or an editor? Do you have to psyche yourself up to try different venues?

MS: Hunger breeds more confidence, though it also wears you out. I don’t think I’m a particularly confident person. You always have self-doubts. I’m most confident when I’m in the zone and writing something, when it’s flowing, because everything else drops away and you don’t really worry about confidence or anything else. Getting back there is the hard part. Worrying that you can’t get back there ruins confidence. As far as journalism, you do your job and try to write the best article you can. I’ve not been in front of a TV camera, and actually the idea scares me a bit. Facing an editor isn’t that difficult.

EI: Now tell us what is life like living in China? What is the transition like for you?

MS: I’ve been here since mid-March, so a relatively short time so far. My impressions are also only of Beijing, since that’s where I’ve been. I have only been as far as an hour outside of the city. Beijing is massive. You can feel the weight of it. Construction continues non-stop, people are everywhere, cars are everywhere, it’s just go, go, go. Lately my eyes have been stinging from the pollution, but in May the weather was very nice. I didn’t witness the sandstorms this year, and I’d partly wanted to go through one. I like living in Beijing so far. Our apartment has three bedrooms, so my wife and I can each have an extra office and if guests come they can stay. All for only about $500 a month, which is quite a change from Monterey and Palo Alto in California where we were living before in one-bedroom apartments for over twice that. Food is cheap. We had four dishes at dinner last night for about $4 and were stuffed to the gills. I’m trying to learn some Chinese, but that’s going slowly. It’s also somewhat annoying to be looked at all the time. I’m blond and big and red faced, so I do stand out. We also live on the west side of the city, where there aren’t many foreigners, where it’s a bit more residential. It’s a bit hard to get to know Chinese people, or at least it has been so far, other than whom I’ve met through others. Being friendly and from the Midwest I always feel like saying “Ni hao!” to people I walk past at my apartment complex, but when I do they look at me really strange and don’t say anything back. I guess strangers don’t really say hello to each other here. Or maybe they just don’t know how to react. The transition for me was easier than it was for my wife, even though she is from Taiwan.

EI: Mr. Standaert, as you know... China, the US & India are in a standoff regarding global warming. It seems unless China and India agree to participate with the US in restricting “green house gasses,” the world’s greatest polluters will not be part of the solution. How does the average Chinese person see China’s role in global warming?

MS: I’m not a China expert; I only live here. And I’ve only been here a few months at that. A really interesting project for someone to do I think would be to interview as many 100-year old Chinese people as possible, to get their opinion on what they’ve seen through their lifetimes. As for your question, I do know that the three major polluters need to come together and hash out a plan of action, but it is going to be difficult. China and India are developing. The U.S. is developed. China and India think it is unfair that they can’t develop to the point where they’re better off and the U.S. doesn’t want to go down. I don’t think it has to be about this though if a system is devised where emissions are cut at the same time less polluting technologies are invested in and adopted. But time’s a wasting, isn’t it? I’m not sure the average Chinese person really gets an accurate picture of what is going on, either inside or outside of China to make a rational and well-rounded opinion on many matters. But that’s the cost of a one-party system and curtailing of free speech.

EI: Recently, China has made important alliances with South American countries securing future supplies of natural resources, especially petroleum. How is this development portrayed to the people of China?

MS: The State media portrays developments like this as benefiting a global ‘harmonious society’ and helping to continue economic progress in China. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. Every country does this. China needs resources to continue advancing and they have actually done a remarkable job of lifting millions of people out of poverty. That isn’t to say that I don’t have a lot of problems with the poverty of culture or intellectual freedom here, but still there is a lot of art being created. Sometimes the weight of repression results in diamonds. I don’t see why more political freedom would be a bad thing, and I think there are people in the leadership who would agree. It’s just that there are others holding this back. They are mostly afraid of turmoil and chaos, and China has a lot of experience with turmoil and chaos to the point where their fears are not unfounded. I just think they are a bit too worried about advances in political freedom than they should be though. If you have a one-party system though, that party doesn’t want to give up power. Even in a democracy, where you may have multiple parties, if one party dominates, things can go a bit awry as they did when the Republicans controlled the White House and both legislative branches. No one party should have that much power and checks and balances are there to curtail that power, but it doesn’t always work. Voting does work though, as we’ve seen. Some semblance of balance has been returned, but then it could swing wildly to the left again and you’d have the same thing. I’m becoming more “critically middle” as I get older I think.

EI: Would you recommend for new writers or journalists live in China to gain an understanding of the culture and acquire experience in the world of journalism where the government officially owns the media?

MS: If that is what they are interested in, yes. I’d like to be here a while to see for myself. Everything is so new to me right now that I haven’t formed solid opinions on a lot of things. It takes some time.

EI: Does the threat of censorship faced by journalists in China's for revealing corruption among high-level Chinese government officials, advocating political reforms, or reporting on other banned topics still exist?

MS: Yes. Certainly. The biggest hurdle I see right now, in my short time here, is self-censorship. People don’t want to cross the line because the line is always blurry and is never in the same place. One day you could be critical and get away with it, the next day you could write the same thing and it might land you in jail. This type of pressure has a way of eating into the work of journalists where they tend to hit below where they think that line is.

EI: Is it true that in Beijing, the newspaper widely cited as having the most journalists attacked is the daily tabloid Jinghua Shibao Beijing Times? The rumor has it that Beijing paper, Jinghua Shibao has earned this distinction by being the "most active media in Beijing, and being first on the scene" of breaking local news events.

MS: I’ve heard some really good things about this paper, and that they are able to get away with more intense and critical coverage. I just wish they weren’t an anomaly. They’ve been able to cover things in Beijing that other papers in the countryside couldn’t touch I think, things like the demolition of hutongs and protests by people evicted from their homes.

EI: Are there Chinese people who are not happy with the situation with regards to their government, and do a lot of people still protest against the government... more than they can endure?

MS: I’m sure there are. There are also many people who are satisfied with the current situation as long as they are making money (which many are, to greater degrees), raising their child (though some have more than one), able to buy the latest technology, see the latest movies (most times). It’s really hard to tell though. I’ve heard the most protests occur in China than anywhere else and there have been increasing numbers of them the past few years, mainly far from the camera’s eye. But I haven’t yet looked into this much yet.

EI: Would you comment on the differences between what you saw the first time you arrived in China and now? Do you have any moments of doubt that there’s something wrong with the perception of American’s overseas?

MS: It’s only been a couple months, so I really can’t comment. As for Chinese perceptions of Americans, I think overall it’s very positive. You’re likely to get more antagonism being an American living in Europe than you would in China. That could change on a dime though if something happened to drive relations down the drain, especially if something happened with the Taiwan situation.

EI: When you look back on your enormously successful career as a journalist here in the US, is there anything you would’ve done differently? If so, what and why? If not, how do you manage to move forward without regrets?

MS: It hasn’t been enormously successful, I don’t think. I’ve been lucky to be able to write for some quality magazines and papers and if I’d chosen a career path that saw me working my way up the ladder at a paper I probably wouldn’t have had the same opportunities. You make the leap. I don’t like to think about what I would have done differently, though I would probably have hired an outside editor to look over my non-fiction book I did for Soft Skull so I could have had another set of eyes on it. Moving forward isn’t hard, it’s the only thing you can do. Plus my memory isn’t as good as it once was, and I’m only 33. There are benefits to that.

EI: Who are some of the authors you keep returning to as a reader because of their ability to create vivid, three-dimensional characters?

MS: I’ve read a lot of Murakami the past couple of years. I really enjoyed reading a book by the British author Simon Ings called The Weight of Numbers, recently. I don’t come back to many writers multiple times, though I have read almost all of Hemingway, much of Bukowski, Dostoyevsky, and a few others.

EI: What would you tell those authors considering applying to an M.F.A. program? In your opinion how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

MS: It’s not important to have a writing degree unless you want to teach, and then if you don’t and have a few books published, you still might be able to teach. As for MFA’s themselves, I think they are great for the right person, but personally I think there are too many programs. The benefit is it gives you a couple of years to really concentrate on your work and get the opinions of others on your work and network a bit. You can also do this yourself if you move someplace cheap (China? Vietnam? Cambodia?) and spend a couple years writing and maybe have a group of readers online you can work with, though then you wouldn’t have the networking part of that. This is the cheaper way as well, and maybe more interesting in the long run.

EI: What's up next? Is there another book in the works? What can you share with us?

MS: Not sure exactly. I’m about to start in on some writing sketches and see where that takes me. I have a few ideas for books and some rough outlines. I do know I want to devote more time to fiction. I also wouldn’t mind a long non-fiction project about something in China, but that may be a year or two down the road. I’d like to get back into the fiction first. I still have a lot to learn myself and need to get back into the zone.

EI: Mr. Standaert, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

MS: Thanks, Mr. Johnson. It was a pleasure. My writing tip would be to try to write every day. This is something I’m trying to get myself to do more of.

To learn more about Michael Standaert, please visit him at:
http://www.piscokid.com/\
http://www.myspace.com/adventuresofthepiscokid