MAILBAG
Friends! As promised, this post is all about answering YOUR questions. Your questions were quite numerous, and very good. In fact, they were so numerous and good that I could only answer some of them. This batch of answers includes questions about YOU, my general lifestyle, Suite Scarlett, and what would happen if my characters got loose.
I enjoyed answering questions so much that I think I kind of want to do it again. In fact, maybe I will designate October as ASK MJ month.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU
Just so I can know how to dress to match your mental image of your audience: are you picturing the men in your audience along the lines of Richard E. Grant doing a turn as Miss Marple's novelist nephew -- blazers, cravats, pomaded hair with a razor-sharp part, that sort of thing?
That is precisely right! In fact, I will accept any Richard E. Grant, including insane, lighter fluid-drinking Richard E. Grant from Withnail and I, fancy Richard E. Grant from Gosford Park, and even Spiceworld Richard E. Grant. I don’t want you to feel limited.
This could be YOU!
What song were we playing? I can get about halfway through Moonlight Sonata, and I don't smoke or drink, so I was just curious.
It sounds like “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter to me. But it could also be this.
LIFESTYLE
What is the craziest thing that you have ever done to procrastinate when you were supposed to be wriitng a book?
Um . . . I would have to say it was probably this. I had all this pink plastic wrap, a boat, and a deadline. I managed to get Christo to say he did it, so it sort of worked out.
It just kind of happened.
As a fellow ABBA fan, I have to ask, what's your favorite song?
You are killing me. This is like Sophie’s Choice. But I will try to answer.
When I was a tiny mj, it was “What about Livingston?” from Waterloo. I went to find a videovideo of it, because there seems to be no end to the depths of bizarre Abba footage on Youtube. I couldn’t find a real video, but I did manage to find this montage, which might just be the most wonderful thing I’ve ever discovered. Part interview, part history channel episode, part scrapbook, part documentary on fishing, part just disturbing thing . . . I have no idea who put this together. Whoever you are, you are a genius, and never, ever, ever come near me.
But I really don’t have a favorite. It’s impossible. I’ll tell you what’s not my favorite: Mamma Mia. I am so over Mamma Mia.
What’s your favorite things to do with your friends when you’re not writing?
I am so glad you asked this! Some people think writers lives are boring and we do nothing but sit at our desks. I have even said things to this effect. But I was lying.
For example, I typically go hot air ballooning with Jay-Z and Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Thursdays. We float over Manhattan together and talk computers, books, and hip hop. (You’d be surprised by who’s talking about what!) Of course, our balloon is made by Microsoft, so we tend to crash a lot. Bill has been promising us a new balloon for months, but it still hasn’t arrived. It usually falls to Jay-Z to keep us aloft on his sweet rhymes.
My hot air ballooning friends, Bill and Jay. I took this picture right after we “landed” on the top of the Woolworth Building.
SUITE SCARLETT QUESTIONS
Can you show us the cover for Suite Scarlett?
Hopefully soon. It’s being finalized now. I can tell you that the model was chosen to look like Scarlett, is dressed in an outfit from the book, and has TWO eyes. What’s even cooler—the art director did some research and found an Art Deco hotel just like the Hopewell! (Except, successful and not falling apart.) That’s where the shoot was done. For now, I will use this as the stand-in cover.
Suite Scarlett
Questions: 1. The "large family" that Scarlett is in has four kids? pff. I mean, I guess that's probably large to some people... but there are seven kids in my family. Not that I think you should write the next "Cheaper by the Dozen," but I don't know if 4 is large. 2. How many siblings do you have?
To me, four kids might as well be a million. I’m an only child. (Except, of course, for my brothers John, Hank, and Tom, but Tom and I left home to join the circus so young, I often forget what sibling interaction is like.) (If you don’t watch Brotherhood2.0, then this will make no sense, and you should just revert to my previous answer about being an only child.)
Also, in New York, being one of four is kind of rare. People in Manhattan often keep their families small—space is a problem. Unless you are talking about mice families, which I don't think we were.
I don't mean to be difficult, but how can one be the middle child in a family of four children?
Scarlett is the third of four, putting her in the general area of “middle.” At 15, she is also the middle point, agewise, between the oldest (Spencer, at 19) and the youngest (Marlene, at 11). It’s possible that I should have said she is the “median” child, but that just sounds weird.
i will so have to read Suite Scarlett...when is it supposed to come out?
May. The exact date has not been announced. You should really just block off the whole month to be ready.
When you started writing Suite Scarlett did you already know it was going to be a series? How does that change the way you approach your books? Or does it? With series... it seems like the biggest difference would be the ending. One thing I love about novels is that by their nature they have bittersweet endings (and sometimes just bitterbitter), because no matter how happy everything may turn out, you're still saying goodbye to these characters you fell in love with. (hopefully fell in love with.)
I knew pretty soon after starting, actually. The characters arrived with a lot of information, carrying long stories. It was clearly much more than one book’s worth. As I was writing and the characters were developing, their future stories started to grow right along with them. So I have plot maps and files on all of them.
The major change I made in terms of my normal procedure was that I planted information in Suite Scarlett that I knew I wouldn’t need for at least a book or two. Then, like a sleeper cell, it will burst to life! The nice part is your can resolve certain parts of the story, while others are still active.
So far, I am very much loving it. I mean, you go to a lot of trouble to make a world and the characters . . . I often miss them when I’m done.
BOOKS ON THE LOOSE
Your characters have suddenly and magically sprung to life, and at first you are, understandably, a bit shaken, but this eventually winds down into a more stable feeling of love and affection for these beings from your imagination. A few months later and you're on vacation with all of your Main Male Characters (You call them your 'M&Ms', for kicks) in some very romantic setting, be it a beach or a European discotheque, and they all suddenly (they are very big with the doing of things suddenly) proposition you. You can only choose one. Which will it be?
Okay, so this means that I am trapped on an island with Pete (from They Key to the Golden Firebird), Parker (from The Bermudez Triangle), Keith (from 13 Little Blue Envelopes), Owen (from Devilish), Aidan (from Girl At Sea), and possibly with Spencer and Eric from Suite Scarlett. You don’t know Spencer or Eric yet, so let’s just say that they are “back at the hotel.”
I guess the first thing I need to get over is whether I should be dating any of them at all. I’m not sure that it’s smart to date anyone you made and whose destiny you completely control. I mean, when I say jump, they really say “How high?” Actually, they say whatever I want them to say and jump however high I want them to jump. All their action belong to ME.
But, okay . . . let’s take this scenario and see where it goes. First, I’m not sure how they’re all going to get along. Pete and Parker would be fine together. Keith would try to be everyone’s friend, but this would probably make Aidan ill at ease. Owen would keep his distance and scan the area for demonic activity. (If Spencer did proposition me—which he might—it would probably involve knocking himself backwards off a pier or something. And truth be told, I am most likely to end up with him, as he and I are kindred spirits.)
I think Keith is most likely to make a direct approach. Or he might write a play for me. Or really, he would write a play for himself but claim it was for me. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if Keith and Aidan didn’t end up in some kind of snark-off. Pete would probably do something to rig the lights as a “joke.” Parker’s car would die on the other side of the island. And Owen would just wait it out, because Owen can wait a really, really, really long time.
The more I think about it, the more I think I might just step back and see what they do to each other.
Got any more? Let's hear them!
I enjoyed answering questions so much that I think I kind of want to do it again. In fact, maybe I will designate October as ASK MJ month.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU
Just so I can know how to dress to match your mental image of your audience: are you picturing the men in your audience along the lines of Richard E. Grant doing a turn as Miss Marple's novelist nephew -- blazers, cravats, pomaded hair with a razor-sharp part, that sort of thing?
That is precisely right! In fact, I will accept any Richard E. Grant, including insane, lighter fluid-drinking Richard E. Grant from Withnail and I, fancy Richard E. Grant from Gosford Park, and even Spiceworld Richard E. Grant. I don’t want you to feel limited.
What song were we playing? I can get about halfway through Moonlight Sonata, and I don't smoke or drink, so I was just curious.
It sounds like “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter to me. But it could also be this.
LIFESTYLE
What is the craziest thing that you have ever done to procrastinate when you were supposed to be wriitng a book?
Um . . . I would have to say it was probably this. I had all this pink plastic wrap, a boat, and a deadline. I managed to get Christo to say he did it, so it sort of worked out.
As a fellow ABBA fan, I have to ask, what's your favorite song?
You are killing me. This is like Sophie’s Choice. But I will try to answer.
When I was a tiny mj, it was “What about Livingston?” from Waterloo. I went to find a videovideo of it, because there seems to be no end to the depths of bizarre Abba footage on Youtube. I couldn’t find a real video, but I did manage to find this montage, which might just be the most wonderful thing I’ve ever discovered. Part interview, part history channel episode, part scrapbook, part documentary on fishing, part just disturbing thing . . . I have no idea who put this together. Whoever you are, you are a genius, and never, ever, ever come near me.
But I really don’t have a favorite. It’s impossible. I’ll tell you what’s not my favorite: Mamma Mia. I am so over Mamma Mia.
What’s your favorite things to do with your friends when you’re not writing?
I am so glad you asked this! Some people think writers lives are boring and we do nothing but sit at our desks. I have even said things to this effect. But I was lying.
For example, I typically go hot air ballooning with Jay-Z and Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Thursdays. We float over Manhattan together and talk computers, books, and hip hop. (You’d be surprised by who’s talking about what!) Of course, our balloon is made by Microsoft, so we tend to crash a lot. Bill has been promising us a new balloon for months, but it still hasn’t arrived. It usually falls to Jay-Z to keep us aloft on his sweet rhymes.
SUITE SCARLETT QUESTIONS
Can you show us the cover for Suite Scarlett?
Hopefully soon. It’s being finalized now. I can tell you that the model was chosen to look like Scarlett, is dressed in an outfit from the book, and has TWO eyes. What’s even cooler—the art director did some research and found an Art Deco hotel just like the Hopewell! (Except, successful and not falling apart.) That’s where the shoot was done. For now, I will use this as the stand-in cover.
Questions: 1. The "large family" that Scarlett is in has four kids? pff. I mean, I guess that's probably large to some people... but there are seven kids in my family. Not that I think you should write the next "Cheaper by the Dozen," but I don't know if 4 is large. 2. How many siblings do you have?
To me, four kids might as well be a million. I’m an only child. (Except, of course, for my brothers John, Hank, and Tom, but Tom and I left home to join the circus so young, I often forget what sibling interaction is like.) (If you don’t watch Brotherhood2.0, then this will make no sense, and you should just revert to my previous answer about being an only child.)
Also, in New York, being one of four is kind of rare. People in Manhattan often keep their families small—space is a problem. Unless you are talking about mice families, which I don't think we were.
I don't mean to be difficult, but how can one be the middle child in a family of four children?
Scarlett is the third of four, putting her in the general area of “middle.” At 15, she is also the middle point, agewise, between the oldest (Spencer, at 19) and the youngest (Marlene, at 11). It’s possible that I should have said she is the “median” child, but that just sounds weird.
i will so have to read Suite Scarlett...when is it supposed to come out?
May. The exact date has not been announced. You should really just block off the whole month to be ready.
When you started writing Suite Scarlett did you already know it was going to be a series? How does that change the way you approach your books? Or does it? With series... it seems like the biggest difference would be the ending. One thing I love about novels is that by their nature they have bittersweet endings (and sometimes just bitterbitter), because no matter how happy everything may turn out, you're still saying goodbye to these characters you fell in love with. (hopefully fell in love with.)
I knew pretty soon after starting, actually. The characters arrived with a lot of information, carrying long stories. It was clearly much more than one book’s worth. As I was writing and the characters were developing, their future stories started to grow right along with them. So I have plot maps and files on all of them.
The major change I made in terms of my normal procedure was that I planted information in Suite Scarlett that I knew I wouldn’t need for at least a book or two. Then, like a sleeper cell, it will burst to life! The nice part is your can resolve certain parts of the story, while others are still active.
So far, I am very much loving it. I mean, you go to a lot of trouble to make a world and the characters . . . I often miss them when I’m done.
BOOKS ON THE LOOSE
Your characters have suddenly and magically sprung to life, and at first you are, understandably, a bit shaken, but this eventually winds down into a more stable feeling of love and affection for these beings from your imagination. A few months later and you're on vacation with all of your Main Male Characters (You call them your 'M&Ms', for kicks) in some very romantic setting, be it a beach or a European discotheque, and they all suddenly (they are very big with the doing of things suddenly) proposition you. You can only choose one. Which will it be?
Okay, so this means that I am trapped on an island with Pete (from They Key to the Golden Firebird), Parker (from The Bermudez Triangle), Keith (from 13 Little Blue Envelopes), Owen (from Devilish), Aidan (from Girl At Sea), and possibly with Spencer and Eric from Suite Scarlett. You don’t know Spencer or Eric yet, so let’s just say that they are “back at the hotel.”
I guess the first thing I need to get over is whether I should be dating any of them at all. I’m not sure that it’s smart to date anyone you made and whose destiny you completely control. I mean, when I say jump, they really say “How high?” Actually, they say whatever I want them to say and jump however high I want them to jump. All their action belong to ME.
But, okay . . . let’s take this scenario and see where it goes. First, I’m not sure how they’re all going to get along. Pete and Parker would be fine together. Keith would try to be everyone’s friend, but this would probably make Aidan ill at ease. Owen would keep his distance and scan the area for demonic activity. (If Spencer did proposition me—which he might—it would probably involve knocking himself backwards off a pier or something. And truth be told, I am most likely to end up with him, as he and I are kindred spirits.)
I think Keith is most likely to make a direct approach. Or he might write a play for me. Or really, he would write a play for himself but claim it was for me. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if Keith and Aidan didn’t end up in some kind of snark-off. Pete would probably do something to rig the lights as a “joke.” Parker’s car would die on the other side of the island. And Owen would just wait it out, because Owen can wait a really, really, really long time.
The more I think about it, the more I think I might just step back and see what they do to each other.
Got any more? Let's hear them!
Labels: hot air ballooning, questions, Suite Scarlett
posted by Maureen at
1:37 AM
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