| Interview with Deborah Blumenthal |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com!
My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time
out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers
and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
My situation is kind of unusual because I write for newspapers, do picture books and young adult novels
as well as adult novels. I really never thought of writing as a career though until I married a journalist.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
The first book that I wrote was called "The New York Book of Beauty." It was a guidebook to the best
beauty resources of New York City. I wrote it after I left my job as the beauty columnist for The New York
Times Magazine.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one
thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
It’s called “Fat Camp,” and it’s the story of an overweight teenager and how a summer at camp transforms
her life.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My inspiration comes from the world around me. I can’t point to one person or thing.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Yes, my husband and two daughters are great supporters of my work.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
I love vanilla soy yogurt by Silk. And I totally love all kinds of bread.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Wash up, check e-mail, and have breakfast.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
Probably the view. My closet has a window that overlooks a nice green backyard.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
I love blue. Ocean, sky, the obvious reasons.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Honestly, I don’t follow cartoons. Snoopy is pretty cute though.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I’m totally happy living in Houston, Texas, right now. I don’t wish I lived someplace else or at any other time.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I’m a big country music fan. I love Travis Tritt, Willie Nelson, and Keith Urban. And no, I can’t concentrate
if there’s music on.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
I’m a big fan of the Sopranos on HBO. The last movie was Brokeback Mountain. I loved it.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Read as much as you can.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I’m in the process of trying to sell another young adult novel, and a completed adult novel. And in the fall
of 2007, HarperCollins will be publishing a picture book of mine called Charlie Hits it Big. Another picture
book called Black Diamond has been sold to Knopf/Crown, but we don’t have a pub date yet.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time
out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers
and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
My situation is kind of unusual because I write for newspapers, do picture books and young adult novels
as well as adult novels. I really never thought of writing as a career though until I married a journalist.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
The first book that I wrote was called "The New York Book of Beauty." It was a guidebook to the best
beauty resources of New York City. I wrote it after I left my job as the beauty columnist for The New York
Times Magazine.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one
thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
It’s called “Fat Camp,” and it’s the story of an overweight teenager and how a summer at camp transforms
her life.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My inspiration comes from the world around me. I can’t point to one person or thing.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Yes, my husband and two daughters are great supporters of my work.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
I love vanilla soy yogurt by Silk. And I totally love all kinds of bread.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Wash up, check e-mail, and have breakfast.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
Probably the view. My closet has a window that overlooks a nice green backyard.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
I love blue. Ocean, sky, the obvious reasons.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Honestly, I don’t follow cartoons. Snoopy is pretty cute though.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I’m totally happy living in Houston, Texas, right now. I don’t wish I lived someplace else or at any other time.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I’m a big country music fan. I love Travis Tritt, Willie Nelson, and Keith Urban. And no, I can’t concentrate
if there’s music on.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
I’m a big fan of the Sopranos on HBO. The last movie was Brokeback Mountain. I loved it.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Read as much as you can.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I’m in the process of trying to sell another young adult novel, and a completed adult novel. And in the fall
of 2007, HarperCollins will be publishing a picture book of mine called Charlie Hits it Big. Another picture
book called Black Diamond has been sold to Knopf/Crown, but we don’t have a pub date yet.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
