| Interview with Dorian Cirrone |
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.
Thanks for asking!
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?
I remember falling in love with words when I was about eight years old. I loved to rhyme – all the time.
Still do – Scooby-doo. Um, where was I? Later, I worked on my junior high newspaper, and in high
school I took a writing class and had a story published in the school newspaper. I got sidetracked for a
while, teaching dance, and later returned to writing as a journalist. But in order to be a really good
journalist, you have to be okay with people being mad at you for digging up the truth. I decided I’d
rather write fiction, which I hope isn’t making anyone mad at me.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
What are the lyrics to that song? “The road is long ...” That would be the theme song to my journey.
When my daughter was born, I began buying tons of children’s books. After reading them night after
night for a couple of years, I began to think, Hey, I could do this. Turned out I couldn’t. At least not
right away. I looked around for workshops and found a class at the library led by YA writer, Joyce
Sweeney. There, I was introduced to young adult books. Joyce ended up forming an ongoing
workshop with some of the writers in the class and mentored many of us. After several years, three
novels, tons of picture book manuscripts, poems, and stories, and finally giving up on a doctoral
dissertation, I sold my first novel, Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You. By the time it was published, my
daughter was already in college. Along the way I did publish poetry and essays in a few anthologies
and journals, so that helped keep me going.
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?
My new novel is titled Prom Kings and Drama Queens (HarperTeen). It’s about Emily Bennet, a junior
in high school, who becomes a matchmaker for the elderly woman next door so she can get close to
the woman’s hottie grandson. At the same time, she’s vying for the editor position of her school
newspaper with her nemesis, Daniel Cummings. When prom time arrives and Emily’s goals collide,
she has to summon her inner prom queen to do what’s right. Why you should read it? Handcuffs and
headlines, and hormones, oh my!
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I would have to say that the combination of my own experiences growing up and those of my children
has inspired me the most.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I’m married and have two children. My husband is very supportive of my writing. I have a daughter who
is a senior in college, who reads every word I write. She and I are currently writing a book together.
And I have a son who is a sophomore in high school, who I believe is thrilled about my writing career,
but doesn’t display the same enthusiasm as everyone else.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
I love German Chocolate Cake ice-cream from Baskin-Robbins, but it goes on “vacation” for several
months out of the year. Don’t ask me why it needs to go on vacation. Is it that hard to sit there in a
deep freezer all day? While it’s away, I have to rely on things like M&Ms with peanuts.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Oddly, the very first thing I do is make the bed. (I say, oddly, because I’m not that compulsive about
the neatness of the rest of my house.) Aside from the obvious bathroom activities, I then turn on the
TV news. Then, depending on how many times I’ve hit the snooze button, I either pour myself a cup of
coffee (courtesy of my husband who wakes up earlier) or wake up my son for school.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
The shocking thing is that while some of my rooms are totally disorganized and quite messy, my
closets are very well organized. I display my mess with pride, but hide my organization. It’s a sickness.
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 think I’d be aqua. It’s a soothing color – pleasing, but not in your face.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
I have to say that as I’ve gotten older, I find it hard to pay attention to cartoon characters. I know. It’s
weird. My kids tell me all the time. I’ve got some kind of animation ADD, like AADD. If I had to choose,
though, I think I’d go with that baby with the British accent on Family Guy.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
I had to go to my son for this one, and he said I’m most like Lisa Simpson because she’s a feminist;
she’s creative; and she’s intelligent. I’m guessing he wants a new cell phone.
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 think it would be the United States right after World War II, when the soldiers came home and the
country was filled with hope and optimism for the future.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I like all types of music, but I’d have to list Broadway show tunes and choral music as favorites (I loved
that show Clash of the Choirs that was on television in December). I’m also partial to the music played
by the duo Secret Garden. Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, and Linda Eder are three of my favorite
singers, and I’m hoping that Melinda Doolittle does a CD soon. That said, I don’t play music while I’m
writing because I get totally absorbed in what I’m doing and forget to listen.
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 have to admit, there are many T.V. shows I like: Lost, Heroes, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy,
Desperate Housewives, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Life, Journeyman, How I Met
Your Mother, Two and a Half Men. It’s a wonder I get anything done. Movies I’d watch over and over
are: Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, Shawshank Redemption, Dirty Dancing, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Dumb
and Dumber. How’s that for eclectic? The last movie I saw at the theater was Sweeney Todd and I
have to say that I had trouble suspending my disbelief. Spoiler … Didn’t anyone notice all these
people going in for a shave and never coming out? And what about that finger at the end? Was that
the only time a body part didn’t get ground up enough?
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
My mother used to always say to me, “This too shall pass.” It never seemed like such great wisdom,
but I’ve come to realize that everything passes – the good and the bad. So you should take the good
when it comes and relish it for as long as you can. Realize that the bad will pass eventually and that
although we may grieve over some losses forever, time makes things more bearable. And the good
will come around again.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I’m currently working on a middle-grade paranormal that takes place on the Jersey Shore, and my
daughter and I are writing a teen novel from the points of view of three best friends who suddenly
have to go to three different high schools after being together for ten years.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thank you!
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.
Thanks for asking!
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?
I remember falling in love with words when I was about eight years old. I loved to rhyme – all the time.
Still do – Scooby-doo. Um, where was I? Later, I worked on my junior high newspaper, and in high
school I took a writing class and had a story published in the school newspaper. I got sidetracked for a
while, teaching dance, and later returned to writing as a journalist. But in order to be a really good
journalist, you have to be okay with people being mad at you for digging up the truth. I decided I’d
rather write fiction, which I hope isn’t making anyone mad at me.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
What are the lyrics to that song? “The road is long ...” That would be the theme song to my journey.
When my daughter was born, I began buying tons of children’s books. After reading them night after
night for a couple of years, I began to think, Hey, I could do this. Turned out I couldn’t. At least not
right away. I looked around for workshops and found a class at the library led by YA writer, Joyce
Sweeney. There, I was introduced to young adult books. Joyce ended up forming an ongoing
workshop with some of the writers in the class and mentored many of us. After several years, three
novels, tons of picture book manuscripts, poems, and stories, and finally giving up on a doctoral
dissertation, I sold my first novel, Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You. By the time it was published, my
daughter was already in college. Along the way I did publish poetry and essays in a few anthologies
and journals, so that helped keep me going.
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?
My new novel is titled Prom Kings and Drama Queens (HarperTeen). It’s about Emily Bennet, a junior
in high school, who becomes a matchmaker for the elderly woman next door so she can get close to
the woman’s hottie grandson. At the same time, she’s vying for the editor position of her school
newspaper with her nemesis, Daniel Cummings. When prom time arrives and Emily’s goals collide,
she has to summon her inner prom queen to do what’s right. Why you should read it? Handcuffs and
headlines, and hormones, oh my!
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I would have to say that the combination of my own experiences growing up and those of my children
has inspired me the most.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I’m married and have two children. My husband is very supportive of my writing. I have a daughter who
is a senior in college, who reads every word I write. She and I are currently writing a book together.
And I have a son who is a sophomore in high school, who I believe is thrilled about my writing career,
but doesn’t display the same enthusiasm as everyone else.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
I love German Chocolate Cake ice-cream from Baskin-Robbins, but it goes on “vacation” for several
months out of the year. Don’t ask me why it needs to go on vacation. Is it that hard to sit there in a
deep freezer all day? While it’s away, I have to rely on things like M&Ms with peanuts.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Oddly, the very first thing I do is make the bed. (I say, oddly, because I’m not that compulsive about
the neatness of the rest of my house.) Aside from the obvious bathroom activities, I then turn on the
TV news. Then, depending on how many times I’ve hit the snooze button, I either pour myself a cup of
coffee (courtesy of my husband who wakes up earlier) or wake up my son for school.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
The shocking thing is that while some of my rooms are totally disorganized and quite messy, my
closets are very well organized. I display my mess with pride, but hide my organization. It’s a sickness.
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 think I’d be aqua. It’s a soothing color – pleasing, but not in your face.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
I have to say that as I’ve gotten older, I find it hard to pay attention to cartoon characters. I know. It’s
weird. My kids tell me all the time. I’ve got some kind of animation ADD, like AADD. If I had to choose,
though, I think I’d go with that baby with the British accent on Family Guy.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
I had to go to my son for this one, and he said I’m most like Lisa Simpson because she’s a feminist;
she’s creative; and she’s intelligent. I’m guessing he wants a new cell phone.
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 think it would be the United States right after World War II, when the soldiers came home and the
country was filled with hope and optimism for the future.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I like all types of music, but I’d have to list Broadway show tunes and choral music as favorites (I loved
that show Clash of the Choirs that was on television in December). I’m also partial to the music played
by the duo Secret Garden. Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, and Linda Eder are three of my favorite
singers, and I’m hoping that Melinda Doolittle does a CD soon. That said, I don’t play music while I’m
writing because I get totally absorbed in what I’m doing and forget to listen.
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 have to admit, there are many T.V. shows I like: Lost, Heroes, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy,
Desperate Housewives, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Life, Journeyman, How I Met
Your Mother, Two and a Half Men. It’s a wonder I get anything done. Movies I’d watch over and over
are: Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, Shawshank Redemption, Dirty Dancing, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Dumb
and Dumber. How’s that for eclectic? The last movie I saw at the theater was Sweeney Todd and I
have to say that I had trouble suspending my disbelief. Spoiler … Didn’t anyone notice all these
people going in for a shave and never coming out? And what about that finger at the end? Was that
the only time a body part didn’t get ground up enough?
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
My mother used to always say to me, “This too shall pass.” It never seemed like such great wisdom,
but I’ve come to realize that everything passes – the good and the bad. So you should take the good
when it comes and relish it for as long as you can. Realize that the bad will pass eventually and that
although we may grieve over some losses forever, time makes things more bearable. And the good
will come around again.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I’m currently working on a middle-grade paranormal that takes place on the Jersey Shore, and my
daughter and I are writing a teen novel from the points of view of three best friends who suddenly
have to go to three different high schools after being together for ten years.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thank you!
