| Interview with Tish Cohen |
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?
I think I knew it as a child. I was a voracious reader and loved to illustrate. One day I drew what I
believed was a perfect Snoopy. I knew down to my toes that I was meant to write a book about this
character. What I didn’t know down to my toes was that Charles Schulz’s lawyers would not have
approved. Anyway, writing a book scared me, so I hid the drawing and ran downstairs for lunch.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It was a long process. I wrote about five children’s manuscripts and three adult manuscripts before I
finally got published.
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 next book is called The One and Only Zoe Lama and it comes out in July. In this story, Zoe
Monday Costello stays home with Chicken Pox for a week and comes back to school armed to fix
everything that went wrong while she was gone. When she finds out another girl, a Sixer named
Devon Sweeney, has stepped up with her own set of rules in Zoe’s absence, well, let’s just say Zoe is
not amused. And it doesn’t help matters that Devon’s legs are as long as a colt’s or that she never
has a single golden hair out of place.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My best friend’s daughter inspired the character of the Zoe Lama because of her unbelievable ability
to handle every situation, including how to get five kids into the Science Center when both air-headed
mothers have forgotten their wallets!
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I have two boys: a twelve-year-old and a fifteen-year-old. Their escapades at school are a constant
source of new material for me, as are Zoe Lama readers, my niece, my nephew, my neighbors…
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Do you have to ask? Hershey’s chocolate chips—milk chocolate.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Pull the pillow off my head. Make lunches. Do yoga.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
Hmm, I suppose you’d be surprised I have a huge stash of drawings and paintings I did years ago that
I now hide away in the basement. And that I have my own work bench for weird paint projects and
furniture refinishing I get myself involved in. You’d also find a jar of peanut butter down there because
I have a fear of it, so my kids can only eat it in the basement. I know, they’ll need a lot of therapy one
day.
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?
White - because it’s not more complex than people think. A good white is made up of any number of
colors you have to look very closely to really see. But only those willing to take the time to learn will
ever really see what white is all about. And white kind of likes it that way.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Snoopy.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
Snoopy. I used to live in my grandfather’s leather war helmet and flying goggles, I still like to annoy my
sister (who looks like Lucy and hates dogs), and I spend way too much time at a keyboard. The only
real way you can tell me and Snoopy apart is I don’t tend to write on my roof.
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?
Jane Austen’s England. I adore the clothes, the genteel way of life and all the dashing men.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I listen to anything from The Ramones to Elton John to Joss Stone. While I write, I listen to whatever
music suits the book. Or, if I’m having trouble staying focused, nothing at all.
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 don’t watch too much TV, but I do love to watch The Office, Family Guy, Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Boston Legal. Okay, I’ll admit, I also watch Gossip Girl. Last movie in a theater was called Once by
John Carney. Loved it.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Figure out what you LOVE to do and never stop doing it. Not much will bring you more happiness.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I’m working on future Zoe Lama books, and my next novel for adults, Inside Out Girl comes out in
August. And I’m also working on a YA novel I’m pretty excited about. But that one’s still a secret…shhh.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for having me! And I’d like to invite your readers to drop by www.thezoelama.com to ask Zoe
advice!
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?
I think I knew it as a child. I was a voracious reader and loved to illustrate. One day I drew what I
believed was a perfect Snoopy. I knew down to my toes that I was meant to write a book about this
character. What I didn’t know down to my toes was that Charles Schulz’s lawyers would not have
approved. Anyway, writing a book scared me, so I hid the drawing and ran downstairs for lunch.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It was a long process. I wrote about five children’s manuscripts and three adult manuscripts before I
finally got published.
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 next book is called The One and Only Zoe Lama and it comes out in July. In this story, Zoe
Monday Costello stays home with Chicken Pox for a week and comes back to school armed to fix
everything that went wrong while she was gone. When she finds out another girl, a Sixer named
Devon Sweeney, has stepped up with her own set of rules in Zoe’s absence, well, let’s just say Zoe is
not amused. And it doesn’t help matters that Devon’s legs are as long as a colt’s or that she never
has a single golden hair out of place.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My best friend’s daughter inspired the character of the Zoe Lama because of her unbelievable ability
to handle every situation, including how to get five kids into the Science Center when both air-headed
mothers have forgotten their wallets!
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I have two boys: a twelve-year-old and a fifteen-year-old. Their escapades at school are a constant
source of new material for me, as are Zoe Lama readers, my niece, my nephew, my neighbors…
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Do you have to ask? Hershey’s chocolate chips—milk chocolate.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Pull the pillow off my head. Make lunches. Do yoga.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
Hmm, I suppose you’d be surprised I have a huge stash of drawings and paintings I did years ago that
I now hide away in the basement. And that I have my own work bench for weird paint projects and
furniture refinishing I get myself involved in. You’d also find a jar of peanut butter down there because
I have a fear of it, so my kids can only eat it in the basement. I know, they’ll need a lot of therapy one
day.
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?
White - because it’s not more complex than people think. A good white is made up of any number of
colors you have to look very closely to really see. But only those willing to take the time to learn will
ever really see what white is all about. And white kind of likes it that way.
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Snoopy.
Which cartoon character is most like you?
Snoopy. I used to live in my grandfather’s leather war helmet and flying goggles, I still like to annoy my
sister (who looks like Lucy and hates dogs), and I spend way too much time at a keyboard. The only
real way you can tell me and Snoopy apart is I don’t tend to write on my roof.
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?
Jane Austen’s England. I adore the clothes, the genteel way of life and all the dashing men.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I listen to anything from The Ramones to Elton John to Joss Stone. While I write, I listen to whatever
music suits the book. Or, if I’m having trouble staying focused, nothing at all.
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 don’t watch too much TV, but I do love to watch The Office, Family Guy, Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Boston Legal. Okay, I’ll admit, I also watch Gossip Girl. Last movie in a theater was called Once by
John Carney. Loved it.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Figure out what you LOVE to do and never stop doing it. Not much will bring you more happiness.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I’m working on future Zoe Lama books, and my next novel for adults, Inside Out Girl comes out in
August. And I’m also working on a YA novel I’m pretty excited about. But that one’s still a secret…shhh.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for having me! And I’d like to invite your readers to drop by www.thezoelama.com to ask Zoe
advice!