| Interview with Susane Colasanti |
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?
When I was sixteen. But when I was twelve I knew I wanted to be a science teacher, so that came first. And I
thought since I was already going to be a teacher I couldn’t be a writer because you only get to pick one
career. But then when I was in grad school I was like, “Wait. Why can’t I do both?” So now I’m doing both.
Which is fun times, but occasionally I have to go to bed at 9:30 because it can also be exhausting times.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It was a long and winding road, but thankfully it led to a door that not only opened but had a lot of super
friendly neighbors on the other side. Rejection happens to everyone. But if you persevere and never give
up and don’t stop believing, you can make anything happen.
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?
When I read teen novels as a teen, I was always dying to know about the boy. Like, what’s the boy
thinking? Because everything was always from the girl’s perspective. So while I was reading a book, I would
always invent these scenarios about what the boy told his friends and what he did when he was alone in his
room that time and what he really meant when he said that and if he liked her as much as she thought he
did. That’s why I wrote WHEN IT HAPPENS from both the girl’s and the boy’s points of view. So if you want
to know both sides of a true love situation, you won’t be disappointed.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My strongest inspiration comes from ideas about what I wish my life were like in high school. Endless
summer nights where you never want to go home. Slow dancing to a song that means everything to you.
Finding surprise love letters in your bag. Actually, I experienced all of those things, but they were always
lacking. They were never quite the way I wanted them to be. So now I take this nostalgia for the high school
life I never had and make it a reality for my characters.
My boyfriend, Pierre, also inspires me a lot. Because he totally loves me and makes me a better person and
I’m really happy when I’m with him. And he’s extremely funny in this totally corny, random way. And he takes
care of me and protects me from these nasty cow rats that run around at night. And when he calls me and
I’m like, “Hello?” he’s like, “Ravishing Susane.” So all of this yin-yang energy filters into my current writing, all
the love, all the passion.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Dude. I can only pick one? Because when I’m stressed or depressed, I go straight for the chocolate fix. I’m
particularly interested in chocolate icing, preferably on chocolate cake, although chocolate cake is especially
good with vanilla icing. Or what’s really good is that fluffy pink old-school birthday cupcake icing, like in first
grade when you get a plastic smiley face on top. Yeah, you know what? Just like any kind of quality cake
with icing. But it has to be a really big piece.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
1. Remind myself why I picked a job where you have to get up at the crack of dawn.
2. Try to remember what happened in my last dream.
3. Determine if I’m going to the gym later, in which case there may be a big piece of cake in my immediate
future.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me
the most?
Okay. I’m like the most organized person I know. We’re talking Container Store style closet schematics
here. But this probably wouldn’t surprise you, because I don’t come off all messy or anything. Since I live in
downtown Manhattan, I have absolutely no space. There’s no attic or basement. There is, however, one
closet. And it’s totally tricked out to fit everything in. And then I made another closet in my bedroom, which
was totally Bob Villa of me. Not that any of this answers the question.
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?
There’s this periwinkle type lavender which looks like it radiates this amazing twilight hue. I feel like I radiate
energy, usually positive, like this color. And weeping willow, by the way.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Actually, I’m more into clay characters, like Gumby & Pokey and Wallace & Gromit and Mr. Bill. I guess this
wouldn’t count, either, but I love the fox from THE LITTLE PRINCE. All with his big bushy tail looking all big.
Also, some of my students tell me I look like this one particular cartoon character, but I forget her name.
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 miss the 70’s a lot. All that “Free To Be You and Me” and “The Magic Garden” and mood rings and hippie
music and brown clothes and bean bag chairs and lava lamps. I don’t know…there’s just something
comforting about it all. And if I were beamed to Italy during that time, it would be super cool, because then I
could see if the experience would live up to my expectations.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I absolutely have to listen to music when I’m writing. Music takes me where I need to go. I like 70’s and 80’s
stuff, like James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Sting & The Police, and Led Zeppelin. Bands like R.E.M. and The
Cure are essential pieces of WHEN IT HAPPENS because they were so essential during my own high school
trauma…music always made me feel better during heinous times. My favorite contemporary music is stuff
from Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and The White Stripes. Any music that touches my soul
and transports me to another plane of existence is awesome.
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 watch DVDs on my computer and I am a “24” freak. Like, I’ll pretend to be Jack Bauer and my friend Jim
pretends to be Tony and we run around yelling lines from our favorite episodes and acting out key scenes. I
also love “The Daily Show.” But “Dawson’s Creek” is my show. I have all six seasons and every episode
makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
If I love a movie, I’ll watch it over and over until I pretty much have the whole thing memorized. Movies I’ve
seen at least five times: “Garden State,” “The Station Agent,” “The Good Girl,” “The Safety Of Objects,”
“Moonlight Mile,” “High Fidelity,” “Say Anything…,” “crazy/beautiful,” and “13 Going On 30.” I just saw
“Thank You For Smoking” and it rocked so hard that I hardly noticed I was in the second row.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Always follow your heart. It’s the only way you can create the life you want. Your heart’s desires always
know.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
My second book is about a week in the lives of three New York City teens. It’s about kids discovering who
they really are and realizing how they can finally be happy. It’s about being the architect of your own destiny.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
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?
When I was sixteen. But when I was twelve I knew I wanted to be a science teacher, so that came first. And I
thought since I was already going to be a teacher I couldn’t be a writer because you only get to pick one
career. But then when I was in grad school I was like, “Wait. Why can’t I do both?” So now I’m doing both.
Which is fun times, but occasionally I have to go to bed at 9:30 because it can also be exhausting times.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It was a long and winding road, but thankfully it led to a door that not only opened but had a lot of super
friendly neighbors on the other side. Rejection happens to everyone. But if you persevere and never give
up and don’t stop believing, you can make anything happen.
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?
When I read teen novels as a teen, I was always dying to know about the boy. Like, what’s the boy
thinking? Because everything was always from the girl’s perspective. So while I was reading a book, I would
always invent these scenarios about what the boy told his friends and what he did when he was alone in his
room that time and what he really meant when he said that and if he liked her as much as she thought he
did. That’s why I wrote WHEN IT HAPPENS from both the girl’s and the boy’s points of view. So if you want
to know both sides of a true love situation, you won’t be disappointed.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My strongest inspiration comes from ideas about what I wish my life were like in high school. Endless
summer nights where you never want to go home. Slow dancing to a song that means everything to you.
Finding surprise love letters in your bag. Actually, I experienced all of those things, but they were always
lacking. They were never quite the way I wanted them to be. So now I take this nostalgia for the high school
life I never had and make it a reality for my characters.
My boyfriend, Pierre, also inspires me a lot. Because he totally loves me and makes me a better person and
I’m really happy when I’m with him. And he’s extremely funny in this totally corny, random way. And he takes
care of me and protects me from these nasty cow rats that run around at night. And when he calls me and
I’m like, “Hello?” he’s like, “Ravishing Susane.” So all of this yin-yang energy filters into my current writing, all
the love, all the passion.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Dude. I can only pick one? Because when I’m stressed or depressed, I go straight for the chocolate fix. I’m
particularly interested in chocolate icing, preferably on chocolate cake, although chocolate cake is especially
good with vanilla icing. Or what’s really good is that fluffy pink old-school birthday cupcake icing, like in first
grade when you get a plastic smiley face on top. Yeah, you know what? Just like any kind of quality cake
with icing. But it has to be a really big piece.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
1. Remind myself why I picked a job where you have to get up at the crack of dawn.
2. Try to remember what happened in my last dream.
3. Determine if I’m going to the gym later, in which case there may be a big piece of cake in my immediate
future.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me
the most?
Okay. I’m like the most organized person I know. We’re talking Container Store style closet schematics
here. But this probably wouldn’t surprise you, because I don’t come off all messy or anything. Since I live in
downtown Manhattan, I have absolutely no space. There’s no attic or basement. There is, however, one
closet. And it’s totally tricked out to fit everything in. And then I made another closet in my bedroom, which
was totally Bob Villa of me. Not that any of this answers the question.
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?
There’s this periwinkle type lavender which looks like it radiates this amazing twilight hue. I feel like I radiate
energy, usually positive, like this color. And weeping willow, by the way.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Actually, I’m more into clay characters, like Gumby & Pokey and Wallace & Gromit and Mr. Bill. I guess this
wouldn’t count, either, but I love the fox from THE LITTLE PRINCE. All with his big bushy tail looking all big.
Also, some of my students tell me I look like this one particular cartoon character, but I forget her name.
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 miss the 70’s a lot. All that “Free To Be You and Me” and “The Magic Garden” and mood rings and hippie
music and brown clothes and bean bag chairs and lava lamps. I don’t know…there’s just something
comforting about it all. And if I were beamed to Italy during that time, it would be super cool, because then I
could see if the experience would live up to my expectations.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I absolutely have to listen to music when I’m writing. Music takes me where I need to go. I like 70’s and 80’s
stuff, like James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Sting & The Police, and Led Zeppelin. Bands like R.E.M. and The
Cure are essential pieces of WHEN IT HAPPENS because they were so essential during my own high school
trauma…music always made me feel better during heinous times. My favorite contemporary music is stuff
from Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and The White Stripes. Any music that touches my soul
and transports me to another plane of existence is awesome.
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 watch DVDs on my computer and I am a “24” freak. Like, I’ll pretend to be Jack Bauer and my friend Jim
pretends to be Tony and we run around yelling lines from our favorite episodes and acting out key scenes. I
also love “The Daily Show.” But “Dawson’s Creek” is my show. I have all six seasons and every episode
makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
If I love a movie, I’ll watch it over and over until I pretty much have the whole thing memorized. Movies I’ve
seen at least five times: “Garden State,” “The Station Agent,” “The Good Girl,” “The Safety Of Objects,”
“Moonlight Mile,” “High Fidelity,” “Say Anything…,” “crazy/beautiful,” and “13 Going On 30.” I just saw
“Thank You For Smoking” and it rocked so hard that I hardly noticed I was in the second row.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Always follow your heart. It’s the only way you can create the life you want. Your heart’s desires always
know.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
My second book is about a week in the lives of three New York City teens. It’s about kids discovering who
they really are and realizing how they can finally be happy. It’s about being the architect of your own destiny.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
