| Interview with MaryJanice Davidson & Anthony Alongi |
**Side note from "The Genius": If you're wondering why I went with the "girlie" background for
this husband/wife interview, it's for one reason, and one reason only: MaryJanice's name is
listed first on the books. If you have a problem with that, Anth... I mean, anyone, I suppose you
should take it up with the publisher.
Now, on to the interview....
this husband/wife interview, it's for one reason, and one reason only: MaryJanice's name is
listed first on the books. If you have a problem with that, Anth... I mean, anyone, I suppose you
should take it up with the publisher.
Now, on to the interview....
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.
You're welcome, Jen. Thanks for interviewing us! Anthony's comments will be in red, and MaryJanice's
will be in blue. Anthony came up with this scheme, mainly to drive his wife nuts. It's working. See how
easy it is to tell us apart?
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?
Anthony's writing career began in third grade, when he "published" a classroom newsletter and kids
actually paid ten cents to read it. That got me off of drawing dinosaurs (badly) and got me into writing
(slightly less badly).
As for me, MaryJanice, I – wait. I'm still stuck on this blue thing. Is this completely necessary? When I was
thirteen. I figured if I stuck with it long enough, I could eventually make a living at it. But I figured I’d be an
old lady by the time that happened, not in my early thirties!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
Well, there were years and years of rejection slips (I started serious submitting when I was in my early
twenties.) And after being rejected by every major house in New York (St. Martins, Harlequin, Silhouette,
Little Brown, Warner, Dorchester, etc.) I turned to submitting to e-publishers (who put out e-
books…books that you can print out yourself, download to a palm pilot, or read on the computer
screen). I wrote for those publishers for a year or two, never dreaming that New York publishers were
keeping an eye on e-books. Cindy Hwang (Berkley Publishing, a subsidiary of Penguin Putnam) read my
e-book UNDEAD AND UNWED, called me up, and offered to buy the print rights. Naturally I assumed it
was a cruel joke from one of my wicked friends, but we eventually cleared the whole thing up.
(Awkward!) And the rest, as they say, is history.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release.
Berkley is re-releasing JENNIFER SCALES AND THE ANCIENT FURNACE and JENNIFER SCALES AND
THE MESSENGER OF LIGHT as Fantasy imprints. The JENNIFER SCALES series was originally young
adult, but so many adults of all ages loved the books that Berkley decided to re-release them as
Fantasy books. I’ve also go several anthologies and single titles coming out this year (UNDEAD AND
UNEASY; another Fred the Mermaid book, DEMON’S DELIGHT, etc.)
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?
JENNIFER SCALES AND THE ANCIENT FURNACE is about a teenager who finds out she must turn into
a dragon with every crescent moon. From that point forward, she kicks ass. This young woman is a blast
to write.
Jennifer Scales is unlike most heroines. She’s 14 and going through some changes. Wings, scales, a
nose horn. You know, the usual adolescent stuff. Also, her folks are weirdly secretive, the mayor is
probably a sociopath, and there are creatures that go bump in the night who are much, much worse
than dragons…also, she’s trying like heck to make varsity soccer. Should be a busy school year!
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
For the JENNIFER SCALES series, we lean a bit on our own rampant immaturity. Neither one of us
completely grew up after, say, 17 years old. That was pretty much our developmental peak, emotionally
speaking. So that helps.
Carl Hiaason, Patrick McManus, John Sandford, Margaret Mitchell, Laurell K. Hamilton, Andrew Vacchs,
and Christine Feehan are some of my favorite authors, the ones who make me wish I could write as well
as they do.
I also get ideas from reading magazines and newspapers. For example, if you set sail in the Caribbean
these days, there’s an excellent chance you’re be raided by pirates. Pirates! In the 21st century! What a
FABULOUS book idea! (Knowing me, I’d make the pirate a hero, a woman, and also maybe a witch or
vampire.)
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Well, my husband is happy yet unsurprised; he always knew I could do it (even when I had my doubts).
My parents and sister are proud as well, but also unsurprised. I guess that’s the big compliment: to make
various best seller lists (USA Today, The New York Times) and have those closest to me accept it as a
matter of course. As for my two children, they’re used to seeing Mom hunched over a keyboard, and my
daughter assumes it’s perfectly okay for a wife to make more money than the husband! (Luckily, my
husband feels the same way.)
As for my family, I think they're actually happier for MaryJanice than they are for me. Being the beautiful
but devious wife she is, MaryJanice has completely snookered my parents. Anyway, they're thrilled.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Oooh, tough one! I friggin’ LOVE food. Let’s see…hot chocolate. And a turkey dinner with all the
trimmings (mashed, gravy, stuffing, etc.) Or anything chocolate. Darnit! I shorted out the keyboard with
all the drooling. Give me a minute here…
Honey-roasted peanuts with pulp-free orange juice.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Curse our daughter for waking me up at 6AM, go practice cross-country skiing with her, and then wake
up my wife so that sleepy misery can have company.
Stagger into the bathroom, shudder at my reflection, throw some clothes on, and drive the kids to
school. Wait. That’s four things. See what a glamorous life I lead?
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
All the zombies in our basement.
That's not funny.
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?
Red. Probably has something to do with the whole extrovert thing.
Purple! The color of queens, the color of grapes lush on the vine, the color of my favorite juice. My
favorite color.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Anthony's favorite cartoon character growing up was Woody Woodpecker, with Road Runner coming in
a close second.
Ang, from AVATAR. My kids watch it whenever they can and I got hooked on it, too. Great, GREAT show.
Daphne, from Scooby Doo, if most like me. She does well in spite of herself, have you noticed?
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?
Assuming this machine can only take you back to the past (and not into the future), I would go to the
point in history where we landed on the Moon. It must have been such a rush to see that happen for the
first time. People need exploration – of countryside, of oceans, of tiny atoms, of space, whatever.
Gunning for the Moon and then getting there on schedule – that was just awesome, given the state of
technology at the time.
Right after we kicked butt in World War II. The country saw an incredible upsurge in everything…morale,
money, housing. Also, America RULED. (Still does.) I’d move to California, buy tons of beach front
property and studio property, and make a fortune!
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
Before we get started on this question, I'd like to point out that what MaryJanice listens to doesn't quite
qualify as "music".
Shut up.
No. For my part, I like just about anything that uses more than three chords. Classical music, hard rock,
occasional jazz, etc. My iPod carries mostly hard rock, with an emphasis on Chris Cornell (Audioslave,
Soundgarden, and his solo stuff) and Tool. I do listen to this music while thinking through the JENNIFER
SCALES books; I find it helps me get in touch with a few of the characters, especially Skip Wilson.
[I don’t usually listen to music when I write; I write on my laptop on the couch while the TV’s on. (Right
now THE CROW is playing, one of my faves.) But I’m an eighties lover…it’s all eighties, all the time, on
my iPod. Best song? ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK, by Murray Head. Also: anything by Madonna, Cindy
Lauper, Pat Benatar and Tina Turner.
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?
MaryJanice and I just saw the latest remake of Charlotte's Web with our children. Cute, but I still hate
spiders. My all-time favorite movie is Lord of the Rings. Most recent DVD sightings were Will Ferrell's
Talladega Nights and Jet Li's Fearless. As for television, we're both big fans of Lost (though MaryJanice
is in obstinate mourning for Mr. Eko) and Heroes. Extraordinary things happening to ordinary people –
it's a compelling theme!
Scrubs (I have the biggest crush on Dr. Cox!) Heroes (also crushing on Hiro), Rescue Me (Dennis Leary
KICKS BUTT), Nip/Tuck (ooooh, Dr. Christian Troy!), The Shield (really, any of the cops on the Strike
Team)…I love the FX network!
Movies: Gone with the Wind (“That Melanie Hamilton is a mealy mouthed ninny and ah hate her.”), The
Crow (“Victims. Aren’t we all.”), Fearless (Jet Li’s last martial arts movie), any Pierce Brosnan James
Bond movie, any zombie movie, Gladiator (“…and I will have my vengeance. In this life or the next.”),
Braveheart (“One day you’ll be a queen, and you must open your eyes.”), Oceans’ Eleven (and Twelve),
Dumb and Dumber (“Our pets’ HEADS are falling off!”) and Sean of the Dead (“Okay, but dogs can’t
look up”).
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
What, like, advice for life? Hmmm. Well, I'd point out that my favorite time at high school was about the
time I was graduating, because I knew I was going halfway across the country to college and so I
stopped holding back from the things I wanted. So I asked all the girls I thought were gorgeous and/or
interesting out on dates (every one said yes, which absolutely slayed me…I could have asked them two
years earlier!), and I partied with guys I thought hated me and found out we had tons in common, and I
reached out and engaged others and just plain started acting like an adult. And it was a blast. So much
better than my sophomore and junior years, where I moped around and felt sorry for myself all the time.
Take responsibility for your happiness! It's your job, not other people's.
Do. Not. Quit. I’ve been writing since I was 13, and didn’t get published until I was 29. Didn’t get a New
York contract until I was 33. Didn’t hit a best-seller list until I was 35. If I had quit at any time before I was
29, I’d be stuck in an office job somewhere, hating every minute of it. (No offense to office professionals.
It was just never my cup of tea. I was a TERRIBLE employee, always writing at work instead of, you
know, doing work.)
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
ANCIENT FURNACE and MESSENGER OF LIGHT are already available. THE SILVER MOON ELM, the
third Jennifer Scales book, comes out in June 2007. The fourth book, THE SERAPH OF SORROW,
comes out in 2008. We're working on that one now, and we'll put teasers and such on the web site
www.jenniferscales.com. And anyone can email me at maryjanice@maryjanicedavidson.net; I’d love to
hear from your site visitors.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Our Pleasure!
Anytime!
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.
You're welcome, Jen. Thanks for interviewing us! Anthony's comments will be in red, and MaryJanice's
will be in blue. Anthony came up with this scheme, mainly to drive his wife nuts. It's working. See how
easy it is to tell us apart?
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?
Anthony's writing career began in third grade, when he "published" a classroom newsletter and kids
actually paid ten cents to read it. That got me off of drawing dinosaurs (badly) and got me into writing
(slightly less badly).
As for me, MaryJanice, I – wait. I'm still stuck on this blue thing. Is this completely necessary? When I was
thirteen. I figured if I stuck with it long enough, I could eventually make a living at it. But I figured I’d be an
old lady by the time that happened, not in my early thirties!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
Well, there were years and years of rejection slips (I started serious submitting when I was in my early
twenties.) And after being rejected by every major house in New York (St. Martins, Harlequin, Silhouette,
Little Brown, Warner, Dorchester, etc.) I turned to submitting to e-publishers (who put out e-
books…books that you can print out yourself, download to a palm pilot, or read on the computer
screen). I wrote for those publishers for a year or two, never dreaming that New York publishers were
keeping an eye on e-books. Cindy Hwang (Berkley Publishing, a subsidiary of Penguin Putnam) read my
e-book UNDEAD AND UNWED, called me up, and offered to buy the print rights. Naturally I assumed it
was a cruel joke from one of my wicked friends, but we eventually cleared the whole thing up.
(Awkward!) And the rest, as they say, is history.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release.
Berkley is re-releasing JENNIFER SCALES AND THE ANCIENT FURNACE and JENNIFER SCALES AND
THE MESSENGER OF LIGHT as Fantasy imprints. The JENNIFER SCALES series was originally young
adult, but so many adults of all ages loved the books that Berkley decided to re-release them as
Fantasy books. I’ve also go several anthologies and single titles coming out this year (UNDEAD AND
UNEASY; another Fred the Mermaid book, DEMON’S DELIGHT, etc.)
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?
JENNIFER SCALES AND THE ANCIENT FURNACE is about a teenager who finds out she must turn into
a dragon with every crescent moon. From that point forward, she kicks ass. This young woman is a blast
to write.
Jennifer Scales is unlike most heroines. She’s 14 and going through some changes. Wings, scales, a
nose horn. You know, the usual adolescent stuff. Also, her folks are weirdly secretive, the mayor is
probably a sociopath, and there are creatures that go bump in the night who are much, much worse
than dragons…also, she’s trying like heck to make varsity soccer. Should be a busy school year!
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
For the JENNIFER SCALES series, we lean a bit on our own rampant immaturity. Neither one of us
completely grew up after, say, 17 years old. That was pretty much our developmental peak, emotionally
speaking. So that helps.
Carl Hiaason, Patrick McManus, John Sandford, Margaret Mitchell, Laurell K. Hamilton, Andrew Vacchs,
and Christine Feehan are some of my favorite authors, the ones who make me wish I could write as well
as they do.
I also get ideas from reading magazines and newspapers. For example, if you set sail in the Caribbean
these days, there’s an excellent chance you’re be raided by pirates. Pirates! In the 21st century! What a
FABULOUS book idea! (Knowing me, I’d make the pirate a hero, a woman, and also maybe a witch or
vampire.)
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Well, my husband is happy yet unsurprised; he always knew I could do it (even when I had my doubts).
My parents and sister are proud as well, but also unsurprised. I guess that’s the big compliment: to make
various best seller lists (USA Today, The New York Times) and have those closest to me accept it as a
matter of course. As for my two children, they’re used to seeing Mom hunched over a keyboard, and my
daughter assumes it’s perfectly okay for a wife to make more money than the husband! (Luckily, my
husband feels the same way.)
As for my family, I think they're actually happier for MaryJanice than they are for me. Being the beautiful
but devious wife she is, MaryJanice has completely snookered my parents. Anyway, they're thrilled.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Oooh, tough one! I friggin’ LOVE food. Let’s see…hot chocolate. And a turkey dinner with all the
trimmings (mashed, gravy, stuffing, etc.) Or anything chocolate. Darnit! I shorted out the keyboard with
all the drooling. Give me a minute here…
Honey-roasted peanuts with pulp-free orange juice.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Curse our daughter for waking me up at 6AM, go practice cross-country skiing with her, and then wake
up my wife so that sleepy misery can have company.
Stagger into the bathroom, shudder at my reflection, throw some clothes on, and drive the kids to
school. Wait. That’s four things. See what a glamorous life I lead?
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
All the zombies in our basement.
That's not funny.
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?
Red. Probably has something to do with the whole extrovert thing.
Purple! The color of queens, the color of grapes lush on the vine, the color of my favorite juice. My
favorite color.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Anthony's favorite cartoon character growing up was Woody Woodpecker, with Road Runner coming in
a close second.
Ang, from AVATAR. My kids watch it whenever they can and I got hooked on it, too. Great, GREAT show.
Daphne, from Scooby Doo, if most like me. She does well in spite of herself, have you noticed?
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?
Assuming this machine can only take you back to the past (and not into the future), I would go to the
point in history where we landed on the Moon. It must have been such a rush to see that happen for the
first time. People need exploration – of countryside, of oceans, of tiny atoms, of space, whatever.
Gunning for the Moon and then getting there on schedule – that was just awesome, given the state of
technology at the time.
Right after we kicked butt in World War II. The country saw an incredible upsurge in everything…morale,
money, housing. Also, America RULED. (Still does.) I’d move to California, buy tons of beach front
property and studio property, and make a fortune!
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
Before we get started on this question, I'd like to point out that what MaryJanice listens to doesn't quite
qualify as "music".
Shut up.
No. For my part, I like just about anything that uses more than three chords. Classical music, hard rock,
occasional jazz, etc. My iPod carries mostly hard rock, with an emphasis on Chris Cornell (Audioslave,
Soundgarden, and his solo stuff) and Tool. I do listen to this music while thinking through the JENNIFER
SCALES books; I find it helps me get in touch with a few of the characters, especially Skip Wilson.
[I don’t usually listen to music when I write; I write on my laptop on the couch while the TV’s on. (Right
now THE CROW is playing, one of my faves.) But I’m an eighties lover…it’s all eighties, all the time, on
my iPod. Best song? ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK, by Murray Head. Also: anything by Madonna, Cindy
Lauper, Pat Benatar and Tina Turner.
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?
MaryJanice and I just saw the latest remake of Charlotte's Web with our children. Cute, but I still hate
spiders. My all-time favorite movie is Lord of the Rings. Most recent DVD sightings were Will Ferrell's
Talladega Nights and Jet Li's Fearless. As for television, we're both big fans of Lost (though MaryJanice
is in obstinate mourning for Mr. Eko) and Heroes. Extraordinary things happening to ordinary people –
it's a compelling theme!
Scrubs (I have the biggest crush on Dr. Cox!) Heroes (also crushing on Hiro), Rescue Me (Dennis Leary
KICKS BUTT), Nip/Tuck (ooooh, Dr. Christian Troy!), The Shield (really, any of the cops on the Strike
Team)…I love the FX network!
Movies: Gone with the Wind (“That Melanie Hamilton is a mealy mouthed ninny and ah hate her.”), The
Crow (“Victims. Aren’t we all.”), Fearless (Jet Li’s last martial arts movie), any Pierce Brosnan James
Bond movie, any zombie movie, Gladiator (“…and I will have my vengeance. In this life or the next.”),
Braveheart (“One day you’ll be a queen, and you must open your eyes.”), Oceans’ Eleven (and Twelve),
Dumb and Dumber (“Our pets’ HEADS are falling off!”) and Sean of the Dead (“Okay, but dogs can’t
look up”).
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
What, like, advice for life? Hmmm. Well, I'd point out that my favorite time at high school was about the
time I was graduating, because I knew I was going halfway across the country to college and so I
stopped holding back from the things I wanted. So I asked all the girls I thought were gorgeous and/or
interesting out on dates (every one said yes, which absolutely slayed me…I could have asked them two
years earlier!), and I partied with guys I thought hated me and found out we had tons in common, and I
reached out and engaged others and just plain started acting like an adult. And it was a blast. So much
better than my sophomore and junior years, where I moped around and felt sorry for myself all the time.
Take responsibility for your happiness! It's your job, not other people's.
Do. Not. Quit. I’ve been writing since I was 13, and didn’t get published until I was 29. Didn’t get a New
York contract until I was 33. Didn’t hit a best-seller list until I was 35. If I had quit at any time before I was
29, I’d be stuck in an office job somewhere, hating every minute of it. (No offense to office professionals.
It was just never my cup of tea. I was a TERRIBLE employee, always writing at work instead of, you
know, doing work.)
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
ANCIENT FURNACE and MESSENGER OF LIGHT are already available. THE SILVER MOON ELM, the
third Jennifer Scales book, comes out in June 2007. The fourth book, THE SERAPH OF SORROW,
comes out in 2008. We're working on that one now, and we'll put teasers and such on the web site
www.jenniferscales.com. And anyone can email me at maryjanice@maryjanicedavidson.net; I’d love to
hear from your site visitors.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Our Pleasure!
Anytime!
