| Interview with Caridad Ferrer |
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?
Writer, about five years ago. However, I've been a storyteller all my life. If I ran out of books on long
drives, I'd entertain myself by creating stories. Or later on, if I was the one driving. Since it's generally not
considered a Good Thing to be reading and driving at the same time.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
As I said, I'd been a storyteller my entire life and creative writing was always one of those things that
came very easily to me. My mother still has the ribbons from the Dade County Youth Fair, to my eternal
embarrassment. Framed, even, although mercifully, no long on the dining room walls these days. But
about five years ago, I was hip deep in watching "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I was so
entranced by the wittiness of the dialogue, I was compelled to start writing again. I'd always loved
romance, so that was naturally the genre I gravitated towards. However, when I took a couple of online
classes, I discovered I did everything wrong, according to the popular conventions of the genre. I also
discovered that I didn't much care. And that the people who tended to succeed were the rule-breakers. I
didn't set out to deliberately break the rules, so much as it was something that came naturally.
In terms of writing Young Adult/Teen novels, my agent had been shopping one of my women's fiction
manuscripts when she heard that there was an editor looking for a Latina YA story. She asked me if I
would be willing to give it a try and the rest, as they say, is history.
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?
Well, my upcoming release is Adiós to My Old Life, (July) and it's part of the MTV Books line and for
those of you wondering, yes, it's that MTV. It's the story of Alegría Montero, a seventeen-year-old Cuban-
American girl from Miami who finds herself competing on Oye Mi Canto, which is sort of a Latin American
version of American Idol. If I had to tell you just one thing to convince you to buy the book? Hm… I think it
would be if you're dying to see what American Idol would be like if it were run by a bunch of Latinos, then
you need to pick up this book.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
It's always something different for every story, but I suppose my greatest constant and certainly a huge
factor in this particular story, is music. I've been a musician my entire life and I let so much of my love for
music come out in this particular story. In fact, I geeked out about music to the point that I included in the
acknowledgments thank yous to several musicians who were particularly inspiring to me throughout the
writing of this book.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My dogs aren't particularly impressed—they're far more concerned with when their next meal is. <g> No,
I've got a wonderfully supportive family. My husband has been absolutely amazing and my two kids think
it's "cool" that Mom is a writer. My mother is rather smug in that "I knew you would do it" sort of way that
moms have and my sister is probably my biggest fan, going into various bookstores and stealthily
strategically placing bookmarks where they'll be found. Shy, she ain't.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Only one?? Um… if we're talking main course, than probably a huge helping of spaghetti dressed with
sautéed garlic, olive oil, a little butter, and parmesan cheese. If it's dessert, then sweet cream ice cream
with Snickers mixed in.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Brush my teeth, kiss my kids, mainline coffee.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. And did I mention the shoes?
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?
Purple. It's always been my favorite color, ever since I was a very little girl. There are just so many
shades of it and it can convey so many moods. It wasn't until I was older that I discovered it's considered
the color of royalty. Not that that means anything. I'm just sayin'…
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Hands down, Bugs Bunny. As far as which one is most like me… I've been told more times than I care to
remember, that I bear a certain resemblance in attitude to a certain porcine lady by the name of Miss
Piggy. I'm not sure I totally get that. I mean, yes, she's into the glam clothes and well, yes, I can have a
wee bit of a temper and true, if anyone messes with those nearest and dearest to me, it's quite possible
they'll get walloped upside the head… Hm. Oh, dear. Okay. Miss Piggy.
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?
This is funny—I was just talking about this in a guest blog. As many fantastic eras there would be to visit
(New York in the '20s for example) I think my choice would be to visit Cuba in the 1930s or the 1950s,
when it was considered one of the world's premier vacation destinations and playgrounds. To go to the
Tropicana and have a rum drink and dance a son or merengue before taking a stroll on the beach would
just be magical, I think.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
AUGH! Can't you ask me something easier, like how to perform open-heart surgery?? Oh my word, this
is HARD. Okay, probably my longest standing love musically is jazz—all kinds from be-bop to vocal
groups to experimental to fusion. If it's jazz, I'm almost guaranteed to like it. But really, I love so much
music, across so many genres, you're probably better off asking me what I don't like. (Thrash metal and
hard core rap). Favorite artists, there are a lot, but some of the most enduring are Sting, Raul Malo,
Chris Botti, Peter Cincotti, Gloria Estefan, Josh Groban, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel,
The Corrs, Sarah McLachlan, Pat Metheny, Red Hot Chili Peppers, & Rob Thomas. New artists that I'm
loving are Teddy Geiger, Taylor Eigsti, Anna Nalick, James Blunt, Joss Stone, Jamie Cullum, Antigone
Rising, and John Legend. There are a lot more, trust me, but I think you'd run out of space!
As far as listening to music while I write—not only do I listen to music while I write, I'm what some people
refer to as a "soundtracker." I create playlists specific to each story I'm working on—in some cases,
specific to a type of scene
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 all of Angel and Buffy on DVD, so yeah, I think they count as favorites. Current television favorites
are NUMB3RS, Bones, House, and reruns of Family Guy. In terms of movies, I have tons, that I watch
over and over—Moonstruck, Bull Durham, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, Love Actually,
Sense & Sensibility, The Breakfast Club, Moulin Rouge, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Much Ado About
Nothing, Somewhere in Time. (Actually any Baz Lurhmann, Richard Curtis, Kenneth Branagh, or John
Hughes films are must sees, for me.)
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don't ever let anyone tell you that reading's not cool or that it can be replaced by other forms of
entertainment. And always, always do your best to follow your dreams—provided it's not anything, you
know, illegal. This is not good.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
My next MTV book is going to be about a typical Midwestern girl who, when she goes off to college,
decides to present herself as a Cuban girl. She thinks it'll be exciting and exotic and lead to lots of
adventures, but ultimately, it also creates some problems as well. It's that whole "reinventing yourself for
college" thing, taken up a few notches.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for having me!
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?
Writer, about five years ago. However, I've been a storyteller all my life. If I ran out of books on long
drives, I'd entertain myself by creating stories. Or later on, if I was the one driving. Since it's generally not
considered a Good Thing to be reading and driving at the same time.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
As I said, I'd been a storyteller my entire life and creative writing was always one of those things that
came very easily to me. My mother still has the ribbons from the Dade County Youth Fair, to my eternal
embarrassment. Framed, even, although mercifully, no long on the dining room walls these days. But
about five years ago, I was hip deep in watching "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I was so
entranced by the wittiness of the dialogue, I was compelled to start writing again. I'd always loved
romance, so that was naturally the genre I gravitated towards. However, when I took a couple of online
classes, I discovered I did everything wrong, according to the popular conventions of the genre. I also
discovered that I didn't much care. And that the people who tended to succeed were the rule-breakers. I
didn't set out to deliberately break the rules, so much as it was something that came naturally.
In terms of writing Young Adult/Teen novels, my agent had been shopping one of my women's fiction
manuscripts when she heard that there was an editor looking for a Latina YA story. She asked me if I
would be willing to give it a try and the rest, as they say, is history.
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?
Well, my upcoming release is Adiós to My Old Life, (July) and it's part of the MTV Books line and for
those of you wondering, yes, it's that MTV. It's the story of Alegría Montero, a seventeen-year-old Cuban-
American girl from Miami who finds herself competing on Oye Mi Canto, which is sort of a Latin American
version of American Idol. If I had to tell you just one thing to convince you to buy the book? Hm… I think it
would be if you're dying to see what American Idol would be like if it were run by a bunch of Latinos, then
you need to pick up this book.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
It's always something different for every story, but I suppose my greatest constant and certainly a huge
factor in this particular story, is music. I've been a musician my entire life and I let so much of my love for
music come out in this particular story. In fact, I geeked out about music to the point that I included in the
acknowledgments thank yous to several musicians who were particularly inspiring to me throughout the
writing of this book.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
My dogs aren't particularly impressed—they're far more concerned with when their next meal is. <g> No,
I've got a wonderfully supportive family. My husband has been absolutely amazing and my two kids think
it's "cool" that Mom is a writer. My mother is rather smug in that "I knew you would do it" sort of way that
moms have and my sister is probably my biggest fan, going into various bookstores and stealthily
strategically placing bookmarks where they'll be found. Shy, she ain't.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Only one?? Um… if we're talking main course, than probably a huge helping of spaghetti dressed with
sautéed garlic, olive oil, a little butter, and parmesan cheese. If it's dessert, then sweet cream ice cream
with Snickers mixed in.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Brush my teeth, kiss my kids, mainline coffee.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would
surprise me the most?
Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. And did I mention the shoes?
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?
Purple. It's always been my favorite color, ever since I was a very little girl. There are just so many
shades of it and it can convey so many moods. It wasn't until I was older that I discovered it's considered
the color of royalty. Not that that means anything. I'm just sayin'…
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Hands down, Bugs Bunny. As far as which one is most like me… I've been told more times than I care to
remember, that I bear a certain resemblance in attitude to a certain porcine lady by the name of Miss
Piggy. I'm not sure I totally get that. I mean, yes, she's into the glam clothes and well, yes, I can have a
wee bit of a temper and true, if anyone messes with those nearest and dearest to me, it's quite possible
they'll get walloped upside the head… Hm. Oh, dear. Okay. Miss Piggy.
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?
This is funny—I was just talking about this in a guest blog. As many fantastic eras there would be to visit
(New York in the '20s for example) I think my choice would be to visit Cuba in the 1930s or the 1950s,
when it was considered one of the world's premier vacation destinations and playgrounds. To go to the
Tropicana and have a rum drink and dance a son or merengue before taking a stroll on the beach would
just be magical, I think.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
AUGH! Can't you ask me something easier, like how to perform open-heart surgery?? Oh my word, this
is HARD. Okay, probably my longest standing love musically is jazz—all kinds from be-bop to vocal
groups to experimental to fusion. If it's jazz, I'm almost guaranteed to like it. But really, I love so much
music, across so many genres, you're probably better off asking me what I don't like. (Thrash metal and
hard core rap). Favorite artists, there are a lot, but some of the most enduring are Sting, Raul Malo,
Chris Botti, Peter Cincotti, Gloria Estefan, Josh Groban, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel,
The Corrs, Sarah McLachlan, Pat Metheny, Red Hot Chili Peppers, & Rob Thomas. New artists that I'm
loving are Teddy Geiger, Taylor Eigsti, Anna Nalick, James Blunt, Joss Stone, Jamie Cullum, Antigone
Rising, and John Legend. There are a lot more, trust me, but I think you'd run out of space!
As far as listening to music while I write—not only do I listen to music while I write, I'm what some people
refer to as a "soundtracker." I create playlists specific to each story I'm working on—in some cases,
specific to a type of scene
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 all of Angel and Buffy on DVD, so yeah, I think they count as favorites. Current television favorites
are NUMB3RS, Bones, House, and reruns of Family Guy. In terms of movies, I have tons, that I watch
over and over—Moonstruck, Bull Durham, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, Love Actually,
Sense & Sensibility, The Breakfast Club, Moulin Rouge, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Much Ado About
Nothing, Somewhere in Time. (Actually any Baz Lurhmann, Richard Curtis, Kenneth Branagh, or John
Hughes films are must sees, for me.)
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don't ever let anyone tell you that reading's not cool or that it can be replaced by other forms of
entertainment. And always, always do your best to follow your dreams—provided it's not anything, you
know, illegal. This is not good.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
My next MTV book is going to be about a typical Midwestern girl who, when she goes off to college,
decides to present herself as a Cuban girl. She thinks it'll be exciting and exotic and lead to lots of
adventures, but ultimately, it also creates some problems as well. It's that whole "reinventing yourself for
college" thing, taken up a few notches.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for having me!
