| Interview with Aimee Friedman |
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.
Of course - I love being in touch with my readers in a variety of ways.
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 can't remember a time when I WASN'T writing. It was my greatest passion growing up, my truest companion.
My parents will tell you that I was always curled up with a spiral-bound notebook, scribbling away. But I think
that when I really started to get positive feedback from my teachers, and to study writing as an art form, that I
began to take the craft more seriously, and realize it could be a career. It was wonderful to realize that
daydreaming could be a profession!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It was a bit of unorthodox road! I'm an editor at a children's publishing house, so one day about four years
ago, I was editing a teen manuscript that needed a lot of work. I ended up rewriting the first chapter in the
way I wanted it to sound, and I showed it to my boss. He said, "First of all, you can't rewrite huge chunks of a
manuscript, and second of all, you really have an ear for writing teen fiction." Soon after that, I was given
the opportunity to write my first novel, South Beach. I had never considered writing for teens before, but I
had so much fun working on South Beach, that it suddenly felt like the most natural thing.
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?
Hollywood Hills, the newest book in the Alexa and Holly trilogy, is in stores right now! I'm so excited about this
project, because not only did I get to travel to LA for it, but it follows the girls on their last summer before
college, which is such a fascinating time. And of course there's all the fashion and romance and glamour of
the Alexa and Holly novels (perhaps even more because of the Hollywood setting!) If that doesn't hook
readers, I don't know what will.
My other upcoming project is my graphic novel, Breaking Up. I am very curious to see how readers will
respond to this. It has illustrations by the amazing Christine Norrie, and is the story of four best friends and
one year in high school. The New York Times recently did an article on graphic novels for teen girls, and I
feel so strongly that girls really deserve a voice of their own in the comic/graphic world. I hope they find their
way to Breaking Up.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
There are so many different things that inspire me on a daily basis. To name a few: my family; my friends; my
roommates; my colleagues; The Beatles's The White Album; Chagall's paintings; Philip Roth; Michael
Chabon; the Bronte sisters; my fellow teen writers; The New Yorker; Vogue; Entertainment Weekly; fashion;
films; Central Park--you name it. I like looking for inspiration in unexpected places.
Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I am very close to my family--they mean the world to me. My parents live in Queens, and I live in Manhattan,
so I'm able to see them fairly often, which is lovely. And my older sister lives upstate with her husband and
their adorable baby son, Noah. I can't wait to write a book for him some day. My sister is my best friend, and
forever my first reader. Actually, the book I am working on now is about sisters, but I'll get into that a little
later!
Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?
A toss-up between my mom's roast chicken, and any form of chocolate.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Check email (sad, I know); shower; eat a yogurt while standing in the kitchen reading the paper.
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 utter chaos.
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?
The deep, calming blue of the ocean, because I wish I could be a calmer person!
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Do Archie comics count as cartoons? If so, I've always identified with Betty, the plucky but somewhat shy
writer girl.
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?
Turn of the century New York--for the long, textured dresses, and the carriages, and the lamp-lit streets, and
the men in hats who would take your hand and lead you across a ballroom. Can you tell I'm a complete
romantic?
So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you're
writing?
I can hardly write WITHOUT music. Lately I'm on a Flaming Lips kick. I also love, in no particular order: Aimee
Mann; The Shins; Lucinda Williams; Jay-Z; Roxy Music; Rancid; The Rolling Stones; David Bowie; Bob
Marley; Bach.
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 am currently smitten with Grey's Anatomy. I didn't think I would like it, but I'm such a sucker for the drama,
the McDreamy, the sappy dialogue--it's great. I am also a huge movie person. Movies I watch over and over
again include, but are not limited to: Annie Hall; Amelie; When Harry Met Sally; Adventures in Baby-Sitting;
Amadeus; French Kiss; Sense and Sensibility; Much Ado About Nothing, and The American President. The
last movie I saw in the theater was The Prestige, which was pretty good, but not quite life-changing.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
It's perfectly fine and acceptable to use reading as an escape from the real world. Just keep doing it, and in
your adult years, people will see you as an intellectual.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
As I mentioned, the new project I'm working on now is a novel about sisters. I think of it as a kind of In her
Shoes for teens. It's about two sisters--real, died-in-the-wool city girls--who are uprooted and have to move
to the country for a year. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and look forward to its Spring 2008 release!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for the opportunity!
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.
Of course - I love being in touch with my readers in a variety of ways.
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 can't remember a time when I WASN'T writing. It was my greatest passion growing up, my truest companion.
My parents will tell you that I was always curled up with a spiral-bound notebook, scribbling away. But I think
that when I really started to get positive feedback from my teachers, and to study writing as an art form, that I
began to take the craft more seriously, and realize it could be a career. It was wonderful to realize that
daydreaming could be a profession!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It was a bit of unorthodox road! I'm an editor at a children's publishing house, so one day about four years
ago, I was editing a teen manuscript that needed a lot of work. I ended up rewriting the first chapter in the
way I wanted it to sound, and I showed it to my boss. He said, "First of all, you can't rewrite huge chunks of a
manuscript, and second of all, you really have an ear for writing teen fiction." Soon after that, I was given
the opportunity to write my first novel, South Beach. I had never considered writing for teens before, but I
had so much fun working on South Beach, that it suddenly felt like the most natural thing.
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?
Hollywood Hills, the newest book in the Alexa and Holly trilogy, is in stores right now! I'm so excited about this
project, because not only did I get to travel to LA for it, but it follows the girls on their last summer before
college, which is such a fascinating time. And of course there's all the fashion and romance and glamour of
the Alexa and Holly novels (perhaps even more because of the Hollywood setting!) If that doesn't hook
readers, I don't know what will.
My other upcoming project is my graphic novel, Breaking Up. I am very curious to see how readers will
respond to this. It has illustrations by the amazing Christine Norrie, and is the story of four best friends and
one year in high school. The New York Times recently did an article on graphic novels for teen girls, and I
feel so strongly that girls really deserve a voice of their own in the comic/graphic world. I hope they find their
way to Breaking Up.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
There are so many different things that inspire me on a daily basis. To name a few: my family; my friends; my
roommates; my colleagues; The Beatles's The White Album; Chagall's paintings; Philip Roth; Michael
Chabon; the Bronte sisters; my fellow teen writers; The New Yorker; Vogue; Entertainment Weekly; fashion;
films; Central Park--you name it. I like looking for inspiration in unexpected places.
Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I am very close to my family--they mean the world to me. My parents live in Queens, and I live in Manhattan,
so I'm able to see them fairly often, which is lovely. And my older sister lives upstate with her husband and
their adorable baby son, Noah. I can't wait to write a book for him some day. My sister is my best friend, and
forever my first reader. Actually, the book I am working on now is about sisters, but I'll get into that a little
later!
Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?
A toss-up between my mom's roast chicken, and any form of chocolate.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Check email (sad, I know); shower; eat a yogurt while standing in the kitchen reading the paper.
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 utter chaos.
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?
The deep, calming blue of the ocean, because I wish I could be a calmer person!
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Do Archie comics count as cartoons? If so, I've always identified with Betty, the plucky but somewhat shy
writer girl.
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?
Turn of the century New York--for the long, textured dresses, and the carriages, and the lamp-lit streets, and
the men in hats who would take your hand and lead you across a ballroom. Can you tell I'm a complete
romantic?
So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you're
writing?
I can hardly write WITHOUT music. Lately I'm on a Flaming Lips kick. I also love, in no particular order: Aimee
Mann; The Shins; Lucinda Williams; Jay-Z; Roxy Music; Rancid; The Rolling Stones; David Bowie; Bob
Marley; Bach.
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 am currently smitten with Grey's Anatomy. I didn't think I would like it, but I'm such a sucker for the drama,
the McDreamy, the sappy dialogue--it's great. I am also a huge movie person. Movies I watch over and over
again include, but are not limited to: Annie Hall; Amelie; When Harry Met Sally; Adventures in Baby-Sitting;
Amadeus; French Kiss; Sense and Sensibility; Much Ado About Nothing, and The American President. The
last movie I saw in the theater was The Prestige, which was pretty good, but not quite life-changing.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
It's perfectly fine and acceptable to use reading as an escape from the real world. Just keep doing it, and in
your adult years, people will see you as an intellectual.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
As I mentioned, the new project I'm working on now is a novel about sisters. I think of it as a kind of In her
Shoes for teens. It's about two sisters--real, died-in-the-wool city girls--who are uprooted and have to move
to the country for a year. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and look forward to its Spring 2008 release!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for the opportunity!
