| Interview with Debra (D. L.) Garfinkle |
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.
Thanks for having me. I love talking about myself and books!
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 always loved to write. I used to write short stories and poems as a child and as a teenager. But I didn’t think
being a writer was a viable job. I grew up poor, and wanted financial security. So I took the practical route
and majored in economics in college and went to law school.
I practiced law for nine years, then quit to spend more time with my children. The day after I quit my job, I
started writing my first novel (Storky). Eventually, I thought maybe it was possible to make a living at this.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It took me a long time to get my first novel published. It was rejected by ten publishers. But I revised my
manuscript a lot along the way and had encouragement— from my terrific agent, from a contest win for best
unpublished novel, and from an editor who took the manuscript to her publisher’s acquisitions committee. By
the time the eleventh publisher, Putnam, saw Storky, it was in much better condition than when the first
publisher saw it.
Storky did well, receiving great reviews and selling in three other languages. That success made it easier to
get my next novels published. I also like to think my writing improved.
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?
Stuck in the 70s is a humorous novel for teens about a wild girl from the present who accidentally winds up
in the bathtub of a male honor student in 1978.
Hmm… One thing to convince readers to buy the book? All the reviews of Stuck in the 70s have been very
good. For instance, Publishers Weekly liked my book’s mix of thought-provoking questions, slapstick
comedy, and poignant moments.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My parents have inspired me all my life. They’ve always told me I could achieve anything I wanted.
My favorite authors are J.D. Salinger, Leo Tolstoy, Anne Tyler, and Nick Hornby. They’ve inspired my writing.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I am married to a great guy and we have three school-age children. They are all very supportive. My
husband critiques my humorous newspaper column and brings home most of the money so I don’t have to
have a day job. My daughter is thirteen and keeps me apprised of what’s cool and what’s lame. My two boys
critiqued my first two children’s books, which are coming out next year. It’s a family business!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Easy. Ben & Jerry’s New York Superfudge Chunk ice cream. Mmm! Now I’m craving it.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Pee, brush my teeth, let the dog out. Then, of course, drink coffee and sit down at the computer to write—
but usually procrastinate by checking my emails, message boards, blogs, Amazon rankings, etc.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
I have a lot of old clothes. Really, really old clothes. We’re talking suits, nightgowns, and t-shirts from the
‘80s. I’m a terrible packrat.
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?
I guess I’d be pink because it’s soft and sweet.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
The donkey voiced by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek movies cracks me up. I think Velma from Scooby-Doo is a
lot like me. I’m the quiet, bookish type.
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 really love my life now. But I think I’d also love being a flapper in my favorite city, New York, during the
Roaring ’20s.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I love all kinds of music— country, soul, hiphop. But rock ‘n roll is my fave. Some of my favorite artists are
Bruce Springsteen, The Fray, and Kelly Clarkson. What can I say? I’m a top-forty kind of gal.
I don’t listen to music when I’m writing. My three children provide more than enough noise in my life. Silence
is golden!
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 love reality shows, especially Amazing Race, Survivor, and One vs. 100. I’ve seen tearjerkers like
Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Terms of Endearment many times, and they always make me cry.
The last movie I saw was Knocked Up, which I thought was hilarious.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Trust your own taste in books. Unless you have to read something for school, don’t feel that you have to
finish books you don’t like— even if everyone else in the world says the book is good.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
The next two books in my teen trilogy The Band will be published this year (Trading Guys and Holding On).
And in June 2008, the first book in my funny children’s series, The Supernatural Rubber Chicken, will be
released.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for asking such fun questions!
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.
Thanks for having me. I love talking about myself and books!
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 always loved to write. I used to write short stories and poems as a child and as a teenager. But I didn’t think
being a writer was a viable job. I grew up poor, and wanted financial security. So I took the practical route
and majored in economics in college and went to law school.
I practiced law for nine years, then quit to spend more time with my children. The day after I quit my job, I
started writing my first novel (Storky). Eventually, I thought maybe it was possible to make a living at this.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
It took me a long time to get my first novel published. It was rejected by ten publishers. But I revised my
manuscript a lot along the way and had encouragement— from my terrific agent, from a contest win for best
unpublished novel, and from an editor who took the manuscript to her publisher’s acquisitions committee. By
the time the eleventh publisher, Putnam, saw Storky, it was in much better condition than when the first
publisher saw it.
Storky did well, receiving great reviews and selling in three other languages. That success made it easier to
get my next novels published. I also like to think my writing improved.
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?
Stuck in the 70s is a humorous novel for teens about a wild girl from the present who accidentally winds up
in the bathtub of a male honor student in 1978.
Hmm… One thing to convince readers to buy the book? All the reviews of Stuck in the 70s have been very
good. For instance, Publishers Weekly liked my book’s mix of thought-provoking questions, slapstick
comedy, and poignant moments.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My parents have inspired me all my life. They’ve always told me I could achieve anything I wanted.
My favorite authors are J.D. Salinger, Leo Tolstoy, Anne Tyler, and Nick Hornby. They’ve inspired my writing.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I am married to a great guy and we have three school-age children. They are all very supportive. My
husband critiques my humorous newspaper column and brings home most of the money so I don’t have to
have a day job. My daughter is thirteen and keeps me apprised of what’s cool and what’s lame. My two boys
critiqued my first two children’s books, which are coming out next year. It’s a family business!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Easy. Ben & Jerry’s New York Superfudge Chunk ice cream. Mmm! Now I’m craving it.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Pee, brush my teeth, let the dog out. Then, of course, drink coffee and sit down at the computer to write—
but usually procrastinate by checking my emails, message boards, blogs, Amazon rankings, etc.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
I have a lot of old clothes. Really, really old clothes. We’re talking suits, nightgowns, and t-shirts from the
‘80s. I’m a terrible packrat.
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?
I guess I’d be pink because it’s soft and sweet.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
The donkey voiced by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek movies cracks me up. I think Velma from Scooby-Doo is a
lot like me. I’m the quiet, bookish type.
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 really love my life now. But I think I’d also love being a flapper in my favorite city, New York, during the
Roaring ’20s.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
I love all kinds of music— country, soul, hiphop. But rock ‘n roll is my fave. Some of my favorite artists are
Bruce Springsteen, The Fray, and Kelly Clarkson. What can I say? I’m a top-forty kind of gal.
I don’t listen to music when I’m writing. My three children provide more than enough noise in my life. Silence
is golden!
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 love reality shows, especially Amazing Race, Survivor, and One vs. 100. I’ve seen tearjerkers like
Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Terms of Endearment many times, and they always make me cry.
The last movie I saw was Knocked Up, which I thought was hilarious.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Trust your own taste in books. Unless you have to read something for school, don’t feel that you have to
finish books you don’t like— even if everyone else in the world says the book is good.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
The next two books in my teen trilogy The Band will be published this year (Trading Guys and Holding On).
And in June 2008, the first book in my funny children’s series, The Supernatural Rubber Chicken, will be
released.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thanks for asking such fun questions!
