| Interview with Kelly Parra |
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?
Hi Jen, thanks so much for having me over to chat at TRT! It's such a cool place you have here.
I could say I knew I wanted to be a writer in high school where I seemed to have an easier time in English Lit,
or recall all the poems and journals I wrote growing up, and that these were the first signs. But they weren't!
Not to me, anyway. I was a teen artist in school and had no idea I wanted to be writer until I was an adult and
suddenly a ferocious reader. Think of Pac-man munching up all those little balls, but me with books! Then
one day, I read a bio on one of the authors I was reading. She lived in a town not far from me, and it was the
first hint that writers weren't mysterious beings behind wonderful words and visual images, and maybe I
could write a book too.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I actually started out writing in another genre and had signed with my agent after two years of writing my first
book. It took another year after that to sell the project, then months later I learned the imprint was closing,
and my story wouldn't be published. Ouch. Luckily, after my first sale I had sold my YA novel, Graffiti Girl,
and now I'm very happy to start a fresh career as an author for young adults!
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?
Hmm, tough one, Jen! Graffiti Girl (MTV books, May 2007) is about a teen artist exploring graffiti art. Oh
wait, is that technically two things?
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I'd have to say my husband first. He's been with me through the entire road to publication, from the
struggles of rejection to the triumphs. But don't tell him I said that. He'll be smug about it for years!
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I'm married to an awesome man with a love of tattoo ink, and two wonderful kiddos with a love of having fun.
I'm certainly blessed in the family department!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Muffins! Haha! It's a food relationship that is fairly new, but it's turning out to work well.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
I say good morning to my kids, check e-mail, then it's a mad rush to ready the kids and myself for the day.
I'm not sure why all the rushing, but it seems to be a common occurrence.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
Probably all my art books and supplies. I haven't painted anything in a few years because I've been
focusing so much on writing. I keep thinking that one day I'll pick it up again as a creative comfort.
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. Definitely purple. You see, purple can be a mix of emotions at different times. If purple is beside a
dark color it can be kind of quiet and moody, but if by a rainbow color, purple can be vibrant and fun!
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
I'm going to have to say my favorite cartoon character is Scooby Doo. He's funny, likes to munch out, and
knows how to solve mysteries by accident! And occasionally I do have a little Scooby in me, if I do say so
myself. *grin*
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?
Maybe to yesterday? I'm a total contemporary girl at heart, and would rather be skyrocketed to the future
and see all the cool gadgets that have been developed than visit the past. It's probably a good time to
share that I loved the Jetsons growing up, too!
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
My musical prefs are filed somewhere in eclectic. I listen to oldies and whatever is new on the radio. As a
teen I collected movie soundtracks for all the various artists. I don't write to music, quiet works great for me.
Which is tough with the family. Quiet isn't exactly in our vocabulary.
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've recently become a "Gilmore Girls" addict, and I am hopelessly obsessed with "What I like about you"
reruns. The movies I can watch over and over again are: Some kind of Wonderful, The Breakfast club and
Goonies. The last movie I took my kids to was Open Season. What a riot! You're never too old for cartoons.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don't ever give up on your dreams and work hard to make your own journey. I know life can be tough at
times, but chin up--sometimes things aren't as hard as they seem to be.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
My next book is in the works as we speak, but it's all on the down low. *wink* I'll definitely keep you posted
as soon as I can let the cat out of the bag!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thank you again for the chat, Jen! It's been fun!
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?
Hi Jen, thanks so much for having me over to chat at TRT! It's such a cool place you have here.
I could say I knew I wanted to be a writer in high school where I seemed to have an easier time in English Lit,
or recall all the poems and journals I wrote growing up, and that these were the first signs. But they weren't!
Not to me, anyway. I was a teen artist in school and had no idea I wanted to be writer until I was an adult and
suddenly a ferocious reader. Think of Pac-man munching up all those little balls, but me with books! Then
one day, I read a bio on one of the authors I was reading. She lived in a town not far from me, and it was the
first hint that writers weren't mysterious beings behind wonderful words and visual images, and maybe I
could write a book too.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I actually started out writing in another genre and had signed with my agent after two years of writing my first
book. It took another year after that to sell the project, then months later I learned the imprint was closing,
and my story wouldn't be published. Ouch. Luckily, after my first sale I had sold my YA novel, Graffiti Girl,
and now I'm very happy to start a fresh career as an author for young adults!
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?
Hmm, tough one, Jen! Graffiti Girl (MTV books, May 2007) is about a teen artist exploring graffiti art. Oh
wait, is that technically two things?
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I'd have to say my husband first. He's been with me through the entire road to publication, from the
struggles of rejection to the triumphs. But don't tell him I said that. He'll be smug about it for years!
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I'm married to an awesome man with a love of tattoo ink, and two wonderful kiddos with a love of having fun.
I'm certainly blessed in the family department!
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Muffins! Haha! It's a food relationship that is fairly new, but it's turning out to work well.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
I say good morning to my kids, check e-mail, then it's a mad rush to ready the kids and myself for the day.
I'm not sure why all the rushing, but it seems to be a common occurrence.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
Probably all my art books and supplies. I haven't painted anything in a few years because I've been
focusing so much on writing. I keep thinking that one day I'll pick it up again as a creative comfort.
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. Definitely purple. You see, purple can be a mix of emotions at different times. If purple is beside a
dark color it can be kind of quiet and moody, but if by a rainbow color, purple can be vibrant and fun!
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
I'm going to have to say my favorite cartoon character is Scooby Doo. He's funny, likes to munch out, and
knows how to solve mysteries by accident! And occasionally I do have a little Scooby in me, if I do say so
myself. *grin*
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?
Maybe to yesterday? I'm a total contemporary girl at heart, and would rather be skyrocketed to the future
and see all the cool gadgets that have been developed than visit the past. It's probably a good time to
share that I loved the Jetsons growing up, too!
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
My musical prefs are filed somewhere in eclectic. I listen to oldies and whatever is new on the radio. As a
teen I collected movie soundtracks for all the various artists. I don't write to music, quiet works great for me.
Which is tough with the family. Quiet isn't exactly in our vocabulary.
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've recently become a "Gilmore Girls" addict, and I am hopelessly obsessed with "What I like about you"
reruns. The movies I can watch over and over again are: Some kind of Wonderful, The Breakfast club and
Goonies. The last movie I took my kids to was Open Season. What a riot! You're never too old for cartoons.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Don't ever give up on your dreams and work hard to make your own journey. I know life can be tough at
times, but chin up--sometimes things aren't as hard as they seem to be.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
My next book is in the works as we speak, but it's all on the down low. *wink* I'll definitely keep you posted
as soon as I can let the cat out of the bag!
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Thank you again for the chat, Jen! It's been fun!
