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Author Interview: Suzanne Selfors PLUS Giveaway

Photo Credit: Suzanne Selfors Website
Please welcome Suzanne Selfors to GreenBeanTeenQueen! Suzanne is a superstar author who writes for Tweens and Teens. She has SIX books coming out this year-told you she was a superstar author!

Why do you write for tweens?

It feels like a natural fit for me. I started out writing for adults. I wrote 3 novels, found an agent, but none of those novels sold, except for one which eventually found a Greek publisher. Gaced with a pile of rejection letters, I almost gave up. But then I got this idea for a children's novel and I wrote it. I called it Curse of the Merfolk and it went to auction. Little, Brown won the auction, turned it into To Catch a Mermaid, and here we are.

And now, To Catch a Mermaid is being rereleased with an awesome new cover! Books with a bit of magic seem to be popular with tween readers. Was there any special magical power or wish you wanted as a tween?

I always wanted the power to morph into another form. To be a bird for a day. Or maybe a dragon. Or to be a boy for a day. That would be amazing.

You have six books coming out this year which just amazes me. What is a typical day like for you as an author? (I'm sure you're very busy!)

I'm crazy busy, but that's a good thing because I'm one of those hyper people and I need to keep my brain occupied. I write most days, usually in three hour blocks, but there's no real schedule to my life. I have kids and domestic duties and all that stuff so each day finds its own rhythm. I do tend to write in coffeehouses. I work better with music and the hum of the espresso machine.

Coffee and books-there's nothing better!! Where do you get the ideas for your books?

My life. To Catch a Mermaid was born when I took a walk along the beach and saw these really cool tidepools and wondered, "What would be the most amazing thing you might find in a tidepool?" Fortune's Magic Farm was born when I looked out the window one day during a particulary long spell of rain, and wondered, "What would life be like if it never stopped raining?" Smells Like Dog was born when I took a walk with  my dog and, after yanking on his leash for the millionth time, wondered, "What would it be like if a dog couldn't smell?"

Do you believe in mermaids?

Yep! With all my heart.

What book character is your book crush? (current crush or one from childhood).
Ah, well I actually included my childhood crush in my book, Coffeehouse Angel. His name was David and I was madly in love with him. My best friend and I had a secret code we used when we talked about him. I never worked up the courage to talk to him. And then he moved away. So tragic.

And of course, because I have to ask. Melanie, a fellow blogger and I have been recaping the Downton Abbey episodes on our blogs. Have you watched the show?

I watched the first season but haven't yet seen any episodes of the 2nd season. I'm a Masterpiece Theatre geek. I grew up watching it with my mom. I just streamed the 4 part series, How We Live Now. And I loved Upstairs Downstairs.

And that's why authors are my kind of people!! Thanks so much Suzanne! One lucky reader will win a copy of To Catch a Mermaid!
To enter leave a comment below saying what you would wish for if you caught a mermaid.
-One entry per person
-Please leave link to blog or e-mail so you can be contacted
-Open to US addresses
-Ages 13+
-Ends Monday February 20 at midnight central time

Comments

  1. If I found a mermaid I would wish for a personal assistant to keep me organized. Really, I'm drowning in paper and stuff!!!! AAAHHHHH.

    karinlibrarian at gmail dot com

    karinlibrarian@gmail.com

    P.S. Suzanne, I loved loved loved COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would wish for an extra hour each day just to read!
    BTW: I love Suzanne's sheltie! I have one at home and they are the best dogs!
    Karen @ Books Beside My Bed
    k.dewysockie@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great interview. I love sea creature tales because I like to think that if magic exists it's deep down in the place we can't explore fully.

    (not an entry because I can only do audios right now)

    ReplyDelete
  4. If I found a mermaid I think I would wish for her to make my basement/lower level of my house perfectly dry. It has flooded more times than I can afford to carpet it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If I found a mermaid I would wish for one more room in my house. i keep looking at all my stuff, including BOOKS, and thinking, "Just one more room! Our lives would be so much better!"
    Thanks for the great interview. we have Coffeehouse Angel in our (small) school library, and it is going like hotcakes. I want to read it but it is passed from one kid to the next without interruption, and I am not going to be the one who breaks the chain!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oops I forgot: e-mail: astockwell@lcer.org

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would wish for an extra hour in the day...it would be my reading only hour. : )

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would wish that I never needed to sleep again. There is just too much to learn, do, and experience! I could read all the books I want, watch all the amazing online videos that "ordinary" people are creating. And on and on.....the list is endless!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'd wish that someone would pay off my mortgage! :)

    Love the sound of this one.

    themgowl at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I would wish for more titles for my library's youth book club.

    amorrow@ellsworth.lib.me.us

    www.thelupinelibrarian.me

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'd wish for a book club for my tween age daughter (our library cut the program this year and she is totally bummed).

    Jennifer
    jennifer@macko.net

    ReplyDelete

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