If you’ve seen the movie Freaky Friday, you know that its premise is about change and growth through role reversal. For my Friday Blog entry I thought it would be interesting to interview aspiring writers; the same writers who spend lots of time reading the interviews of published authors and dreaming of the day when they might get their book on the shelves…
Today’s Freaky Friday interview is with Amy Spitzley. Amy is my second interview with an author that I’ve had the good fortune of meeting in cyber space. We bonded with Mike Jung over virtual muffins. BTW, virtual muffins are the way to go, they are low in calories and there are no crumbs to impede conversation ;o).
Amy, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi Kimberly…Um…well, one of the biggest things about me that always comes through in my writing is my dislike of formality. I’m a very casual person. I like to say that formality and I sit on the opposite sides of a room and I make faces at it. (grin) In most things I aim to be childlike, but sometimes end up at “childish” instead. Damn those last three letters!
I’m married to a goofy Englishman who encourages me and puts up with me, which is awesome and not always easily done. Our kids are 9 (Nerissa) and 6 (Dorran), both total bookworms, which rules. I don’t think I’d know what to do with a kid who didn’t like to read!
I write the way I talk and the way I think, only a little more streamlined. I like to take reality and give it a tweak. I have a Victorian story with a magic pin and a dragon, another where the princess sleeps around with stableboys out of rebellion, and one where the ruling class lives in trees and is addicted to a substance in the leaves. My latest project, strangely enough, is rather the opposite–to bring mutants down to earth a little.
You are in good company Amy. I ping-pong back and forth between childlike and childish depending on what way the wind is blowing. I am fascinated by people who have several stories going at once. I occasionally diddle with a picture book from time to time, but I am a one story at a time, kind of a girl. In fact I have to create a visual picture board of characters and setting, a playlist of music that pulls me in and then I have to wander for hours in the empty space between my ears. *no giggling* Do you jump from story to story? Or are these completed works ready for an agent? What is your process?
Hmm…process. Good question! Well, I have five novels completed, but some of them will never see the light of day. One of those I have on the backburner because I think it has tons of promise but the ending keeps defeating me. That’s the Victorian one. I started it about five years ago. The “druggie tree story” needs to be finished, and the princess story is in the revision pile as well. The one I’m currently revising, though, is the mutant scrapbook. It’s been
through the submission/rejection process with quite a few agents already, so I’m trying to throw a few more stones at my characters this time before sending it back out. There’s been some tentative interest in a revised version, which is cool and motivational!
I tend to write better away from my apartment, usually in a bookstore downtown or at the library. All but one of my stories have been written to specific music–for the mutant scrapbook it’s U2, Avril Lavigne, and Matchbox Twenty, although I may start using something a little edgier as well.
Probably the funniest part of my process is that if I’m writing at the library I have to sneak a few big books off the shelves to sit on because I’m too damn short for the chairs, and if I cross my legs for that long my knees protest! I like to think that the whole booster-chair-at-age-37 scenario keeps me on the childlike side of things, though.
Any chance we can get a picture of you in your “booster seat” for the interview?
You mentioned that you were blessed with kids who are avid readers. Woo Hoo! I have three boys who love books too and it is great to share that passion with them. I also know that they inform and effect my writing and writing process in multiple other ways. What is your take on being a mom at the same time that you’re writing for children?
I don’t know about taking a picture of me sitting on books at the library. Sounds embarassing! But I can probably come up with a picture of myself if you need one.
Being a mom and writing for kids doesn’t really inform my writing yet, because my kids are 6 and 9 and I’m writing YA fantasy. I do know that anything I write needs to be stuff I won’t mind them seeing someday! I have a line in my mutant scrapbook where one character tells a gold-skinned girl who dresses like an Amazon for Halloween that she looks like “a walking wet dream.” I kinda hope my daughter doesn’t get on me for that someday. And I guess I’m more aware of the parental characters I write, being one myself. For the most part, though, it’s just a scheduling thing. I have a hard time writing with my kids around because there’s nowhere I can hide away from them in my apartment.
The other funny thing is that my daughter refuses to take my advice on books! I know all these great MG fantasies I think she’d like and when I point them out to her at the library she generally says “No thanks, Mom. Maybe next time.” I suppose I should be thankful she’s polite about it, anyway!
Alright, I’ll take any great picture of you but the book one sounded so cute. I personally think it’s hysterical that your daughter shuns your taste in books. (I have three boys-someone is always shunning something I suggest!) I guess we should be proud that we are raising kids who feel comfortable enough to be themselves. In my last Freaky Friday interview with our mutual muffin friend Mike Jung, we talked about conferences and virtual reality. I was wondering where you get support and information? Do you have a local writer’s group? Are you blog surfing? Reading those old fashion things called BOOKS?
I’m forever reading books. I think it’s depressing that people actually feel electronic media may be the wave of the future. I’m not the type to wave “Save The Books!” signs in front of the local library or anything, but for me reading a good book is a great way to escape and relax. I can’t see that happening on the computer somehow. That might be why I haven’t done the blog stuff much. I’m not opposed to it, I just never got into it.
I do have several people who read my stories for me and an online critique group that’s awesome. I like things to be pretty laid-back–I think too many rules can kill a group. That’s just me, though. I have an in-person group that’s sort of in transition at the moment, as well. I get a lot of support and information from the Verla Kay boards, of course, and lately from Facebook. Half the people I know there are old friends I’m re-connecting with, and the other half are new ones I haven’t even met yet!
I have attended a few SCBWI conferences, too, for what that’s worth. I went to the winter NY one right after I started all this (about five years ago) and pretty much got my mind blown. More recently I’ve been to two Michigan ones, and I actually got to go to the LA conference a few weeks ago thanks to a scholarship. It was about as cool as you’d think!
I’m looking forward to going to LA next year. I hear it is an incredible experience. I agree, the first conference is mind blowing. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Before I let you go, can you tell my a little bit about your top five books and how they have influenced you?
My top five books…it’s always a bit hard for me to tell. I always feel bad for the ones I’m not including!! I guess for now I’ll go with these, in no particular order, as long as anyone reading this knows that they’re just the tip of my literary iceberg.
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley–the most tattered book I own, and the one that really got me started on fantasy. Cool heroine, awesome setting, romance–everything a book should have. Read it.
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier–I kept saying “Oh, WOW!!” when I read this because she threw so many old legends into one book. I’m a sucker for that. An enchanted frog, dancing princesses, Night People, fairies, a sick father and an evil cousin…and it’s set in Transylvania.
The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart–I love this for the language. It’s 50’s British English spoken in Crete, so there are things worked into the dialogue like a Greek translation of the phrase “not a sausage.” Somehow that cracks me up. Plus it’s dramatic in that cloak-and-dagger 50’s way, which is fun.
The Powwow Highway by David Seals–I haven’t read it in a while, but every few years I have to go back and rediscover the insanity. It’s hilarious, and moving, and just a very cool book all-around. I mean, who wouldn’t love a gentle Cheyenne giant named Philbert?
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott–By now you’ve guessed it’s all about the characters for me, and Polly is no exception. Even when I don’t agree with her, which is often, she manages to get to me. Plus, again, the language is fun. I mean, Alcott uses words like “bandboxy” and apologizes for it since it’s slang. I go back to this every so often, when I need something comforting. I think that’s what Polly–and her creator–is really good at. This is Comfort Lit 101 for me.
Amy, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to be interviewed. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person some day and reading your stories. I will forever picture you on a stack of books in the library and I strongly believe that your future author photo should be taken exactly like that. If you’re in agreement about the photo or just fell in love with the very cool Amy Spitzley, be sure to stop by and let her know.
Until next week…
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I love your Freaky Friday posts. I enjoyed this. I feel like I know Amy from her posts on the boards and Facebook. And you are right. Amy is very cool.