Author Interview: Barbara Dee

Barbara Dee is the author of Solving Zoe, Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life, This Is Me From Now On and Trauma Queen.  She kindly took the time to answer a few of my questions...

What inspired Trauma Queen?
I’ve noticed that when girls hit their tween/young teen years, they often feel embarrassed by their moms, even when they love their moms very much. Moms often feel as if their daughters are pulling away, and they’re not sure exactly why. It can be such a tricky time for both moms and daughters that I thought it would be fascinating to explore this theme in a book!

I loved Marigold, and her mother is such a great character! How do you come up with the characters for your books?
Thanks, Sammee! Mostly I just use my imagination, but I’m also always observing. New York is such a great town for people-watching and eavesdropping—wherever you go, you can notice someone quirky! I keep a little notebook in my pocket so I can jot down snatches of conversation, weird outfits, etc. So far, I haven’t been caught.

Is there a scene in the book which really stands out for you?
I don’t want to give out any spoilers, so all I’ll say is that I’m proud of the climax of the novel. As I was typing it, I was smiling and crying at the same time!

If you could cast a TV or film version of Trauma Queen who would be your ideal cast?
What a fun question! Hmm. Well as long as I could have absolutely any actor on the planet (because of course we’d have an unlimited budget!!!) for Becca I’d want someone fearless and vanity-free, like Kate Winslet, Toni Colette or Laura Linney. Marigold would be trickier to cast—she has to be just as intense as Becca, but in a quieter way. The actress who was so good in the Coen brothers’ True Grit, Hailee Steinfeld, could be perfect, or (in another year or so) Kiernan Shipka from Mad Men. For Gram, I think I’d want someone earthy and tough, like Melissa Leo. And now we have to find a role for George Clooney. Let’s make him Dad, or maybe the principal, okay?

What authors/books did you love when you were growing up? Did any of these inspire you to become a writer yourself?
When I was a kid, I read constantly. Two books that had an especially strong impact on me were Little Women and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Jo March made me want to become an “authoress,” and I found Francie Nolan fascinating—an ordinary girl who was so sensitive and complex. When you read characters like these (over and over!), your brain naturally starts creating characters on its own.

What is your favourite aspect of being a writer? And the most challenging? The best thing about being a writer is… writing! Yes, it’s often agonizing, but when it’s going well, there’s nothing better than thinking about characters and words all day long. The second best thing is hearing from readers. I feel as if I have friends all over the world! As for the most challenging thing—well, I’m not the most patient person, so it’s hard for me to wait eighteen months or so to see a manuscript become a book. Once I’ve written something, I just want to share it right away!

What is a typical writing day like for you? Are there any ‘must-haves’ you need before you sit down to write?
I get the kids off to school, exercise on the treadmill and get to work until they come home. When I’m writing I confess I chew a lot of sugarless gum and drink gallons of herbal tea. I’m trying my best to drink green tea these days, but what I really like is Chamomile Mango, because it’s sweet. And if I get writer’s block, I’m allowed to have chocolate. Unlike Becca, I’ve never declared a Chocolate Day—but it’s tempting!

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Thanks Barbara! And yes, I agree, there should be a role for George Clooney!  In fact,  there should always be a role for George Clooney lol

You can find Barbara at the following places:

Twitter
Facebook
Website
Blog
Goodreads

Trauma Queen by Barbara Dee

For Review: Barbara Dee
Published 19 April 2011

From Goodreads: Every tween girl knows what it's like to have a mom who can be a little embarrassing at times. But for Marigold, it goes way beyond embarrassing. Marigold's single mom is a performance artist, meaning she stages dramatic, wacky performances to express her personal beliefs. Things like wrapping herself in saran wrap for a piece on plastic surgery, or inviting people over in the middle of the night to videotape her sleeping. In fact, Marigold's mom's performances caused such a ruckus in their last town that the two of them, along with Marigold's little sister, have just had to move. Now Marigold's starting a new school, missing her best friend like crazy, and trying to fit in all over again in the shadow of a mom who's famous for all the wrong reasons. As if that's not bad enough, Marigold's mom takes on a new job--teaching drama at Marigold's school! Now all the kids know instantly just how weird her mom is, and Marigold's worried she'll never be able to have a friendship that can survive her mother.

Having read and loved This Is Me From Now On I jumped at the chance to review Trauma Queen. Infused with the same humour and charm, Trauma Queen is an absolute joy to read.

The story begins with Marigold's first day at her new school and on her mother's instruction she turns up in her pajamas.  Unfortunately Pajama Day was a month earlier!  Whoops! Marigold's mother is a performance artist and rather quirky - she seems to constantly embarrass and cause problems for Marigold, so when she gets a job at her new school , Marigold is rather alarmed.  Will there be chaos or will Marigold start to see her mother in a different light?

I love how Barbara Dee manages to combine humour with real issues, and create believable characters who I enjoy spending time with.  Marigold is really likeable and fun.  You can understand why she finds her mother embarrassing, but at the same time you can see something in her mother that she doesn't see yet.  I really liked her mother - I though her heart was always in the right place even if the way she went about things (sometimes) made them worse! And I loved her Gran.  There is a scene between her and Marigold that is particularly poignant and gives great insight into Marigold's mother.

I also loved her friends, especially Layla and Ethan.  I would have liked to have gotten to know both even more and am hoping for a sequel to Trauma Queen - I'm not ready to leave these characters just yet!

A great story about friendship and families, and realising that your parents are people too.  Thoroughly enjoyable!

This Is Me From Now On by Barbara Dee

For review: Barbara Dee
From Amazon: Sometimes your life just needs a little jolt.
This is what Evie's new friend Francesca tells her, and soon enough, Evie's life has had something more like an earthquake. Francesca thinks life is dull unless you go after everything you want and say everything on your mind all the time--and sometimes that includes giving other people a little behind the scenes help to give them what she thinks they want.
Evie can't always tell if she's horrified or fascinated by everything Francesca convinces her to do, but ultimately, she comes to see friendship--and life--in a whole new light.

I loved this! It is a really sweet and fun read that tweens and teens would really enjoy.

Barbara Dee is a great writer and I found myself easily immersed in the story. Evie and Francesca are wonderful characters - I loved how real they felt. Evie comes across as really sweet and kind, very witty with her observations. I enjoyed her journey - about friendships and discovering who you are and who you want to be. I absolutely adored Francesca. I loved her individuality and although she is slightly ...er...economical with the truth I do think she has people's best interests at heart. I thought she was really good for Evie, bringing her out of her shell and really seeing her for who she is rather than who she wanted her to be, and I thought Evie was good for Francesca too. She is a stable influence in her life that could have otherwise be lacking.

The plot is simple but really enjoyable. It's more about the characters and how they grow, and about the friendships you have when you are still discovering who you are. It brought back memories of my friendships at that age, and of the boys I really liked . I'd loved to catch up with Evie and Francesca at a later date and see how they are getting on, but in the meantime I plan to track down some more of Barbara Dee's work!