It's a REAL BOOK!

Yesterday, I got a package:


My novel is now a book.

Very excited, of course. I still can't really believe there is a book with my name on it. I'm a writer, I suppose, and I should be able to describe it better. The dust jacket is glossy and covered with that girl who isn't Cassie, but whom some of the guys in my 7th period class liked the look of enough to want to read about. The cover itself is black. I like it. The pages are smooth, but not too smooth, and very white. I like the design, the set-up of the journals, and the weight of it. It's not a slim book--at 400 pages--but not too thick to seem intimidating, I think.

I'm NOT let down, but since I have been waiting so long and with such trepidation, maybe I am more relieved than ecstatic.

The thing that really energized me was how excited that 7th period class was when I told them about Or Not yesterday (just before I found out it had arrived!) Then when I passed it around today, it was simply very cool.

I warned them that it might be too mature for some of them, lol, and expressed my horror of the thought of them going home and telling their parents that their English teacher had written a book with lots of bad words in it, and they had to get it. (I told them how Robin Brande, in Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature will say something like, "he called him a male body part," while I just write what people actually say. I do think Mom and Dad, as well as some kids, won't appreciate me calling a dick a dick, so . . . I guess we'll see soon enough what sort of a reaction I get. :/ :D)

Scary and fun.

". . . the story is great and the writing superb!"

Can't argue with a quote like that, especially when the rest of the review is also really nice!
Check it out: review of OR NOT!



And my first interview.

Excerpt:

TR2: What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

MANDABACH: I had a student who was told by a holier-than-thou classmate that she was going to hell. How can a person who professes to be inspired by a god of love be so mean? Not that the particulars of that incident are important—I see so much meanness, from girls being called fat to boys being called gay. But I see a lot of love, too. So, my students inspired me a lot in the writing of Or Not.

:)

John Nichols on Or Not

Dear Journal Friends--


WRITING is a magic journey, but waiting for the book to come out is a nerve-wracking time. Like other writers I know, I'm pretty good at convincing myself that my work sucks and that it won't find its way into more than a few stores let alone anyone's backback, bedside table, or desk.

But sometimes, it just feels good to have a book on the way, and sometimes even my limitless need for reassurance abates.

When I sent OR NOT to a big hero of mine, John Nichols, who is an amazing novelist and a champion of beauty and truth in both the human and natural worlds, I didn't really expect him to read it. Not only is he a busy man with a lot of demands on his time, but he almost never blurbs. He'd much rather be hiking down into the Rio Grande Gorge, with or without a fly rod, than reading some hack's first novel.

So I was pretty much floored to get a note from him only two weeks later--filled with good wishes and praise about my book. Including this:

"Cassie Sullivan is a lovely kid, aware of the earth and how to save it, but nobody's listening. Cassie's voice is funny, angry, sad, sarcastic, and perplexed as she struggles to find her own identity. And to find hope for the future despite all the yahoos surrounding her. You will laugh, you will weep, and you'll really enjoy this delightful and poignant novel about a kooky idealist who refuses to give up as she grows up."

My editor doesn't think Cass would like being called "a lovely kid," but take it from me: though Cassie hasn't read Nichols yet, she'd glow in his words. Nichols' uncompromising integrity shines as a light of inspiration to me. Without him, OR NOT would not exist. That he read it, and approved of it, is not only a personal thrill, but it helps reassure me that I'm on the right road.


Peace,

B

An Illustrated Conversation With Alexgirl Richards

After having a few conversations with Alex on our blogs and via email, I decided it would be fun to interview her and post our public conversation. Alex's super-fun and smart novel Back Talk came out in July from FLUX.



Introducing the interview section are the emails that went along with the questions and answers:

>On 8/27/07, BRIAN MANDABACH wrote:

> Hey, Alex! Sorry this has taken so long. I'm slammed now that school
> has started. I thought I would send these along. Some of them may be rather
> random & I didn't really revise, so some may not be {REDACTED}. Feel free
> to skip any that don't inspire you.


>From : Alex Richards >Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:55:41 -0400

>Hey Brian!
>Yowza! I've added my responses in italics below. Thanks for the interview!
>Yes, those were some very crazy questions, but fun, too. You're a nut.
>Anyway. Can't wait to read Or Not and interview you.
>Let me know when you're gonna post it and I'll set up a link.
>A


On 8/30/07, BRIAN MANDABACH wrote:
Great. I love it! Now, a couple of follow ups, and I'll call it "A
Conversation with Alex Richards"


From : Alex Richards alexgirl@
Sent : Monday, September 3, 2007 9:28 PM

Thanks Brian. The follow up Q's were great!
Have a great Labor Day.
A

THE INTERVIEW:

BRIAN: Getting straight to the heart of the matter, you just married a bloke from Bath. (as in UK, city of Roman spas--not as in "room" or "THE bath") Was or is he a DJ? Did you meet on the subway, or as he probably says, "tube"? How close is your real world English heart-throb to the dreamboat boy in Back Talk?


ALEX: Well, the similarities are more in his physical appearance, mannerisms, and personality. I wish I could say my husband was a cool DJ, but instead he's a cool physicist. And no, we didn't meet on the subway. I rarely make eye contact when I travel! We met at a Yo La Tengo concert in Prospect Park.

BRIAN: Physicist sounds more interesting than DJ to me. How's married life?

ALEX: Married life is great! I'd give it a 10 out of 10. I never thought I'd have so much fun introducing him as "my husband." lol


B: Why is Gemma from Idaho?

A: An homage to my best friend. She's from Burley, Idaho, and I wanted to give her a little shout out. It ended up making sense though. Gemma meets Dana for the first time at the ultra popular ski resort, Sun Valley, near Ketchum, Idaho, where Gemma is from.


B: How did you arrive at what I call the "Snarky Omniscient Narrator" of Back Talk?

A: It's basically me. I can be very snarky. My editor suggested I beef up that aspect, and so the snarky commentary went from a 6 to a 10 by the time I finished the book.

B: That's cool when an editor can set you free to be yourself. Andrew Karre
rules. But speaking of being yourself, I've to to tell you, it's rumored
that you're actually a dude named Richard Alexandria. From LA!!! Care to
respond?

A: Damn that blasted Richard Alexandria! Nope, never heard of him. Maybe if I'd gone for a pen name I could have rocked that one. No, I think If I were going to use a pen name, I'd go with something way more exotic, like Vegas Roberts--oh wait, that's the name of a character from one of my Potato Riot films.

B: How can I see your movies?

A: The World Wide Web is stocked with my movies! Check out www.potatoriot.com for the full collection.


B: Back to writing, which is harder: 1st draft or revision?

A: Revisions. Definitely. The first draft just spews out of you and it can never be "wrong," it just "is." But then when you're doing revisions, it's all about making it perfect--and I am a serious perfectionist.

B: What are you reading right now?

A: Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl. I'm really enjoying the story so far. Also, Snow Flower & The Secret Fan, by Lisa See. That book is frigging awesome, and so well written. Next up: Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld. Uglies rocked.

B: What's in your cd player or the last thing you listened to on your ipod?

A: Well, I'm going to give two answers because the last thing I listened to was my gym mix (at the gym), which is full of embarrassingly cheesy pumped up pop tunes (like Sweetest Escape by Gwen Stefani and Fergalicious). But in the real world, the last thing I listened to was Cold War Kids. Oh, and Jeff Buckley.

B:Why do you blog?

A: Is this a trick question? Why do you blog? No, I started because I thought it'd be good book promotion. I'm not really sure if that's true, but now I'm addicted. Blogging is like a drug. And I've made so many awesome friends in blogtopia.

B: This was not a trick question, and my answer is a carbon copy, or a ditto--wait, can I update this to the digital age?--a facsimile of yours! On to another serious writing question: Which do you enjoy writing about more: clothes or clothes?

A:Are you making fun of me?


B: Yes. But though I loved reading BACK TALK, I didn't get some of the clothes
stuff. I guess that makes me curious--I want to hear why you write about
the outfits, designers, etc. Please?


A: There are certain things one pays extra special attention to. A well crafted, creative clothing design will turn a lot more heads than some run of the mill T-shirt. Maybe it can be equated to boys and cars. Por ejemplo: if you were into cars, you'd probably be more excited about a Lamborghini than a Ford Focus, right?


B: You're allergic to shrimp. I agree. But what about rock shrimp?

A: Now I know you're making fun of me.

B: Actually, not. I think shrimp are disgusting. I wish I was allergic so my
wife would stop bugging me about tasting hers. But a rock shrimp is more
like a tiny rock lobster (as in lobster tail, not as in the B-52's). They are delicious, and they are not the same animal, so I wondered if you're
allergic to them, too.

A: Well, I'm actually allergic to shrimp and lobster, so if rock shrimp is like lobster I'm going to have to say No. Though my allergist has invited me to sit in his waiting room with a bucket of shrimp to eat just to "see how it goes." I said No to that, too.

B: What are you wearing and why?

A: Odd interview question, but: denim skirt and a polka dot tank top, because it's freakin' boiling in NYC!

B: I think this came to me because your blogging friend Emma (who ROCKS by the
way, and who I always imagine hanging out with you in NYC proper, not just
in blogtopia NYC) always closes her posts with this information. BTW, I'm
wearing jeans, a blue plaid cotton shirt, and {REDACTED}, because it was casual
Thursday at school today, and it's cool enough here in Colorado so that I
didn't have to change into shorts when I got home.

A: Don't tell Emma you wear {REDACTED}. In fact, if you want to stay cool with the fashion community, I'd keep that bit of info to myself.

B: What's your favorite part of speech? Explain:

A: Expletives. They don't even have to be "bad words" in order to be really fun to say/write. Get creative!

B: Flagellate creativity! Why can you write fuck in a novel and not in an interview?

A: Good point.

B: America Vanderbilt?

A: Yes.
Oh, wait. Was that a question? She's awesome. I love the way America's character develops. At first she may seem like a bitch, but there is a lot going on underneath that sleek, heiress exterior. And how cool is that name. Come on.

B: Precisely. I love it.
Where would you rather look at Georgia O'keefe's paintings: NYC or New Mexico?

A: I've never even been to the O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe. Ooops! But honestly, I'd rather look at her hubby's photography. I love photography and Stieglitz was a pioneer.


B: How do you feel about Taos?

A: Boh-ring. Although they do have a good ski basin. And Julia Roberts.

B: They have Julia Roberts?


A: Yep. And her liiitttle dog, too!

B: Assuming you could change their ages to make them fit the roles (ie. Hugh Grant would be young enough to be Andy, uh, I mean the foxy boy in Backtalk), pick three actresses/actors for leading roles in a movie adaptation of Back Talk:

A: Oooh, I like this question! Hmmm... I think I'd pick a young Daryl Hannah for Dana Cox. Molly Ringwald for Gemma Winters. Or possibly Katie Holmes circa Dawson's Creek. And maybe Mischa Barton
for America Vanderbilt? Or Selma Blair. Wow, that's tough though. I'm gonna keep thinking.

B:Sorry! is that too much Mischa? Nah! Not possible.
What are you working on these days?

A: Just finished my second novel. Woo hoo! The characters are friggin'awesome, and I think people will really fall in love with my main character.

B: Sounds great--I love that feeling of loving your characters so much that you
want others to love them. Tell me a little more?

A: I would tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you.

B: And when you say you're finished, how finished? Finished with the draft? The first round of revisions?

A: Just finished with the first draft. That's why I can't really tell you any more about it. I think I'm going to be making changes, so I don't want to lock myself into anything. But the main character is a really awesome chica, and she wants to be a rock star.

B: You've worked in talk television, film, and literature. What advice do you have for Karl Rove as he moves into a new career?

A: Interesting yet bizarre question! I'd suggest that whatever he does, it be far, far away from politics. Flex the right brain for a bit, K-dog. Knitting perhaps?

B: That seems like a lot of questions. Thanks for doing this--I hope it's
fun. And I can't end on a picture of Karl, so how about this one of Selma Blair?


Peace,
Brian