Teensreadtoo.com Interviews Rowena Wright

Jennifer Wardrip at Teensreadtoo.com just sent me the link to my author interview: http://teensreadtoo.com/InterviewWright.html. How delightful.

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?

It's terrible to point out the incentive of getting stuff, but I did win a goldfish and a nice guide to wildflowers when I was in the fifth grade in an essay contest. I guess after that, I was hooked!


Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

I noticed the books I buy for my daughter are like Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series. I have nothing against these popular books, but I thought I'd be nice if there were books where important, real things going on today could be integrated into something fun. Why be a Princess when you can be a Queen?


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?

I'm working on a sequel to A Loop in Time, where I'll explain more about Ericca and her abilities (spoiler: she is from an ancient lineage of Ringgolds who unlike Saplings have their fossil genes intact). Part of this also explains why Ericca and her mother are considered vampires and seers, and no, it does not involve drinking blood or crystal balls. I love fantasy and magic, but things really get interesting when you add references to reality which pushes the fantastic into the realm of credibility. Almost. It's the teasing sense of What if this could be basically true? that sets the Polis series apart from most of today's fantasy.


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

I dedicate A Loop in Time to my father, which is fitting because the story is about a girl looking for her father. There are bits of my life all over the place in weird transformations, but I think you'll notice most an atmosphere of trust and safety, and an affirmation of the greatness of a free society. Ericca roams around a fantastic, almost credible Manhattan ; she is not mugged or raped; she is not chauffeured about by a nanny or a parent. I owe this viewpoint from my parents, particularly my dad, who, being immigrants, knew very well what happens in societies that are not free.


Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

My family has been incredibly supportive, especially my husband. My daughter even filmed a commercial for me which we hope to post on YouTube one of these days.


Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?

I love chocolate, but had to give it up recently since I think the caffeine was making me a little sore. So now I like red bean buns and almonds.


What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

The very first things? Hmmm...basically stretching, meditation, and mental roaming.


If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what's the one thing that would surprise me the most?

Are you easily surprised? I'm fairly normal; there might be a cat curled up somewhere out of sight. Also, you should check out my faux-fur jackets, recent acquisitions, in red and black. Invite me to a party; I'll wear them for you.


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?

Orange, totally, mango.


Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?

I watch a lot of Yu-gi-oh and Pokemon, or correction, I buy a lot of these cartoons. My favorite character is Saito Kaiba from Yu-gi-oh, and I'd think I'd be fun to be Mai Valentine, also from Yu-gi-oh, because she wears some really cool clothes.


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?

What a great question! I'd like to go to the time of the Elves in Lord of the Rings (it may have really existed you know). Maybe I could be Arwen and live in Rivendell. I wouldn't want to sacrifice my immortality to marry Aragon , though Viggo Mortenson is sort of cute.


So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you're writing?

Actually, I like a lot of music: Enigma, Outkast, Eminem, Chris Rea, Cold Play, Roxy Music, opera, jazz. Sometimes I Iisten to New Age or rap when I write, though actually I'm finding writing is really work, so grooving to tunes is really not that helpful.


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 love Sex in the City, and art history classes on TV. I also saw a few episodes of The Apprentice. Movies? You guessed it, I have Harry Potter, and all of the Lord of the Ring movies. Theater movie? Probably Cars. My youngest is still pretty small.


You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Collect the things you love; this applies to objects, relationships, experiences. There is just too much clutter in your face these days, sometimes it is too easy to give into things that are cheesy.


One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

I'm so looking forward to developing the Polis series. It's so fascinating to explore this polarization of the lucky versus the unlucky, the haves and the have-nots, as personified by Daemon Skye and Branch Archer, all wrapped up in a world that is real and fantastic at the same time.


Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!

Thanks for featuring me. For more about the Polis series, check out www.polisgames.com.