revisions in. I've been working on them for five weeks, the last week being the most intense. This book and what it put me through... wow, I can't really talk about it yet. Other than to say that in the process my playlist/soundtrack for the book went from like 20-some songs to 33 and I'm totally addicted to it. I'll blog about all things BALLADS soon, I promise. And yes, I'll spill the details about my engagement, too, and just generally catch up. But now... Well I've only slept about four hours a night for the past few days and I haven't showered in two days or done laundry in two weeks or cleaned my house in a month. Oh and I have 300 emails to deal with and then MySpace and Facebook. Not to mention I'm still in the emotional state/mindset of my heroin-addicted, self-injury-prone main character, Kara. So yeah, let me unwind for a little bit (please tell me there's a new Grey's Anatomy on tonight!) and you guys can enjoy this fabulous Girlfriends Cyber Circuit interview that I meant to post last week....I'll be back with all the gory details of stuff soon. I promise.
Now meet Carrie Jones. Her book NEED sounds right up my alley as a fan of all things fairy/pixie-related.
Here's what it's all about:
Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.
Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.
And here is the lowdown on Carrie:
Carrie Jones likes Skinny Cow fudgsicles and potatoes. She does not know how to spell fudgsicles. This has not prevented her from writing books. She lives with her cute family in Maine, but she grew up in Bedford, NH where she once had a séance with cool uber-comedian Sarah Silverman.
The Meyers brothers are from Bedford, too, so you’d think it would make Carrie funnier, coming from Bedford N.H. Obviously, something didn’t work.
Carrie has a large, skinny white dog and a fat cat. Both like fudgicles. Only the cat likes potatoes. This may be a reason for the kitty’s weight problem (Shh… don’t tell). Carrie has always liked cowboy hats but has never owned one. This is a very wrong thing. She graduated from Vermont College’s MFA program for writing. She has edited newspapers and poetry journals and has recently won awards from the Maine Press Association and also been awarded the Martin Dibner Fellowship as well as a Maine Literary Award and the Independent Book Publishers Association First Place Award for her debut novel, Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend.
Of course I did an interview, too:
Q: Please list five songs that would be on the soundtrack to your book and explain how they relate to your story or characters.
Carrie: “Imagine” by John Lennon: Zara is really into human rights and social justice and she would like peace and kindness more than anything.
“Running to Stand Still” by U2: This song has major implications to Zara who is mourning mostly because of these first lines
And so she woke up
from where she was lying still
Said we got to do something about where were going
Step on a steam train
Step out of the driving train
Maybe run from the darkness in the night
Zara does run from the darkness in the night.
“All my Heroes are Dead” by Dar Williams is about the pain of war and it has this perfect refrain that would really resonate with Zara who is very pro-peace, and the light reflects the light of Amnesty International and the light she holds for her dead dad.
All my heroes are dead, I got them in my head, saying
Never again, never a war, no more fighting.
So I'll stay true to them, and they'll come home again,
I'll carry the light, follow the dream, I'll remember.
“Just a Girl” by No Doubt: because Zara gets very into her own power and anti-stereotypes.
I'm just a girl, take a good look at me, just your typical prototype...Oh, I've had it up to here...
“Warrior” by Scandal: This is kind of self explanatory because you know the line is…
Well I am the warrior...
Q: Name some of your main character's favorite musicians or bands.
Carrie: She’s very retro super-liberal. So she would like John Lennon who wrote the song “Imagine.” She is also into old U2 songs. Her dad was into those too.
Q: Who are some of your favorite musicians or bands?
Carrie: I love Glue.
I love Dar Williams and John Gorka.
Q: Even though music plays in so heavily into my storytelling, I rarely can actually listen to it while I'm writing. Can you? How does music fit into your writing process?
Carrie: I usually listen to it before I write and get myself in the mood.
Q: While music is my muse, I know other writers find their muse in theater, sports, art, the great outdoors, etc. What is your main muse?
Carrie: I don’t know. It sounds so weird, but I think my muse is something internal. It’s like this weird, fiery need; this quest for a world view; this longing for connection.
Or else it’s country music videos.
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