The Dirt Diary {Blog Tour} Plus! Interview with Author Anna Staniszewski!

"Oh. My. Goldfish."  I loved Anna Staniszewski's The Dirt Diary!

Rachel Lee is in the 8th grade.  Her parents have just split up, and she's still recovering from a fake boyfriend incident the year before (Junior High kids can be so mean!)  She doesn't think her life can get much worse...but then she has to help out with her mom's new business: a house cleaning service!  One that caters to the families of the popular kids in her school.  She discovers, though, that finding her classmates "dirty laundry" (see what I did there?) can be used to her advantage.  What will Rachel do with this information?

When I started The Dirt Diary, I was expecting the typical Mean Girl vs. Outcast story (or maybe even something along the lines of Seven Deadlies).  Burn Book gets found and spread all over the school, outcast girl becomes super-popular, ends up with football star.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Sure, there are some similarities, but the conflict doesn't go so horribly awry you feel sick/uncomfortable (which has happened with the last few Mean Girl/Outcast/Bully books I've read lately).  It was nice in the way Napoleon Dynamite is nice [confession: memorized movie].  There are popular kids, not popular kids, and some conflicts- but none (okay, maybe most) of the characters were completely evil.  It was very similar to my junior high experience.  

First- I loved Rachel Lee.  She captured me with her blurting of "Holy fish tacos" (something I'm pretty sure I've actually said).  She continued to endear me with her fun little quips, and then when she turned to baking to ease her troubled soul? I gave her a mental hug.  Food IS a language all in itself!

Second- I loved Rachel's friends.  Marisol and Andrew are...well, if I could've put Andie and Ducky together in Pretty in Pink, that's how I picture Marisol and Andrew.  And who wouldn't love that?

Third- Red Sox.

This was a super-fun read that would be great for middle grades! And apparently nearly 30-somethings, as I raved about this book to everyone I saw for two days after I finished it.  I'm really excited to see how the rest of the series goes!

Sidenote: I read this while also watching the K-Drama Heirs.  One of the characters is Yoo Rachel (but pronounced Rye-el).  So, in my head that's what I called our Dirt Diary Rachel, unless it was explicitly pronounced otherwise ("Ray-CHUL!")

***

And now!  I had the privilege of interviewing Anna as part of The Dirt Diary Blog Tour! (HUGE thanks to Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, and Anna, for this opportunity!) 

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. She is the author of My Very UnFairy Tale Life series, published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. Look for the first book in Anna’s next tween series, The Dirt Diary, in January 2014, and visit her at www.annastan.com.

Hi Anna! Greetings from the frigid Midwest :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions!

1. Of all the characters in The Dirt Diary, which one do you connect with most? And, if it’s different, which one are you most like?

Rachel, the main character, and I definitely have a lot in common personality-wise. Her extreme shyness, neurotic insecurities, and funny sayings were inspired by my own quirks from when I was in middle school. Luckily, I’ve gotten a little more outgoing and a little less insecure since then!

2. Were any of Rachel’s situations based on your own experiences?

Although I haven’t been in Rachel’s specific situation (cleaning houses with her mom, going through a parental divorce, etc.) I can relate to the treatment Rachel experiences at the hands of the popular kids. When I was younger, the popular kids didn’t go out of their way to make my life miserable, but they usually treated me like I was completely invisible which made me feel like dirt.

3. Did you know from the beginning the direction you wanted her parents’ situation to take? Or did that develop with the story?

I had a pretty good idea early on of how I wanted Rachel’s parents’ story to end up. My goal was to make the outcome hopeful but realistic. I spent a lot of time trying to get Rachel to a point where she’d be okay, no matter how her parents’ relationship ended up.

4. Did you have any teachers who encouraged you the way Ms. Kennedy encourages Rachel?

I was lucky enough to have lots of great teachers when I was growing up, particularly a couple of English teachers in high school who really believed in my writing. I don’t know if I would be an author now if they hadn’t encouraged me as much as they did.

5. What would YOU have made for the bake sale?

I love eating pastries, but I’m not that great at making them. I do have one dessert that’s always a hit: a chocolate chip cookie cake with cream cheese filling.

6. As a children’s librarian, I have to ask: what was your favorite book growing up?                 

I had so many that I can’t narrow it down to just one! Among my favorites were Anne of Green Gables, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Secret Garden, and A Wrinkle in Time.

7. Were any characters based off people you know in real life? Marisol and Andrew would definitely be characters from my life.

I usually weave in characteristics from real people into my characters, but I don’t think there was one person who inspired any of the characters. It’s more fun, somehow, to invent characters from scratch and then sprinkle in traits from real-life people.

Thank you again for chatting! I look forward to reading more of your work! Enjoy the holidays in New England! (I was just that way for Thanksgiving).

Thank you so much for having me!

***

The Dirt Diary is published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.  Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.

Release Date: 01.07.2014

{Blog Tour--Fairy Tale Comics} Interview with Gigi D.G.

You KNOW how much I love graphic novels, especially ones from :01 First Second.  I recently reviewed their most recent anthology, Fairy Tale Comics- a collection of 17 fairy tales by 17 different cartoonists.  I'm thrilled to be part of the Fairy Tale Comics blog tour- please, PLEASE follow the entire thing here.  Many great blogs are interviewing these talented illustrators.

I fell in love with the style of the "Little Red Riding Hood" re-telling, and jumped at the chance to interview artist Gigi D.G.  Huge thanks to Gina Gagliano and :01 First Second for setting this whole thing up.

Now, without further ado, my Q&A with Gigi:

First off, did you always know you would to be a cartoonist? I ask because, despite my love of reading and daydreaming, the thought of being a librarian didn’t occur to me until after 3 different majors and a stint in musical theatre in California :)

It can definitely take a while to find yourself! For a while in high school, I considered studying French or Japanese and pursuing a career in translating. I was pretty serious about it, too! But art has always been my first love, so I think becoming a cartoonist was inevitable.

Are there any cartoonists/artists that have influenced you?

Erté and Tadahiro Uesugi are two of my favorite illustrators, and the work of Mary Blair was a huge influence during my art school days. I also draw a lot of inspiration from the art direction of video games like Kirby's Adventure and Paper Mario.

What tools do you use?  And what is your preferred medium?

I like watercolors and gouache from time to time, but my preferred medium is digital. I usually work in Photoshop.

How often do you draw?
Daily!

As a children’s librarian, I have to ask: were there any picture books that inspired you, or that you kept coming back to, when you were younger?
I remember really enjoying Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk and The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. And, while I didn't grow up with it, I adore the work of Mo Willems.

Do you read a lot of comics?

Admittedly not as many as I should, but Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma is one of my all-time favorites.

What does your illustrating process look like?

Messy! My sketches are usually very loose, and I like to lay down huge blobs of color as quickly as possible, then slowly chisel away at them until the final product reveals itself.

Where is your drawing space?  What does it look like?  (asks the girl with wind-up sushi, Adventure Time miniatures, and Korean wedding dolls on her desk)

At the time of writing, I've just moved into a new apartment, so my work station is still a little barren. But there isthe giant, stuffed Donkey (from Shrek) that my friend sent me as a joke a few years ago. He's there.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

I like baking. Actually, I just baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies to celebrate the move.

What was your reaction when approached to contribute to Fairy Tale Comics?

Surprise! I was incredibly honored to be asked to participate in a project with so many amazing illustrators, some whose work I've known and loved for years, and I honestly felt a little out of my league. Even now, it's surreal (in a great way!) to see my name in the table of contents.

When did you decide to do the character twist with the lumberjack, and what influenced that twist?

I like ladies taking active roles in old-fashioned fairy tales, so I figured there was no reason not to have a female lumberjack. I was discouraged from making any radical changes to the original Red Riding Hood story, so I was worried that the change might be overstepping my boundaries, but the folks at First Second were very receptive.

What is your favorite fairy tale/folktale?

I loved Sleeping Beauty as a kid, and it still has a place in my heart.

I checked out Cucumber Quest (and I love it!)- what was your inspiration for the story and characters?

Thank you! Cucumber Quest was largely inspired by the video games I grew up with, both in storytelling and visuals. Though it pokes fun at a few "hero's journey" conventions, I don't consider it a parody--at its heart, Cucumber Quest is a very genuine, very silly adventure story that kids and adults can enjoy.

What advice would you give to new artists out there?

Keep drawing what makes you happy! It can be easy to forget what drew you to art in the first place, especially if you pursue it as a career. Always work hard and keep learning, but don't forget to have fun with it, too.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me!  I look forward to seeing more of your work!

Thank you for the interview!



Fairy Tale Comics was published a mere week ago- that means you can go get it now!  Also, you should check out Gigi's webcomic Cucumber Quest.  You can also follow her on Twitter & Tumblr.