Happy Friday, all! Here’s another round of girlfriend gossip, this time with Bev Katz Rosebaum, author of the recently released novel, BEYOND COOL, the sequel (which can also be read as a stand-alone) to her phenomenally successful young adult novel, I WAS A TEENAGE POPSICLE.
“Fresh and fun—an absolute blast!” —Sarah Mlynowski, author of BRAS & BROOMSTICKS.
“Cool, clever, and full of charm!” —Melissa Senate, author of THEODORA TWIST
Welcome, Bev! Grab some coffee, and let’s get down to the gossip.
What’s the most regrettable hairstyle you’ve ever had? Any mullets? Rat tails?
I jumped on the ’80s perm bandwagon in my last year of university. My hair was chin length, and I had bangs. Not exactly the right ‘do for a perm. I looked like a clown, and regrettably, that hair is immortalized in my university graduation picture. Sigh.
I feel your pain, Bev. I’ve been there, too! Okay, what hair styling product can you not live without?
Styling mousse and hairspray. I have straight, fine hair, so without a perm (see above sad story), I really need those volumizing aids!
How long have you been with your current stylist and what are your appointment conversations like–chatty and personal, or quiet and professional?
I’ve been with the fabulous Nora for about four years. She’s a new mom, so we talk a lot about kids. And my hair. That’s about it. A nice mix of personal (but not too) and professional. After suffering through the overly personal stylist and the downright weird (like the one who made me stand through the whole haircut), Nora’s a breath of fresh air!
For one day, time travel is a reality and you have the opportunity to visit any famous deceased author you want. Who do you pick?
Jane Austen. I know. Everybody picks her. What can I tell you?
If you could hit the rewind button, which book published by another author do you wish you could have written? Which movie screenplay?
Book: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. I torture myself by rereading it several times a year.
Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine. (I’m betting that’s another one everybody picks!)
If I asked the members of your critique group who you’re most like when critiquing manuscripts, would they choose Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul or Simon Cowell?
I’m Paula–very encouraging, very cheerleader-ish–but I also offer a lot of constructive criticism (which I never see any of those three doing).
If you followed the career path you chose for yourself in high school, what would you be doing for a living now?
Journalism. I quit a university level journalism program after the first year. I just couldn’t be bother pushing myself to the front of the scrum. Far prefer to toil by myself at my computer all day and make people up (far more interesting).
Lightning round, no more than two words per answer!
Do you…
Outline or wing it? Outline.
Talk about works-in-progress or keep your trap shut? Trap shut.
Sell by proposal or completed draft? Proposal.
Love to edit or cringe at the thought? Love to.
Prefer writing a new book or marketing the old? New book.
Write better at home or in a coffee shop? At home.
Read your released book or no thanks, I’ve read it enough? No thank you!
And finally, what’s your favorite…
Time to write? Morning.
Movie? Little Miss Sunshine.
Book? Speak.
Author? Jane Austen.
Guiltiest pleasure? Chocolate.
Thanks for stopping by, Bev, and best of luck with BEYOND COOL!
Speaking of BEYOND COOL, here’s the scoop:
Floe Ryan was frozen for ten years. Crazy, but true. She was vitrified at sixteen because of a rare disease. Now she’s been thawed back to her normal self, but absolutely everything else has changed. Her little sister’s older than her, her teachers are now holograms (but still annoying), and instead of learning to drive a car, she’s trying to master a hover-car. And just when she starts warming up to this new scene, everything falls apart…
Her boyfriend is giving her the, er, cold shoulder, and worse, Dr. Dixon at the Cryonics Center tells her that people who were frozen are more susceptible to illnesses. The one doctor who can cure this immune system weakness has gone AWOL. Now it’s up to Floe and her brainy friend Sophie to find him. But they’re not the only ones looking for him–and this time, Floe could be iced for good…
Bev Katz Rosenbaum is a former fiction and magazine editor who found her calling when she fell in love with the books her kids were reading and the TV shows they were watching. She lives in Toronto with her family. Be sure to check out her awesome website and her myspace page, where she also blogs weekly. (You can also catch her occasional blog posts at www.teenfictioncafe.blogspot.com.)
Have a great weekend!
