Today's muse: Lisa Mantchev
Author of: Eyes Like Stars (review here)
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Bookworm: Welcome, Lisa! To start, will you tell us what your inspiration was for Eyes Like Stars?
Lisa: The name "Beatrice Shakespeare Smith" just popped into my head one day while I was working on another short story. And for some reason, I saw her surrounded by fairies, flying on wires the way actors do in plays, even though they had perfectly serviceable wings.
Bookworm: How long did it takes you to write Eyes Like Stars, start to finish?
Lisa: I started drafting in July 2006, and was done by the end of September, and had it revised by December. Then it sold in May of 2007 and went through the editorial and production process until it was published in July of 2009. (Almost three years from start to finish.)
Bookworm: Who was your favorite character to write in the book?
Lisa: The fairies were so much fun...and the scary part is that I have conversations like theirs all the time.
Bookworm: Did you act as a teenager, and if so, are you still involved in theater?
Lisa: I started in community theater when I was seven and acted in various plays all the way through college (where I majored in drama.) The most recent show I did was in 2003 when she moved up to Washington state; that was the year before my daughter was born. Then I started writing novels and all my free time evaporated!
Bookworm: What's your favorite play?
Lisa: I love so many of them, it makes it hard to pick just one, so I'll say that today my favorite is Peter Pan.
Bookworm: Cupcakes or cookies?
Lisa: CUPCAKES. [Bookworm: I am so with you there!!!]
Bookworm: In honor of the fairies, what's your favorite pastry? (:
Lisa: There's a store in Pike Place Market that makes pastry-wrapped marzipan rolls. *NOM*
Bookworm: Are you on Team Nate or Team Ariel?
Lisa: That's like asking a mom to pick her favorite kid. I love them both for very different reasons...Ariel because he's mercurial and tricky to nail down when I'm trying to work out a scene, and Nate because of his accent, his muscles, and his steadfast determination and loyalty.
Bookworm: Can you give us a sneak peek at what's going on in Book 2, Perchance to Dream? [Which I am sososososo excited for!]
Lisa: *shifty eyes* I could tell you, but then I'd have to KEEEEL you. *heh*
Bookworm: What YA book have you read recently and loved?
Lisa: So many...Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters, Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, and Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book. Right now, I'm reading Cindy Pon's Silver Pheonix and loving it, although it gives me unholy cravings for dumplings and noodles.
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Don't you just love her? Thanks so much, Lisa, for the awesome interview. I can't wait to see what's next for Bertie and the cast in Perchance to Dream, which is being released by Feiwel & Friends in May 2010.
Visit Lisa's awesome website here
1 comment:
I love Lisa! She is so sweet and her novel is amazing! Thanks for the excellent interview.
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