I’ve been jonesin’ for some Carrie Jones, so even though it’s not easy to follow the fabulous Cynsations interview, I’m going to post my intrusive questions, anyway!

Also, people have noticed an imbalance in the Chinese-or-Thai-food category, so it’s time to even the scales.

And now, without further ado, please welcome our seventh guest (Lucky Number Seven) – Carrie Jones!



Carrie Jones - carriejones - is the author of Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend, and the forthcoming Love (And Other Uses for Duct Tape), a sequel to Tips. She also has a third YA, Girl, Hero, scheduled for release in 2008, as well as a non-fiction picture book. Two more books are contracted for 2009 and after. Whew! I’m tired just thinking about all that writing – I can only imagine the creative energy it takes to bring the books to life.

Since Tips is the only book currently out, that’s the only one I’ve read, but based on how much I loved it, I am excited to read anything Carrie writes, even the picture book. :-)


In writing, are you a plotter or a plunger?
It depends on what I'm writing. In YA and picture books I plunge and then plot. In middle grade I plot and then plunge.

What’s the last song you listened to?
Let me go check. Okay, I'm going to tell you the last TWO songs I played because that shows how bizarre I am.

“Visita Al Cinema” composed by Ennio Morricone. It's on the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso soundtrack.

And “A Lot To Say,” a song by GLUE. Glue is amazing and my friend, Adeem (pronounced ADM), is the vocalist. There's a myspace page for the band that people should check out because... Well, because. Here it is: http://www.myspace.com/glue

If you couldn’t write in your current genre, what would you write?
Um. I'm published in cotemporary YA. My next book is a nonfiction picture book and then some more contemporary YAs coming out, and sitting on my agent's computer is a couple middle grades.

So, um, the genre gods are not holding me back. I'm an experimenter when I write. This is because I am easily bored. So, I guess, to answer your question I would say that I'd like to write something suspenseful and really plot driven. That is my next big experiment.

Thai food or Chinese?
Thai me up, baby!

Ocean or lake?
For looking or swimming? Oh, I am a water whore, I love them both. And don't forget rivers! I live on a river. And don't forget sinks! There's nothing better than a big, metallic sink for both swimming and water gazing.

First car?
Buddy. A Chevy Nova. That means “No Go” in Spanish, someone said. That pretty much describes the car perfectly. I gave it to the Hancock County Tech Center so the people in the automotive class could use it as the perfect example of a klunker... but then... BUT THEN!... they got it working. So, for a year one of the guy students drove it around Ellsworth, and I was all, "Oh, there goes, Buddy! Hey Buddy!" I'd wave and wave and wave but Buddy never waved back.

Furthest you’ve ever been from home.
Belgium

Tell us something weird about you.
I once shapeshifted into the form of a black bear and romped around the driveway of Stephen King hoping to inspire a new book, when he refused to wake up I shuffled off to Cynthia Lord's house and delivered strudel, pawing at the doorbell to get her attention.

It doesn't have to be true, does it? Oh, wait, maybe it is...

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
I'd be that multicolored fat one you buy at museum gift stores, the one where you just tilt it one way and get orange, and then you tilt it another way to get blue. We aren't stuck picking Crayola colors, are we?

Advice for writers in 5 words or less.
Sit. Experiment. Respect your readers.

Rollercoasters: love em or hate em?
Adore them.

Pick three words to go on your tombstone.
Read the obituary.


Thanks for indulging our curiosity, Carrie!