
Bookworm: Where is
your favorite place to travel?
Mary:
I LOVE road trips across the US. If I wasn't a writer,
I'd probably be a trucker. Though I'm sure I'd annoy everyone
with my horn. How could you resist honking that amazing horn?
Our country is phenomenally beautiful when seen from the road.
And, of course, roadside diners are the
best.
Bookworm: Have you ever had any funny/particularly
memorable travel experiences?
Mary:
Last year, I went on a two week road trip/book tour
across New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. To keep myself company,
I bought several classic disco CDs (I know, I'm a freak...a
super freak, I'm super freaky). There's something about a
great disco song, like Boogie Wonderland or Disco Inferno, that
really revs me up. So I was driving and car-dancing (lots of
head action) and singing at the top of my lungs. By the time I
arrived at my first school visit, I had complete laryngitis! (I
think it's called party-all-nightis when it happens in a club).
I had to squeak my way through my first book event, then
lip-sync my disco songs for the entire rest of my trip.
Bookworm: Out of all the characters from your books,
which one can you relate to the most?
Mary:
Honestly, I see a little of myself in all my characters.
Or, at least, the self I'd like to be. My characters all tend to
be slightly outside of the mainstream, trying to figure things
out. That's definitely me. Which is probably why I'm a writer.
I've always been on the sidelines watching everyone, trying to
figure out how the game is played. The trait I love most in all
my characters is their dogged determination. They NEVER give up.
Which, to me, is the secret to life. That, and a great disco
song.
Bookworm: What is your favorite YA book?
Mary:
When I first started writing YA, I read all the greats:
Holes, Harry Potter, Princess Diaries, Angus, Thongs, and
Full-Frontal Snogging...I couldn't believe how many
talented writers there were out there! I remember thinking, "My
goal is to write good books that just happen to be for teens,
not TEEN books." Any YA novel that does that successfully has my
undying admiration.
Bookworm: What is your advice for young adults who want
to become authors?
Mary:
Tell your
personal truth. Be brave. Let it all hang out. To me,
that's the best way to tell a completely unique, utterly
riveting story.
But, if you write about real people, change their hair color.
For some reason, no one recognizes themselves if you change
their hair color. Except my parents, of course, but you can't
have everything.