Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith!

Jill and I recently got the chance to interview the tantalizing Cynthia Leitich Smith. Check out her answers to our questions below!


   

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of ETERNAL, TANTALIZE, and BLESSED (Candlewick). She also writes short stories and acclaimed books for younger children.

Cynthia is a member of faculty at the Vermont College M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.

Thank you, Cynthia, for joining us on the YABC Blog today!  First off, can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel, Blessed?

Blessed is the story of Quincie P. Morris, a teenage restaurateur who’s facing the consequences of her own undeath, trying to clear her true love of unfounded murder charges, and fighting to stop the monster that remade her from cursing hundreds of others. Or, put another way, it’s your basic rescue the boy, destroy the monster, save-the-world story.

Blessed crosses of the casts of my two previous books, Tantalize and Eternal, and picks up at the very scene where Tantalize leaves off. Like those earlier titles, it’s a Gothic fantasy with strong elements of romance and some humor.



What was it like stepping back into the world of Tantalize and Eternal for this third book?

Fun, perilous, ambitious.

In Tantalize, we meet the everyday people of the world—high school students and teachers, a wedding planner and police officers, waiters and a homeless guy. In Eternal, the stage shifts to spotlight the major players—the vampire royalty and the forces of heaven who combat it. Blessed is a bridge book of sorts, bringing together characters from all walks.

How intriguing to rediscover guardian angel Zachary trying to fend off restaurant customers who longed to touch his hair and to join high-school student Quincie in meeting vampire queen Sabine for the first time.



Will there be a fourth book in the series? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?

Yes, I’m revising it now! Book four is still untitled, but it will feature characters from all of the previous books. That said, it’s more of a sequel to Eternal in the way that Blessed is more of a sequel to Tantalize. Expect more adventure, humor, chilling suspense, and moments that may well inspire Quinice/Kieren and Zachary/Miranda shippers to swoon.

It’s the last in this quartet of titles inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), heavier on the heaven versus hell conflict than anything we’ve seen to date.



Did you base the character Zachary on anyone in particular? If so, who and why?

That Zachary—he is an attention getter. I’m afraid I can’t point you to his real world doppelganger, but I’m pleased by his popularity. He’s a really good guy—an angel of a guy—not perfect, but only slipped rather than fallen. Who could resist? Why would anyone want to?



Who was your favorite character to write in Blessed and why? Did it differ from your favorite in the previous two novels?

Favorite is tough. I have a soft spot for secondary characters.

With Blessed, I already knew the leads and especially enjoyed further developing the secondary characters. Meghan, the four-year-old hybrid werewolf, gave me a chance to flex my picture book writer muscles for a YA audience. Before the book came out, I did a visit with a group of teen girls at a juvenile detention center in Kalamazoo, and one of the girls mentioned that Meghan reminded her so much of her own little sister. I loved that.

With Eternal, I found myself especially intrigued by the twins—Harrison, a vampire servant who wants to join the undead, and his brother Freddy, working as an event planner for the eternals in hopes of persuading Harrison to hold onto his humanity.

With Tantalize, Quincie and Kieren’s English teacher, Mrs. Levy caught my imagination. She returns in Blessed and plays an even bigger role in Tantalize: Kieren’s Story, a graphic novel illustrated by Ming Doyle, which will be released by Candlewick in August.



Did you know a lot about Bram Stoker's Dracula before writing this series? Or did you learn more about Dracula as you went along?

When I first decided in 2001 to take on vampire mythology, I started by doing my homework, studying the books that had come before so I could make thoughtful decisions about when to nod to traditions and when to make a fresh contribution.

Dracula is the quintessential classic.

I’d read it before, but I’ve reread it a dozen times (and listened to an excellent audio adaptation) while writing the series.

The book is dense, told in alternating point of view and with quasi epistolary elements. Van Helsing’s voice is pompous and ponderous to the point of being exhausting. I love it.



How did you think of the idea for a vampire-themed restaurant and all those exotic foods?!

As a teen I’d worked as a waitress at a chain Mexican restaurant and then at the restaurant of an athletic club to make money for college. I’ve always thought that restaurants were such great stages for drama. Think about it: you have thematic menus, décor, music. It’s like stepping into another world. People occasionally even burst into song.

Sure, people think of vampires as more drinkers than diners, but I thought that might offer some of the fresh blood I was looking for.



Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does Blessed have a playlist?

Not a formal playlist per se—but lots of Sinatra and Eartha Kitt.



You have a very popular blog and a substantial online presence in addition to writing novels, public speaking, and more. How do you balance work, writing, and family? (You have super powers, don't you?)

Balance? On the Web content, I tend to work way ahead—months ahead so that I can maintain a steady flow of quality content. I also have a terrific webmaster, Lisa Firke of Hit Those Keys, who keeps the main author site updated and looking gorgeous.

Beyond that, I read and write on a steady basis. My very cute husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, is an author, too. So, he’s especially understanding of the demands of the writing life.



We hear you have some incredible cats at home. Could you have written this series without them?

Yes! Mercury Boo, Bashi Doe, Blizzard, and Leo! Blizzard is snow white and the other three are gray tabbies. Well, Leo is a bit tawny and spotty. They’re terrific company, great inspiration for my werecats, and they love to listen to me read.



So, what's next for Cynthia Leitich Smith?

I look forward to the release of Tantalize: Kieren’s Story! And beyond that, I also have an essay, “Isolation,” being published in the anthology Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories, edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones (HarperTeen), which will likewise be available in late summer/early fall.



Last but not least, what has been your biggest SQUEE! moment since becoming a published author?

The most recent happened on my Blessed tour in NYC. A teenage boy came up to me with Tantalize clutched in his hands and said it was the first book he’d ever finished.

As in the first book he’d ever finished in his whole life.

Wow. I just pray that he keeps reading.



Thank you, Cynthia!

To find out more about Cynthia's Tantalize series, check out her website and the Blessed trailer below: