Author Interview: Dalya Moon

Hello! today we have a special guest at the blog. The lovely author of the book Charlie Woodchuck is a Minor Niner: 

She very kindly answered a few questions about her writing habits and a little bit about  her very first book.

              

    Hope you enjoy it!

Synopsis:

Charlie Woodchuck is the most minor of niners. She’s the youngest girl at Snowy Cove High School, and so clueless, she wore leg warmers and acid-wash jeans on her first day. Big mistake! Almost as big a mistake as signing up for a boys-only shop class.

Just when she thinks the first week of high school can't get any weirder, Charlie discovers she may be adopted. According to the genetics section in her Science textbook, her eyes should be blue, not brown.

Before she graduates from the ninth grade, the girl with the boy's name and the wrong eye color will have to use her detective skills to discover her true identity. She'll use power tools to build fantastical wood creations, and before the year ends, she'll have to face down the biggest bullies of all: the all-powerful members of Snowy Cove’s School Board.

If you want to know more about it, you can check out my review here.

Q: Tell a us a little about yourself.

I'm tall and I have very big feet.  If I go into a regular shoe store and ask for my size, the salespeople make scrunchy faces and say, "Uh, like, we only have, three types of shoes in THAT size."  Then they bring out really hideous nurse shoes.  My feet are slightly bigger than my husband's, so I always tease him about his tiny feet.

Q: What inspired you to want to become a writer? 

I took a writing class because I was looking for more hobbies. My first writing exercise was a thrill.    When I showed up for the second class and other people said they hadn't done their homework, I couldn't believe it.  How could they have not done it?  I couldn't understand.  I didn't want to do anything BUT write.

Q: When did you start writing?

About three years ago, I started writing short stories and novels.  Before that, I'd written plenty of blog posts and other random things, but nothing fiction.

Q: Why middle-grade and YA novels?

I love how earnest a young protagonist can be.  I guess it makes me feel young again to imagine the world through their eyes.

Q: Where is your favorite place to write at?

I like to write around other people, such as in coffee shops.  I write my first drafts with pen and paper, so I can go anywhere and not have to worry about internet access, plug-ins, and screen glare.

Q: What inspired you to write Charlie Woodchuck is a Minor Niner?

One day I had a vivid recollection of a feeling I'd had when I was about Charlie's age.  I'd been in a school play and another girl had done a much better performance than me, and completely stolen the show.  Afterwards, my father kept talking about how good the other girl was.  He wasn't saying it to be mean, but I still got that awful feeling of what it was like to be in someone else's shadow.  And so, the book starts out with Charlie taking action to get out from under her nemesis Kendra's shadow.

Q: Which of your characters is your favorite and why?

Just between you and me?  I love Charlie's best friend, Stacy.  Other people have read the book and hated her.  I don't get that at all!  Stacy makes me laugh.

Q: Why the story takes place in the 80s? Any special reason?

Here's where I'm dating myself.  I grew up in the 80s.  I also thought it would be nice to write a book in that innocent time before Facebook and internet and cell phones.  After I finished the book, some agents suggested I change the time frame to make it contemporary, but I don't think the issues would be as plausible.  In the 80s, plenty of schools (like the one I attended) didn't allow girls in the shop classes, and I think that would be a rarity today. 

Q: Who are your favorite authors of all time? Favorite genre to read? 

As a teen, I devoured anything Piers Anthony, especially the Incarnations of Immortality.  Nowadays I'll read almost anything.  I just finished Divergent, and I thought it was really amazing.

Q: Do you listen to music while you write? Favorite band/singer?

I usually have some radio on, but it disappears when I get into the writing zone.  I have a musician friend, and she'd kill me for admitting this, but I have zero taste in music.  I have a weak spot for cover tunes.  I'm glued to every episode of American Idol or The Voice.

Thank you so much, Dalya!

                                                                 

For more information about Dalya Moon and her book visit her Website