And in case you didn't know what Hottie is about, here's a summary (from Amazon):
Alison Cole’s got it all: She’s gorgeous, dating a steamy surfer boy, and has just been crowned Beverly Hills High Freshman Class President. Then during a special “symmetry” surgery, a lightning bolt zaps her, and Alison instantly transforms into Hottie—that is, a totally sizzling superhero with the power to shoot fire from her fingers!
Shunned as a Pyro-Freak, Alison must adopt dorky David Eels as her crime-fi ghting sidekick. Worse, she’s falling for the one guy who wants to “extinguish” her forever, Junior Class President of Cuteness— and wannabe fi refi ghter—T. Hull. But she doesn’t realize that a supervillain’s lurking. . . .
Has Hottie met her match?---
And the interview:
1) If you woke up one morning and discovered you could shoot fire from your fingers, what do you think you'd be most worried about burning?
My coccyx.
2) Describe the superhero you: name, power, costume, sidekick (if you have one). Go nuts.
Name: WMK. (It stands for Where's My Keys?)
Power:Makes people forget where their keys are. Sounds stupid, you say? Think about it: no-one could get into their cars or their houses or their schools or their offices or their factories. The world would grind to a halt!
Costume White vinyl suit covered in black keyholes.
Sidekick: Talking fox.
(Although, thinking about it, once people began breaking into locked buildings and hot-wiring their cars, my powers would quickly be rendered worthless. And I'd be left with a fox who won't stop telling me what as loser I am...)
3) What was the most difficult thing about writing Hottie?
This is my first novel but I've written screenplays and magazine articles, predominantly for entertainment publications. This meant that I had almost zero descriptive skills and I relied way too much on pop culture references. My first draft was filled with one word descriptions of houses and cars and way too many mentions of TV shows and celebrities destined to fade instantly into obscurity. I fixed those errors over the course of the editing process but the finished book still has mentions of Christian Bale, Rihanna and Chris Brown that cause me to wince when I see them.
4) Why did you choose
The West Coast is a tinderbox. A stray spark can-- and, every year, does-- trigger a raging inferno that leaves hundreds homeless and reduces million dollar properties to ashes. What better place to situate a story about a girl whose fingers burst into flames anytime she's gets angry, excited or upset?
5) Why do you think people love superheroes so much?
No matter their age or their circumstances, people never grow out of feeling powerless and oppressed and ignored. The idea that there's someone out there, hiding behind a secret identity, ready to swoop down and wipe out all of our tormentors is a potent one and will be with us for a long time to come.
6) What book are you working on now?
I recently finished the Hottie sequel (Twice the heat! Twice the fun! Available this time next year!) and now I'm almost done with a new book that's still YA, still funny and still about a popular, privileged blonde girl whose life takes an unexpected turn. No superpowers this time, though.
7) What is something you wish you were told about book publishing?
Yeah, I wish I'd known about the million-dollar advances, the huge Jumbotron commercials promoting my book in every city, the private plane waiting to transport me to my next packed signing, the... (Too sarcastic? Too bitter?)
8) If you could go talk to your teen self for five minutes, what would you tell him?
Stop picking at that. It'll leave a mark.
---
Thanks again, Jonathan!
You can check out Jonathan's blog here. :)
Funny! Excellent interview!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview- very funny! I'm excited to read his book! :)
ReplyDelete