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Author Cynthia Leitich Smith, best known for her Native American and contemporary multicultural fiction, goes goth for the first time in her 2007 release TANTALIZE.
Young adult author Cynthia Leitich Smith continues her discussion with Mechele R. Dillard for Suite101.com in Going Goth! Part II. For a recap, check out PART I, right here on Teen Fiction at Suite101.com! MRD: You have worked as everything from a popcorn popper in a movie theater to a telephone operator to teaching legal writing. Do you feel this diversity in the workforce before becoming a professional writer has added to your ability to connect with a wide range of individual readers? CLS: Any life experience that puts you in contact with people you might otherwise not meet adds to the resources of the imagination. All of my early jobs helped, but perhaps none so much as newspaper reporting. One day I would be talking to a lawyer who played a key role in the civil rights era, and the next I would interview a hypnotherapist. I also have ties to people in a wide range of economic classes and geographic regions. Writers should shake off the comfort of associating only with like minds. MRD: You are a tribal member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. How has your view of your Native American heritage changed from your tween/teen years to today? CLS: I don't know that my view has changed per se, but as I've grown older, I'm more confident about making my voice heard. For example, I remember as a teen riding on a team bus one day. While a handful of my classmates jeered at Indian students at a nearby junior college, I wished I could disappear into my seat. As an adult who's found her voice, I've published (in Cicada) a story about a character going through a similar experience. MRD: Your husband, Greg Leitich Smith, is an author, as well, and has found success in the ‘tweener market, also, with Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (Little Brown, 2003) and Tofu and T. Rex (Little Brown, 2005). You and your husband have also co-authored a picture book, illustrated by Steve Björkman, Santa Knows (Dutton, 2006). How does having two successful novelists in the family affect daily life in the Leitich Smith household? Does it make it harder to relax, to spend time away from your work? CLS: Most married couples probably don't spend quality time building a pasta bridge or trying to develop vegetarian sausage or photographing prospective vampire haunts. But we do a lot of out-of-the-box things in support of our novels. We also pass documents back and forth on a regular basis, and each of us—whether on purpose or by circumstance—always has the other’s work-in-progress in mind. One memory that stands out: realizing every table around us at a restaurant had gone silent as we debated the best way to (fictionally) kill a fourteen-year-old boy. This is me: "We're novelists! Really!" Big picture…. What's good is that there is someone there who understands, who each of us can trust to field ideas and manuscripts, and who we know is absolutely on our side. The challenge, as you say, is to be a married couple first and co-authors second. If Greg is writing, sometimes I feel like I should be too, even if he's just gotten off "the day job," and I'm burnt out from working on my story all day. Beyond that, people do compare us, sometimes in very frank ways and/or ask personal questions in very public forums (i.e., "Why don't you have children?" in a crowded lecture hall), so there is a quasi-public figure aspect that can be off-putting. Still, we absolutely love connecting on a story and speaking together. It's fun, it's inspiring, and it adds an additional layer to our bond. MRD: When you have initially completed a novel, of course there are many additional steps which take it from your computer screen to the reader’s hands. But, do you continue to concentrate on that single work, or do you tend to begin your next project before the current work is on the shelf? CLS: I tend to actively work on one manuscript at a time. But when I'm waiting for editorial feedback, which can take months, I'll move to something new or revisit a resting manuscript. MRD: Do you have any upcoming projects about which you would like to give our readers heads up? CLS: Let's see… I have a new picture book under contract with Dutton and a new gothic fantasy novel under contract with Candlewick, but neither have publication dates yet. My next release may well be a short story in Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Boy edited by Kelly Milner Halls and Terry Davis (Roaring Brook, 2008). It's a companion story to one by Joseph Bruchac, and it was a joy to work with him. Thank you! ******************************************************************************************************************** Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Tantalize—and her previously-released books and collections—are available at a bookstore near you, as well as online. For Mechele R. Dillard's review of Tantalize, visit the Suite101.com Teen Fiction blog, or just click here! And, of course, don't forget to make friends with Smith on MySpace.com!
The copyright of the article Cynthia Leitich Smith, continued in Teen Fiction is owned by Mechele R. Dillard. Permission to republish Cynthia Leitich Smith, continued in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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