INTERVIEW: Lindsey Leavitt

Luisa interviews Lindsey Leavitt, author of Princess for Hire, which is out in the UK on 1st February 2010. We'll have a signed copy to give away very soon!

Hello, Lindsey! Do you remember the moment you first had the idea for Princess for Hire?      

I think it was more a series of moments. I grew up a total tomboy, yet had a fascination with beauty queens, old Hollywood, and royal history. The girly stigma was such an enigma to me that I thought such research would suddenly teach me how to part my hair the right way. It didn’t. Would attach picture, but some memories are just too painful.

Next, I was at a writers conference a few years back and an editor joked that her perfect book would involve princess dinosaur vampires (or some other assortment of high concept trends). I thought… well, I can’t write that book, unless I wrote the anti-princess book.

From there, I began taking notes for a picture book about a little girl who tries out to be a princess for a bunch of countries but never measured up. I shared the idea with a friend, and she said it sounded more like a mid-grade. That one comment brought me back to thirteen-year-old me. Wouldn’t it have been cool if I could still be myself and do all the things I liked doing back then, but every once and awhile pretend to be someone else, someone popular and crazy rich? And viola, my main character, Desi became a substitute for princesses (Sorry kids. No dinosaurs or vampires).

Would you like to be a princess substitute like Desi, and do you think you could do a better job than her?

Heck ya. It’s a total dream job. First off, thanks to some nifty time travel tricks, Desi always returns right back to the moment she left. So she misses nothing in her real life, but gains all sorts of experiences while gone. And forget the dresses and assorted finery. Think of all the FOOD in the world, particularly sweets! (um, maybe I shouldn’t answer interview questions before lunchtime)

As far as whether I would do better, I can’t say. I would handle it differently, yes. Each sub has her strengths and weaknesses that help them through the jobs so each sub is special in her own way. I will say I was a high school mascot for one whole football game (someone stole my head, wasn’t pretty), and that would have come in handy for one job in particular. Read to find out which one J

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Mind reading, hands down. Mind reading that I can turn off though, so I don’t cheat on tests and don’t know what the other driver is really thinking when I accidentally cut them off. But I DID always want to know what boys were thinking… er, particularly about me. And if I were in combat with Mr. Super Jump Man or something, I could always know what his next move was. Actually, it’s probably safe to guess Mr. Super Jump Man’s next move would involve, you know, jumping, so nevermind on that one.

Would your teenage self have been impressed that she was going to grow up to be an author? 

Teenage Lindsey would be shocked. Shocked and also alarmed that last name on her book is Leavitt, and that is the same last name as the annoying boy who sat by her in anatomy class (obviously, the annoyance eventually subsided).

I read loads of books and believed becoming an author was so impossible, it wasn’t even worth my efforts. Not to mention I imagined it involved years and years of school and a vast collection of berets and tweed jackets. What I later learned is that although becoming an author is a challenge because there are many publishing factors beyond our control, being a writer is something anyone can do. If it’s something you enjoy, as I always did, do it. Don’t worry yet about the publishing part. Write to write.

What will be your next book to be released, and what can you tell us about it?

I don’t know the answer to this just yet because I have two books coming out at roughly the same time in 2011. One is the next Princess for Hire book (Egmont UK, Hyperion US) and I can’t say much about it without being too spoilery. The other is a contemporary YA called SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD and will be out with Scholastic UK and Bloomsbury in the US. This is the blurb…

After discovering her father’s big Multiple Sclerosis secret, Payton Gritas’s structured life crumbles. So begin her excruciating ‘chats’ with Ms Callahan, a school counselor aiming to save Payton from drowning in denial by encouraging her to write Focus Exercises on any random object. Payton chooses Sean Griswold, her alphabetical connection since kindergarten. More specifically, she chooses his somewhat over-sized head.

As Payton’s research grows into something a little less scientific and a little more crush-like, it spawns more and more questions about Sean and his dome. Like what’s with the scar?  And why is a fifteen year old training to be the next Lance Armstrong? Payton finds answers to these questions by getting inside Sean’s head, while Sean somehow finds a way into her guarded heart. But when Payton realizes her Sean obsession won’t ultimately mend her battered relationship with her dad, she must shift her focus to the one person who can find the way forward - herself.

I can't wait to read this, and all of your books. Thank you very much, Lindsey Leavitt!

Lindsey Leavitt's website

Comments

[Sophie]

Great interview, Luisa! I'll definitely look out for Princess for Hire over the weekend.

[Iffath]

Fab interview! I can't wait to read Princess for Hire :)

[Amber]

Have ordered Princess For Hire :D Looks great!

[Jenny]

Mind reading... yes! What a fantastic power that would be! Looking forward to reading PFH :)

[Bookalicious Ramblings]

Thanks for the great interview! My copy of this is already on the way, woohoo! :)

[Anna]

i have always wanted to be able to read minds. i think being able to turn it off is a nice addition.

[Nina]

Great interview. I havent read the book, but it sounds very cute.

[Jo]

Awesome interview! Lindsey is so lovely! I have a guest post from her going live on Monday! :) And there will also be a discussion we started talking about, Luisa. You may want to stop by :)

[Luisa]

Thanks for all the great comments, everyone! I'm glad you liked the interview. Lindsey's great and I'm so looking forward to the book! I also agree about the mind-reading - sounds like a useful skill. :)

Jo, I'm looking forward to the guest post. It sounds really interesting!

[Rachel Hawkins]

I was lucky enough to snag an ARC of PRINCESS FOR HIRE (okay, okay, so actually I called Lindsey and was all, "GIVE ME A GALLEY OF YOUR BOOK, OR I WILL STOP BEING YOUR ALABAMA WRITER BEFFIE!"), and I have to say, it is one of the most delightful things I've ever read. I loved it so much, I read it twice. Just wish I had a little girl to give it to! Although if LL ever DOES write a vampire/dinosaur book...

[Ria]

This was really interesting and fun to read!
Thank you!