Friday Five -- Janci Patterson

This week's five features the author of CHASING THE SKIP, a contemporary YA novel published by Henry Holt on the 2nd.  Janci is a poet and an Apocalypsies author (though perhaps not an Apocalyptic Poet) and a self-proclaimed geek.  

THE FIVE:


1. If you could go back in time, where/when would you go?

This will show you the flavor of literary nerd that I am, but I would love to have been at the Six Gallery Reading on October 7, 1955 when Alan Ginsberg’s “Howl” was first performed.  That reading was going to change the world, and I’m sure nobody knew it.  

2. Who would play you in the film of your life?

The film of my life would be very boring, but if I was lucky, Kate Winslet.  We look nothing alike, but she can play anyone.

3. What one word do you think describes you best?

Intense

4. What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned since becoming a writer?

That the actual work of writing is only one tiny step toward a novel—the real work happens in revision.  This shouldn’t have been a surprise, but I was sure blindsided by it.

5. If you knew you would be stranded on a desert island, which book, piece of music, and snack food would you take with you?

Beyond the basics to survive?  CAKE’s Comfort Eagle, Pringles, and a Norton Anthology of British Literature.  It comes in two volumes—I’d bring the second half.

ABOUT CHASING THE SKIP:

Ricki’s dad has never been there for her. He’s a bounty hunter who spends his time chasing parole evaders—also known as “skips”—all over the country. Ever since Ricki’s mom ran off, Ricki finds herself an unwilling passenger in a front-row seat to her father’s dangerous lifestyle. Ricki’s feelings get even more confused when her dad starts tracking seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham. She finds herself unavoidably attracted to the dark-eyed felon who seems eager to get acquainted. Ricki thinks she’s ever in control—the perfect accomplice, the Bonnie to his Clyde. Little does she know that Ian isn’t playing the game by her rules.

You can order CHASING THE SKIP here!

ABOUT JANCI:

You can find Janci on her website.
On Twitter.
And on Facebook.

Anne Boleyn

As many of you know, a couple of weeks ago, Jaime Arnold over at Two Chicks on Books announced that Book 2 will be titled TARNISH and will be narrated by a young Anne Boleyn.  Jaime asks fabulous questions, so if you're interested in knowing a little more, please see the whole interview here.

One thing Jaime didn't ask was why?  Why Anne Boleyn?  If anything, I'm treading over already well-trodden ground with this character.  The number of biographies (by such greats as Eric Ives and Alison Weir) and historical novels (The Other Boleyn Girl, anyone? Not to mention the amazing Hilary Mantel) are daunting.  Plus innumerable extensive chapters in every history of Tudor times, from Starkey's Six Wives to books solely about Anne's daughter Elizabeth.  We know all of this already, don't we?

The decision was a daunting one.  Anne is iconic.  She fascinates - her charisma transcends 450 years.  It's not just the tragedy of her story that captures the imagination - not like Romeo and Juliet.  I believe it's her strength.  She was an opinionated, outspoken woman in a time when women were meant to be seen and not heard.  In a time when even queens (including Mary I) believed they should be ruled by their husbands, Anne Boleyn believed in telling her husband exactly what she thought - and sometimes disagreed with him when he did the same.  So not only would I be fictionalizing the life of a beloved figure, I had to be true to her spirit. (kind of like Michelle Williams playing Marilyn Monroe or Katie Holmes playing Jackie Kennedy).

I have to admit, I was afraid.  I never intended to write a book about Anne.  But on a long drive one day, a voice came to me.  Not a Joan of Arc, "the saints are speaking to me" kind of voice.  But a fictional voice.  A strong, opinionated, snarky, emotional, teenaged voice.  The voice of a girl who speaks without thinking - often ending in regrets.  A girl who can love, but is afraid of it.  A girl who doesn't fit in, who isn't well-liked, but is, ultimately, likable.  Even lovable.  And once I started thinking in that voice, it wouldn't let me go.

I wanted to write a book about a girl who could become the tragic, iconic, lovable-hatable figure history has handed us.  And in the process, I, too, fell under her spell.

I'm still afraid.  I hope I do Anne's character justice.  I hope the other Anne Boleyn fans out there agree with my portrayal.  I hope, above all things, that I get it right.  Because I think she deserves it.