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The first in the Dead Is series
Watch what you say around Author Marlene Perez, or it might wind up in one of her books! The author of the popular Dead Is series for teens (and teens at heart), Marlene gives fair warning that great dialogue and quirky misfortune will inspire her one way or the other!
Anaheim Literature Examiner: By reading the back cover copy of your Dead Is series, you must have a lot of fun writing these stories! How do you keep up the energy?
Marlene Perez: Coffee! I feel compelled to write, but I also want to succeed as a writer and that means taking it seriously, but not too seriously. Writing isn't ALWAYS fun, but it should be fun, at least some of the time. I also have an extremely supportive family, particularly my husband, who does everything possible to make sure I have time to write.
Examiner: Since I'm smack dab in the middle of a series on local writing organizations, which one or two were most helpful in your career as an author?
Marlene: The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) was the first writing organization I joined, and I learned an enormous amount from attending their conferences. I also belong to Romance Writers of America (RWA) and a few others.
Examiner: How did you sell your first book?
Marlene: I started out thinking I would write an adult romance, but I used to work in the same building as A Whale of a Tale children's bookstore. I'd pop in and buy books during my lunch hour and got to know the staff there. Eventually, I realized my true love was writing for teens. I attended SCBWI Nationals in L.A. and heard Norma Fox Mazer speak. She talked about a writing technique in which she put a fedora over her head to block out her internal editor/critic. Immediately after the conference I started what became my first published novel for teens, Unexpected Development. I finished a draft in about six months, but shopped it around without success until I found an agent, who then sold it.
Examiner: Are your teenaged children inspirations for your young adult novels, or will I put your life in danger by asking that question?
Marlene: I tell my kids what I tell my friends and neighbors. Don't tell me anything you don't want to end up in a book! I'm kidding--mostly. I do think having teens helps me with plotting the big beats/important events of high school life, but I'm careful not to use anything that they might consider an invasion of privacy.
Examiner: What is your writing process?
Marlene: My writing process seems to be different for every book. Although it usually starts with a glimmer of an idea or a line of dialogue. I start out writing by hand with lots of great pens and a yellow pad. There's something freeing about that. Then I type up my handwritten bits, print it out, and carry the manuscript with me wherever I go. I also usually create a soundtrack for every novel I write. It's a lot of fun to create a soundtrack, but it also gets me in sync with my manuscript. I don't necessarily have huge blocks of time every day, so a soundtrack helps to get me back into the novel quickly. I'm an organic writer, but I have been trying new techniques. I like that there's no right way to write. I recently had lunch with a group of teen writers and talk turned to our writing processes and it was fascinating that no one used the same process.
Examiner: What's next?
Marlene: I'm working on the last two books in the Dead Is series right now. Dead Is Just a Rumor will be out in the fall of 2010 and Dead Is Not an Option will be out in the spring of 2011. After that, I have something new already planned. I'm kind of a failure at Nanowrimo, but I sign up every year. If nothing else, it's a kick in the pants for me to get something on paper.
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