Success Tricks From Expert Author 2

As if being quirky isn't bad enough, Donna Gephart's pre-teen protagonist is...

An Interview with Donna Gephart

By Sandra Miller-Louden


Donna Gephart (www.donnagephart.com) has written everything from greeting cards to romantic short stories to humorous articles. Humor is Donna's stock in trade and never is her wit sharper than in her debut novel, As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President! (Delacorte Press, 2008), a young adult novel whose main character is Vanessa Rothrock.



Besides her debut novel, Donna has sold her work to both national and regional magazines, including Highlights for Children, Family Circle, Parents, Weight Watchers, Games, and The Star.



She's a member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, www.scbwi.org) and helps run a critique group in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.



Titleholder!


Q: I simply must start out asking about your title, since for many writers finding just the right set of words to encapsulate the essence of a book is so difficult, it borders on the impossible. Was this your working title while you were writing the book or did you go through numerous revisions and how did you finally arrive at a 13-word (counting the age designation) book title?



A: My title is a fun way to let readers know exactly what the book is about, but it's quite a mouthful to say when I'm being interviewed. At those times, I think a one-word title would have been nice. Early in the writing process, I had only the first part of the title when a member of my critique group suggested I add "My Mother Is Running for President." I did, and the title remained unchanged.



The Writing Process


Q: In a recent interview, you said your book started out in life as a short story and with the encouragement of your agent and your critique group, you turned it into a novel. Give us some specifics about how one goes about amplifying a work that's maybe 2,000 words into one that's 22,000 words.



A: Voice. Right from the beginning, I latched onto the voice of this bright, self-conscious, klutzy girl. Then I worked hard to get inside Vanessa's head and let her tell her own story of spelling bees, a crush on the wrong boy, a secret admirer, missing her busy politician mother, loathing gym class, and dealing with threatening notes about her mother's campaign. Vanessa simply wouldn't fit into the constraints of a short story!

Q: One of my favorite things about your book is how deftly you mix humor with suspense; you have more than one cliffhanger chapter ending, as well as many clever puns and dialogue twists. Did you conceive the plot like this from the get go or was there more of one aspect (humor or suspense) at the beginning stages?

I think it's important to tell a good story and let the humor evolve naturally. So, I really didn't plan out the humorous parts ahead of time. They emerged from Vanessa's character and the situations she was facing.



When I began the story, I had an idea of how I wanted it to end, but there were lots of surprises along the way, like one day I was writing and realized something dreadful had happened to Vanessa's father.



I think that with the B.I.C. (Butt in Chair) practice, surprises like that turn up throughout writing a novel. When your subconscious knows it's expected to show up for work the same time every day, it seems to do some pre-writing when it's off duty.



Q: You also seem to really be able to get into the mind of a pre-teen girl, as when Vanessa dreams up medical scenarios for herself to catch-- yet not bad enough to kill her-- in order to get her Mom to drop out of the race... maladies such as impetigo or hypothermia. This is the type of thinking I remember going through at that age. How much memory dredging was involved in coming up with these engaging scenes?



A: Thanks. I don't know if I used my memories from that age directly, but I used the feelings and emotions from that age while writing. There was lots of adolescent angst to draw from! And it didn't hurt that I had two pre-teens in the house while I was writing this.



Q: I know you did a lot of research on the entire political process that goes into the making of a presidential campaign. Since much of your book also revolves around Vanessa's security with Secret Service Agent Martinez, did part of your research also have to do with Secret Service issues? Tell us some of the other related areas you brushed up on to write the novel.



A: Since I wrote about so many things with which I was unfamiliar, I did quite a bit of research. I learned about campaigning and the political process on-line and in a number of books. I learned about progressing in spelling bees when I interviewed a girl who went to the national bee twice. I found what information I could about the Secret Service on-line and imagined the rest. I enjoyed learning about politics and campaigning and spelling bees and sharing that information in a fun way with young readers.



The Loving Words/Reading Books/English Major Syndrome


Q: I don't know if you majored in English, but you obviously love words and reading books. Vanessa also shares these traits (she spells her way through the novel, in part because she makes it all the way to the Regional Spelling Bee), and on the flip side, couldn't care less who Shaquille O'Neal-- and by extension, any sports figure-- is. She hates Phys Ed partially because she's a klutz and we suspect she's always called last to be on a team. So, how much of Vanessa Rothrock is in Donna Gephart and vice versa?



Vanessa and I share our love for the color purple, competitive Scrabble games… and we both have big feet! A bit of any writer, I think, seeps into her characters.



Q: Following up on that question, you set up the spelling in the format that spelling bee participants must use. (Protrude. P-R-O-T-R-U-D-E. Protrude.) Besides setting forth that this is how Vanessa processed words and practiced them, did you also include this throughout your novel to get young readers more involved in words they may not know?



I recently got a lovely letter from a young fan. She wrote: "Not only did I learn a lot of big, new words, I'm interested in what's going on in politics now." So, yes, I thought it would be fun for young readers to learn some really big words right along with Vanessa.



Timing is Everything!


Q: Could you give our readers a quick time line from the germination of your idea through the writing of the short story to transforming it into a novel. Once the novel was underway, how long did the rewrites take, and finally, when were you notified of the target publication date of February, 2008?



A: I began writing the novel in 2005. That's when I connected with Tina Wexler at International Creative Management. Tina encouraged me to write the novel, then offered excellent suggestions for revision. Research, writing, and revisions took about a year. It was sold early in 2006. At that time, we all thought it would be best to release it during the election year, so there was nearly a two-year lag from the time I sold it until it hit the shelves.



Q: I'm confident you've frequently gotten this question in one form or another, but I'd be remiss if I didn't ask it. When you were planning your novel, had Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for president? And do you think the ongoing drama of the Democratic nomination process has increased interest in your book?



A: Of course, I wrote this book before anyone announced his or her candidacy. It was in the back of my mind, though, that Hillary or another woman might run. The current campaign certainly makes my book relevant to young readers who would like a greater understanding of the nomination process. And it lends a nice hook for reporters when writing about the book.



And finally...


Q: Are you at work on a second novel? We'd love to hear whatever details you'd care to share with us.


A: My second book is for the same age range. The main character is a quirky boy who has quite a bit to contend with as he begins junior high school. It has the same combination of humor and heartache that's found in As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President! And, if you can believe it, my new novel has an even longer title! (But it has to remain top secret for now.)



Thank you, Donna Gephart, for taking the time to share your creative vision with our readers. Once again, to read more about Donna, visit: www.donnagephart.com and be sure to see what's new on her blog: www.donnagephart.blogspot.com.



Sandra, thank you. It's been my pleasure.



Sandra Miller-Louden (www.greetingcardwriting.com) has worked for Absolute Write as a greeting card writing instructor since 2001. Her work won the coveted Louie Award (the industry's highest honor) and in addition to teaching and writing, Sandra does major consulting work in the field of greeting cards.



Her work has appeared on "Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee" and she's been interviewed in many places, including The National Examiner, Staples, com, Metro, The Christian Science Monitor, Voice of America, The Washington Post, Focus: Entrepreneurs (2nd Edition), Attaché (U.S. Air), Talk Magazine, the BBC (three different occasions), Valentine in the Morning Show (Los Angeles), The Philadelphia Inquirer, spawn.org, and NBC-TV. She also appeared on the cover of Parade Magazine in 2006.



In additional, Sandra has written two successful books on writing and a number of booklets. Her book reviews, quizzes, articles, and short stories have appeared in various publications.

CULLED FROM ABSOLUTE WRITE(www.absolutewrite.com)