Day 2: The Inside Scoop on Teri Brown

As promised, today we're getting down with Teri Brown, asking her lots of questions about her life as a writer and her new book Read My Lips! Check it out:

So, where do you do most of your writing? What's it look like? (maybe
include a picture if you can get it!)

I actually work in my dining room, only it’s no longer a dining room. We took out the kitchen table and I bought a corner desk. I have all of my stuff (fax, computer, printer, filing cabinet, supplies, etc.) in one area, which I never had before. And I also have this… the best Christmas present I have ever received.

Oooh, a framed cover flat of Read My Lips! Very nice! Can you tell us how the book came about? How did you begin writing it?

My deaf niece told me about an experience she had with someone who tried to speak to her in sign language even though my niece doesn’t sign. I took that experience and fictionalized it. That turned out to be the first scene in the book.

It's amazing the things that spark our imagination. Did anything surprise you or catch you off guard when you were writing your book?

The first YA I wrote (which wasn’t published) was written pretty much straight through. Maybe it was because I was less experienced as a writer, but the process seemed pretty straight forward. When I started on LIPS I was amazed at how much the characters changed and grew as the story progressed. The plot kept changing too, and I had to go back and rewrite a gazillion times. That totally took me by surprise. Now I know that every book is different!

That's so true! Speaking of other books-imagine you have an offer from your dream press to publish your dream book, no matter how insane or unmarketable it might be (though of course it might *not* be). What story do you want to write next/someday and why?

I actually have two dream stories. One is the one I am working on, a paranormal set in Las Vegas. The characters are so alive in this one, I can’t seem to stop thinking about them. This is pretty unusual because I never thought I would write a paranormal. Even though this is a pretty light paranormal, it still has that element.

The other dream book is partly autobiographical which is probably why I keep putting it off. It’s a coming of age story set in Alfalfa, Oregon where I was raised. It’s going to be called Surviving Alfalfa. Great name, huh? I’m pretty much afraid of getting sued, though!

Clearly Teri's survived Alfalfa and then some! Come back tomorrow to find out just how similar Teri and her skater chick main character Serena really are!