Interview with Screaming Divas author, Suzanne Kamata

Today, we feature an interview with Suzanne Kamata, author of Screaming Divas, a book my fifteen-year-old daughter just told me sounds awesome. So, count me and her in!

Screaming Divas by Suzanne Kamata

Publication Date: May 18th, 2014

Publisher: Merit Press

Pages: 208

Genre: YA Contemporary

At sixteen, Trudy Baxter is tired of her debutante mom, her deadbeat dad, and her standing reservation at the juvenile detention center. Changing her name to Trudy Sin, she cranks up her major chops as a singer and starts a band, gathering around other girls ill at ease in their own lives. Cassie Haywood, would-have-been beauty queen, was scarred in an accident in which her alcoholic mom was killed. But she can still sing and play her guitar, even though she seeks way too much relief from the pain in her body and her heart through drugs, and way too much relief from loneliness through casual sex. Still, it’s Cassie who hears former child prodigy Harumi Yokoyama playing in a punk band at a party, and enlists her, outraging Harumi’s overbearing first-generation Japanese parents. The fourth member is Esther Shealy, who joins as a drummer in order to be close to Cassie–the long-time object of her unrequited love–and Harumi, her estranged childhood friend. Together, they are Screaming Divas, and they’re quickly swept up as a local sensation. Then, just as they are about to achieve their rock-girl dreams, a tragedy strikes.

Welcome to We Do Write, Suzanne. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m an American, but I live in Japan. I came here just after graduating from the University of South Carolina, met a guy, and wound up staying. We now have two lovely children and a naughty kitten.

Awesome. My daughter would be jealous. How long have you been writing?

I decided that I was going to be a writer when I grew up when I was in about first grade. Maybe it was due to a lack of imagination, but nothing else ever occurred to me. I started to panic when I was in college and realized that it would be hard to make a living writing fiction, but I never stopped.

Tell us about SCREAMING DIVAS. What’s the story about?

It’s about four very different girls -- Trudy, Harumi, Cassie, and Esther -- who don’t really fit in. They find each other through this punk rock band, Screaming Divas. In spite of their vastly different backgrounds, they become friends.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

I was always a big fan of The Supremes, and I’d wanted to write a novel about a 1960s all-girl Motown group, but I thought that not being African-American, and not having been old enough to remember the 60s, there was a pretty good chance I’d get it wrong. Later, I was excited by the Riot Grrrl movement in the Pacific Northwest, but I’ve never spent a lot of time there, so I decided to write a novel about an all-grrrl group in South Carolina.

As they say, write what you know. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Definitely a pantser, for better or worse.

I hear you on that, for sure. What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

I’m not very good with plot. Maybe because I’m a pantser? I always worry that I won’t have enough story to stretch out for the whole book. I’m more interested in character.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

To be able to clean my house by twitching my nose.

Umm ... Can I have that power too? 

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... reading.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.


A big thanks to Helene Dunbar, my college roommate and long-time friend (and author of the intensely beautiful THESE GENTLE WOUNDS, coming soon to a bookstore near you) who was the first cheerleader for this book. Without her encouragement, it would still be in a drawer. I’m also grateful to Mary Chamard, who, as an intern at Merit Press, read and loved Screaming Divas, and Jacquelyn Mitchard, one of my favorite authors, and also the editor of this book. I’m thankful to Beth Fehlbaum, author of BIG FAT DISASTER and supporter of YA fiction via her site UncommonYA, the editors of Hunger Mountain (where an excerpt of Screaming Divas first appeared), and my previous agent Caron K, and present agent Carrie Pestritto.

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

                 

About the Author

Back in the day, Suzanne Kamata spent a lot of time hanging out in a club in Columbia, South Carolina, much like the one in Screaming Divas. (The beat goes on . . .) She later wrote about musicians for The State newspaper, The Japan Times, and other publications. Now, she mostly writes novels. In her free time, she enjoys searching for the perfect fake fur leopard-print coat and listening to the Japanese all-girl band Chatmonchy. Her YA debut, Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible was named the 2013-2014 APALA YA Honor Book and Grand Prize Winner of the Paris Book Festival. For more info, visit http://www.suzannekamata.com or follow her on Twitter @shikokusue.

 

Interview with Suzanne Kamata

Funny how Monday sneaks up on us, isn't it? Let's soften the blow to the head Monday tends to deliver, by indulging in a chat with author Suzanne Kamata, author of YA novel GADGET GIRL.

Hi, Suzanne! Welcome to We Do Write. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm an American, originally from Michigan, but I've been living in Japan for the past 25 years. I teach English to Japanese students, and more recently, writing.

We're like two peas in a pod, as I'm also a transplanted American teaching English. *expat high-five* How long have you been writing?

Since childhood. I decided that I wanted to be a writer when I was about six years old, and never came up with anything else. I wrote for my high school newspaper, took creative writing classes in college, and started publishing my short fiction when I was in my early twenties.

Awesome. Tell us about GADGET GIRL. What’s the story about?

Well, here's the back blurb:

Aiko Cassidy is fourteen and lives with her sculptor mother in a small Midwestern town. For most of her young life Aiko, who has cerebral palsy, has been her mother's muse. But now, she no longer wants to pose for the sculptures that have made her mother famous - and have put food on the table. Aiko works hard on her own dream of becoming a great manga artist with a secret identity. When Aiko's mother invites her to Paris for a major exhibition of her work, Aiko at first resists. She'd much rather go to Japan, Manga Capital of the World, where she might be able to finally meet her father, the indigo farmer. When she gets to France, however, a hot waiter with a passion for manga and an interest in Aiko makes her wonder if being invisible is such a great thing after all. And a side trip to Lourdes may just change her life.

Sounds cool. How did the idea of the story come to you?

Initially, I had an idea of writing a story about a mother and a 14-year-old daughter with disabilities taking a trip to Paris together in an effort to bond. This was partly inspired by my fantasies of taking my real-life daughter to Paris when she was about that age (old enough to appreciate the City of Lights). Also, I remember being very difficult and not getting along with my own mother when I was thirteen or fourteen. I wanted to write a mother-daughter story with tension.

My daughter is fourteen, so I know what you mean about tension. Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

I rely on a select group of trusted readers who are also writers. I'm also a member of SCBWI, and I take advantage of critique opportunities at events. AND I got some help from the writers at YALitchat, a great site run by YA author/publisher Georgia McBride. (Which is where I *met* you.)

Yay for connections! Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I'm mostly a pantser, thought I have an idea of where I want to go with a story.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Finding the time.

I know, right? With all the scientific advancements of the day, you'd think they'd come up with something that gives us more time. Hmph. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Nothing really. Since becoming a mother, I've become very flexible. I can write just about anywhere, as long as I have a pen and some paper.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

To be able to travel at will, without jet lag or having to wait in long airport lines.

Good choice. I hate airports. What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Hmmm. Maybe the Lourdes web cam?

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: gadget, gigantic, and grading.

She paused in grading papers to look out the window and saw a gigantic can opener whirling in the air like a helicopter blade, like something that had fallen out of a monster's gadget drawer.

LOL, okay, I'm trying to wrap my head around that image. Great way to break Monday morning tension, that's for sure! Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ...

trying to get Japanese students excited about using English.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

There are so many! Thanks to my parents, my kids, my publishers, SCBWI-Tokyo, YALItchat, the Literary Mama community, my university colleagues, and to everyone who has read my previous books!!

And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

My website is at http://www.suzannekamata.com
Twitter - @shikokusue
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/#!/SuzanneKamata (Please like!!)
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Gadget-Girl-The-Being-Invisible/dp/1936846381/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360889353&sr=8-2&keywords=Suzanne+Kamata

Suzanne, thanks so much for stopping by the blog. I'll be sure to check out your book!