My favorite part about a new year (besides building a wobbly tower of unrealistic expectations for how much I’ll write in the coming year, yay!) is the thought of all the new voices I’ll get to discover. There’s a whole crop of debut YA novelists coming out with books in 2012, and I can’t wait to read them! So, to share my excitement with you, I’m doing a new series of short interviews on this blog.
From December 5 through December 16, I’m featuring ten Winter/Spring 2012 debut authors who wrote books I want to read! Look for giveaways accompanying these interviews—as well as a chance to win a pre-order of your choice at the end of the series.
Read on to see how Gina Damico answered my questions about writing Croak and more (and if you comment on this post, you could win a signed ARC and a scythe pendant!)…
2012 YA Debut Interview:
Gina Damico, author of Croak ( Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Graphia, forthcoming March 20, 2012)
I’ll start with the dreaded question you may be hearing already from strangers on elevators, long-lost family members, and your doctor while you’re sitting on the examination table in the paper gown during your next checkup: “So what’s your book about?”
Croak is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Lex who has turned into a pretty major brat. Her parents get fed up with her nonsense and send her to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer at his farm in upstate New York. What neither she nor her parents realize is that he’s a Grim reaper, and he wants to teach her the family business.
In my experience, every book wants to be written differently—and each one behaves differently from the one before it. Some novels like it out of order, and some rigidly insist on being written from start to finish. Some novels come out fast; others are excruciatingly slow. Some novels torment you, and some sing you to sleep. What did your novel want? Was there ever a moment when it misbehaved?
This one came pretty hard and fast. The idea hit me while I was at work one day, and I went home that night to start working on it, and didn’t stop for a few solid months, working straight through from start to finish. Once it was done, however, that’s when the crazies set in. My agent wanted a lot of gigantic changes, which terrified me. Those took a while to bang out. But all of them made it a better book, so it was a good banging. (Heh.)
What is the single worst distraction that kept you from writing this book?
The drooling guy next to me on the bus. For the whole first month I was working on Croak, my husband and I were in the process of apartment-hunting in New York City, so a lot of the writing got done on the Bolt Bus as we ferried ourselves back and forth between Boston and NYC. Let me tell you, snoring is not conducive to creative thought. Murderous thought, yes. Creative, no.
Tell us about the place—as in the physical location: a messy office, a comfy couch, a certain corner table at the café—where you spent most of your time writing this book.
Aside from the bus, most of it was written on my couch. I’m not really a desk person. I like to sprawl myself across any available couchy surface, preferably one covered in crumbs. Sometimes my cat is involved, and by involved I mean that he sits in my face, blocking the computer screen and attempting to shove his head into my cereal bowl.
What was the moment when the upcoming publication of your novel felt “real” for the first time—when you got your editorial letter, when you saw the cover, when you held the ARC in your hands… or something else? Or if it doesn’t feel “real” yet, when do you think it will?
To be honest, it still doesn’t feel real, and I’m not sure it ever will. But I guess the weirdest, gum-swallowing moment was when I got the first pass pages, which are when the text of the book is all typeset and looking the way it’s going to look in the final version. The title page was there, and my name at the top of every page, and it was like whoa. Oh, and the Library of Congress info page. Congress!
Dream question: If you could go on book tour anywhere in the world, with any two authors (living or dead), and serve any item of food at your book signing… where would you go, who with, and what delicious treat would you serve your fans?
I’d probably drag Walter Moers out of Germany and Kurt Vonnegut out of his grave, because me on a book tour with two old (and probably cranky) men is such a delightful concept to me. And we’d go to Canada, because it’s very clean there. And we’d serve deep fried chocolate chip cookie dough, because I got to try this at the Big E (which is like a big state fair for all of New England) a month ago and it changed my life. It’s like raw cookie dough, melty and warm and deep fried. I don’t even care how many arteries it exploded, it was worth it.
How do you plan to celebrate your book’s birthday on March 20?
That’s an excellent question, and I’m open to suggestions. I’m currently tossing around book launch party ideas, but otherwise I’ll probably just do some sort of a bookstore crawl with my friends, tear up the town, maybe get arrested, then pass out bookmarks around the jail.
Gina Damico grew up under four feet of snow in Syracuse, New York. She received a degree in theater and sociology from Boston College, where she was active with the Committee for Creative Enactments, the country’s only collegiate murder mystery improv comedy troupe, which may or may not have sparked an interest in wildly improbable bloodshed. She has since worked as a tour guide, transcriptionist, theater house manager, scenic artist, movie extra, office troll, retail monkey, yarn hawker and breadmonger. Croak is her first novel. She lives outside Boston with her husband, two cats, and a closet full of black hoodies.
Visit Gina at www.ginadami.co.
Read Gina’s blog at ginadamico.wordpress.com.
Follow @ginadamico on Twitter.
Do you want a chance to win Croak by Gina Damico? Gina is giving away a signed ARC and a scythe pendant to ONE LUCKY COMMENTER on this post. Just comment below and you’re entered to win.
(If you tweet about this giveaway you get +1 extra entry… just let me know you did.)
RULES: One winner will be chosen randomly. The giveaway to win a signed ARC of Croak and a scythe pendant ends Friday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m. EST. To win this giveaway, you must have a US mailing address. Be sure to include your email in the comment form (it is private and only I will see it), so I know how to reach you if you win.
And stay tuned for the end of the 2012 Debut Interview Series—for a chance to win the pre-order of your choice out of all ten featured authors!
What is the next Winter/Spring 2012 debut novel I’m looking forward to? Come back on Monday to find out.
Gina and her book sound like so much fun! Great interview and I can’t wait to read Croak!
+1Tweet: https://twitter.com/writerquirk/status/145147425995227136
This is definitely the most unique idea for a book I’ve heard of in a while. Sounds awesome!
Haha. Gina’s hilarious. I bet her book will be too. Can’t wait to read it 🙂
Don’t enter me, I’m international.
Great interview! Croak sounds like exactly the kind of book I’ve been looking for! Seriously, just 2 weeks ago I requested recommendations on Goodreads for books about reapers, death, and afterlife! I can’t wait to read Croak!
Haha this was a great interview to read! Croak sounds like a pretty fantastic book! Winning or not I can’t wait to read it! Loving the title too!
Here’s to new YA books & YA authors!!
+1Tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/lunarwolves86/status/145182350454693888
haha, i hope she doesn’t go to jail on her release day! great interview, Nova! thanks for the giveaway.
Amazing! So excited for Croak!
Amazing give away!!!
oh and here is my tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/red_tigergirl2/status/145206920268095488
The cover is very different and I love it! I’m so excited to read Croak 🙂
I’m really excited about this book. I discovered Gina and her book through the YA scavenger hunt and was able to read the first two chapters of CROAKED. I’m beyond excited about it! I’m so glad she’s getting some PR from great authors like you!
Thanks so much for the interview and the giveaway!
Amber
amberr610[at]gmail[dot]com
Oh! This looks like an excellent read! Sign me up! XD
I tweeted! http://twitter.com/#!/Ocedday/status/145221045673136128
I remember reading about Gina during the scavenger hunt and I must say I am definitely intrigued about this book! Pick me! 😀
kspear22[at]gmail[dot]com
Don’t remember where I first heard of this book but it looks so good! I can’t wait to read it! And I tweeted about it @carpe_omnes
I can’t wait to read this book!
tweet tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/ASingleBell/status/145250358367764480
Yay I really wanna read this. Awesome interview! 🙂
I just discovered Gina Damico a week or two ago, and so far I’ve been enjoying her blog! She’s hillarious. :] I can’t wait to read Croak! Thanks for the giveaway!
Hope I win!!!! Can’t wait until this book comes out So I can read it!!!
That picture with the cat makes me laugh more than I think it should 😛
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/taytaystalker/status/145262350142943232
I would love to read Croak! Thank you for the giveaway!
HAH, my best friend from high school was in the CCE too! She LOVED it. And ok, I will acknowledge that fried chocolate chip cookie dough is the first fried sweet I’ve heard of that actually sounds good. Sadly, I’ve never been to the Big E: my parents hate fairs, and I live just far enough away that it’s a pain to get to.
I’ve been seeing this premise a lot lately and I love it, even though it reminds me of Dead Like Me. (Perhaps because of that?) Definitely going on my TBR list. Love the cover, too!
This sounds so good! Can’t wait to read it!
Stephanie
thaliansmhc at yahoo dot com
Would love Love LOVE to win this book!!! Oh and DEFINITELY have to try deep fried cookie dough!!! YUMMMMM!!! Can’t wait to read Croak!!!
+1 tweet https://twitter.com/#!/mamalee1983/status/145266375357767680
OH MY GOSH!!!!! I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO WIN THIS!!!
I just recently heard of this one! Sounds pretty epic.
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/#!/deadtossedwaves/status/145293856089440256
Vivien
deadtossedwaves@gmail.com
Oh, I have been crazy looking forward to this. Between the desc and the cover, it makes me think it’ll be a little macabre, a little twisted, and a LOT up my alley. Can’t wait!
Cheers~
Dot
requiemofrain (at) hotmail (dot) com
(oh, and I tweeted: @dothutchison )
I’d so love to win this book! 🙂 Awesome interview and giveaway! 😀
Croak sounds really good! Loved the interview.
Thanks for the giveaway!!! This book sounds great!
This one sounds REALLY good – can’t wait!
I’d love to win a copy of Croak! Thanks for the giveaway!
This sounds amazing! I’d love to win it! Thanks for the terrific contest!
My first experience with The Big E left me with exploding artieries, as well. There is something very random and truly bizzare about that place… I think a llama spit at my hub there one year and I got pecked by a spotted Rhode Island hen. Very weird looking people go to that Fair. Dangerous and delicious place that makes one wonder why we’d ever want to spend time in Salem for a glimpse at witches. Anyway, the Bus thing is kind of Stephen Kingish, too, isn’t it? I’m thinking this has to be a very eerie book. Nightmarish, perhaps. I can only think that it’s going to be a great hit with the YA crowd. :]
Deborah/TheBookishDame formerly a Bostonite
I would love to win this book for my mom she already added the book to her “must read books”
I read the first Chapters at the YA scavanger hunt web site felt in love with the book added the book to my “MRB” as soon as it comes out : ) also I tweeted it
https://twitter.com/#!/JuanaAndrade
I am super excited to read croak. Thanks for the chance!
+1 tweet:https://twitter.com/#!/nikkipickles45/status/145365481530982401
jacksandnumbers(at)hotmail(dot)com
This book sounds amazing!! Can’t wait to read it 🙂
Croak sounds awesome – Aw, your cat is absolutely adorable!
This book sounds amazing, i first saw it on the YA Scavenger Hunt and wanted to read it right away. Great giveaway!
I also tweeted this: https://twitter.com/#!/JumpIntoBooks/status/145399179777294337
prefs22[at]yahoo[dot]com
Haha, Uncle Mort. I like it already. Thanks for the giveaway!
fiebs10[at]verizon[dot]net
Tweeted it too:
Readers of YA lit: Win a copy of CROAK by Gina Damico in a giveaway hosted by author Nova Rena Suma. bit.ly/uforgK
Great interview! Croak sounds like a really interesting novel. I hear you on the cat issue mine tends to think the only spot to sit is right on my lap.
Thanks for the chance to win.
+1 https://twitter.com/#!/niclovestoread/status/145485083107803136
spyblue78(at)gmail.com
Thanks for the EPIC giveaway!!! I tweeted it @Em_Kay_13 (+1)
Sounds scary, but interesting.. I definitely want entered in this giveaway!
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/andietwbas/status/145644457260367872
Andie
theworldbehindashelf(at)gmail(dot)com
Great idea for a book! Sounds exciting — uncle as Grim Reaper — hmmmm, now that you mention it, my uncle was kind of odd.
This book looks as fun and disturbingly delicious as the deep fried cookie dough. Thanks for the chance to win and read it early!
This one sounds really good.
Oh please, please, please! I wanna read Croak so badly…
Aww I want this so badly! Plus the author’s really nice, and I already have some Croak swag. 🙂
Tweeted! http://twitter.com/#!/NightBookThief/status/146912608937705472
Looking forward to reading CROAK! Thanks for the giveaway!
+1 Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/bookishbaggins/status/147517382141812737
Baggins
Would love to read CROAK, it sounds great. 🙂
This book sounds interesting!
This sis such an epic interview and I really love this feature. My favorite was the last question. I love that Ms. Damico is so willing to spread the reading love with her soon to be fellow inmates!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/#!/Amberinblunderl/status/147761131165990912
I now absolutely want some deep fried chocolate chip cookies!! They sound too too yummy! Congrats on your future book birthday!
Grim reaper? Family business? Sounds like a great concept. 😀
Not sure which time zone this ends, so I’m giving it a shot. I REALLY want to read this. It sounds awesome! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/kellym2372/status/147800280472367104
Oh, duh, it ended EST 5pm…oh well, still want to read it! 😛
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone for entering—and to the author for making this giveaway possible, and answering my questions!