Heidi R. Kling’s Author Chat With: Author Jeannine Garsee!

Congratulations on the recent sale of your second novel! Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Thanks! The novel is Say the Word and it’s about a 17-year-old girl whose mom left the family years ago to move in with her lesbian lover, Fran, and Fran’s two sons. Shawna has never come to terms with this, partly from embarrassment, and partly because she’s been influenced by her bitter, controlling father. When her mom dies unexpectedly, instead of losing all contact with Fran, she find herself thrust into Fran’s family in a way she never would have imagined.

How was it the second-go-round shopping your novel? More anxiety? Less? Same?

I’d say less anxiety, but only because I didn’t have to go through the “finding an agent” business this time. That helps! But the “wait” is still nerve-wracking.

You’re also a nurse on the psych unit of a hospital. I’ll bet you’ll have a lot of story ideas from there.

It’s a brand new job, but believe me, I already have enough “stories” to fill an entire notebook. :) I’m meeting “characters” NO author could possibly create from scratch!

I love your blog. It seems like you’re always into some kind of trouble, and the way you talk about it leads me to believe that if I was stuck in a dark alley on a cold and stormy night I’d feel better if you were there. Are you a tough cookie or is that your online persona??

I’m pretty extroverted around people I know. I do have a big mouth and I’m not particularly shy. This is what happens when you’re a nurse–I mean, you’re constantly walking in on naked people, right? This is not a job for the faint of heart. The stress level is enormous and I’ve learned to vent, which definitely carries over into my personal life.

You’re lj name is lj onegrapeshy. How did you come up with that?

This is a line from Before, After, and Somebody in Between when Martha runs away from a foster home, hangs around outside the detention center, and meets her “fairy godfather” for the first time. She babbles and babbles, and then thinks to herself, “I can see he thinks I’m about one grape shy of a fruit salad.”

Speaking of, congratulations on your debut novel, BEFORE, AFTER, AND SOMEBODY IN BETWEEN, which came out this past summer from Bloomsbury. What is that novel about?

Martha (14) lives in a ghetto neighborhood with her alcoholic mom and her mom’s loser boyfriend. Her mom is nuts, her mom’s boyfriend is not only nuts, he’s dangerous, and a bully at school threatens to kill her on a daily basis. She HATES her life! All she dreams of, aside from becoming a cellist (she really has talent!) is getting out of there–she wants a “normal” life with parents who don’t get high or slam her around…she wants to be loved and respected, which she certainly isn’t getting at home. When her rented cello is stolen by the drug dealer upstairs, she steals money from him to pay it off–and this triggers a series of events, including murder. In a Cinderella twist, she’s unexpectedly given a chance to escape, hide her past, reinvent herself as a different person (“Gina”) and move in with a wealthy, “perfect” family. This family, she finds out, is not only NOT perfect, but is also hiding a terrible secret.

Do you play the cello like your character does?

No, I took violin lessons for 6 weeks in the seventh grade. My teacher threw me out.

How do you balance work (nurse) life with work (author) life?

When I’m not working, I write–and that’s about ALL I do. There is no balance. I do one or the other, and very little else. I certainly never CLEAN, and I only cook for my family when practically forced to at gunpoint. My social life is practically nonexistent.

Do you watch the OFFICE? Is so, which OFFICE character do you most identify with?

Um…what’s The Office? I never get to watch TV because I work 3-11. When I am home, my husband and I fight over shows—there will be a rerun of Law and Order (my FAVE) and he’ll say he already saw it 10 times. But it’s NEW to me! Even though it’s, like, 5 years old. I’m not a huge TV watcher.

If you don’t watch the OFFICE, then which MUPPET?

Those two crabby old guys. GOD, I love them. And Oscar the Grouch, of course. He is my soul mate.

What happens if you arrive at the Border’s Cafe and somebody is in your writing chair?

If I can find another table with an outlet, I’m okay. If not, I sit and give them a loooong, steady, EVIL eye…but it never seems to work. I think about dropping a hefty dose of Benadryl into their cappuccinos so I can eventually drag their limp, unresponsive bodies out of my way. The baristas would help me. They love me
there.

Do you have any advice for our readers who have books coming out soon? What can we do to get the word out? How much of this is the author’s job vs. your publishing houses?

I’ll tell you the truth, if you have the money, hire a publicist if this is your first book. Publishers can only do so much. Send out as many arcs as you can for review, contact local media for exposure, pitch yourself to book fairs, book stores, conferences, etc. The Class of 2k7 was a huge help to me, plus simply speaking to others authors and learning the ins and outs of the business.

You’re the best. I love your tough-as-nails-very-funny style. I can’t wait to meet you in person one day!

WE DEFINITELY WILL!!! THANKS HEIDI!
xxx

Jeannine Garsee
Before, After, and Somebody in Between
Say the Word
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Author Website of Jeannine Garsee
www.myspace.com/garseewrites
ELUSIVE SANITY