8 Questions with Megan McCafferty
Megan McCafferty, one of my favorite authors, was kind enough to stop by for the first Final Fridays of '09! She's written the Jessica Darling series - Perfect Fifths comes out April 14, '09 - and edited Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday. Her website is awesome - check out her (retro)blog - and she's currently holding a competition to win an ARC of Perfect Fifths!
Heyyyyyyy, Megaaaaaaaan! Everybody loves Jessica Darling, and I haven't talked to one person who can't find a bit of herself in Jessica. Do you see any of yourself in Jessica?
I'm flattered that you think everyone loves Jessica! Jessica was the most like me in Sloppy Firsts but as the series has progressed she's became her own person who says and does things that I would never do or say! I'm fascinated by how girls on opposite ends of the popularity spectrum identify with her angst. It just proves to me that we all feel like alienated outsiders sometimes—even if we're not.
The most popular people aren't welcome among the fringes of society, and vica versa. Nobody's ever welcome everywhere! Perfect Fifths is written partially through Marcus' point of view. Where did you find the inspiration for that?
This final book in the series is really all about Jessica and Marcus—told over eighteen hours spent together in/around an airport. I thought that after ten years of Jessica's version of events, it was time for a more subjective telling of their shared story. I also hope that this shift from first to third person reflects a certain growth in Jessica, a willingness to get outside her own head and think about others for a change.
I can't wait for it to come out, I really can't! -bouncy- Okay, (retro)blog are all the old things you wrote waaaaay back when. Like, in the dinosaur age. (Not really. You're not that old.) Do you remember what your favorite author/book/song/food/type of rock to throw at people was back then?
It all depends on your definition of “back then” because the (retro)blog covers my writings between the ages of 10 and 26. I enjoyed Judy Blume, The Xanadu Soundtrack and blueberry pancakes at ten and twenty-six--and still enjoy them at thirty-six.
I. Love. The. Xanadu. Soundtrack. The plotline to the movie, not so much. Nice choice! ^^ Since Perfect Fifths is your last installment of the Jessica Darling series... what do you have planned next? Writing another book, becoming a ninja, taking over the world...
I'm researching/brainstorming/pre-writing what might be a stand-alone novel, but I think has potential be a new series. I'm calling it my dystopian high school sex comedy and don't want to say much more about it than that. I hope to make an official announcement about it by the time Perfect Fifths is published on April 14th. I have a lot of work ahead of me!
Haha, that sounds interesting. Dystopian high school sex comedy? That's an... odd genre... o_O You get around a lot - you love visiting colleges. What college is your favorite?
I can't pick a favorite. Columbia, Wellesley, The College of St. Elizabeth, The College of New Jersey, UCLA...I appreciate every invitation I've received. College audiences have grown up with Jessica and seem to relate to her struggles and successes more so than other readers.
I'm kind of glad Syracuse isn't on there. It's cold up there! (It's the only reason I'm not going. -shudder-) Were you surprised at how well your books have done? I know you have all of my friends addicted.
It's not something I think about on a daily basis. I'm proud to have invented characters that readers are so passionate about! And I'm grateful that that I can make a living doing what I love.
Cookies are yummy. What is your favorite cookie?
Whatever one is fresh out of the oven. I'm non-monogamous when it comes to cookies.
Cookies are little pillows of heaven. Let's end with something completely random. Hmm... If you could transport yourself into any book either as yourself or as another character, what book and character/you?
I would transport my sixteen-year-old self in the film tie-in paperback version of A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon starring River Phoenix in his prime. For um, obvious reasons. (Google image him to see what I mean.)
I looked him up, he's not that bad. No Robert Pattinson or Johnny Depp, but hey... ^^
Thanks for stopping by, Megan! Keep an eye out for Perfect Fifths, coming out April 14th!
~Nicole