Interview With YA Author Rosemary Clement-Moore
Young Adult Author Talks on Getting Published
May 7, 2009
Her debut novel, Prom Dates from Hell [Random House Children’s Books 2008 ISBN 9780385734134] turned quickly into a series, and this year her most recent book, The Splendor Falls [Random House Children’s Books 2009 ISBN 9780385906357] is sure to draw some extra attention from fans and young adult fantasy readers alike.
How did it happen? How was the querying process for you emotionally and time wise?
Prom Dates From Hell was my first finished novel. I’d written short stories and plays, and I’d started a lot of books. But PDFH was the first I’d finished. Things happened very quickly for me. I wrote it in six weeks, revised it in another six weeks, started submitting queries, and had an agent in… you guessed it… six weeks. And then it sold in… wait for it… six weeks. (Do you think it’s fate that a book about demons has so many sixes involved?)
I attacked the query process like a war objective. I had a rocking query letter (my agent tells me so, so it’s not ego, really. J) and because I’d targeted my submissions with research, I had a very good response rate to my query. Obviously, things happened quickly, and I was lucky not to have to deal with a lot of disappointment. (And no, I don’t tell this story at in person conferences, because I don’t want people to slash my tires.)
How is life with an agent? What’s the relationship like, and was the “Hell” theme in your titles your idea?
On the subject of disappointment--one of the awesome things about having an agent is that all the rejections come filtered through her. I’m lucky that my agent ‘gets’ me. We have the same sense of humor, and a very similar literary background (meaning, we read a lot of the same books growing up). So we have a friendly relationship; I feel lucky about that. The Hell theme was totally my idea. I was glad that Random House loved it, too.
You have three published books out now, the latest is Highway to Hell [ [Random House Children’s Books 2009 ISBN 9780385734639]. What’s next for you? Are you continuing on with Maggie’s adventures or are you planning something else?
I hope that I’ll get to write more Maggie books in the future. I love the character, and there are many more monsters for her to face. But my next next book (after Highway to Hell) is a new character, and a slightly different theme. It’s a gothic romance set in the rural south, about a ballet dancer who breaks her leg, gets shipped off to stay with relatives in a shabby antebellum mansion, where she starts to see ghosts. Lots of spookiness, mystery, family secrets and, of course, romance. (It’s titled The Splendor Falls, and it comes out in September this year.)
More About Rosemary Clement-Moore
For more on Rosemary Clement-Moore visit website, and read more of this interview here.
 |
