Author Q&A with Robyn Harding

Robyn Harding, author of My Parents Are Sex Maniacs and a number of other books (check her website for a complete list of titles!), has answered some of our burning questions about life, high school, writing, and food. Enjoy!

1. What embarrassed you most as a teenager about your parents?

My mom remarried when I was 11. Of course, it never occurred to me that this meant she was having sex with my stepfather. Imagine my shock (and horror) when she got pregnant when I was 13! I definitely know how Louise felt when her mom was waddling around her high school hallways with a huge baby belly.

2. Have your kids reached the age where you’re embarrassing them yet?

My son is eleven so he finds me a little embarrassing – which is crazy because I keep telling him how lucky he is to have the coolest mom in the world.

3. What was your favourite part of high school? Least favourite?

I really enjoyed drama and creative writing classes. My least favourite part was anything math related.

4. What’s your writing strategy?

It’s taken me several years to figure this out, but I’m really only creative in the morning. If I wasn’t so lazy, I’d get up at 5:00 AM and write in my pajamas for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I am so lazy so I usually start work around 8:30. I kind of self edit as I go along, so I don’t have to write too many drafts.

5. What is your favourite part of being an author? Least favourite?

I love writing! I love telling stories! And I love when readers tell me that something I wrote touched them or made them laugh. The worst part is definitely bad reviews. A bad review is like a punch in the solar plexus.

6. Who are some of your favourite authors?

I love YA author Susan Juby. Her Alice, I Think series is hilarious. David Sedaris is soooo funny. I literally cried with laughter reading Naked on a plane once. And Nick Hornby is always good.

7. What are your most- and least-eco-friendly habits?

I am pretty green (if you care to know exactly how green, you can read: Mom, Will This Chicken Give Me Man Boobs? My Confused, Guilt-Ridden and Stressful Struggle to Raise A Green Family). About a month ago, I bought a composter, which I think is a huge step in my green evolution. But I still feel bad about a lot of non-green things I do: dyeing my hair, using a lot of Kleenex, flying to Australia (my husband is an Aussie) every four years…

8. If you didn’t have to worry about any practical matters (work visas, language, moving, kids’ schools, work, etc.), where in the world would you choose to live?

Paris! I’ve only been there once but it really spoke to me: Come live here Robyn, it said, before you get tied down with work and visas and kids’ schools! So if that were all off the table, that’s where I’d be. But Vancouver is a pretty awesome place to live, too.

9. What food could you eat exclusively for an entire week without getting sick of it?

Dairy Queen Blizzards. I’d have a different flavor every day for variety.

10. What advice do you have for writers who want to get published?

Write and then submit. Get the Writer's Market and send your manuscript everywhere. I didn’t have any insider connections and I got published. It’s not easy but I remember reading some sage advice: if you’ve written something good, it will find a home.

Thanks, Robyn!

TD Canadian Children's Book Week 2009!

My first "spring has almost arrived in Toronto!" post was on March 20, and I quickly learned I'd been a bit premature. (I plead ignorance: I only moved to Toronto last September, after all!) But today really felt like spring: the temperature went up to 20C and I was able to go outside in short sleeves. Hooray!

Things have been busy at Annick: books are heading off to the printer, new books are in the works, and we're gearing up for some neat stuff for fall (more about our fall list later!). Meanwhile, our books continue to win awards: Mattland (written by Hazel Hutchins and illustrated by Dusan Petricic) has won the Canadian Library Association's Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, and Melanie Little's The Apprentice's Masterpiece is the CLA's Young Adult Canadian Honour Book. I also selected the winners for our My Parents Are Sex Maniacs contest, and will be posting their stories, along with a Q&A with author Robyn Harding, next week!

More good news: three of our authors have been invited to this year's TD Canadian Children's Book Week! From November 14-21, Kristin Butcher (Pharaohs and Foot Soldiers), Claire Eamer (Super Crocs and Monster Wings), and Charis Cotter (A World Full of Ghosts) will be giving readings at schools, community centres, and libraries. (More information on tour schedules to follow!) In celebration of Vancouver's 2010 Olympics, this year's Book Week theme is "sports."

Wherever you are, I hope you're enjoying spring so far!

Win a copy of My Parents Are Sex Maniacs!

Book Giveaway and Author Q&A!

Book Giveaway:
In Robyn Harding's new book, My Parents Are Sex Maniacs, sixteen-year-old Louise has to deal with some pretty embarrassing parental antics: like her dad having an affair with Louise's best friend's mom, and her mom hooking up with Louise's math teacher. What's worse than thinking about your parents' sex lives? Try your entire high school gossiping about your parents' sex lives!

But if you think you've got an embarrassing-parents story that beats that -- like the time your new crush came over and your mom gleefully hauled out those photos of you as an awkward preteen -- you could win a copy of My Parents Are Sex Maniacs!

Just e-mail your tale of parental humiliation to annickpress@annickpress.com. The top five stories will each win a copy of the book... and we promise to keep all entries confidential! You can also enter through the Annick Press group on Facebook, or send a direct message to @AnnickPress on Twitter (if you can keep your story to 140 characters!). Deadline is Friday, April 10!

Author Q&A:
I'll also be doing a Q&A with Robyn Harding soon, so if you have any questions you'd like to ask her, please post them in the comments and I'll select the best ones! Again, you can also send questions through the Annick Press group on Facebook or @AnnickPress on Twitter. Deadline is Sunday, April 5!