Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Author Interview: Rachel Russell

I was lucky enough to get to ask Rachel Russell some questions and be part of her blog tour! Check out my review for Dork Diaries HERE and make sure to read this funny interview I had with her! Make sure to leave your comments...they may help you in a future giveaway *cough*
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Did you ever keep a diary?

Yes, I did. When I was in grade school, I had one of those cute little diaries with gold leaf pages, a latch and a tiny gold key. Unfortunately, after the first week, I would always lose the little key and my locked diary would become useless. But, I would just ask for another diary for my next birthday. By the time I got to middle school, I owned maybe a half dozen locked diaries.

What is your most memorable Middle School experience?

I spent most of 6th and 7th grade trying desperately to hang out with the popular kids. By 8th grade, I was so tired and burnt out that I just gave up and decided to be myself and eat alone. That's when I finally made real friends. 8th grade was a decent year for me for this reason.

Were you popular like Mackenzie, or not so popular like Nikki?

I was definitely not-so-popular, like Nikki.

How did you live through those Middle School Years?

Looking back, my middle school years were probably the most difficult time in my life. I felt like I would NEVER fit in with my peers. I had a lot of the same feelings that my character, Nikki Maxwell, had.

Do you have any favorite YA books or authors?

Since I'm currently writing humorous books in a diary format, right now I am partial to similar books (The Absolute True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Princess Diaries, Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, Nanny Diaries, Bridget Jones' Diary, etc.). When I was in grade school my most favorite book (and later my favorite movie) was Harriet the Spy, which was...you guessed it...a funny, diary book.

Do you have any more books planned?

Yes, I'm currently working on Dork Diaries Book 2. It is scheduled for release in the Spring of 2010.

What are you doing right now?

Since Dork Diaries was just released a few days ago (on June 2nd), I'm obsessively checking my ranking on Amazon.com. It changes every hour, so I feel I have to check it at least once every hour. It's like if I stare at it long enough, maybe I can telepathically "will" my ranking to go from 5 digits to number 1. I've heard this behavior is normal for new authors and only lasts about a week. It automatically goes away when you drop from exhaustion, due to lack of sleep, from compulsively checking your ranking around the clock.

-Amanda

7 comments:

Emily said...

Good luck on the Amazon rating! And I've totally had the same experience with diaries!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting to know how middle school was for her and the Amazon ranking thing.

Senfaye said...

Great interview!!! :D

Laina said...

You know, you get a nail file or an unbent paperclip, you can pop those things easy. Plus all the keys are exactly the same, so you can use any key from any diary to open it.

bookaholic13 said...

wow her middle school expierence was just like mine

Bianca said...

I never knew she was the author of Diary of a wimpy kid. I got some of those books for my nephew!

:)

Paradox said...

I used to keep a diary, but after I got a computer I gave that up. I find it much easier to type than write because I have messy writing and I'm OCD-ish about having letters not-messy.