Dream Boy Blog Tour: Authors’ Interview (and GIVEAWAY!)

June 20, 2014

Dream boyI am so excited to talk some more today about the book Dream Boy that I reviewed last month.

And the publisher has said I can give away a copy of the book (trust me, you want this in your hands), so be sure and leave a comment after you read the interview.

You probably noticed this novel was written by two authors (Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg). This continues to be noteworthy, I believe, because it’s uncommon.

When I imagined working with someone else on one of my novels, it honestly gave me the heebeegeebees, so I went looking and read Mary’s explanation of what she loved about writing with a friend.  I also read where the story came from, which is a pretty awesome story, and that answered my first and most-obvious questions.

Madelyn’s video explanation took a completely different tack…

Despite my inclination to write alone, anyone who knows me knows that healthy relationships, emotions, and brains are kinda my big-deal whether I’m writing fiction or non-fiction, so that was the angle on my mind when I created my interview questions.

 ~ ~ ~

Amy Jane: When you write together, how do you keep ego or possessiveness from getting in the way of the story?

Mary: You just concentrate on the story and that takes care of all the ego crap that could get in the way. And if there did happen to be a disagreement that we couldn’t immediately resolve, I just told Madelyn I was going to hold my breath until she let me have my way. That worked surprisingly well.
Madelyn: It’s hard to go about trying to get published these days with your ego intact. Any ego I had left when I started writing with Mary I just checked at the door. We were really honest with each other about what we thought worked and what we thought didn’t. One of Mary’s rules about writing a joint project was that the initial idea couldn’t be something you were completely possessive of/iron-fisted about. Because if it was, you should just keep that project for yourself, right? That way when you went forward to create something, you were truly working together.

Amy Jane: That makes me feel better, Madelyn. So far my novel ideas are arriving personal and specific, so those aren’t the kind to share. (I was afraid my resistance to cooperation made me a selfish control-freak…).

Amy Jane:  You did a really good job showing the humanity—accessibility—of traditionally negative roles (the popular kids, the ex-boyfriend). Was that on-purpose? Can you think of any specific choices you made—reactions, appearances—that were calculated to keep the more negative characters from going too far?
Mary: Thanks! I guess there wasn’t any calculated move on my part. I just set out to show people as I understand people to be–with good parts and bad parts.
As for going too far, Madelyn did keep me from giving Daniel a mustache because she didn’t want him to seem gross. Also, she wouldn’t let the nightmare eat bugs even though I tried repeatedly to get that little girl some protein.
Amy Jane: HA!
Madelyn: We actually had way more back story than even ended up in here. We know exactly why Stephanie ended up the way she did, for instance. And we tried to make Annabelle realize that some of her feelings about Daniel were actually about herself (which was a lesson I learned about an ex boyfriend I hated, though it took me 20 years).
Amy Jane: I was also happy (it’s embarrassing how much of my enjoyment of a book is so self-centered…) happy to see so many minor tensions resolved while they were still minor, and people really seeming to try their best to be civil, rather than racing to take offense. Is that something that’s part of your style as writers, and/or did you consciously include that?
marymadelynpub1Mary: I think there’s a reason we didn’t start the book right after Annabelle broke up with Daniel. She had a real rough time with that break up. So, when Dream Boy begins, she’s been through some emotional stuff and she reacted pretty badly to it in the past, but she’s trying to learn to be better about it. It worked better for the story for her to be at that point in her life. Also, I don’t like writing a bunch of weepy drama.
Madelyn: Actually, I think it’s more interesting when things are wrapped up a little less neatly. I feel like one of the reasons we did what we did was because we didn’t want those things to detract from some of our other plot points. (And I don’t like weepy drama, either.)
Amy Jane: Medium *SPOILER* warning here: when Annabelle chooses the fugly dress bought for her over the one she picked for herself, did you mean that as an abdication/succumbing to manipulation—a move away from her true self—or rather as an effort on her part to compromise within the relationship that she was still trying to build?

Mary: I don’t see that choice as abdication or manipulation or even as an attempt to further her relationship with Martin. I see it as an act of kindness to another human being who was trying to do something kind for her. Also, she was pushing back against her friend Talon a little in that scene. Talon was poking at holes she suspected might be in Annabelle’s relationship with Martin, so Annabelle was presenting a untied front by choosing the dress. So her motives are kind and a little defensive and a little self-delusional in the same moment. But mostly kind.

Madelyn: I agree that it was an act of kindness, but I think that kindness was a way of moving the relationship forward 🙂

Amy Jane: It was one of my favorite moments, with different levels or ways to interpret it. I love that you both see the same act a bit the same and a bit differently.

It’s so neat to see the gentleness of your relationship and your shared delight in your story.  Thank you so much of “visiting” my little blog!

Mary: Thanks again, Amy, for having us.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!

(My apologies, but this is limited to mailing addresses the U.S. and Canada):

To enter, leave a comment and tell me if you are pro- or anti- spoiler in your reading (or book-review reading). Do you want to know any extras beyond the blurb on the back of the book?

[Contest will be open for two weeks: I’ll draw a name on July 4th sometime in the midst of a celebratory family day.]