Not since Lisa McMann’s Wake in 2007 have I felt compelled to contact an author about their book; but, after reading Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, which was so poignant, beautiful and amazing, I was left with no choice. On the eve of her debut release, Lauren was kind enough to answer a few questions:
Let’s get to know you a little bit before we talk about your book. I usually don’t ask, but how old are you? I'd hate to ask you what your biggest fashion blunder in the 80's was and have you say "cloth diapers".
Ha. 27. And as far as I know, my diapers were always of the plastic variety.
I don’t often get to speak to a fellow New Yorker – what the strangest thing you’ve seen in NYC?
I was on the subway going into Manhattan on a Friday night with a girl wearing chaps, a cowboy hat, and carrying a toilet plunger. But the strangest thing was how long it took me to register that her choice of clothing and accessories seemed, you know, outlandish; and of course, nobody else was even giving her a second glance.
You went to school in Chicago. What does Chicago have or do better than NY?
I prefer Chicago hot dogs to their New York counterparts. But don’t even get me started on Chicago pizza. It’s not pizza. It’s not that it doesn’t taste good; it’s just that it needs to be renamed. Call it tomato-and-cheese pie or something.
What's your pet peeve?
Oof. Incompetence of all varieties, I would say.
So you’re a coffee addict like us. If you could only buy coffee in one place for the rest of your life, where would it be?
Hmmm. Philz Coffee in San Francisco makes, in my opinion, the greatest coffee in the world. I have literally planned trips to San Fran just so I could get a Philharmonic Coffee… However, since I have no intention of living in San Fran…I would have to say DUB Pies in Brooklyn, a little pie-shop/coffee place around the corner from my house. I actually go there so often I acknowledged the shop in Before I Fall. I know the people who work there and they make fantastic flat whites.
Any hidden talents you can share?
I am an excellent cook. I love, love, love to make up new recipes and entertain; in fact, cooking is one of my favorite things to do. That seems to be a hidden talent of interest to all of my friends; they like to taste test.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a ballet dancer, and I actually danced very, very seriously for the first part of my life. My parents were concerned about the fact that dancers often make very little money; I told them I would write to help support my dancing. When they explained that writing wasn’t exactly the most fiscally stable career, I answered that I would paint to support my writing to support my dancing. At that point, they wept quietly into their pillows.
I wanted to work with animals and my parents wanted me to write. Now I do both; but my writing doesn’t pay and the animals I work with aren't the furry kind. I’m sure your parents are incredibly proud and probably very relieved with the way things turned out.
Ok, so obviously being a writer won out and you wrote the amazing Before I Fall . Read the review...
I have to admit, a book hasn’t made me emotional since Bridges of Madison County. Did you get teary writing it?
Ha. Yes. A little, at the end. I feel really narcissistic saying that, but it’s true.
In one of Sam’s (7) redo days, she spends the day with her little sister lamenting all the things that she won’t be able to teach her as she grows up. Since you're a little sister, what was one of the most important things your older sister taught you?
My sister is brave and fearless. One of her lessons was that whenever you attempt to do something that is unusual or unconventional—when you try to strike your own way, essentially—people will generate a long list of reasons for you to stay on the beaten path. She told me it was important to ignore them. She was right.
By the end of the story, I was so attached to Sam that I wanted to rewrite your ending. Which book would you rewrite the ending to?
Romeo and Juliet. Those kids deserve to be together, grow old, discover all of each other’s annoying little habits and quirks, fall out of love, push through it and then really love each other, by discovering the value of day-to-day companionship and support.
I agree, that whole tragedy could have been avoided by simply checking Juliet’s pulse. Men… Do you have another book in the works?
Yes, I do have a new project in the works titled Delerium and set to pub in 2011. It's very different from Fall but I am super excited about it. It's a dystopian novel, a kind of alternate history of the United States; in it, the government has identified love as a virulent and deadly disease and figured out how to cure it. Around the age of eighteen everyone is forced to have brain surgery and chemical treatment that will cure them forever of love (and other strong/passionate feelings). It is, of course, a Romeo-and-Juliet story.
Love as a deadly disease… very interesting. Is this one going to make me cry too?
Oh, for sure. Definitely. You might as well invest in Kleenex stock now!
Great… I’m sure I love it anyway. Thanks for taking the time, Lauren. I really enjoyed speaking with you. Good luck on the release—although I know you won’t need it.
Thanks for the awesome questions! This was fun.
For more information on Lauren, go to http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com