Author Interview: Cathleen Daly

Hello everybody! Today I have with me the lovely Cathleen Daly, author of the upper MG novel, Flirt Club. I am currently reading and enjoying Flirt Club and for those of you reading this today, the 3rd, and not later on, Flirt Club releases TOMORROW which is also when I'll post my review. So anywho, everyone give a warm welcome to Cathleen.

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TBP: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

CD: Hi, well, let's see, I live in a little cottage in a magical garden in Berkeley, it's a great place to write. One of my first attempts at writing was in the 4th grade, I wrote a television script with one of my best friends. We sent it into one of the major networks with our school pictures (wallet-size) hoping they'd produce the show and cast us in the leading parts. Alas, they did not. That friend and I also spent spent hours in the library writing novels together. My novels were often about raven-haired, melancholy ballerinas. Flirt Club, though, is not about raven-haired melancholy ballerinas. I LOVE to read and spent hours and hours as a kid with my nose in a book (and still do). Books are pretty much my favorite things in the whole world (besides living things like cats and people) and having a book come out is big dream come true for me.

TBP: Describe Flirt Club in nine words. (These can be individual words or a complete sentence.)

CD: Partially-true. Secret worlds. Boys. More boys. Heartbreak. Happiness.

TBP: Were you anything like Izzy and Annie (a.k.a Cisco and the Bean) when you were in eighth grade?

CD: I definitely was. Flirt Club is semi-autobiographical. I had a group of girl friends in my 8th grade Drama Production class that I was tight with. We wrote each other notes incessantly (this was pre-internet and cell phones). We didn't try to improve our flirting skills though. We did pretend we were from a different planet, specifically Venus. I wish we HAD tried to work on our flirting skills, I was really shy around boys in middle school. There is a part in Flirt Club where Izzy's dream boy pulls her into a closet at a cast party and shuts the door. This happened to me in real life. I panicked and dashed out of the closet, I still can't believe I did that! Anyway, to find out what Izzy did you'll have to read the book!

TBP: I just absolutely adore the cover for Flirt Club. What was your reaction when you first saw it?

CD: Actually, the cover of the ARC is different than the final cover. The new cover (seen upper left) is really different. I liked the random note cut-out letters on the ARC cover (seen right), but I like color scheme and mischievous look in the eye of the girl on the new cover.

TBP: Are you currently working on another book? If so, could you tell us a little bit about it?

CD: I just finished a draft of a upper middle-grade novel called Lost at Sea. It's about an unusual family who moves to the small Mid-Western town of Fon Du Lac and try pass as suburbanites (they're not!). It's told from the perspective of the girl next door who is trying to unlock the mystery of who this strange family really is. She finds them entirely compelling, particularly their wild-haired son with smoldering black-as-coal eyes who for some reason wears formal trousers and dress shirts to school everyday. He sits in front of her in class and she has to sit on her hands to stop herself from grabbing his unruly locks.

TBP: If you could co-write a book with any author, who would it be and why?

CD: Actually I'd want to co-write a screenplay with Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Science of Sleep are my two favorites by him). I love his quirky, surreal style and his stories of perfectly imperfect love.

TBP: What is your favorite comfort food to eat when stressed?

CD: Mashed potatoes and gravy.

TBP: What was your favorite game to play as a child?

CD: Well, I had a lot of favorites, but I have to admit, I loved Heads-Up Seven-Up. That game where you hide your eyes in the crook of your arm on the desktop and stick your thumb up in the air to see if someone who's "it" touches it. Then you have to guess who did. I know I'm a dork, but ah the mystery and intrigue! The excitement of a potential tap on the tip of that thumb, so bald and brave in the breeze!

TBP: If you could shapeshift into any animal, which would it be and why?

CD: Definitely a cat. I love cats, I love how they communicate with their whole being from their purr to the twitching tip of their tail. They're very clear about what they want and don't want and go for it. Plus, I just love the look in a cat's eye, so enigmatic and other-worldly. And they really understand the art of relaxation.

TBP: If you were to create your own 'Bucket List', what would be the first three things on it?

CD: 1) I'd get a kitten (no kitties allowed in my current cottage)

2) I'd travel with friends to some tropical paradise, maybe Hawaii or Belize.

3) I'd start a band. Which is funny because I'm not particularly musical, but I'd do spokenword/poetry and have musicians backing me up.

TBP: Anything else you'd like to add before you go?

CD: I'd like to add a #4 to my bucket list: I'd make little handmade books of poetry and collages and give them to people that I love.

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I hope you all enjoyed the interview. Flirt Club is a great and hilarious read so far and I'll be posting my review tomorrow. And then you can go get your own copy because it will have released. Yay!

Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to read this. If you like, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments. Hope you all are having a lovely day. :D