Writers Like Us - Elizabeth Fama

I was so, so excited when Elizabeth Fama agreed to participate in Writers Like Us! Not only has she written one of the most gorgeous, mythical mermaid stories I've ever read, but she's the author of PLUS ONE--one of my favoritest stories out this year. If that cover isn't gorgeous enough to make you pick up her book, put my stamp of approval behind it.

Elizabeth's answers are below in bold.

Elizabeth on Writing

• I've written 7.5 books and 3 have seen the light of day. Hey, I majored in biology in college and got a PhD in economics! I had a lot to learn about writing. 

• My favorite type of scene to write is one that's dark, with beauty and longing and death. 

• No matter how long I've been writing, I still have issues with emotional paralysis. I worry that I'll fail before I even begin, and I freeze.

• A typical comment from my critique partner is "Would a teenager really use the word 'sternum?'"

• The book I wished I wrote is As I Lay Dying. So instead I'm plagiarizing it right now. Faulkner will never know.

Elizabeth on Getting Published

• If my editor really knew how stuck-up I am, he would find out that I want to win a Printz more than I want to sell books. And he'd promptly cut my advance in half. 

• When I was querying, I felt like everyone who was not an agent was demanding too much of me. "Make your own damn dinner, I have waiting to do!" 

• The biggest mistake I ever made querying was sending an exclusive submission to Barry Goldblatt, and then having to sheepishly retract it, because NEVER DO THIS. 

• The craziest thought I've ever had while writing is "This book is gonna scoop the mermaid paranormal market!"

• When I got "The Call," my first thought was "Does my laugh sound like tinkling bells, or hysteria?"

• When I saw my book sale in Publishers Marketplace, I print-screened the hell out of it, and then sent it as a .jpg to everyone I knew.

Elizabeth on Life Outside Writing

• If I weren't a writer, I'd probably be a professor of economics--a miserable one. 

• Secretly, I'm terrified of one of my kids dying before me. Wait, did you want me to say something inconsequential, like "clowns?" 

• My secret girlfriend/boyfriend is Howl. 

• Sometimes, when no one is around, I ...Haha! I laughed out loud at this question. I haven't been alone since 1988. #FourChildren

Elizabeth Fama is the author of Plus One (FSG, 2014), Monstrous Beauty (FSG, 2012), a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection and Odyssey Award honor winner, and Overboard (Cricket Books, 2002), an ALA Best Books for Young Adults. She is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.

Want more Writers Like Us? Check out the entire series, including interviews with A.S. King, Sara Zarr, Jennifer E. Smith, Kristin Halbrook, Tara Lynn Childs, Robin Benway, Katie McGarry, Trish Doller, and many, many more.