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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Interview: Mindi Scott (Author of Freefall!)

I was extremely lucky to be able to read Mindi Scott's FREEFALL in June, but I've been waiting (im)patiently to be able to say "Run to your local bookstore and pick up your own copy. Now!" I'm still a bit premature, but FREEFALL will be hitting shelves October 5th in the US so you can at least prepare yourselves! To be super prepared, you might even want to preorder it. Not sure? Maybe my review will convince you. Read it here!

I'm very excited to have Mindi here at The Hiding Spot to answer a few questions about FREEFALL and its subject matter!
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A Brief Bio
Read more about Mindi HERE.

Mindi Rochelle Scott lives near Seattle, Washington, with her drummer husband in a house with a non-sound-proof basement. Her first novel, Freefall, will be published by Simon Pulse on October 5, 2010.
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The Interview

Give a short statement describing FREEFALL. (This should be in your own words and is meant to draw in readers, so no copying from the book jacket, etc.)
Freefall is about Seth McCoy, a bassist in a rockabilly band whose nickname is “Dick” for arguably legitimate reasons. This is the story of how, two months after finding his best friend dead, Seth is now at a point where he thinks he might be ready to start living and feeling again—he just has to learn how.


To me, Seth was incredibly real, which I found to be commendable, since you are, after all, not a teen boy. I feel like many girls and women feel like they think they know how the male mind works, but guys are forever telling them they actually have no idea. How did you find a way into Seth’s head? Did you find it difficult to make him believable? Was there research involved? Did you have a male “consultant?”
While working on this book, I read lots and lots of other YA with male POVs to kind of get the flavor. My husband was a big help, too. He’d read each of my scenes and sometimes he’d say, “Really? You think a guy would say/think/do that?” Then I’d try again. The thing that was cool is after a few months of working on the project, our discussions shifted from being about whether the narrative was boyish enough to whether it was Sethish enough. I was very proud when I got to that point because it was like, Seth had become a real enough person that “boy” or “not boy” was no longer a consideration. If that makes any sense.

I appreciated the frank portrayal of underage drinking in your novel. Do you think teens fully understand the negative consequences of drinking? What message did you hope to impart by its inclusion in the novel?
Despite the fact that my dad was killed in a collision with a drunk driver when I was four, I know that I didn’t fully understand the negative consequences of underage drinking when I was a teen. For instance, it seemed like puking was a thing that should automatically happen while partying. (It isn’t.) I also didn’t grasp that a 100-pound girl trying to keep up with, like, 175-pound boys was not only stupid, but could be dangerous for a multitude of reasons.

I don’t imagine that it would be a stretch to say that other teens out there might be clueless in the ways that my friends and I were clueless. And, yes, this is probably pretty obvious, but what I really hope readers will come away with after reading this book is that taking care of yourself and making smart choices is never a bad thing.

I loved Mrs. Dalloway and Seth’s Interpersonal Communications class. What was your inspiration behind her character and her often zany lessons?
I took an Interpersonal Communications class in college. Mrs. Dalloway is a less annoying, but more out-there version of my instructor. For the class I took, we had to choose fake names for ourselves and make lists of ways that we would challenge ourselves. I stole those ideas, and also came up with things that I thought would make the format of the class in the book more interactive and unexpected.

Can you tell us anything about your next YA novel?
I don’t actually know what my next published novel will be, but I have a few YA projects in the works which might be contenders. I hope that I’ll know more in the coming months!

My blog is dedicated to my personal hiding spot, books. Who, what, or where can be credited as your personal escape from reality?
A combination of a book and a tropical beach is the ideal hiding spot for me.
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I urge you to pick up FREEFALL. There's been a lot of talk about the lack of males narrators and "guy" books in YA lately, so Scott's debut is worth picking up for that reason alone, but there are many, many more reasons to pick up this amazing debut. Be sure to check out my review and the book trailer:


45 comments:

  1. What a great interview! I'll be reading Freefall shortly and look forward to it. :)

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  2. I think that the author's personal story would make the book that much more impactful. I'm looking forward to reading this.

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  3. Awesome review! Oh, and the video, by the way, is pretty cool too!

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  4. I wanted to read this book before and after the interview and the trailer (especially the trailer) I'm officially moving it up on my TBR pile

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  5. what I really hope readers will come away with after reading this book is that taking care of yourself and making smart choices is never a bad thing.

    I appreciate the message Mindi wants to send with her book. While I wasn't a party person in high school, I had friends and aquintances who were. There was actually a student who overdosed at a party and tragically did not make it. We had gone to Jr high together though we didn't know each other personally. Nevertheless, the news was still shocking. I do hope teens are able to take this book to heart.

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  6. the simplicity of the cover gives me the idea that the most important things are invisibles and fragile..
    nice weekend! :)

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  7. Nice interview! I like how she worked to make sure Seth's voice was authentic; that shows dedication!

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  8. Great interview, I love books with male narrators!

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  9. I love the fact this books is from a male POVs because like you said many women think they know the male mind and it´s dark complexity, but in reality we do not, so it´s always nice when a girl does it and researches about it and shares her male knowledge with us, oh so unfortunate girls who try to grasp their full being!

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  10. Thanks for posting the interview - it's interesting that she asked her husband about a boy's POV.

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  11. Great interview. I love Mindi's photo. Too cute!

    Books + topical paradise = win! :D

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  12. I too agree that there are not that many teen books that have male POVs. I wish there were more. Questions 2 and 3 were my most favorite!

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  13. Great interview. I've been wanting to read Freefall since I first heard about it. I adore your photo Mindi!

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  14. Great interview. I wanted to read the book before I read your interview. Tore923@aol.com

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  15. What an interesting interview! I love beaches too though I prefer hill stations.

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  16. Loved the interview :) Loved the book trailer too!

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  17. Great interview! Oh! Book + tropical beach is Mindi's ideal hiding spot? Maybe she should visit my country.

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  18. Awesome interview!
    CAN'T WAIT to read the book!

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  19. Great interview! I love how her husband gave his insights and helped her get into the role of Seth, who sounds like a really solid protagonist.

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  20. Great interview! looking forward to Oct. 5th now (:

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  21. Sounds like a really great message will be coming through without being to didactic... can't wait to read this one!

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  22. I've always thought it must be hard for a female writer to get inside the mind of a teenage boy. It's good that you had your husband there to help you.
    I can't wait to read this! Sounds like a great book with a message :)

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  23. this is interesting...
    :D

    regards,

    maidenhealer@hotmail.com

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  24. Think it's great that your husband was able to help you find your inner teenage boy!

    Sometimes it feels like boys are an alien species.

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  25. Great interview :)

    The male narrator looks like an interesting take.

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  26. Great interview! c: I hope that this book will inspire a lot of teenagers out there and will at least help them in a way, to make good decisions and choices in life.

    vesipisaroita [at] gmail [dot] com

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  27. I believe Mindi's experiences as a teenager will help her in her writing, more or less.

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  28. This is pretty cool sounding! There really aren't many male POV's out there, and that even fewer well written ones.

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  29. Great interview! I need to and get this book! I go agree, there aren't enough male protagonists out there!

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  30. Wow awesome interview! completely agree, there aren't many books with male protagonists. Actually it's been awhile since the last time I read one.

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  31. How nice to have such a supportive husband :D

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  32. Awesome interview! The more I read about this book, the more appealing it is!

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  33. I really liked your interview I can't wait to read this book sounds very good!

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  34. Great interview and I absolutely loved he trailer!

    Vicky Vakouftsi

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  35. Oh, I love books with boy narrators... and Mindi rocks!!

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  36. Great interview!

    Sounds like a great read ...so i've added to my TBB list :)

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  37. his nickname is Dick?! Anyway, this book seems even more interesting now, since she read a lot other YA with male POVs, and her husband helped. Nice.

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  38. Enjoyed the interview and will join at your perfect hiding spot:DI LOVE books + the beach! Great!Congrats on your first novel:)

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  39. Great interview! I like how she asked her husband about a boy's POV. I can't wait to read Freefall.

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  40. Great interview. I think it's sweet that her husband crits the "guyness" involved.

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  41. What a good interview!
    I liked it! I didn´t know that the book deals with alcoholism (haven´t read your review yet), but I´m interested in the subject. I think the guys are not aware of the real problem may be alcohol and I love that the author not only handle it well, but Seth's character is real.

    Thanks for the great interview!

    ~Yelania

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  42. i seriously think that i'm going to love this book~

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  43. Another YA book told from a boy POV....I enjoy reading them because i am male haha. Triumphant interview!

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  44. Awesome interview! I like books that are told from a boy's perspective. It is very helpful in understanding boys.

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  45. Amazing interview. I loved the question you asked!

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