Author Interview w/ Miranda Kenneally

Miranda Kenneally is the author of CATCHING JORDAN, a contemporary YA novel about football and femininity, coming in December 2011. Other books include STEALING PARKER (fall 2012) and BAD, BAD THING (spring 2013). Miranda is the co-creator of Dear Teen Me. The Dear Teen Me Anthology will be published by Zest Books (distributed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) in late 2012. She enjoys reading and writing young adult literature, and loves Star Trek, music, sports, Mexican food, Twitter, coffee, and her husband. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook. Miranda is represented by Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency.

Q&A:
STB: Your main character Jordan learns a lot of things about herself throughout the book. What's one thing you learned about yourself while writing it?

MK: I learned that I should write the book I want to read, not necessarily what readers want to read. I put everything into Catching Jordan and I was so excited when other people loved it like I did. So I guess I learned to trust my instincts. 

STB: Why did you choose to set Catching Jordan in Tennessee? I know it’s your home state but is there any other reason? Do you think you'll continue to set your novels in the south?

MK: I set Catching Jordan in Tennessee because I grew up there, and it's what I know. And it's a beautiful place with lots of culture and personality. I imagine most of my books will take place in the South, although I've played around with some stories set in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. We'll see, I guess! 

STB: What made you decide to incorporate sports so heavily into the plot of your novels? Are you an athlete or sports junkie?

MK: I know quite a bit about sports, even though I'm one of the worst athletes on the planet. For real. Again, I think it goes back to writing what I know. I know sports, I know Tennessee - so I write about them.

STB: What can you tease about your second book Stealing Parker, which is a companion to Catching Jordan? What other projects are you working on?

MK: Stealing Parker is about a girl named Parker, who used to play softball. After an incident, she quit the team and now doesn't know who she is anymore and doesn't trust many people. But then she meets the new coach of the baseball team. He's 23, but he seems to understand Parker when most other people don't... I'm also working on a third novel, a companion to both Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker. I have no idea what it's called, so I'm calling it BAD BAD THING for now. It's about a devout Christian girl who helps her best friend to get an abortion, and it makes her go wonky and question everything she knows. It's set at a camp and there is a very cute boy there! It's supposed to come out in 2013. I also just finished editing an anthology called Dear Teen Me, in which authors write letters to their teen selves.

STB: What was the last YA book you read and which are you dying to read?

MK: The last YA book I read was UNDER THE NEVER SKY, by my friend, Veronica Rossi. I loved it! The next book I'm planning to read is BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore and I can't wait.

STB: What's your favorite thing to do when you’re not reading or writing?

MK: Eating Mexican food.

STB: If I were to give you a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

MK: Probably Australia, so I could go to the Outback and Great Barrier Reef. Also, I would probably stalk Melina Marchetta.

We want to thank Miranda so much for stopping by our blog and taking the time to answer our questions. We really appreciate it and hope all of you enjoyed reading the interview.
  
Follow Miranda on Twitter: @MirandaKennealy 

Read Shannon's review of Catching Jordan

Or you can buy Catching Jordan from:

Amazon/ B&N/ Book Depository