Rookie Wednesday: Nina LaCour

This week's interview is with author Nina LaCour who's first novel, Hold Still, is officially released October 20th!

What's one random tidbit about yourself?

My middle name is Jacqueline (like yours!) and my parents and many of my family members call me Jacqueline more often than they call me Nina.

What were you doing the moment you found out that Hold Still had sold?

I was on BART on my way to the Oakland airport. I kept losing reception and dropping my agent's call, and then calling her back and losing her again. It was so embarrassing--not only because my agent was trying to tell me things, but also because the train was packed with people--but I couldn't stand to wait until I got to my stop for all the details.

What's the best book that you've read over the past six months?

This is a hard one! I'll go with The Known World by Edward P. Jones because I'm reading it right now for the fourth time, and each time I read it, I find more in it to admire and love. It's one of the most beautiful, brutal, and heartbreaking books I've ever read.

Was the process of writing and publishing your first novel what you expected it to be?

I really had no idea what to expect! I enjoyed working with an editor much more than I thought I would. I had a fear that the editorial process would be a struggle--that an editor might end up wanting me to change my book to make it more commercial or something--but I lucked out with my editor and it turns out that her feedback was subtle and perceptive and it lead me to make my book so much better than it was before I started working with her.

One thing that I was not expecting was how long it takes for a manuscript to be turned into a book and then to see the bookstore shelves. It's been years, and the waiting has been difficult. I'm not the most patient person.http://www.orbitbooks.net/soulless/

Give us one embarrassing author moment:

Well, since my book hasn't been released yet, I don't have any embarrassing author moments--I guess that will be something to look forward to! For now, I'll share an embarrassing pre-publication moment.

When I was just about halfway through writing Hold Still, I was contacted by an agent who had read a short story I wrote and was interested in representing me. This was a huge deal for me because I was in the middle of grad school and we were all anxious and worried about the process of getting agents, and here one was, calling me on the phone and sending me flattering emails. She was from a well-known agency and had represented some really big authors, and I was sure that she was The One. She read the first half of Hold Still in just a couple of days and told me to send the rest to her as soon as I finished it. I was thrilled.

I finished the book, and sent it to her. She said she couldn't wait to read it. I said, Great! Then I waited. Weeks passed. I wrote to check in. She told me that she was still so excited but hadn't had the time yet. Another month passed. I wrote again. No response. I was checking my email every other minute for months, and every time I checked I was disappointed. Then, in a late night moment of weakness, I wrote an email to her that was . . . let's say . . . a little bit desperate. It was like an awful Can't-you-see-how-much-I-love-you-Why-don't-you-love-me-back? letter to someone who just broke your heart.

Needless to say, it didn't work out with her. And I'm grateful that it didn't because I couldn't be happier with my agent. She is always attentive and supportive and entirely sincere.

What would you most like potential readers to know about you and/or your book?

I would like for them to know that, for me at least, Hold Still is not a "suicide book." Yes, there is a suicide, and the suicide is an integral part of the story, but I hope that readers will give it a chance even though there are many, many great and not-so-great books about suicide out there. For me, Hold Still is about friendship and family and identity and art and grief, but none of those things are as easy to identify or describe as suicide, so they tend to fade into the background of most synopses of the story.

List 3-5 characters from Hold Still and do word associations.

Dylan: coffee
Ms. Delani: lens
Caitlin: darkroom
Ingrid: secrets
Taylor: skateboard

What's your favorite thing about Hold Still?

My favorite thing about Hold Still is that I wrote it, and I revised it, and I feel pretty good about it. And that now my contract copies are stacked up in my living room as proof that I accomplished this goal that I've had since I was about five years old.

What projects do you have in the pipeline?

I am working on a second YA novel that will also be published by Dutton, in 2011. It's very different from Hold Still. It's told from the perspective of an 18-year-old boy, and it involves a road trip, a very bad band, cheap motels, and unrequited love. I'm also working on a novel for adults about a multigenerational group of people living in a run-down, cavernous house in Oakland.

Any final comments?

I just got a P.O. Box so that people can send me mail. I LOVE getting mail. Here's the address:

Nina LaCour
P.O. Box 3630
Oakland, CA 94609

Thank you for the great questions!

Thanks for stopping by Nina!

Check out the book trailer that Nina and her friends made:

Visit Nina's site for more info about her and her work.