Long-time The Booking Biz client Cynthia Leitich Smith knows books. She’s the award-winning and New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of the FERAL and TANTALIZE young adult series, stand-alone young adult novel HEARTS UNBROKEN, graphic novels TANTALIZE: KIEREN’S STORY and ETERNAL: ZACHARY’S STORY, middle-grade novels RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME and INDIAN SHOES, and picture books, including JINGLE DANCER, with plenty more books coming. As well as writing, she’s an enormous supporter of books, as the host of the popular Cynsations writing blog, a member of the We Need Diverse Books advisory board, a board member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and a faculty member at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program.
How does she do it all? We asked…
Booking Biz: What does your average day look like?
Cynthia: My long-haired Chihuahua, Gnocchi, has a lot to say about my day. Like when I take my breaks for walks or playtime. She doesn’t always get her way, but she tries.
That said, I spend much of my morning attending to the business of being a working writer. I answer email, check out my social media feeds, prepare for speeches, and occasionally meet with fellow writers over breakfast tacos at my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant.
The afternoon is my primary writing time, which stretches until eight or nine o’clock at night with a break for dinner. On alternating days, I pause to lift hand weights while catching up on episodes of IZombie or my current retro/reboot show, Veronica Mars.
Booking Biz: When you’re not writing, what do you like to do best?
Cynthia: I love to go to the movies. As a teenager, I worked the concession stand at The Glenwood Theater in Overland Park, Kansas. I remember getting there super early in the morning to pop popcorn for summer blockbusters like Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and Cocoon. The lines of movie-goers would stretch all the way around the building, and I probably smelled like butter and oil for two years.
I adore superhero flicks, especially the latest live-action and animated Spider-Man movies, the first Wonder Woman film, and the third Thor. But I also enjoy musicals, artier efforts and documentaries. The recent Apollo 11 documentary was fascinating.
Booking Biz: Where do you get the inspiration for your books?
Cynthia: I’m always mindful of the conversation of fiction and figuring out how my voice can best fit into it. My last two YA series – the TANTALIZE series and the FERAL trilogy – were speculative fiction genre benders (horror, fantasy, science fiction). They also nodded to existing classic works like Abraham Stoker’s DRACULA, Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, Charles Dickens’ A TALE OF TWO CITIES, and Richard Connell’s THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, among others. It’s said everyone is the hero of their own story. In my own fantastical universe, in which both series take place, secondary characters often inspired me to write books in which they could rise as protagonists in their own right.
Other books are more personal. HEARTS UNBROKEN began as a novel-length apology to my high school boyfriend, written with his blessing and support. It’s a lot about saying something awful despite the best of intentions, which I suspect many of us can relate to, especially reflecting on adolescence.
And sometimes stories simply bubble up, like my forthcoming middle-grade graphic novel series, THE BLUE STARS, co-authored by Kekla Magoon and illustrated by Molly Murakami. My affection for superheroes no doubt played a role in its genesis, but so did, say, a bit of imaginative play, which can be as important to grownups as kids.
Booking Biz: Did you always want to write books for children, or was there another career you wished for as a child?
Cynthia: In early elementary school, I fancied myself as a stage magician or a teacher (and I do teach writing for young readers at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program today). But I got hooked on writing as “Dear Gabby,” a columnist for Mr. Rideout’s Sixth Grade newspaper.
Booking Biz: If you ruled the world, what would it look like?
Cynthia: I’m going to break character, not overthink this, and share whatever pours from my fingertips to keyboard to screen… Reading that question, what comes to mind is sounds. Joyful laughter, heart-lifting music, the roar of lions, howl of wolves and trumpet of elephants.
My world would be slower paced, far more egalitarian, empowering of voices now minimized. Indigenous folks around the world would be entrusted as stewards of their lands.
Brightly colored kites and hot-air balloons would dot the skies. The seas would heal, and families would gather with community in vibrant, generously supported libraries.
I also would institute a holiday in honor of my Chihuahua Gnocchi because she is such a good girl.
Booking Biz: We fully support this world. Thank you, Gnocchi!