Anna Humphrey

GET LOST IN A CONTEMPORARY YA STORY

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Anna Humphrey is the author of RHYMES WITH CUPID (currently available) and MISSION (UN)POPULAR (due out June 2011)—both books for teens. She lives in Toronto with her husband and kids. 

I've been lucky enough to meet Anna in person through the fabulous @torkidlit tweet group. Follow our hashtag. :)

ABOUT THE BOOK 

RHYMES WITH CUPID from HarperTeen is the story of a girl who finds romance despite her best efforts not to.

After a terrible heartbreak last Valentine’s day, Elyse Ulrich has sworn off dating as well as celebrating the February 14th holiday. Both things are a problem, though, since:
a) she works at a gift & stationery store, surrounded by annoying singing Cupid dolls, tacky heart-shaped balloons, and sappy cards with poems that don’t even really rhyme.
b) she ends up meeting Patrick, who works in the same mall and is her new neighbor and her driving instructor and is really cute and incredibly charming… which might be okay except for the whole ‘sworn off dating’ thing…

Elyse isn’t interested in putting her heart on the line. But with Valentine’s Day approaching, she finds out that avoiding Cupid’s arrow is a lot harder than she expected.

GET TO KNOW ANNA

Maureen: What’s your favorite holiday?

Anna: Unlike Elyse, the character in RHYMES WITH CUPID, I don’t hate Valentine’s Day. That said, it’s not my favourite. I think my favourite holiday is that week-long stretch between Christmas and New Years when the presents have been unwrapped and the big dinner’s been eaten and you can just relax with your family.

Maureen: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

Anna: UHF with Weird Al Yankovic. It’s old, but delightfully strange. Totally worth renting.

Maureen: What a quirky pick! Cool. Where do you most like to read and how often?

Anna: I love to read in sunny coffee shops, but since I’ve got two small children, that almost never happens these days. I read in bed most nights, in that blissful half-hour left over after the kids are in bed all my work is done.

Maureen: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

Anna: I love books that make me laugh. Contemporary YA books that make me laugh, specifically.

Maureen: What’s the first book you remember reading?

Anna: “Molly Mouse Goes Shopping—Fun with a Mouse on a String.” It actually had a mouse on a string, too (not a real one, don’t worry). I still have it. I read it with my daughter.

Maureen: What’s your favorite word?

Anna: “Glitter.” It just sounds sparkly. And you didn’t ask, but the word I hate most is “spumoni”—as in, spumoni ice cream. I can’t bring myself to eat it, just because the name sounds like something you might cough up.

Maureen: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Anna: Rapunzel.

Maureen: Hiking boots or high heels?

Anna: Definitely hiking boots. Blundstones, specifically.

Maureen: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

Anna: I will be honest. I have a small, unrequited crush on Handy Manny from the Disney Channel.

Maureen: Well, as long as it stays unrequited... What turns you off like nothing else?

Anna: People who talk endlessly about how busy they are. Swap the word ‘important’ for the word ‘busy,’ and you’ll get what they’re really trying to prove.

Maureen: What sound or noise do you love?

Anna: I love putting my ear up to a purring cat.

Maureen: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

Anna: I’m so jealous of people who can do that. I find it too distracting.

Maureen: What’s your favorite kind of cheese?

Anna: Aged cheddar.

Maureen: What was the first story you remember writing?

Anna: “Mr. Roudoudou et L’Arc-en-ciel Triste.” It was a French story about a sad rainbow. I totally ripped the plot off from this TV show called Dr. Snuggles.

Maureen: What was your first boyfriend’s name? Would you want to meet him again?

Anna: If by “boyfriend” you mean the first boy I ‘kind of almost held hands with,’ that’d be Jeremie. I met him in third grade. He lives in Australia now but still writes to me every year on my birthday. I really hope I’ll see him again someday.

Maureen: Oh, how cool that you’re still in touch! What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?

Anna: Hello! Thanks for being my fan!

Maureen: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

Anna: I think I’d like to refinish furniture. Either that, or I’d want to be an inner-city dance instructor with a big dream, like in the movie Honey.

Maureen:  Ha! I LOVEthe Honey answer. Now for the deep questions: Is Elvis really dead?

Anna: Absolutely.

Maureen: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

Anna: Send it to my agent, take a day or two off, then move on to the next one.

Maureen: If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

Anna: I’d have to say Judy Blume… but the idea of an interview stresses me out a little. Maybe we could just have coffee. 

Maureen: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and why?

Anna: I’d spend a day with my Grandma Humphrey. She died unexpectedly, so I never got to say goodbye.

Maureen: What do you like on your burger? (and do you take your burger veggie or beefy?)

Anna: Beef. Sliced tomato is a must but, besides that, I’m easy.

Maureen: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

Anna: I’d love to invite Dina from RHYMES WITH CUPID. She’s so thoughtful. I know she’d bring a great hostess gift.

Maureen: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Anna: Wait!! Are you saying there are authors who don’t read their reviews obsessively? I’m actually thinking of banning myself from GoodReads. Not because the reviews aren’t fair (I’m humbled, actually, by the fact that readers take the time to put together such thoughtful, well-balanced commentaries), but just because checking the site 12 times a day (oh, okay, more like 20) cuts into my writing time too much.

But, yes, absolutely, I take what’s said to heart—the good and the bad. I think you need to have feedback to improve as a writer.

Maureen: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

Anna: I got to travel to New York to meet my agent and editors.

Maureen: What soundtrack or playlist do you recommend for your current release?

Anna: The characters in RHYMES WITH CUPID listen to Van Morrison’s, Brown Eyed Girl, so I’d definitely recommend that song.

Maureen: I LOVE that song. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

Anna: Coffee and lots of it. With cream, please.

Maureen: Coming right up.  What does it mean to love someone?

Anna: It means wanting to see them succeed and find happiness, even if their version of success and happiness looks different than yours.

Maureen: What’s your favorite kid joke?

Anna: So, two sausages were hanging out in a frying pan.

The first one says to the other one, “Man! Is it ever hot in here!”

Then the second one goes: “Oh my GOD!! It’s a talking sausage!!”

Maureen: Ha! The moms always have the best answers to that question. 

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER  J

Maureen: Do you have plans for Valentine’s Day?

Anna: My book launch is being held on February 12^th at Indigo Yorkdale in Toronto (2 p.m.)—come if you can!! But, as for actual Valentine’s Day, I’m guessing it’ll be pretty low key.

ANNA ASKS

What’s the worst or best Valentine’s Day gift you’ve ever received?

BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Anna would like to offer a copy of RHYMES WITH CUPID to one lucky reader who comments on this post!

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

GET TO KNOW ANNA EVEN BETTER HERE:

Website: www.annahumphrey.com

Twitter:  @Anna_Humphrey