AUTHOR CRUSH FRIDAY: LEIGH STATHAM
Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.
We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors. Today we’re talking to Leigh Statham, author of The Perilous Journey of the Not So Innocuous Girl (March 17, 2015; Month 9 Books). Thank you for talking to us today, Leigh! We’re honored! Glitter girls, Month 9 Books, is also giving away three ebooks of the book away internationally so make sure to comment below on why you want to read this book now!
GLITTER: What was it like to write a Steampunk YA? Is that a world you’re familiar with?
LEIGH: Steampunk YA is SO FUN! And I’m not just saying that. I love historical fiction, but every time I tried to write it myself I was bored to tears in a matter of paragraphs. So then I started reading steampunk and I thought – holy cow! This I can do!
I think there are a few basic guidelines you can follow to make yourself familiar with steampunk in general, but the best part about it is that no two worlds are alike. Some rely heavily on magic to explain advances in technology or changes in history. Some, like me, rely on hard core science discovered early type of plots. So, I guess the answer is yes. I read a lot of steampunk and I’m familiar with several different flavors, and I adored being able to make up my own.
GLITTER: Do you love to create complex characters?
LEIGH: I love to read complex characters. I think they are the most genuine and the best way to give a good plot the shove it needs into an amazing story. But I am not sure I’m very good at creating them. Marguerite is probably the most difficult I’ve tackled. She thinks she knows what she wants, and she’s stubborn enough to go after it at all costs, but she’s also young and scared and not really sure of herself or her family. It was hard writing a spoiled rich girl that readers would want to stick with and see through to the end (no spoilers) but I really enjoyed the challenge.
GLITTER: What jobs did you have in the past before you ended up writing full time?
LEIGH: Oh my word. What jobs DIDN’T I have?? How about I tell you my favorites. First would probably be my job in college as a night janitor. It sounds nuts, but I loved that it was quiet and I was alone and could scrub and think and not have anyone bother me – that is, until I locked myself in the basement of the facilities building. That’s going to be in the next thriller I write, for sure. I also really loved working back stage at an opera house. I was just a glorified errand girl, but it was so great. I got to meet all the visiting talent and help out in the costume shop, nonstop fun and excitement. I also worked as a web designer and art director for a while. I had a team of programmers under me who made all of my creations come to life. That was very fulfilling, but I’ve never been good at the 8-6 desk job kinda life, so writer and mother suit me much better.
GLITTER: What is one thing your readers might not know about you?
LEIGH: They might find it interesting that I really love roughing it. Like, probably in an unhealthy way. I watch the show Survivor and think – I COULD SO DO THAT! Same with The Amazing Race. I could totally kick butt at any of that wilderness crazy stuff, as long as I don’t have to bungee jump off of anything. I’m totally scared of falling.
GLITTER: What do you hope readers will get out of reading Perilous Journey of the Not-So-Innocuous Girl?
LEIGH: I hope they realize that the novel is based on a true story. When I stumbled across it in my research I thought, holy cow! I can’t believe this isn’t a more popular lesson in history classes. Thousands of girls left France and traveled alone across the pirate infested Atlantic to pick out their own husbands and start farms. Who does that?! Especially in the 17th century. So nutso, I loved it immediately. Even more, I loved the fact that I could trace my lineage back to one of those brave girls. I hope my book inspires others to take a look at the amazing roots they come from.
GLITTER: Do you hope that your books will one day be turned into a movie or on TV?
LEIGH: Totally! I think Marguerite would be an outstanding Disney Princess. Can’t you just see it? Crazy rich girl and her robot side kick take on the aerpirates and mean girls? Bang! Bang! Take that Ariel! Whoops.. I mean.. sorry.. Disney Princesses don’t fight each other.
GLITTER: Do you have any crazy writing rituals?
LEIGH: I usually have to have something to eat while I write. I can’t concentrate if I’m not chewing. Gum doesn’t cut it. Chocolate is the best. Yes, I’m going to weigh five million pounds if I keep going. Also, I can’t listen to music while I write or I end up typing the lyrics – unless it’s in a foreign language, then I’m usually ok. No time to figure out how to spell it all.
GLITTER: What are you working on now?
LEIGH: Right now I’m finishing two middle grade books and getting ready to rewrite another speculative YA. I’m also working full time on QuantumFairyTales.com where I’m a senior editor and I love writing for Wattpad.com.
Thank you so much for the interview and for having me on your blog! Looking forward to reading it 🙂
Cheers!
Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho, but found her heart in New York City. She worked as a waitress, maid, artist, math teacher, nurse, web designer, art director, thirty-foot inflatable pig and mule wrangler before she settled down in the semi-quiet role of wife, mother and writer. She resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, five chickens and two suspected serial killer cats. If the air is cool and the sun is just coming up over the horizon, you can find her running the streets of her small town, plotting her next novel with the sort of intensity that will one day get her hit by a car.
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