ABOUT THE BOOKS
ABOUT THE GO OVERBOARD CHALLENGE GRANT
ABOUT THE POSITIVE TURN GIRL OVERBOARD BOOK TOUR
ABOUT WRITING
BECOMING A WRITER
ABOUT JUSTINA
Is it true you're on YouTube?
Ummmm...yes. Not just one video, but an entire channel that I created with Burton Snowboards for my novel, Girl Overboard. You can listen to me read from the book with Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Teter as well as learn about our Go Overboard Challenge Grant to fund the best youth-led ideas to rock the world. Check out my YouTube debut here or click on http://www.youtube.com/user/GirlOverBoardBook
What inspired you to become a writer?
Since second grade, I’ve wanted to be a writer. In fact, I wrote my first 50-page novel about two teenager when I was eight. It's either frightening or foreshadowing that I was writing Young Adult books even before I could ride a bike.
What are your favorite recent reads?
I love all the books featured on my online book community, readergirlz, which I started with my fantabulous YA author-buddies: Dia Calhoun (Avielle of Rhia), Janet Lee Carey (Dragon's Keep) and Lorie Ann Grover (On Pointe). Check it out for the best young adult novels and for the opportunity to chat live online with incredible authors.
Are you working on a new book?
GIRL OVERBOARD is my newest book. It's about a snowboard girl who seemingly has it all... the trust fund, the latest and greatest toys money can buy. (Can you say private jet?) Yet she needs to find a place for herself outside of her last name. I hope people will enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I just completed NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, which is due out in late 2008. I have a few ideas I'm noodling over right now for my next project.
How do I get in touch with you?
The best way is through MySpace or via my email at justina @ justinachenheadley.com.
Do you accept speaking engagements?
I love speaking at schools, colleges, libraries, and conferences, but I do maintain a pretty limited calendar for speaking engagements. The best thing is to contact me via email at justina @ justinachenheadley.com.
What is your favorite quote?
The quote that keeps me most motivated to take a risk is one by Jack Kerouac: “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars…” I love this quote so much that one of my characters uses it in GIRL OVERBOARD.
What are your favorite websites and blogs?
Clearly, my favorite website is readergirlz: www.readergirlz.com. Anyone who loves YA literature and wants to reflect more deeply on books and have fun chatting about them at the same time should check it out.
In addition, the postergirlz for readergirlz (our children's lit experts who serve as the advisory council) maintain excellent blogs:
Who are some of your favorite authors?
If you love Young Adult literature, then you need to check out these fine authors:
For picture book aficionados, check out some of my favorite children’s books authors:
What are your favorite non-profit organizations?
My all-time favorite right now is Youth Venture. The group inspires and invests in teams of young people to create and launch their own sustainable, community-benefiting Ventures. Along with Burton Snowboards, Youth Venture is co-sponsoring the Go Overboard Challenge Grant with me to fund the best youth-led ideas to change the world. Apply now!
Also, check out what Hannah Teter, Olympic Gold Medalist, is doing with Hannah's Gold. Here's someone who has shared her passion to help others. All profits from her maple syrup sales go to orphans in Kenya.
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Why did you write Girl Overboard?
Frankly, I was concerned about the glamorization of uber-wealth, and thought it would be interesting to write the dark side of the rags-to-richest story. I wanted to show that life isn't necessarily better just because your back account is filled with a lot of zeros to the left of the decimal point.
What inspired the snowboarding in Girl Overboard?
To tell you the truth, my own ski accident inspired the entire story. Apparently, I'm not as good of a skier as I thought I was, because I totally wiped out in powder. While the ski patrol tobogganed me headfirst downhill, the entire story about a snowboard girl spiraled out of me. That coincided with what I was thinking about in terms of extreme wealth. And there was my novel.
When is Girl Overboard coming out?
It's available right now!
Why did you write Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies)?
A couple of years ago, I took my kids to the Children’s Museum. A group of few teens hung-twung-wung’ed us (you know, mocked us with pseudo-Chinese). That night, my character, Patty Ho, started giving a soliloquy about what it feels like not to fit in either at home with her ultra-strict Taiwanese mom or at her high school. Her observations were so wry, I started to laugh, which probably accounts for why the other runners on my path veered out of my way (or not).
Are the locations in your books real places?
Mostly I situate my stories in real places. For instance, Girl Overboard is set in Seattle. And Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) starts out in a suburb of Seattle and moves to Stanford.
Did the things that happened in the book happen to you?
Well...my own accident on a mountain inspired Girl Overboard. That said, I don't snowboard well (obviously) nor do I have a limitless bank account like Syrah in Girl Overboard. I have never been buildering (climbing buildings) the way Patty does in Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies)...although I've been bouldering. What I do is draw on my feelings from being a teen. It's not too hard to remember what adolescence was like, acne, hormones and all. And it’s a relief to remember that I survived junior high and high school.
Why did you write THE PATCH?
I wrote that picture book because my daughter had amblyopia, which means that one of her eyes was significantly weaker than the other. Wearing an eye patch didn’t bother her at first…until strangers asked pointblank: what’s wrong with you? So I wrote a story about a little girl who turns her sight “disability” into an ability to see fun in everything. And that’s a healthy attitude for anyone who feels different.
ABOUT THE GO OVERBOARD CHALLENGE GRANT
Why are you tying something philanthropic to each of your books?
I believe in giving back to the community. So with each book that I publish, I'm celebrating its publication with philanthropy. With Girl Overboard, I am partnering with Burton Snowboards and Youth Venture to create the Go Overboard Challenge Grant. We are giving away 12 grants of up to $1,000 each to fund the best youth-led ideas to change the world.
In 2006, I sponsored the Nothing but the Truth Essay Contest for a $5,000 college scholarship. In my small way, I wanted to honor my parents and help out a college-bound student. To read the winning essays, go to www.nothingbutthetruthnovel.com.
And then for my picture book, The Patch, I donated my advance to InfantSEE, which provides free eye assessments to every baby in the U.S. As well, I worked with Patch Pals to offer a limited edition eye patch, featuring the characters in the book, with proceeds benefiting InfantSEE.
What is the Go Overboard Challenge Grant?
The Go Overboard Challenge Grant is co-sponsored by Burton Snowboards, Youth Venture, and me.
We want to fund the best youth-led ideas to change the world. So if you're between the ages of 12-20, join the global movement of young changemakers by May 1, 2008. Propose a new sustainable organization (venture) to address a problem you've identified in your school, neighborhood, community, the world. Form a team (two or more persons) and fill out an action plan here. And you just might win won of 12 grants of up to $1,000 each.
What are the rules for the Go Overboard Challenge Grant?
For the complete list of rules for the grant, please visit www.genv.net/en-us/burton.
Where can I get more information about the Nothing but the Truth scholarship?
Unfortunately, the Nothing but the Truth scholarship was a one-time scholarship and has already been awarded. Make sure to read the winning essay contests at www.nothingbutthetruthnovel.com.
ABOUT THE POSITIVE TURN GIRL OVERBOARD BOOK TOUR
What is the Positive Turn Girl Overboard Book Tour?
Little, Brown Books and Burton Snowboards are putting me on tour with Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Teter. We'll be visiting Vermont (Nov), Chicago (Dec), Seattle (Jan, 2008), Denver (X-Games, Jan, 2008), and San Francisco (May, 2008). For specific dates, please check my News page or www.myspace.com/girloverboardtour.
Hannah and I are going to spread the word about living LOUD, giving BIG. Our goal is to pump up teens to go for their dreams and to change the world.
How can I follow what's happening on the Positive Turn Girl Overboard Book Tour?
For sure, check out our tour MySpace where Hannah Teter and I will be blogging about who we meet and where we've been and where we're going next: www.myspace.com/girloverboardtour.
ABOUT WRITING
What is your favorite part of writing?
I love almost all parts of writing--from the ideation stage to writing. I even like rewriting and copy editing. But I especially love to interview people and learn about things I’ve never thought about. Once, I interviewed Robert Parker, Junior who is a wine guru with an amazingly developed nose and palate. He tastes 10,000 wines a year and remembers them all. I thought that was so fascinating, and trust me, somehow I will work that knowledge into a novel.
What is the worst part of writing?
While I usually think of a blank page as a portal into a different world, sometimes my brain is stuck in inertia and it’s tough to muster the energy to write that new world into reality.
BECOMING A WRITER
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
You bet I do! I’ve been writing on and off for about eight years, and I’ve learned a lot the hard way. So learn from my “mistakes” and do the following to short cut your road to publishing your work!
- Read, read, read! Do more than simply read all the award-winners. Study them and play the editor: figure out what worked, why it won accolades, what made it “sparkle.”
- Write, write, write. There’s a great quote among writers: “Researching is not writing, outlining is not writing. Writing is writing.” So write across subgenres because you’ll never know what your voice is best suited for until you try it all. Anyway, it’s fun to write different things because you’re always learning something.
- Take classes! Find out who the best teachers are and make room in your schedule for the class. Then be humble; do every writing exercise. Ask questions. Learn as much as you can from the teachers and to get as much feedback as you can about your own writing.
- Get inspired! Read blogs like Cynthia Leitich Smith’s and Little Willow's and Jen Robinson's.
- Join SCBWI at www.scbwi.org! This organization proves that professional can equal warm—and will hone your writing and business skills!
- Keep the faith and keep working. Ask yourself the tough questions. Is there a different entry point to your story? Is it time to try a new point of view? Have you really thought about the HEART of your story—what it is you’re trying to say? Why you’re drawn to telling this story? Look at your characters. Have faith in your story and your storytelling, and keep perfecting your craft at the same time.
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