Teenreads.com -- Author Profile: Lisa Yee

Lisa Yee

BIO

When she was little, Lisa Yee could see the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory from her house. She attended the University of Southern California (go Trojans!), then spent 17 years in Florida before returning to the Los Angeles area. She now lives with her family in South Pasadena. Lisa is the author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius; Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time; and So Totally Emily Ebers. As part of her research for this book, she ate at approximately 24 different taco trucks. She recommends the carnitas.

INTERVIEW

February 2009

In this interview with Teenreads.com's Kristi Olson, Lisa Yee --- author of several middle-grade novels, including MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS, STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME and SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS --- discusses her first book for young adults, ABSOLUTELY MAYBE, and explains why she chose to aim this latest work toward a slightly older audience. She also imagines a conversation between two of her protagonists, recalls her own attempts at teen rebellion and shares details about a few projects she's currently working on.

Teenreads.com: In ABSOLUTELY MAYBE, Maybelline “Maybe” Chestnut’s life in Kissimmee, Florida is far from easy. Her mother is an alcoholic, a “serial marryer” and owner of a charm school. After a scary incident involving Maybe’s new soon-to-be stepfather, the 16-year-old flees to California to find her biological father. What inspired this story?

Lisa Yee: The novel began as a lighthearted romp about a goth girl whose ex-beauty-queen mother wanted to make her pageant-worthy. However, as the characters and book evolved, I realized that the story was going to be much edgier than I had originally anticipated. When I began to create Maybe's character, I found layers and layers of hurt and betrayal, and those needed to be addressed.

TRC: The book is jam-packed with colorful and unique characters. Maybe has Kool-Aid-dyed hair, Goth makeup and a headstrong attitude. Her best friends --- Ted, aka Thammasat Tantipinichwong Schneider, and Daniel, aka Hollywood --- are also full of life and play important roles in the story. As a writer, what came first: the characters or the plot?

LY: Ooooh, characters! Characters always come first. I spend a couple of weeks developing my characters before I ever begin writing. That way, I know all about them and can drop them into different situations. It's also important for me to know how my characters will react to one another. For example, I knew that Maybe and Ted were bickering best friends, and that Hollywood had a huge crush on Maybe.

TRC: One of the major themes in this story is Maybe’s quest for self-discovery. She undergoes changes in her looks, moves across the country and seeks to find her biological father. When you were a teenager, did you act out in any way while you were trying to discover yourself? In other words, was there any Kool-Aid hair dye in your past?

LY: I was a nerd girl. Still am. When I was a junior in high school, I did go from having way, way, way long straight hair, to cutting it short and getting a perm. It wasn't until I was an adult that I chopped off all my hair. Now I wear it really short and spiky. However, as a teen, the kind of rebellious things I used to do were like, cutting class…and then going to the library. And one time I did throw a fetal pig from my physiology class over the balcony to try to hit my friend Blake. (I missed.)

TRC: The geographical setting plays a big part in Maybe’s evolution as a character. How did living in Florida and Los Angeles inform your writing of this story?

LY: This book was my love letter to Los Angeles. I was born and raised in L.A. and later moved to Orlando, Florida to work as a writer/producer for Walt Disney World. The entire time I was there, I was homesick. In a way, even though she had never been to L.A. before, Maybe was heading home.

TRC: Maybe’s friend, Hollywood, is an aspiring film student at the University of Southern California. Was this character based on anyone you knew when you worked as a television writer?

LY: Not so much as a TV writer, but I did get inspiration when I attended USC. I took some film classes, plus I knew a lot of film students. I guess you can say Hollywood was loosely based on them and their devotion to the craft.

TRC: Maybe is obsessed with a television show called “Nelson’s Neighborhood.” It's about a “contemporary family who act really retro, all straightlaced and everything…” and have “cool adventures.” What is the significance of Maybe’s love of this show? Also, was “Nelson’s Neighborhood” loosely based on any real television show(s)?

LY: Maybe longed for the family she never had, and "Nelson's Neighborhood"signified this for her. Everyone in the show seemed normal to her, unlike her over-the-top mother. The show was reminiscent of "Father Knows Best," "Ozzie and Harriett" and even "The Brady Bunch" --- shows I watched when I was a kid.

TRC: After writing several middle-grade novels, ABSOLUTELY MAYBE is your first book for young adults. What inspired you to switch to writing for older readers?

LY: It was an entirely subconscious switch. I don't really pay attention to age ranges when I write. So I wasn't thinking YA, I was just writing. It wasn't until I showed the manuscript to my agent, and she said, "Lisa, this is YA!" that I figured it out.

TRC: As a writer, what differences or challenges did you face in writing for teens versus writing for younger readers?

LY: Well, I was slightly aware that I was writing for teens because I had my daughter (age 17) in mind as I wrote. It was quite liberating not to have any constraints and, interestingly enough, this book was the easiest for me to write.

TRC: Your infamous middle-grade character Millicent Min is similar to Maybe in her headstrong attitude, but different in so many other ways. If Millicient and Maybe were to have a conversation, how do you think that would go?

LY: Millicent: Your hair. It's pink. Why?
Maybe: Because. Do you have a problem with that?
Millcent: No, it's your hair and you have the right to do with it as you please. It's just that I was wondering what the cultural significance of the color is.
Maybe: The cultural significance is that the pink Kool-Aid was on sale, so back off, okay?

TRC: What does your typical writing day look like?

LY: The mornings are usually me pretending to be awake. I answer e-mail, surf the web, read the paper, and do lots of non-writing stuff that has to do with writing. I eat brunch, and then really get to work. However, I'm a mom, which means that most of my writing actually happens at night when everyone is asleep. It's not uncommon for me to stay up until 2 a.m. writing.

TRC: What books have you recently read that you’d recommend to others?

LY: Recently, I read THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOLUME II. It was excellent. John Green's PAPER TOWNS was also great, and I've just picked up FREAK SHOW by James St. James.

TRC: What project are you working on next?

LY: I'm currently working on a sequel to the Millicent Min trilogy. This book takes place during the school year after Millicent, Stanford and Emily's summer and features a boy named Marley, who's a “Star Trek” geek. Digger, everyone's enemy, figures prominently in this novel.

Also, the first of a chapter book series will be out in September. The kick-off book is called BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) and it's illustrated by my friend Dan Santat. Dan is soooo talented. He has a series on the Disney Channel called "The Replacements."

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