Inside The Author's Studio with Lisa and Laura Roecker

Today, I'm interviewing the Awesome Lisa and Laura Roecker whose book THE LIAR SOCIETY came out in March of 2011. Their follow-up novel THE LIES THAT BIND will be available Spring 2012. So without further ado, here is my version of the Proust Questionnaire and their answers.




What is your favorite word?


Laura: Enigmatic. Although Lisa would NEVER let me get away with using it in one of our books.

Lisa: I can almost guarantee you that “enigmatic” will NEVER turn up in one of our books. Unless Laura sneaks in and adds it after I've done my final edits. Which would be kind of bad ass, but would probably result in some kind of sister writer fisticuffs. In completely related news, one of my favorite (semi)words is fisticuffs. I like words that sound like what they mean.  

     

      What is your least favorite word?

Laura: Thimble. Perma-lisp word.

Lisa: Ooh, thimble is good. I also hate "fuddy duddy." Anyone that uses the term fuddy duddy most certainly IS a fuddy duddy. Gotta love the irony.

What turns your current MC on?

Laura: Liam Gilmore and getting involved with stuff. She can’t help herself.

Lisa: I can actually kind of relate to Kate. I always manage to get myself involved in stuff that's really none of my damn business. 

What turns your current MC off?

Both: Seth constantly eating in her ear. Ew.

What sound do you love?

Laura: A solid laugh from my daughter. The real, real kind.

Lisa: Ooh, another good answer! My favorite laugh du jour comes from my 9-month-old son. It's also pretty satisfying when the older two laugh at one of my jokes. They don't really think I'm that funny. I also love the dull popping noise that my phone makes when I have a new email. It's the sound of possibilities! 

What sound do you hate?

Laura: Any variety of whining.

Lisa: I hate the sound of screaming/fighting which is unfortunately the soundtrack of my life right now. Good times.

What is your favorite YA quirk? 

Laura: Reading ARE YOU GOING TO KISS ME KNOW, which is freaking hilarious. MC texts her best friend constantly and her texts are laugh out loud funny. That’s my current fave.

Lisa: Hmmm...I loved all the OCD quirks in Adele Griffin's THE JULIAN GAME. All that counting and the rituals. Fascinating stuff.

What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Laura: I’d love to try being a librarian.

Lisa: I'd want to be a publicist for a publishing house. I can't imagine anything more fun and exciting than promoting books that I love. (Christa's side note: Hey, I do that job!)

What profession would you rather bathe in a vat of urine than attempting?

Laura: A salesperson. I am the WORST salesperson on the face of the planet.

Lisa: Waitress. I actually waitressed at The Ground Round one summer in college and I ended up crying EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. And Laura was the hostess and she kept seating tables in my section without telling me, so they'd get really mad and hungry and they'd yell. And I'd cry. Because I'm a people pleaser and I hate it when people are mad at me. It was a complete shit show.

Laura: Um…for the record, the hostess is not responsible for “telling” the waitress she has a new table. The waitress is supposed to know that said table IS IN HER SECTION.

If John Green sits at your table at a SCBWI conference, what would you like him to say to you?

Laura: “Your book is the most influential YA book I’ve read in a long time.” HA (preferably he would leave out the “HA”).

Lisa: "Wait, Lisa is the older sister? Whoa. I totally thought Laura was the older one. You don't look a day over 18, Lisa."

These girls are made of AWESOME. I'm so happy they were willing to be my first interviewees. And I will randomly choose one of the lucky people that comment on this post (before midnight tomorrow night) to receive your very own copy of THE LIAR SOCIETY (see side bar for details) or if you already have it, let me know and I will send you a $20 gift card to Amazon to purchase THE LIES THAT BIND when it comes out.