Debut Author Interviews

• Rosemary Clement-Moore on...Why Write?
• Rosemary Clement-Moore on...Book Memory
• Rosemary Clement-Moore on...Self-Help Books

Why do you write?

I write because there is nothing better than putting your daydreams on paper. There were so many things I wanted to do or become when I was a kid (Viper pilot on the Battlestar Galactica, Dragonrider on Pern, girl detective like Nancy Drew.) So I wrote stories about characters who I could identify with—not all of whom bore an embarrassing resemblance to myself—doing the things that I imagined. [These were written on notebook paper in #2 pencil and no one ever saw them; it was much later before I heard terms like “Fanfiction” or “Mary Sue”]

Then I figured out that it was even more fun to come up with your own worlds and scenarios, and to become, for the space of a book, a character who was completely different from yourself. But to me, writing is still the ultimate role-playing experience. It’s everything I love about acting, but I don’t have to stay on a diet or worry about stage makeup giving me zits. :-D

What is your earliest book memory?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading. I know my favorite early books were “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Madeline.” I can remember that Sam I Am sort of freaked me out, because he was so relentless, and I know that every time I read it, I got so scared for Madeline when she had to go to the hospital to have her appendix out. I guess early on I was already getting very emotionally invested in books.

What are some of your current favorite writing or author-help books?

The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler and James N. Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Novel (one and two) are excellent. Those books speak to the way I construct the movie in my head and help me get it down on paper… if I can say that without sounding too crazy.

And Writer’s Digest has this “Howdunit Series” of books geared for mystery writers—quick references on things like poisons, firearms, forensics and crime scene investigation. It doesn’t sound like one would use these much in a YA, but its darn handy to be able to grab a book and find out what you can do to a character to put them in the hospital without actually killing them.