Win a Signed Copy of Marianna Baer's FROST!

Hi Everyone! I'd like you all to meet Marianna Baer, author of Frost. She was nice enough to stop by to answer some questions and giveaway a signed copy of her novel! 

 

Hi Marianna! First off tell us a little about the book.

Frost is the story of two 17-year old girls -- Leena Thomas and Celeste Lazar -- who are roommates in a potentially haunted dorm at a New England boarding school. I say "potentially," because the girls are definitely haunted, but I'm not going to tell you whether it's by the house itself, or by their own internal demons. It's a creepy, psychological, modern Gothic novel. 

 

Since you are now officially a ghost expert with the publication of this book give us the low down. Real or not? Have a good ghost story of your own you can share with us?

 

Unfortunately, I myself have never lived in a haunted house. But I've heard enough stories from credible sources that I do believe houses can contain certain energies, left by past (and passed) residents. All of my personal experiences with the paranormal have involved ESP, that sort of thing. For example, one time I had a dream that my roommate's friend (someone I'd never met, but had heard about) was in the hospital and we went to visit her. There was absolutely no reason I should have dreamt about this girl I'd never met, so I told my roommate about the dream in a, "Isn't this strange?" context. About an hour or two later my roommate got a phone call: her friend had been hit by a car and was in the hospital. I'm sure some people would say this was a random coincidence, but I don't think so. And I've had too many other experiences that make me think there are lots of things going on around us and in our brains that we don't understand.
 

Since you're the only person I've ever met who actually went to boarding school you're also an official expert on that now. It sounds so cool. What was that experience like and how did it  feed into the writing of Frost?

I absolutely loved it. Not that I didn't have my share of emotional trauma, but I had wonderful friends and (truly) incredible teachers, and immensely enjoyed the whole living-in-a-dorm thing. Most years I lived in medium-sized dorms, but my senior year I lived with several of my closest friends in the real Frost House, a quirky little Victorian house on the edge of campus. There was a faculty member with an apartment in the house, but she was pretty hands off, so it felt like we were living on our own most of the time. Once I started writing YA, I knew that I wanted to write about girls in a similar situation. It provides such natural tension, the fact that you don't go home from school at night. If things aren't going well, there's no escape. If things are going well, it's the most fun ever.
 

So you're a grad from Vermont College's writing program. Can you tell us a little about the experience. Any particular words or wisdom or key lessons you learned while you were there?

How long do you have, Jeff? :) Seriously, when I start talking about VCFA I can get a bit long-winded.  For those who don't know, it's a low-residency program, which means that I went to the campus in VT five times over two years, for 10-day residencies with the other students and faculty. The rest of the time, I was working from home with an advisor. I'd send monthly "packets" of critical and creative writing, and would get feedback in letter form and sometimes over the phone.

The experience was life-changing. Finding myself in a community of people who were as passionate about children's literature as I was was incredible. The residencies were intense -- non-stop lectures, readings, workshops, dance parties... And the faculty -- which includes many award-winning authors, like Rita Williams-Garcia, Kathi Appelt, and Martine Leavitt -- are so generous and supportive.  My graduating class of sixteen included wonderful writers such as Carol Lynch Williams (The Chosen One), Jandy Nelson (The Sky is Everywhere), and Trent Reedy (Words in the Dust).

I think one of the major skills I acquired was how to read like a writer. How to evaluate what about a book is pulling me in or pushing me out of the narrative. And how to read my own work in a similar way.

Holy crap! Barack Obama bought your book! What was it like for you when you saw that?

My reaction was total denial (I still don't believe it actually happened. Literally.) combined with, "Who cares if it actually happened??! My name is in an article about PRESIDENT OBAMA!!! My. Name. With. Obama's. Name. Together! As long as we both shall live!!!!!!!!" And I smiled a lot.
 

What's next for you? Is there a new book on the horizon we can look forward to?

I'm working on a new YA novel, unrelated to Frost, called Immaculate. It's about a 15-year old girl in Brooklyn who is pregnant, but says she's a virgin. It will be published by Balzer+Bray, as well, so I'm fortunate to be working with my editor Kristin Daly Rens again. Yay!

 

Lastly, can you tell us five things readers might not know about you?

1. I’m terrible with wheels. I haven’t driven a car for years, but when I did, I endangered everyone in a three-mile radius. When I try to ride a bike, my life flashes before my eyes. And don’t even ask what happened the one time I rode an ATV!
2. I’m a sucker for beautiful clothes. One of my favorite museums in NYC is the gallery at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
3. Despite being somewhat shy, I have no problem taking over the dance floor if the right music is playing.
4. Since childhood, many of my friends have called me Mair, meaning they also sometimes call me the extremely mature sounding “Mair Baer.” (Rhymes with Care Bear.)
5. I own a broken skateboard made of fried pork skin. I’ll let you wonder why.

Thanks for coming by Marianna!

 

To enter a drawing for a signed copy of Marianna's FROST, just leave us a comment below! If you have a good ghost story, share that too!