Fresh New Voice of YA- Mandy Hubbard Interview

1) How did you get the idea for Prada and Prejudice?

I had been reading regency romances for awhile (the first one I ever read was what made me want to be published!) but I kept going back and forth between contemporary romances and regency. I wanted the voice and style of a contemporary, the setting of the historical. So I simply wrote the book I wanted by combining them both!


2) What sort of research did you do in writing Prada and Prejudice? Was it difficult to do?

I definitely had to do a lot. I watched movies, read some non-fiction books on the period, and spent a lot of time on google.

It was easy to find small, fascinating tidbits to sprinkle around, but when I was looking for an answer to a specific question, it got tricky. For instance, there is a scene with Callie and Emily getting ready for a dance, and they are hanging out together in Emily's room. Would girls in that era do that? I wasn't totlaly certain and I had to ask around a lot, and the answers were fuzzy. Since it was important to the book, it stayed that way, but I am nervous that someone will tell me I'm wrong! It is still scary to realize that I could inadvertantly commit a total historical faux-pas, and it will be related to something so simple that it didn't even occur to me to research it. It's easy to know that you should research the food instead of having them eating spagetti and meatballs, but what if you totally overlook something?

Welcome to the world of writing historicals. :-)


3) What book(s) are you working on now? Can you tell us anything about it?

I'm working on my Summer 2010 YA, but it's super-duper top secret. I am hoping I'll be allowed to share more later this summer! I also have a June 2010 novella coming out from Harlequin that focuses on the NASCAR world they've created.


4) What brought you to the YA genre? Have you always been a fan, or are you still fairly new to it all?

I feel pretty new to it, to be honest. I read a lot of RL STINE in high school, and then skipped into Adult suspense books-- mostly the ones by Mary Higgins Clark. It wasn't until I wrote a book and my agent asked me to make the main characters 5 years younger that I tuned into the current YA market, and I love it SO much. I must have spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on YA book since I realized how amazing the 'genre' is!


5) What is your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor?

I love them all! Except the buttered popcorn and the coffee or chocolate type flavors. Yuck. Bring on the fruity ones!


6) What book(s) are you reading now, or are about to start?

I just read STUPID CUPID by Rhonda Stapleton (out in December)...totally cute and funny. I am on a semi-hiatus from reading while I work on my 2010 YA, as the deadlinse are going to be TIGHT.


7) Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Never let a bad rejection (or a bad day!) be enough to make you quit. This industry simply takes a lot of time and effort to break in, and it may be months or years before you see it pay off-- the question is, will quit before it happens?