Fresh New Voice of YA- Kristina Springer Interview

1) How did you get the idea for The Espressologist?

Well, first off, I drink a lot of coffee and spend tons of time in coffee shops. And kind of like my main character Jane, I was in a coffee shop one day people watching and it hit me that I could sorta tell what drinks various people were going to order. At first I was going to write a book full of these descriptions and call it Espressology. But then I rethought it and decided to have a barista practice Espressology and matchmake people based on their favorite drinks.


2) What was The Call like? Tell us all about it!

When my agent called to say we had an offer I was ecstatic! But then things got even more exciting when more offers came in. We ended up having an auction between four publishers and it was seriously one of the most craziest, happiest, stressful days ever.


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

I'm finishing up copyedits on my next book and I'm so excited about it! It’s called, MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS and it’s about two 7th grade BFFs who each think each other’s “boyfriend” is a fake. It becomes competitive (like if one says her boyfriend sent her carnations the other says her boyfriend sent her roses) and hilarious. It will be out in the fall of 2010.


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

I read TONS of YA as a teen-- totally loved it. I was a book-a-day girl. But I really didn't have any idea that I would end up writing YA. I did get my Masters in Writing and I did technical writing and non fiction writing for years, but it was only about 4 years ago that I figured out that I love writing YA.


5) What is your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor? And also your favorite coffee drink? Of course I gotta ask that!

Jelly Bean- Marshmallow
Coffee- Iced Venti Nonfat Mocha with no whip


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

I'm reading Cyn Balog's FAIRY TALE and in the car I'm listening to John Green's PAPER TOWNS


7) You're part of the group blog Author2Author. How did you get involved with that, and has doing it helped you during your road to publication?

Well, Deena and Emily and I have been critique partners for quite awhile now. When Deena got her first agent around two years ago I said to her wow-- we three are at different stages now in the pub process-- Em is looking for an agent, Deena is agented and subbing to publishers, and I'm soon to publish. We thought wouldn't it be cool to talk about our journeys as writers at each stage and share this with other writers? Then we thought we should also have someone in an earlier stage (not quite at querying agents yet) and so Deena asked her in-person critique partner Kate. And we thought we needed someone who was already a publishing pro and we thought of Lisa. We each blog on the same day each week (I'm Thursdays) and we're giving readers insight as to what goes on at each stage in the publishing process. Like, lately I've been talking a lot about launch parties and signings and release fun. It's a really great group and it has been a major help on the road to publication. We ask each other for advice all the time and we're constantly learning from each other's posts. I'm lucky I get to blog with such smart and talented writers!

Thanks James!!

No, thank you, Kristina, for taking the time to answer my questions and stopping by here this week!