Blog Tour- Interview with Tiffany Schmidt

1) How did you get the idea for Send Me A Sign?

Like most of my book ideas, Send Me A Sign began because I was in A Mood. I don't remember why I was in A Mood, just that I was in one. Despite this, St. Matt (my husband) insisted that we go out for a date night and I Did. Not. Want. To. In the car, I was grumbling and said something along the lines of "the next song on the radio will determine how our night will go" -- only then I became instantly fascinated with the idea of someone that superstitious.

I never even turned the radio on. Instead I dug a notebook out of my purse and began to scribble notes about the character who would become Mia. I continued to scribble through the movie we'd gone to see. When we got home, I put iTunes on shuffle-- the song that played first is the same song Mia listens to in chapter two.

Come to think of it, this probably wasn't all that great of a date night for St. Matt... I should offer him a notebook-free do-over.


2) What are you currently working on? Can you tell us anything about it?

I'm working on edits for my second book, BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE. It comes out winter 2014 and is told from dual perspectives -- Brighton, a 17-year-old, people-pleaser, who needs to be liked... and Jonah, the new guy who's moved to her town and has decided he hates her. The whole novel takes place in one night, during which Jonah and Brighton really challenge each other's perceptions -- of themselves, of each other, of the world in which they live.


3) What's your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor(s)? Or, if those aren't your thing, favorite snack?

This is easy! It's Juicy Pear. And also Peach. And Red Apple. Oh, and Root Beer. And definitely NOT Buttered Popcorn. *gags*

And while I love Jelly Belly beans, my true sugar addiction is Crazy Core Skittles (aka Revision Skittles). I only allow myself to eat them while working on hardcore edits, and even then there's THE RULE: One Skittle per every page revised. Obviously I need to have a bag (and a back-up bag) in the house at all times, but I can't know where they are or I'll be too tempted, so St.Matt has to hide them until I'm about to revise.

Is it any wonder that revision is my favorite step in the writing process?


4) What book(s) are you currently reading, or are about to start?

I read a lot-- two to three books on a slow week, sometimes more than seven. Usually more than one at a time (one on my phone, one by the bed, one downstairs, one on the elliptical). Currently I'm working on David Levithan's Every Day, Libba Bray's The Diviners, Holly Black's Black Heart, and Jordan Sonnenblick's Curveball, The Year I Lost My Grip. They are all brilliant and make me insanely jealous of their talent!


5) Can you tell me a bit about Team Morgan, and how that's going?

Morgan was a former student of mine who was diagnosed with cancer the year she was in my class. It was also the year I was writing SEND ME A SIGN and the book is dedicated to her. Tragically, Morgan passed away last January. Team Morgan is a Facebook community that was initially created to keep people informed about how Morgan was feeling and the different events and fundraisers in the area for her benefit.

Since Morgan has passed, the group has continued in her honor. They are still very active and do different activities and fundraisers in her memory -- for example, making fleece blankets to give to cancer patients at the local children's hospital or organizing a large group to walk in the Philadelphia Race For Hope. I feel honored to be a member of a group that's become such a positive legacy for a remarkable young lady.