Urban-Reviews.com - Inside Out with Paula Chase - Author of So Not The Drama and Don't Get It Twisted

Urban Reviews: Start by telling our readers about Don’t Get It Twisted.
Paula Chase: Don’t Get It Twisted is the story of desire and wanting – but not in the adult way. When we think desire and wanting, it’s always connected to sex. But when you’re a teen your desires run so much broader. For Mina, the main character, it’s a crush that ends up in a love triangle. For JZ, it’s his desire to be the star on the DRB basketball team that forces him to make a choice that could cost him both his spot on the team and a friend. And for Jacinta, it’s wanting life to be easy again. In Don’t Get It Twisted, everyone wants something and to get it, sometimes desperate times calls for sneaky measures.

Urban Reviews: What inspired you to create a teen book series?
Paula Chase: At the time when I wrote the first two in the series (2003) there were none out there like mine. I loved reading Sweet Valley High as a 'tween – of course back then we were called pre-teens. But those books were so full of soap opera-ish drama, but it all took place outside of the realm of parents- or at least it seemed that way. You knew they had parents, but they weren’t really key to the story. They were fun to read, truly escapist reading. Around the time my daughter was eight, I realized that there were no Sweet Valley High books out there with Black characters and it surprised me.

I hadn’t paid much attention to what was going on in YA fiction, until then because my daughter wasn’t yet reading YA and my taste ran along suspense and horror for pleasure reading. When I realized that few popular fiction books catered to a multi-cultural audience, the idea to represent for the ‘burbs from a diverse point-of-view came to me.

I have a long history of mentoring young people. And, at the time, I was writing advice-type articles for Girls Life magazine, so I was already well in tune to my teen voice. Writing the novel came naturally.

Urban Reviews: Can you tell our readers how you started you literary career?
Paula Chase: I’ve always been a writer. But I started my actual writing career back in 2001 writing for Suite 101. I was their R&B columnist. I was paid $10 a month. At the time, I was doing it as an outlet because all of my professional writing was focused on press releases and other corporate marketing material. So writing about music, something I love, was fun. Getting paid was gravy on top of that.

But then, somewhere between burn-out from my daily commute and actually getting laid off from my cushy corporate job I decided to tackle it more seriously. About four months before I was laid off, I’d decided to aggressively pursue freelancing. I began taking on other online writing positions, then I began querying magazines and contributing as a freelancer. So by the time the tech bubble burst in late ’02 I had a nice collection of clips and was freelancing regularly.

I was fortunate enough to take an entire year off to write and that’s when the idea for the teen series came to me. It’s pretty much been a hustle from day one – freelancing is not for the faint of heart…then again, neither is novel writing.

Urban Reviews: Can we get a sneak peak at your next book and when it will be released ?
Paula Chase: I’d love to give you a sneak peek, but the third book, That’s What’s Up! is still in the editorial process. It comes out July 2008. I’m excited because it will be my first summer release. My head is swimming with all the cool things I can do to promote it when kids actually have more free time to read and may be more willing to hang out at the library to pass some time.

Urban Reviews: Have you faced any challenges being a relatively new author?
Paula Chase: Ha, the question should be, what challenges haven’t I faced as a new author! The last year and a half has been a serious blur. Things move really slow in publishing, overall, yet they seem to be zooming by for me, in many respects. So far, just since getting my contract I’ve had the editor who originally acquired the series leave (a few months before So Not The Drama’s release date); my covers are going from graphic to photo – a drastic change; and I ran into a little snafu with one of the major chains in terms of shelving (not even sure they’ll carry the second book thanks to that).

What I learned, very quickly, is to never underestimate that publishing is a business. Writers are able to romanticize things, because that’s sort of what we do as novelists. But there’s very little romantic about the business of book making. Still, it’s been an interesting learning experience and I learn something new every day. Right now, I’m experiencing the fatigue that goes along with juggling promotion and meeting writing deadlines. It’s pretty intense. I keep waiting for the day when I don’t feel so tired. Then I remember I still have two more books to deliver to my editor and promo for the first two and I remember – oh yeah, you won’t be sleeping for another year or so.

Urban Reviews: Who are some of your favorite authors?
Paula Chase: I’m a big Stephen King fan – horror is my favorite genre. But I also love Mildred Taylor (YA author) and Gloria Naylor. Basically, I’m attracted to writers and books that are 180 degrees different from what I write. Mildred Taylor is very much literary YA, as Gloria Naylor is literary. Me, I write pop fiction. I enjoy writing the light-hearted, fun stuff but I enjoy reading things that take me to an entirely different zone.

Urban Reviews: What are your goals as a writer?
Paula Chase: To be able to support myself on my writing income or writing income/school visit income within the next two years. It’s like climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro. Probably one of the most daunting goals I’ve ever set because reaching it is both within and totally outside of my control.

Another is to always enjoy what I’m writing. I’ve been in the PR field for fifteen years – I’ve had some jobs I liked, some I didn’t – but none I loved. I love writing. I never want it to feel like a job. Even with deadlines breathing down my neck, edits pouring off the page or when I’m dog tired from promoting, I still love it.

Urban Reviews: What advice would you give to aspiring authors ?
Paula Chase: Romanticize the world you create, get lost in it. But remember to take your head out of your novels long enough to take care of business. I think the key is to learn to compartmentalize so that the business side doesn’t taint your creativity. That can be tough some days, but it’s a necessary trait to develop.

Urban Reviews: Name one thing that the world does not know about Paula Chase Hyman-the person?
Paula Chase: Between my blog and website, I doubt there’s much I haven’t divulged at this point. But, maybe someone in the world is unaware that I have neurotic tendencies. I like to be very much together in public, but I can worry with the best of them about just about anything. The only people who really see me freak are my agent, editor and some of my writer friends.

It’s the equivalent of the music artist who is painfully shy until they step on the stage. You’d never know it by the way they command the stage. I’m like that. Behind the scenes, when I’m in the midst of editing and preparing for a book’s release I’m a wreck! I worry about how it will be received and what people will think, did I do my best? But once the book’s out there in stores I almost immediately come to terms with the fact that I can’t do anything else for it – I’m calm, cool and collected to the public. But I see the neurosis as a good thing. I sort of have to freak out to reach the Zen stage.