Giveaway and Interview with Rachel Rene Russell, author of Dork Diaries

From the back cover: Dork Diaries follows eighth grader Nikki Maxwell as she chronicles through text and sketches her move to a snooty new school; her epic battle with her mom for an iphone; her enthusiasm for drawing and art; and a love/hate fascination with the new school's queen bee, a girl named MacKenzie, who becomes Nikki's rival in a schoolwide art competition. Nikki writes about friendships, crushes, popularity and family with a unique and fresh voice that still conveys a universal authenticity. Nikk's sketches throughout her diary addd humor and spunk to the book, a surefire hit with tween girl readers.

I can't imagine a tween girl not loving this book. It's fun, it's real, it's fantastic! Rachel has portrayed MacKenzie, the queen of mean, to perfection. Nikki is just an ordinary kid trying her best to fit in but the tween years are jam packed with drama and Nikki sure knows how to play that card. She just has to have an iphone. She wants one, she needs one and that's that. Nikki wants an iphone so badly she spray paints a hearing aid she found to look like an earpiece for a phone. There are a lot more amusing incidents in this book. Let's get right to the interview and contest because I know that is what you want to read.

Kaye: Hi Rachel, I want to welcome you today to discuss your new book, Dork Diaries. Your bio says you are an attorney, are you currently practicing and what type of law do (did) you practice?

Rachel: Yes, I still practice law. I am a consumer bankruptcy attorney and help people get out of debt. A lot of families are struggling due to the recession and high unemployment rate, so I really like this area of the law. However, I'm now taking a few months off to finish up my Dork Diaries Book 2. I like being a children's author a lot better than an attorney because they do not allow you to wear your pajamas to court. And, the Judges want you to bathe.


Kaye: Judges and the court are so picky! Since this is a debut novel, can you tell us when you came up with the idea for the book? Did you kick it around for a long time or just write it straight away?

Rachel: I came up with the idea for the book in the spring of 2007 and wrote most of it during the summer of 2008. The illustrations were completed in the fall. It was a fun book to write and often I'd be sitting at my computer laughing at my own jokes. My family thought I was nuts.


Kaye: Well, at least you can amuse yourself. Why a pre teen book?

Rachel: I love writing about Tween-age characters because I feel it's a fun and exciting age. They are not quite as tainted or complex as older teens and adults. Also, they still find the world to be quite fascinating and they have vivid imaginations. Older teens do "not-so-fun" stuff like wreck your car and then park it in the garage until you notice the entire front end is missing.


Kaye: I've heard from self published authors that it is very difficult to get a publisher now. Did you have a hard time finding a publisher and how long did it take to go through the process?

Rachel: Actually, thanks to my fantastic agent, Daniel Lazar at Writers House, I was very lucky. We had several publishers interested in the first week and the book went to auction. I still pinch myself once a week to make sure I'm not dreaming.


Kaye: I am really interested in the ever so clever marketing of your book. Whose idea was it to put the book in a purse with items from the story? Is this just for pre- publication marketing because when I went to Amazon it just showed the book, no purse.

Rachel: It was my idea to send the book to reviewers along with Nikki's purse. I was trying to come up with a marketing idea that was fun, exciting and memorable and would introduce the reader to my main character, Nikki Maxwell. Sending her purse (stuffed with personal items) along with the book was the perfect way to achieve this. And, if the book turned out crappy, at least everyone would get a cute purse and some lip gloss out of it. The actual book does NOT come with the purse. But, I plan to give away a lot of them during my Blog Tour and on the Dork Diaries web site which launches in June.


Kaye: Contestants, take note. One of you will be winning a truly unique prize. Did you do any particular research into the pre teen culture?

Rachel: I've been exposed to Tween culture mostly due to the fact that I have two daughters. But, I also make a concerted effort to stay abreast of the latest trends by going to teen movies, watching television and reading magazines. And, if I'm around Tweens in a public place, like the mall, I always try to listen and observe, in hopes of picking up material I can use in my books. So, I do lots of things, short of actually stalking them.


Kaye: You stated that you have 2 daughters who provide material for the book. What do they think of their Mom writing such a fun book?

Rachel: In the beginning they were very helpful. But, by the second month, they were sick of me asking them about the latest slang, who they thought was the cutest Jonas brother, and re-reading manuscript pages for like the 7th time. So, they demanded that I pay them an hourly "consulting fee." And, I agreed to it. Yes, it's sad that your own flesh and blood would stoop so low.


Kaye: Your daughters sound very enterprising! The book is illustrated by you, and quite well I might add. Do you have any formal art training or does it just come naturally?

Rachel: No, I have not had any formal training. I think this talent just runs in my family. Both of my daughters are very good artists. Toward the end, I started falling a bit behind schedule, so I took on two assistants to help me get the illustrations done by the deadline. One of my daughters was an assistant, and yes she charged me for that too!

Kaye: Are you a doodler? If so, does it help you think?

Rachel: Yes, I'm a doodler. Actually, I cannot think UNLESS I'm doodling. I'm doodling while I type this.


Kaye: I like the message in the book to be yourself and not try to pander to the popular. Is there any personal inspiration for this message?

Rachel: Yes, my younger daughter tried really hard to fit with other students during grade school and middle school. I felt really sorry for her, because no matter what she did and no matter how hard she tried, everyone at her school still considered her to be a bit weird because... well, she IS a bit weird. But, she is also kind, smart, loving and super-talented. I dedicated my book to her.

Kaye: Is this something you are trying to instill in your own daughters?

Rachel: Most definitely, yes! And, I'm also trying to instill it in myself. I wanted to write serious teen novels like Laurie Halse Anderson, Sarah Dessen and Stephenie Meyer. But, literary agents just read my manuscripts and laughed. Really hard. So, I decided to take advantage of that and try to make the stories funny on purpose. So, now my heroes are Meg Cabot (Princess Diaries) and Barbara Park (Junie B), two very funny and talented authors. I also like Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). I heard it was a lot harder to make people laugh than to make them cry. So, I am finally getting comfortable with my light-hearted, fluffy, sometimes silly writing and drawing skills.


Kaye: So you are playing to your strengths. Good strategy! When do you anticipate Dork Diaries 2 to be available?

Rachel: It is supposed to be released in the Summer of 2010. Actually, I'm supposed to be working on it right now.


Kaye: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Rachel: I hope to have written both a chapter book series and a YA series by then. And, maybe I'll try a serious novel too. Something really original and unique like a girl falling in love with a dangerous vampire or a boy who goes to wizard school.

Kaye: Yeah, either of those sounds really good and original to boot! ( eyes rolling in head) Lol! You have a very good sense of humor, it is easy to see why your book is so much fun. Thank you for spending some of your valuable time with us. Also, a big thanks for your generosity in providing one lucky reader with Nikki's purse. The winner will love it!

Now for the contest. Open to US and Canada only. No P.O. Boxes please. Rachel will ship the winner the purse and book when it becomes available in early June. Be sure to leave an e- mail address in your comment. Entries must be received by 5 P.M. on May 24th.

No need for separate comments for entries.

For your official entry: comment on an interview answer from Rachel.

For 3 bonus entries: become a public follower. Already one, that counts too!

For 1 bonus entry: post a link to the contest in your sidebar.Good luck!