I am thrilled to say that Maria Murnane, the author of Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson, has taken time out of her busy schedule to grant me a blog interview! Thank you Maria.
I recently read & reviewed 'Perfect on Paper', click here to read my review.
Now, onto the interview.....
Bookworm: What inspired you to write Perfect on Paper?
M.M. : I've always loved to write (I was an English major in college), but I guess you could say about eight years of working and being single in San Francisco was what really motivated me to write this particular story. It just got to the point where I had so many funny stories running around in my head that I needed to do something with them. But I was working full-time and never really had the free time to think much about it, and I didn't know exactly what the plot would be. Then one day I quit my job and ended up in Argentina to play soccer for a year, and I realized that if I was ever going to write a book, that was that time. So I just started writing and writing and writing, and eventually I had the first draft of what would eventually become "Perfect on Paper."
Bookworm: What was the hardest part about writing this book?
M.M. :
Writing it actually wasn’t all the hard—figuring out what to write was harder. But once I knew what I wanted a particular chapter or scene to encompass, the writing part was pretty easy. Occasionally I would write something that just didn’t fit, and I’d force myself to delete it (never easy), but for the most part the story just sort of took on a life of its own, which was sort of amazing and wonderful and scary all at once.
Bookworm: Waverly has quite a few funny moments during this story. Is Waverly's character based on someone you know?
M.M. :My friends all say that reading “Perfect on Paper” is like listening to me talk for 320 pages, so that should answer the question! I like to say that Waverly Bryson’s life is essentially my life—if my life were more exciting. In some ways we are very similar (I am always making random observations like she does and tend to stick my foot in my mouth a bit too often), but in other ways we are very different. My family situation is a good example of that—my parents have been happily married for nearly 45 years and are extremely supportive of me, and I have two sisters and a brother who are awesome, as are their spouses and kids. Waverly sort of missed out on that, but I felt it made the story more interesting to have her as an only child and not exactly tight with her dad.
Bookworm: I like the idea of a Honey Note at the beginning of each chapter. Did you add those as you wrote the book or did you go back and add them later?
M.M. :
Both—sometimes I couldn’t think of a good Honey note to go with the chapter until after the chapter was written. Other times I came up with the Honey note first and went from there. And then when the book was all done I went back and re-read all the Honey notes to make sure they really represented what I thought were the most important themes of each chapter.
Bookworm: The ending of Perfect on Paper leaves room for a sequel....do you have any plans for one?
M.M. :
A lot of people have asked me if I’m going to write a sequel—everyone wants to know what happens to Waverly, including me! I would love to write another book, so we’ll see. (If your readers are interested in a sequel, please tell them to email me- that might help tip the scale.)
Bookworm: Who are your favorite authors and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
M.M. :
I think my favorite writers are probably Ayn Rand ("Atlas Shrugged," "The Fountainhead") and Pat Conroy ("Beach Music," "Prince of Tides"). They are just fabulous storytellers-- they make you forget you are reading, you know?
Bookworm:What book(s) are you reading now?
M.M. :
I usually have 2-3 books going at once, a mix of non-fiction and fiction. Right now I’m reading “”The Wealth and Poverty of Nations” by David S. Landes, “Free Lunch” by David Cay Johnston, and “Falling Into Manholes,” by the lovely Wendy Merrill, whom I was lucky enough to meet at a recent book event. And last week I finished a John Grisham novel—can’t remember the name but of course it was about a lawyer in the South East.
Bookworm:Do you have any advice for other writers?
M.M. :
If you really want to write a book, just sit down and do it. Write and write and write, and when you can’t think of what to write next, go back and rewrite everything you’ve already written.
Bookworm: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
M.M. :
Just thank you for reading my book-- you have NO IDEA how great it is to know that someone besides my mom is reading it. :) And please email me if you would like—it’s honestly so fun to hear from readers. I’m at mariamurnane@yahoo.com, and my Facebook page for the book is at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perfect-on-Paper/26239620721. If you like the book, please become a Facebook fan to help spread the word!
Bookworm: Last but not least, what is your favorite icecream flavor?
M.M. :
Ha ha I'd have to say a tie between cookie dough and anything with peanut butter chunks in it.
Thank you again Maria for chatting with me! I hope fellow readers will pick up a copy of Perfect on Paper.
I myself would love to see a sequel to this book, so come on readers, if you want to see a sequel...email Maria, like she said, and ler her know :)
