Sensational 7 Q & A with Jeri Smith-Ready!

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to hang out with your favorite author(s)? In an attempt to get a better understanding of authors, my Sensational Seven Q & A takes a closer or more personal look at these authors to give you a glimpse of the personalities behind the writing of your favorite books.

“Talent alone cannot make a writer. There must be a man behind the book; a personality which, by birth and quality, is pledged to the doctrines there set forth, and which exists to see and state things so, and not otherwise.” By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Smith-Ready has been writing fiction since the night she had her first double espresso. She holds a master's degree in environmental policy and lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and the world's goofiest greyhound. Her debut YA novel, SHADE hits shelves May 4, 2010!

If you were given a chance to travel back in time, what year or place would you go / Why?

Wow, what a tough choice! It would definitely be some musically explosive era, like early nineties Seattle, or San Francisco in the late sixties, or Memphis in the late fifties.

Then again, I love the fashions of the forties. I wish men still wore fedoras.

Describe your novel in seven words or less?

Passion, mystery, music, ghosts, and cute guys.

Please share with us about your favorite book and fictional crush to date?
My favorite book ever would probably be NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman (sometimes I say GOOD OMENS by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett).

Favorite fictional crush would probably be David from Rachel Caine’s WEATHER WARDEN series. I’m a huge “nice guy” fan.

If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be / Why?
Do cartoons count? If so, I would say Bugs Bunny. He always outsmarts his enemies and gets them to beat themselves rather than having to beat them up directly.

If we’re talking strictly books (I would read a Bugs Bunny novel in a heartbeat, by the way), I think I would be the kid from the BLACK STALLION books. When I read those in middle school, I wanted desperately to be a jockey, but had to give that up because I was too tall. (Anyone who knows me is probably scratching their heads, thinking, “But Jeri, you’re incredibly short.” Yep, but still not short enough to be a jockey.)

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you/ Why?
Ooh! Anne Hathaway. She could really pull of my sullen early twenties attitude. Plus, she has the perfect eyebrows.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be – please explain?
Ten Things I Hate About Me. Because I’m always picking on myself.

How would you describe yourself/life in seven words?
Disorganized. Funny. Free. Fretful. Happy. Easily distracted.

Bonus:

**Is there any additional info you would like to share with your readers about what’s next for you and your books?**
Right now I’m writing the sequel to SHADE, called SHIFT, which will be out in May 2011. I also just finished page proofs on the third book in my adult vampire series, BRING ON THE NIGHT, which comes out in August. I can’t wait to see what fans of the series think of this installment!

Thanks Jeri for stopping by!

For more information about Jeri Smith-Ready and her books, please visit her website here.