Author Laura Lee Anderson!

Laura Lee Anderson is a writer, actor, and urban youth mentor who grew up in Westfield, NY. She now lives with her husband, son, and dog in Pittsburgh, PA. Most of her time is spent Mom-ing, writing, and creating semi-professional Shakespeare shows with teens. Not enough of her time is spent drinking lattes or eating at Burgatory. Too much time is spent binge-watching Leverage or Suits. Tweet her at @LLAWrites or check out her website at lauraleeanderson.wordpress.com.

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Interview

1. Can you tell me about your debut novel?
My debut novel, a Young Adult Romance called SONG OF SUMMER, is a love story between a girl who loves music and a guy who is Deaf. It's told in first person alternating POV, so the reader gets to see both sides of the story, and it takes place over one summer vacation in the small town where I grew up. You can read more about it here: https://lauraleeanderson.wordpress.com/song-of-summer/

2. What made you want to write YA?
I have always been a huge fan of YA! Like many authors, I was an early, voracious reader, and read my way through high school. When I was in college, theatre took up most of my time and friends took up the rest, so reading fell to the wayside. After I graduated, I went back to the shelf in the library that I had loved in high school and was surprised to find it so expanded! Soon back to my old YA reading habits, and now with a four-year degree in acting (or "storytelling" as I like to call it), I decided I'd like to give writing a shot in the summer of 2011.


3. Who are some of your favorite authors and have they influenced your writing in any way?
Wow, like many authors, it's quite a list! When I was growing up, my very favorite author was Gordon Korman. To this day, I love his early, zany work (as well as his later stuff!). He wrote his first published book when he was in seventh grade, and has been awesome ever since. Although my books aren't as funny as his (yet!), I like to think I have his style of dialogue. As an adult, I've discovered John Green (of course), Sarah Dessen (of course), and Maggie Stiefvater (of course). I can only hope that my books are as sweet and real and exciting as theirs.
(here's my well-loved Gordon Korman collection)

4. What do you do when you're not writing?
A lot! First and foremost, I'm the mommy of a little toddler boy- my Twitter followers are very familiar with "Toddzilla"'s escapades. I'm also a freelance editor for fiction manuscripts and query letters. (https://lauraleeanderson.wordpress.com/editing-and-critique-services/). I still act in the occasional play, using my theatre degree. Most of my theatrical training, however, goes towards the semi-professional Shakespeare company composed of urban teens that my husband and I created. Last summer we did The Merchant of Venice for an audience of around 1000 people as we performed here in Pittsburgh, then toured to Ohio and New York! Those teens are so talented and their souls are so beautiful- my favorite thing about the SONG OF SUMMER launch party was that they drove three hours to just to be there!
(Here's me in my most recent play- Prussia: 1866 by Gab Cody, as well as the poster for Urban Impact: Shakes. The Merchant of Venice)

​5. Are you working on anything at the moment?
I'm working on a couple of projects! One is a YA contemporary novel that's unrelated to SONG OF SUMMER. It's in its second draft and I have big plans for it *waggles eyebrows.* The other is a very, very, very, very, very, very early start on a sequel to SONG OF SUMMER. Who knows if anything will come of it, but it's been really fun to revisit Robin and Carter!

Thank you so much for hosting this interview, Beth! It's been a blast to be at The Reader's Corner!

Song Of Summer

The thirteen qualities of Robin’s Perfect Man range from the mildly important “Handsome” to the all-important “Great taste in music.” After all, Westfield’s best high school folk musician can’t go out with some shmuck who only listens to top 40 crap. When hot Carter Paulson walks in the door of Robin’s diner, it looks like the list may have come to life. It’s not until the end of the meal that she realizes he’s profoundly deaf.
Carter isn’t looking for a girlfriend. Especially not a hearing one. Not that he has anything against hearing girls, they just don’t speak the same language. But when the cute waitress at Grape Country Dairy makes an effort to talk with him, he takes her out on his yellow Ducati motorcycle.
Music, language, and culture sing back-up as love takes the melody, but just how long can a summer song last?
Song of Summer is a YA Contemporary novel told in alternating first person perspectives. It was published by Bloomsbury Spark July 7, 2015.

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