Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Interview with E. Kristin Anderson!

Hopefully you've read all about this awesome anthology! If not, check out my review and my giveaway before you continue! I've loved reading through Dear Teen Me and relating to each letter in some way; I can't even imagine how actual teenagers will relate!

One of the masterminds behind the anthology is E. Kristin Anderson. An author and poet herself, E. met fellow mastermind, Miranda Kenneally, online and they bonded over Hanson and Austin Powers. E. had previously written a letter to teen self about nothing other than Hanson, and E. thought it would be awesome to do something similar with a bunch of her author friends.  Together, E. and Miranda took it a step further, and BAM! the Dear Teen Me Blog was born.  Working closely with the publisher of Zest Books, E. and Miranda were able to take that small start of a Hanson letter to this amazing anthology!

As part of the blog tour, I was lucky enough to get a quick interview with E. herself! I hope you enjoy the following teen moments, and please check out the book, out on October 30!

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THE INTERVIEW!

Dreamy teen celebrity crush?

Seth Green. All the way! Even though he's like 5'4 and I was (and am) 5'7. I would love him and pet him and...oh God, I'm getting creepy!

Band you couldn't live without?

Foo Fighters. I mean obvs, I love Hanson, but Foo Fighters gave me a lot of strength as a teen too. Dave Grohl is a brilliant lyricist, and songs like "Alone + Easy Target" and "February Stars" and "Learn To Fly" and "A320" (which was on the Godzilla soundtrack) not only inspired me as a budding poet/lyricist but also got me through some really tough times when I was struggling with mental illness as a teen -- like Dave's best friend Kurt Cobain.

Best friend memory?

My best friend in high school, Fiona, and I both wrote in my journal. I'll even give you a sneak peak! We wrote about boys and troubles some, but mostly we wrote about music and movies and pop culture. We made collages and drew pictures. It was our thing. I still have all the journals. The pics I'm showing you are from Woodstock 99, which we couldn't attend, but which we illustrated ourselves into while listening to the radio broadcast. So most of my fondest memories with Fiona (who is also a writer, blogging at shadowofacoffeecup.blogspot.com) are holed up in my room listening to music, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and journalling. Also, the mall. Ha! 

Most cringe worthy moment?

E. in her Track Uniform!

God, I was one big ball of awkward in middle school and high school. I think by my junior year I had mostly accepted it. I wrote about one cringe-worthy moment in the book -- the one about my dress ripping open at junior prom -- so I'll give you a bonus. We were having a track team sleepover at one of the captain's houses. I was a junior, and soon to be crowned Southwestern Maine Class A champion in the 1600 meter racewalk, woo! ...But I didn't know that yet, and neither did the mean girls. During a card game earlier in the evening, I'd fessed up to liking Hanson. I'd been like yeah, they're pretty cool. They're so young and talented and I love their music and blah blah (I had a prepared speech for each such embarrassing moment -- that's what being a Hanson fan was like in 1999). Anyway, they all were like oh that's cool. UNTIL around midnight, when we were all in our sleeping bags, lights out, and two of the nasty little sophomores started singing MMMBop and giggling. If the lights had been on, you would have seen me, cheeks red, on the verge of tears. Luckily the captain, sweet Katie, made me feel better. She'd always taken me under her wing. I'm grateful for girls like that. I hope that every kid out there dealing with a bully has an older mentor who maybe doesn't even say "those guys are jerks" but shows that they care. Which is even better.

What do you hope teen readers get out of this book?

The biggest reason we started DearTeenMe.com -- and the most exciting part about it being a book people can hold in their hands -- is that this is a group of adults who remember what it's like to be a teen. We remember how hard it is. We won't tell you "you'll get over it it" or "it could be worse" or "that's just teenage drama." We know it hurts. We know it IS dramatic and scary and hilarious and crazy. I want teens to take THAT from this book. We believe in you. We've got your back. We know that you're struggling and we know that sometimes it's hard to embrace the "someday you'll look back on this and laugh" moments. We get it. We really, really do!

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E. Kristin Anderson grew up in Westbrook, Maine and is a graduate of Connecticut College. She has a fancy diploma that says “B.A. in Classics,” which makes her sound smart but has not helped her get any jobs in Ancient Rome. Ms. Anderson is the co-editor of DEAR TEEN ME, an anthology based on the popular website. Her poetry has been published worldwide in many magazines and she is an assistant YA and Children’s editor at Hunger Mountain. Once upon a time she worked at The New Yorker. Look out for Ms. Anderson’s work in the forthcoming anthology Coin Opera II, a collection of poems about video games from Sidekick Books. She now lives in Austin, TX and is represented by Christina Hogrebe at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

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