Celebrating Debutantes 2016: Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum (Author Interview)

Hi everyone! It's April now, which means that Celebrating Debutantes 2016 is now over. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the authors, publicists and publishing houses for helping us with the event. Without their help, Cai and I would never be able to pull this off. Although the event itself is over, there are various giveaways that are still on-going. Click the image below for the full schedule and links to the posts!

But before you go, I want to tell you something:
1. This is just the first wave of Celebrating Debutantes 2016. In this wave, we featured January to June authors. There will be a second wave sometime around August or September. So watch out for that. ;)
2. I'm interviewing our final author for this event - Julie Buxbaum. Apologies Julie, for the late posting, I was so tired yesterday that I couldn't even get on the laptop. YA Contemporary readers, this one is for you!

Jessie and SN met online via email, for an author like you what do you think is the advantage & disadvantage of internet?
Honestly, for me as a writer, it’s a huge disadvantage but not for plot reasons. I find it to be a constant distraction! I’m totally addicted to that immediate gratification of clicking, and can often waste hours in an Internet K-hole. I’ve been using Freedom--which is an app that turns off the Internet for a set period of time, to keep me focused--but even then, I find ways to sneak a peak at Twitter on my phone. Of course, it’s super handy for research.

How's the transition from being a lawyer to a writer?
It seems weird looking back now, but I made the transition from being a lawyer to being a writer as part of a New Year’s Resolution. I always knew I wanted to write a book, and so about nine years ago, on January 1st, I quit my job and sat down to write my first novel which ultimately became The Opposite of Love. The stars ended up aligning for me, and the career jump was incredibly smooth. I can’t imagine going back now.

Does your experience as a lawyer aid you in your writing, in any way? How?
I think being trained as a lawyer has made my writing much simpler and straightforward than it would have been otherwise. Before I went to law school, I was much more indulgent with language, and definitely too flowery. Law school beats those affectations out of you.

Could you tell us a bit about your writing process? Do you have writing rituals?
These days, I work in a writer’s room that I walk to every morning after I get my kids off to school. I pour myself a glass of water and a cup of tea, and after a little while playing around on the Internet, I turn on Freedom. I usually edit the pages I’ve written the day before, and that eases me into creating a new scene and into writing again. I try very hard to treat it like a normal 9 to 5 job, though it’s never really possible. I have some of my best ideas at the worst times. When I’m busy with my kids, just as I’m drifting off to sleep, or in the shower. I’ve learned the hard way that when I have an important idea, I need to write it down immediately or it may be lost forever.

Tell us three things about your novel.
1. I poured a lot of my own experiences with grief into this book, so it might be the most personal of all my novels.
2. I once got an anonymous email that inspired Tell Me Three Things.
3. It’s a story about first loss, but it’s also a story about first love.
What's next for Julie?
I just handed in my next YA novel, which should hit stores April 2017. I’m really excited about it! Thanks so much for asking!

Thank you, Julie!

About the Author:

Julie Buxbaum is the author of the critically acclaimed The Opposite of Love and After You, and her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. Tell Me Three Things is her first young adult novel. Her writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times. She is a former lawyer and graduate of Harvard Law School and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two young children, and an immortal goldfish. Visit Julie online at www.juliebuxbaum.com and follow @juliebux on Twitter.

Find Julie: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

Book Description:

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: April 5th 2016 by Delacorte Press

What if the person you need the most is someone you’ve never met?
Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?