Interview with Bev Katz Rosenbaum

Today, I'm excited to post an interview with author Bev Katz Rosenbaum.
I Was A Teenage Popsicle is her first YA novel and a great addition to any bookshelf. You want something fun to read, this book is it.

For those readers who haven't read your book, can you tell them briefly about it?
I Was a Teenage Popsicle is a crazy mix of teen chick lit, comedy, romance, sci-fi and action-adventure, featuring cryonically preserved Venice Beach teen Floe Ryan, the first human being to be 'thawed'!

What drew you to writing for the YA market?
I was loving the books my kids were reading, so I thought, why not give it a shot? I tend to write short and funny, so my style was perfect for the genre.

Okay, I've got to ask. Why a popsicle? How did you ever get an idea like that?
Well, the YA market's pretty competitive--coming up with a unique idea is paramount. When the whole Ted Williams cryonics controversy broke, I thought, cryonics, that's the ticket!

Waking up ten years later would freak most people out. What quality about your main character Floe as she deals with this situation do you most admire and why?
I once heard someone say that her heroines are the people she wishes she could be, and that's pretty much how I feel about Floe. She's so much more confident and self-possessed than I was at her age--though she's not without her flaws, because a perfect heroine would be extremely boring!

Trying to fit it in is a theme most anyone who experienced teen life can relate to. What made you write about this feeling?
What you said! Trying to fit in is a theme most anyone who has experienced teen life can relate to. The 'cool' (ha-ha) thing about this book is that Floe's situation is at once totally out there, yet completely universal.

Here's another must-ask question. How did a Canadian end up writing about Valley Girls and Venice Beach types? (Is no one else surprised by that?) And any plans for some Canadian characters or settings?
Well, my publisher is Penguin US, not Penguin Canada, but aside from that, I just thought Venice, California was the perfect place to set my out there cryonics story Having said that, I will tell you a few upcoming projects are set considerably closer to home. You're quite right--the only place you can get totally right is the place you call home, the place you can feel in your bones!

When will your next book be out and what will it be about? What themes will you be exploring this time around?
Watch out for the sequel to I Was a Teenage Popsicle, called Beyond Cool, to be released in August '07. I have several other projects in various stages of development--none of which I can talk about yet!

--Patrizia