YA Fresh

What's Fresh with Bev Katz Rosenbaum's I Was A Teenage Popsicle

Floe Ryan was frozen--well, 'vitrified'--when she was sixteen. She's just been thawed, and guess what, it's ten years in the future and she's still a teenager. And her parents are still, shall we say, chilling out. Floe's little sister is now her older sister (and guardian!), and payback's a beyotch. On top of that, Floe has to get used to a new school, new technology, and a zillion other new things that happened while she was napping in the freezer. Luckily, she has Taz Taber--the hottie sk8er boy who used to make her melt before she was frozen--to reintegrate with. But now they're trying to close the Venice Beach Cryonics Center--with Floe's parents still in it! Now that's cold. It's up to Floe to save the clinic and her parents--so she can finally have a chance at a somewhat normal life…

Check out Kelly's take on I Was A Teenage Popsicle.

Hello Bev, thanks for agreeing to chat! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Bev: I'm a former Harlequin editor who wrote a couple of romance novels after I left to freelance edit. I soon learned I like to write short and funny, and as my kids got older, I found myself loving the stuff they were reading and realized I should probably take a crack at this YA stuff!

Readers and writers often like to get a behind-the-scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Bev: Most people think you spend all day writing, but there are so many other things to do--promotion, revisions, galley-proofing...the list goes on. Plus, writing is mentally draining--you can do it for only so many hours straight. So when I'm not on a really tight writing or revising deadline (sometimes you really do just have to write for a couple weeks straight!), I usually split my day into thirds; I write for one third, do promo stuff for another third, and do other administrative/niggly stuff for the last third. Works for me!

Please tell us about your novel I Was a Teenage Popsicle published through Berkley Jam (October 2006) and what we can expect from your characters.

Bev: My first YA novel, I Was a Teenage Popsicle, is a super-fun (IMHO!) mix of teen chick lit and sci-fi. It's a Berkley Jam release currently in bookstores. The heroine is the first cryonically preserved human to be 'thawed', and she's forced to go live with her younger, now older sister. (Payback's a beyotch.) There's also a romance (with the second thawed human) and tons of action/adventure, as Floe tries to keep the cryonics center, where her parents are still, um, chilling, from being shut down.

Sounds like a fresh read, Bev! What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Bev: I am currently revising the Popsicle sequel, called Beyond Cool, to be released in August.

Thanks again for sharing, Bev, best of luck with your writing career! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Bev: Try to come up with a truly fresh and different hook--I guarantee you'll attract interest!

Bev Katz Rosenbaum is the author of I Was A Teenage Popsicle and Beyond Cool to be released August 2007. Check out her website, www.bevkatzrosenbaum.com.