An Interview with Erin Dionne

AUTHOR ERIN DIONNE TALKS ABOUT HER NEW BOOK

By G. Arnold, Co-Editor

The arrival of 2009 brings a new book for young adults from writer Erin Dionne. Her debut novel, MODELS DON’T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES, was inspired by two unlikely events that occurred in seventh grade: when she wore what she calls a “scary” peach bridesmaid dress in her cousin’s wedding; and another time, when she threw up on her gym teacher’s shoes.

If you’re a parent , librarian, or educator, you already know that teens and tweens are an important audience for writers. The reading interests of young adults are shaped, in part, by their unique experiences. They recognize authenticity and they demand to be taken seriously by the writers they decide to embrace.

Despite popular misconceptions to the contrary, writing for this audience is immensely challenging. Many writers think they can do it, but few make the grade.

Erin Dionne takes this challenge seriously, and her new book is already generating buzz. Recently, she took some time from her very busy schedule to tell us about the book and the process of writing.

Bread & Circus: Tell us a bit about your new book, MODELS DON’T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES.

Erin Dionne: MODELS is the story of overweight eighth grader Celeste Harris, who-thanks to her meddling Aunt Doreen-gets entered into the Miss HuskyPeach pageant against her will. While dealing with the chaos and hilarity of becoming a fat model, she also must cope with the fact that her best friend is being stolen by school bully Lively Carson.

B&C: The main character is a teenager named Celeste. What can you say about her?

Celeste is a smart, witty girl who hangs on the periphery of basically everything-her family, the school social scene, and her life. At the beginning of the novel, she’s comfortable with who she is-or, she thinks she’s comfortable. She believes that blending in is better than standing out, especially because her weight makes hiding hard. She’s teased mercilessly by Lively, and doesn’t have the self-confidence to stand up for herself.

B&C: In terms of the writing process, did you envision Celeste’s life and personality before you started writing, or did Celeste evolve and reveal new things about herself as you were writing?

Erin Dionne: MODELS originated as a short story entitled “On BBQ Day, No One Brings a Lunch,” and I was encouraged to turn that piece into a novel. But when I began the story, I envisioned an overweight girl, sitting alone in the cafeteria, eating a spinach salad. I wanted to know who she was, why she was dieting, and why she was by herself. Trying to answer those questions lead to the short story. So when I sat down to write the novel, I had a pretty good idea of the character I was dealing with. MODELS is told in first person, from Celeste’s point of view, and “BBQ Day” is in third, so that was a major switch. But Celeste’s voice came right away, and I learned more in-depth details about her as I wrote.