Awesome Authors: Nina Malkin

Nina Malkin, author of the upcoming YA book Swoon, which goes on sale in May 2009, has agreed to be our guest at the Bradford Novels blog today. I can't wait to read her new book, 'cause if this interview is any indication, it should have a very unique, entertaining voice.

Here's a short author bio, in her words:
I’m Nina Malkin. I tell stories. I’ve had a few novels published, and also a non-fiction book about the cats in my backyard (uh-huh, really). I’ve also written a lot for magazines, specializing in relationships and pop culture.

Blogs are a central part of the Bradford Novels universe. If you have a blog, why did you start blogging, and how did you come up with the name for your blog?


First, kudos to Micol on GoldenGirl and the whole brilliant blog-as-book concept. I could never come up with such a thing—I’m not a very techy person. I’ve never sent someone a message using my thumbs (though I have found another finger quite effective all by itself). I don’t own a cell phone, and have never actually read a blog, much less written one. That’s got to change, since there will be a blog on my website, ninamalkin.com, when it launches in May. No surprise that I’m calling it BLARGHHH! or maybe BLAHG. I’m sure there are many incredibly interesting blogs out there, blogs blogged by fascinating bloggers. Unlike bloggers, though, writers are boring. A blog on the minutiae of a writer’s day would be like: “Stared at computer. Chased cat. Scratched butt. Stared at computer again. Typed, typed, typed, typed . . . ”

Spencer Grace Kelly, the main character in GoldenGirl, is named after her distant relative, the Princess of Monaco. What’s your favorite Grace Kelly movie, and why?
 
The Hitchcock classics are all pretty cool: Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief. Lots of twists and turns, you’re never sure what the deal is till the very end. Grace Kelly was staggeringly beautiful if you like that blond goddess perfection thing. To Catch a Thief isn’t my favorite Hitchcock movie (that would be either Spellbound or Strangers on a Train) but it’s my favorite for Grace Kelly because of the amazing clothes she wears.

GoldenGirl is full of scandals and exposed secrets. What was the biggest scandal at your high school?
My high school didn’t have scandals. It had metal detectors. It was, I believe, the first high school in New York City with metal detectors built right in. So we weren’t really that worried about each other’s deep, dark secrets. We were more interested in not getting stabbed.

What’s the worst thing you ever did to a friend? Are you still friends with her or him?

I freaked on her. It came out in conversation that we had different beliefs about a sexual politics issue, and to me it was like finding out that your friend is a Nazi. I handled it rather poorly—I yelled at her and told her she made me sick. I insisted she drive me home, and we never spoke after that. This is a regret, because we’re all entitled to our own opinions. By the time I accepted that I’d overreacted and behaved badly it was too late.

What are your most recent books?
Swoon is out in May. It’s about love and lust, possession and obsession, vengeance and betrayal, desire and deception and bliss . . . a girl, a guy, another girl, a ghost, a golem . . . y’know, the usual.

What new projects are you working on now?
A novel about sisters. That, and bargello (which is a craft, not a dessert).