![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/tanita2.jpg\")
We are happy to bring to you an interview with Tanita Davis, a.k.a. TadMack, from Finding Wonderland<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, “the WritingYA Weblog.” TadMack and aquafortis<\/a><\/strong> (otherwise known as Sarah, whom we will interview next-ish) run the YA-lit treehouse over there, and it’s one of our favorite blogs. As the blog’s front page says, ” . . . welcome to our humble treehouse: a sanctuary and not-so-secret hideout for fans and writers of YA lit. News, advice, links, and fun stuff, straight from the keyboards of our always-intrepid, sometimes-torpid reporting staff. Come on in!” If you weren’t already a frequent reader of their blog — which stemmed from a West-Coast-based writing group who met online on a weekly basis to support each others’ writing and share their love of YA lit, now with posts from TadMack and aquafortis only — then you probably noticed their kickin’ interviews during the recent Summer Blog Blast Tour. They kicked things off with their impressive and exclusive interview with Gene Yang<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tanita (we’ll just call her TadMack, the name she tends to go by online) is pictured here. She is on the verge of moving to Scotland, and the photo she had in mind was inadvertently displaced in her moving preparations: “Well,” she told us, “the cool photo of my non-jock self kayaking got packed, so . . . photophobia has opted for a baby picture. Still counts though, right?” To that we say, AW PUNKIN’ HEAD. PUDDIN’. YES IT DOES COUNT. AND CAN WE PINCH YOUR CHEEKS YOU CUTE WITTLE WITTLE THING?! DID WE MENTION U R A PUNKIN’?<\/p>\n
Okay, excuse us. Got that out of our system. I mean, really. Just look<\/em> at that picture.<\/p>\n TadMack is a writer of YA lit, and over at Finding Wonderland<\/em> she writes very honestly and openly about her identity as a writer, such as she recently did here<\/a><\/strong> (she and Robin Brande<\/a><\/strong> were being psychic brain twins<\/a><\/strong> that day). Here’s what she had to say when we asked her about her writing and her current project\/upcoming title:<\/p>\n I have been writing full-time for the last few years -\u2013 right out of college I taught juvenile offenders and that was actually a lot of fun (seriously. It was the other adults that gave me the ulcer), but writing has always been my central dream. I was fortunate enough to find a really exacting agent \u2013- exacting in a good way, truly \u2013- and last October I sold A La Carte<\/em> to a great editor with Alfred Knopf\/Random House<\/a><\/strong> . . . It will debut next Spring\/Summer (no dates yet, but the manuscript is in the design phase -\u2013 galleys appearing soon!). The same house is currently reviewing another novel of mine, and I\u2019m very hopeful (!). I have been writing stories since I was five and my ears-bleeding mother told me to stop talking to her for awhile and write things down I wanted to tell her . . . I have published short stories (in CICADA<\/em> Magazine<\/a><\/strong>), poems (for McGraw-Hill<\/a><\/strong> — for testing purposes, so those aren\u2019t mine to claim anymore) and essays in various magazines here and there, since high school. It\u2019s an amazing feeling that my little writing shoots are finally starting to peek above the soil.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n TadMack also contributes to Finding Wonderland’s<\/em> “M.E.M. Files,” or Most Egregious Misuse (here’s<\/a><\/strong> one example). These are, she told us, notations that are “only an English major\u2019s running petty argument with the world of poor grammar (And ha ha! NPR just ran a story on the Grammar Vandal<\/a><\/strong>, a young woman who changes signs in public spaces. I am a bit rigid, but hopefully not there quite yet) . . .” (Hey, we at 7-Imp are all for that; we do, after all, link in our blogroll to this<\/a><\/strong> and this<\/a><\/strong>). <\/p>\n She and Sarah also participate a great deal in the kidlitosphere, visiting blogs, leaving comments, joining in conversations. And, as their blog template points out, they post on YA news<\/a><\/strong> and random tidbits ‘o information<\/a><\/strong> and links<\/a><\/strong> and writing advice<\/a><\/strong> and much more — such as here<\/a><\/strong>, in which TadMack suggests a new member for MotherReader’s BACA<\/a><\/strong> organization; this post<\/a><\/strong>, in which she once again writes with candor about the sometimes agonizing process of trying to get published; or posts like this<\/a><\/strong>, in which she muses on the larger, more philosophical issues of writing for teens. <\/p>\n Finding Wonderland<\/em> also has a sister blog, Reading YA: Readers’ Rants<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, in which TadMack and Sarah review YA books. Here’s where you can see exactly how TadMack earned top honors for Most Time Spent Reading\/Blogging<\/strong><\/a> in MotherReader’s 48-Hour Book Challenge this year. Goodness gracious, look at all those books!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n TadMack also blogs about her culinary and crafty interests at Wish I Were Baking…<\/strong><\/a>. Three blogs??? This is one busy busy lady, here, people.<\/p>\n As for Finding Wonderland’s<\/em> title, TadMack told us, “that was a pain. We had ‘Finding Neverland’ all set to go -\u2013 obvious connotations to Peter Pan\u2019s tree house, etc. etc. And then Michael Jackson had to go and be all\u2026 freaky. And we just thought, ‘Um. Neverland. YA blog. Maybe not.’ So ‘Wonderland’ it then became.” <\/p>\n Again, we will also be chatting it up with Sarah soon, too, but we would like to thank TadMack, one-half of Finding Wonderland<\/em>, for stopping by this week, especially in the midst of a big move to another country. Without further ado, here she is!<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What do you do for a living?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>I am\u2026 (deep breath) a writer. That\u2019s still hard to say.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>How long have you been blogging?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Wow, it\u2019s been two years and four months.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>Why did you start blogging? Why do you continue to do it?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Actually, AF {aquafortis} started it. I totally blame her. We started blogging to communicate better with our writing group, whose members, at the time, were in \u2018Noo Joisey,\u2019 Arizona, Benicia, San Francisco, Modesto, Portland, Merced, and Oakland. I continue to blog because I have found a community with more genuine enthusiasm, joy and good humor \u2013 not to mention some of the best book referrals and friends, ever. <\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>A hard one! I\u2019m a frequent reader of a whole host of blogs, so I date all of y\u2019all fairly steadily! But prom? Marriage? Well, currently, I\u2019m a little obsessed with Bookshelves of Doom<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. I try not to overly link to the site and gush too much, but there is just so much randomly cool, craftastic book-related stuff that I spend lots of time there jumping off into millions of other time-wasting blog perusals of random Doctor Who paraphernalia when I\u2019m meant to be working\u2026 An addiction, but a good one. <\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What are your other favorite things to do, other than reading and blogging?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Well, I spend an awful lot of time, um\u2026 playing. But let\u2019s call it \u201ctrying to create art.\u201d Whether musically or craftily or \u2018culinarily\u2019 I spend a lot of time hanging with my S.O., doing\u2026 fun stuff. (I apparently also spend a lot of time making up words.) Someday I should get paid for this. Or not.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Eh, this used to embarrass me, but\u2026 I do not have the average American obsession with the vehicle. I don\u2019t know \u2013 suburbanites rely on their cars, and I\u2019m not a city girl anymore, but I still didn\u2019t learn to drive until I was 27. I consider myself a lousy driver, and prefer to daydream and take public transportation or be chauffeured; somehow, the focus required to drive long distances makes me a *whole \u2018nuther person\u2026 I have a lead foot, and am frighteningly just on the cusp of being out of control. I like myself better as a passenger. {*And trust me, you like me better this way, too.} <\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong> What’s in heavy rotation on your stereo\/iPod lately?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>I sometimes can\u2019t think\/work while playing music with lyrics unless it\u2019s choral and almost incomprehensible, so during this month of revisions it\u2019s been Beethoven\u2019s 9th Symphony, The Brandenburg Concerto, Saint Sa\u00ebns\u2019s Carnival of the Animals, Vivaldi\u2019s Gloria and the like. <\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>If you could have three (living) authors over for coffee or a glass of rich, red wine, whom would you choose?<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What is your favorite word? <\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>“Random.”<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What is your least favorite word?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>“Tweener” or “Teenager.” It\u2019s annoying, yet, oddly, “teen” is all right. Go figure.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Genuineness.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What turns you off?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Guile, in any fashion \u2013 I\u2019m death on liars. <\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What is your favorite curse word? (optional)<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>“Git.” It\u2019s not really a “curse,” but it usually comes out “bloody stupid git” (and I\u2019m trying to prune “bloody” out of my vocabulary, since we\u2019re moving to Scotland, where it might actually offend someone!). I also love “Crivens!” which is very Scots-worthy.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What sound or noise do you love?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Real wind chimes.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What sound or noise do you hate?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Unnecessarily loud motors.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>A lyric soprano.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>What profession would you not like to do?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>Geriatric medicine.<\/p>\n 7-Imp: <\/strong>If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?<\/p>\n TadMack: <\/strong>\u201cSee? Here you are, and the whole tribe, too. I said \u2018Don\u2019t stress about everything, I love you.\u2019 Now can you relax?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are happy to bring to you an interview with Tanita Davis, a.k.a. TadMack, from Finding Wonderland, “the WritingYA Weblog.” TadMack and aquafortis (otherwise known as Sarah, whom we will interview next-ish) run the YA-lit treehouse over there, and it’s one of our favorite blogs. As the blog’s front page says, ” . . . 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<\/a>7-Imp: <\/strong>Which blog or site would you take to the prom to show off and you love it so much you could marry it?<\/p>\n<\/a>TadMack: <\/strong>I love this question, because I can\u2019t really answer it. If I had anyone over for coffee or wine, I\u2019d spill something, cut my hand on a glass, have to be rushed to the ER\u2026 I\u2019m a big old dork when I meet people {Be warned, people coming to SCBWI<\/a><\/strong>. Just \u2026Be\u2026WARNED.}. Authors I\u2019d have over for coffee if I was someone more suave: Ursula LeGuin<\/a><\/strong>. Terry Pratchett<\/a><\/strong>. And of course, Our Lady Jane, Jane Yolen<\/a><\/strong>. I could, of course, go on. <\/p>\n