A city girl, world traveler, and activist, Corina Vacco brings us the dark and intriguing My Chemical Mountain. Aside from writing, Corina enjoys playing guitar, listening to the blues, and exploring the great outdoors. She lives in Berkeley, CA.
Rocked by his father’s recent death and his mother’s sudden compulsion to overeat, Jason lashes out by breaking into the abandoned mills and factories that plague his run-down town. Always by his side are his two best friends, Charlie, a fearless thrill junkie, and Cornpup, a geek inventor whose back is covered with cysts. The boys rage against the noxious pollution that suffocates their town and despise those responsible for it; at the same time, they embrace the danger of their industrial wasteland and boast about living on the edge.
Then on a night the boys vandalize one of the mills, Jason makes a costly mistake–and unwittingly becomes a catalyst for change. In a town like his, change should be a good thing. There’s only one problem: change is what Jason fears most of all.
YOUNG ADULT: What made you decide to start writing?
Corina Vacco: The groundwork was established early. I was born into a family of readers, grew up haunting libraries and indie bookstores, and wrote my first novel at age seven. My mother is an artist, and when I was very young, she used to cut pictures out of art magazines and make strange collages for me to contemplate. I still remember many of them—metallic snails, broken machines, vivid flowers, dead trees—and I remember coming up with elaborate stories to explain why certain images were grouped together. When I was a bit older, I wrote stories to terrify and amuse my friends. More importantly, I wrote stories to help me wrap my head around the world and its flaws. The moment I knew I wanted to write YA came many years later, when I read THE OUTSIDERS for the first time and discovered the power of voice.
YA: Tell us a little bit about your latest work. What is different about MY CHEMICAL MOUNTAIN?
CV: I wrote the first outline of MY CHEMICAL MOUNTAIN while sitting in my car at the foot of a snow-covered, profoundly contaminated landfill. My characters had a story to tell and they were rattling cages in my head. I observed their rage and thrill-seeking behavior, and I worried about what might happen to them. At the same time, I was moved by the intensity of their friendships, the boundlessness of their loyalty. I wanted to protect my characters. I wanted them to please stop swimming in creek water the color of anti-freeze, to please stop racing dirt bikes down landfills, and when they went after the chemical company responsible for contaminating their town, I could see the explosive climax coming a mile away, but I couldn’t stop it, and I couldn’t look away. MY CHEMICAL MOUNTAIN is a book you won’t soon forget, of that I’m certain.
YA: How did the idea for this book arise? What are your major inspirations (TV, film, other literature/stories)?
CV: When I was living in New York, one of my friends invited me on a “toxic tour” of her neighborhood. We visited a contaminated landfill, a radioactive creek, and some boarded-up homes. She and her husband told stories about growing up amid such intense pollution. Splashing in puddles the color of anti-freeze. Navigating their bikes down the landfill’s slopes. Crazy stuff. I was blown away. My main character’s voice appeared in my mind soon thereafter. I asked him questions: What is it like to live near one of the most poisonous landfills in the world? Why do you and your friends swim in the creek when you know it’s not safe? Are you furious about what happened to your father? He answered, “Yeah, I’m furious. And I want revenge.” Inspiration-wise, I love dark, gritty, dangerous books. Indie music, especially if vocals are melancholy, always puts me in the writing mood.
YA: What does your book say about the times we live in? 
CV: It says our world is in trouble. But there’s hope. I believe in the youth of today. I believe they can find a way to mandate meaningful change.
YA: Take us through a typical writing day for you.
CV: I write mostly at night. I need dead silence and long stretches of uninterrupted time. Usually, I’ll write for between two to six hours. But I don’t write every single day. I’ll take a day off here and there so I can think. Thinking, especially in terms of rehearsing scenes in my head, is a big part of my process.
YA: Besides the classic ‘never give up’, what advice would you give to aspiring young writers today?
CV: Don’t rush. The biggest gift you can give yourself is time. Time to let your manuscript simmer while you work on something else. Time to implement fresh, unexpected ideas. Time to make sure you have it right before you query someone and wish you hadn’t. Time to grow as a person and a writer. Time to hone your craft. Time to mourn the scenes that must die. Time to surprise yourself by taking the story in a different direction. And even though I remember how much I wanted my earliest drafts to be published—I was dizzy from all the wanting—I look back and am so grateful I never got that wish. Multiple drafts later, my book caught fire and my writing caught fire. Give yourself the gift of time, however long it takes.
YA: What’s next for you?
CV: An exciting year! I’m putting the finishing touches on my new manuscript, and from there I’m going to jump right into a new project. I’ve also got some awesome appearances lined up—I’ve been asked to speak at the Green Party national meeting in Iowa City; I’ve been invited to read at the Wordstock Literary festival in Portland; and I’ll be sitting on a debut author panel at the SCBWI San Francisco North and East Bay regional conference in Oakland. And then…my husband and I find out where the Coast Guard will be sending us next. It’s always an adventure!