K.A. Barson gives us a novel about weight issues but so much with 45 Pounds, drawn from her own experiences as well as those of her children and their friends. Stressing the importance of self-worth, this gifted writer discusses the novel, her influences, and what she sometimes has to do to get her work done…
Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:
She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.
Welcome to the world of informercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother.
And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!
YOUNG ADULT: What is your earliest memory involving writing?
KA BARSON: I added annotations to my childhood diaries to give background to what I was writing about in case my diaries ever became novels like Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’m not sure if her novels were based on her diaries, but in third grade I was convinced of this. I so wish I still had possession of these. They were so cheesy!
YA: Tell us a little bit about your latest work. What is different about 45 Pounds?
KAB: Sixteen-year-old Ann tries to lose 45 pounds (more or less) before her aunt’s wedding. While my main character Ann is overweight, she feels fatter and more of an outcast than she actually is. It’s also as much about family and friendship as it is a weight/body image story.
YA: What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
KAB: I want readers who can relate to Ann to know they’re not alone, that a lot of people struggle with weight and self-esteem, but they are still beautiful. I want readers who’ve never struggled with weight to realize that the issue isn’t as simple as going on a diet. I’d like them to look beyond the outside and get to know the real people they might overlook or judge.
YA: How did the idea for this book arise? What were your major influences?
KAB: The idea was born from my own struggle and from seeing beautiful girls—students and friends of my kids—also struggle with how they see themselves. My influences would be Judy Blume, Carolyn Mackler, and K.L. Going.
YA: Take us through a typical writing day for you.
KAB: I wake up around 7 and check Facebook, Twitter, and email before I get out of bed. Then I read for about a half an hour or so. I grab coffee and head to my in-home office. I write for a few hours, checking social media and email much more often than I should. (Sometimes I have to give myself a “time out” by using the program called Freedom, which turns off Internet for as long as I tell it to.) I also let my dogs out and back inside several times. Around 4 my brain turns to mush and I read until I need to think about making dinner, or I convince someone else to make it.
YA: Besides the classic ‘never give up’, what advice would you give to aspiring young writers today?
KAB: Read. That’s it. Read a lot, and read beyond your genre.
YA: What’s next for you?
KAB: Another contemporary YA, also with Viking. It’s about a high school cosmetology student who has her whole life planned out and under control. When everything falls apart, she has to learn to let go, listen, and appreciate her real friends. It’s tentatively scheduled for summer 2015.
YA: What other authors, YA or otherwise, do you idolize? Or, what YA books are on a pedestal for you?
KAB: I think Stephen King is brilliant. Also, John Green and M.T. Anderson. Books that I adore are: INEXCUSABLE by Chris Lynch, THE ROCK AND THE RIVER by Kekla Magoon, MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers, and JUMPED by Rita Williams-Garcia.