Interview with Author, Lori Culwell

Today I have an interview with Lori Culwell, author of The Dirt. Below you will find the interview and more about the book. Enjoy! :)

First off can you tell us a little about your book, The Dirt?
I grew up in Palm Desert, California (the town where the book is set), so I had years and years of “on the job research/ training,” so to speak. Many of the stories and situations in the book are true (or close to true). So, I guess, “The Dirt” is a fictional book about a not-so-fictional place. It’s about a “scandal family” (every town has one) of sisters and a dad, and the crazy stuff that happens to them starting when the dad tries to get remarried.

Do you have any similar traits to the main character, Lucy? Did she come to life easily or was she hard work?
My friends have told me that I *am* Lucy (or at least, I was when we were growing up), so I guess I came up with a crazy story, then told it through my own awkward 15 year old eyes. I personally don’t think she’s that much like me, but it was fun to write!

Many authors have distinctive writing styles, how would you describe yours?
I definitely have a humorous tone to my writing that can also be seen on my blog (FunnyStrange.net, where I regularly make fun of food and traffic signs as well as tv shows). I sometimes feel like things in the world are there just for my amusement. I feel this way most of all about my home town.

Where do you like to write? Any necessities you need while writing?
I used to insist on writing in one of those black and white composition notebooks. Then the transcription got to be too cumbersome so I switched to a MacBook Pro and never looked back. I like to write in a room other than my office (like the kitchen or the bedroom) so I’m not quite so ADD and tempted to do work at the same time. Also, if I’m on deadline, I have no problem taking my computer, parking somewhere, and sitting in the back of my car until I’ve completed my word goal. A little crazy, but it works!

If you could travel to any fictional world, where would you go and why?
Good question! I of course would want to live in “X-Men” world so I could be one of the mutants with the cool superpowers.

Are you currently writing or planning anything? If so, can you tell us a little about what you are doing?
I own a company that helps authors learn how to promote their books (bookpromotion.com), and a book I wrote about that just came out (How to Market a Book), so I just spoke at BEA (Book Expo America) in support of that. I’m all about books!

Quick Fire Questions:

Snow or Rain? Snow!
Fiction or Reality? Fiction!
Lion or Tiger? Tiger!
Romance or Adventure? Romance!

More About Lori: Lori Culwell is the author of five books. Her first novel, Hollywood Car Wash, was originally self-published, then was acquired and re-released by Simon & Schuster. She is also the owner of Get Creative Pages, a consulting firm that provides marketing and website services to authors. She has written for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Salon.com, the Huffington Post, and other publications. She and her husband split time between Los Angeles and New York. You can find her on this website.

More About The Dirt:

Lucy Whitley cannot wait to get out of Palm Desert. It’s not a place for a frizzy-haired science nerd, particularly when her fashion-obsessed older sister Sloane is the head of a clique of pretty girls who rule the school – and practically the whole town. Fortunately, life is about to change forever. Lucy’s dad is getting re-married, and then she can transfer to a boarding school in Connecticut, escaping all the mean girls and the endless whispers about the Whitley family scandal. Everything is going to be perfect – as long as the wedding goes smoothly.

Great answers, Lori! If you like the sound of this book then check it out over at The Book Depository or Amazon! :)

Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo