Author Feature: Gabrielle Prendergast

Author Feature: Gabrielle Prendergast

In Pinch Me, seventeen-year-old pop star Darius Zaire falls out of bed and lands on the cruddy floor of his old bedroom after another night of girls, music and booze. No mansion, no luxury cars, no platinum records. Now he’s just ordinary Darren Zegers. Some kind of nightmare has erased everything that happened to change Darren the dweeb into Darius the multimillionaire. Now Darius has to face an ordinary day in the twelfth grade, suffering through remedial English and wondering what happened to the last three years, let alone all his fans and money. He desperately wants to return to his old life, but he is starting to worry that maybe this is reality, and it was his other life that was the dream.

What image/scene/character  did you start this book with?

It was inspired by a certain multi-millionaire Canadian teen music idol. I wondered how he would manage if he had to have an ordinary life again.

What kind of research did you do for your book?

Since the main character is biracial, I consulted a couple of black or biracial colleagues. I also researched both LA and Vancouver geography, even though I have lived in both places!

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Do you write in chronological order?

Yes, almost always. With this book I used an outline, which I do about half the time.

What’s the hardest part of writing?

Focusing on one story when you have a thousand stories running through your head.

What’s your favorite form of procrastination?

Getting ranty on Twitter.

What book do you wish you wrote? Why?

I wish I had already written the book I just started writing!

What is your favorite aspect / part of your new book?

I love the unexpected ending. Originally it was going to end a different way but my editor wondered whether it could be a little edgier.

What is your writing ritual?

I sit at my computer from about 9am to about 5pm and hope that I get something done. Some days I do. Some days I don’t.

Which actor would you choose to play your protagonist in a movie? Why?

The character of Darius’s appearance was based on Kolton Stewart so I think he’d be great.

Pinch Me is available now!

Prendergast, Gabrielle 21-02-13 copy

Gabrielle Prendergast has written a number of books for young people, including Audacious, Capricious and Pandas on the Eastside. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband, daughter and varying numbers of chickens. For more information, visit www.angelhorn.com.

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