Deborah Blumenthal on MAFIA GIRL + Giveaway

A couple years ago I interviewed Deborah Blumenthal, author of over fifteen titles, on the release of her young adult book THE LIFEGUARD. This year she's out with a new YA called MAFIA GIRL and she's one-upped me - by interviewing herself! Enjoy.

You have a new book out and somebody wants to write it up.  You’re excited, but you’re also a little curious. What will they ask me? What do I want to tell them about the book?

Deborah Blumenthal interviews Deborah Blumenthal, author of MAFIA GIRL, just published by Albert Whitman & Co..

Deborah, after six seasons of The Sopranos, really, what more is there to say about the Mafia?

MAFIA GIRL takes a different perspective.

Remember Meadow Soprano, Tony’s daughter? MAFIA GIRL is the story of the daughter of New York’s most powerful crime boss.  Gia lives a protected and privileged life. She gets driven to school by an armed bodyguard. She attends one of Manhattan’s most elite private schools. And she wears $2,000 sweaters and $1,000 designer shoes. That’s symbolic of the problem.  She’s so much a part of that culture that she can’t breathe, she doesn’t know who she is.  She lives under the thumb of her dad, and that’s the basis for the story.

I noticed that the style of the book is a lot different from the style of other books for

young adults. There are lots of run on sentences, giving it a breathless quality.  Some readers say that drove them crazy. Tell us why you did that?

Gia is a high-energy girl with a fast brain and an even faster mouth.  She has an opinion on everything.  And she’s got a high libido.  When she’s excited, she can’t stop talking.  And when she meets a hot, green-eyed cop, never mind that he’s the one who takes her in for under-age drinking and DUI, she can’t stop obsessing about him. So I started the book that way, but as it  progresses, you’ll see that the style changes in keeping with Gia’s personality and growth as a character.

Last question, writers are almost always asked how much of themselves they put into their characters.  Do you see a lot of yourself in Gia?

For better or worse, I’m fast to evaluate situations, and sometimes lack subtlety, and I certainly get the part about insta-love.  But I definitely don’t walk around in Louboutins, and even if I could handle the heels, I couldn’t afford them – unless they fell off a truck.

Love the sound of this book! Deborah has generously offered to give away a hardcover copy of MAFIA GIRL to one lucky commenter. US only. To enter, please be a follower and leave a comment by Friday, March 28th. The winner will be announced the following Monday. If your e-mail is not easily found online, please leave it with your comment. 

You can find Deborah at her website, Twitter @deborahblu, and Goodreads.