Interview: Stephanie Kuehnert

Photo by Chad McGavock

NOTE: This is an interview I did quite a while back, before BALLADS came out in stores! But, I still found it interesting and thought it was worth a repost. Hope you enjoy and check out her books!

 

Can you tell us some about your earlier days with writing?

 

Well, I've been writing seriously since high school. In high school, I focused more writing 'zines. I wrote a series of feminist zines and then three per-zines (or personal zines), which contained personal essays, mostly about the things I was going through at the time, getting through the pain from an abusive relationship and trying to help drug-addicted friends. Those were some pretty painful years. After high school I wrote a bunch of short stories... if you can call them that. They were really more prose poems. I desperately needed feedback to help me find my voice and the direction of my work and I finally got that when I was 21 and started attended the Fiction Writing program at Columbia College Chicago. Being around other writers really inspired me and I started writing furiously and getting feedback that helped me shape my stories into something. That early work would lead to my first and second novels.

What sparked your inspiration for I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE?

I've loved punk rock since junior high and have been particularly inspired by female punk musicians. I wanted to be one, but I don't have that kind of talent, so I created Emily because I wanted to live vicariously through her. I also would love to live in a world where a female-fronted band is the biggest thing out there, so I created that world in a novel. It's a tribute to all the female musicians I've loved.

Has your life changed considerably now that you're a published author?

Nah, not really except for that now I get fanmail which is awesome and makes me happier than I can tell you. I did quit my full-time job, but that's not because writing is paying the bills. I'm back to the part-time job I had in grad school, bartending. It gives me more time to write and I'm taking a gamble, hoping it will pay off and I don't regret giving up benefits and retirement and all of that!

What is one of the most unusual events that has occurred since IWBYJR debuted? Any bizzare signings?

I did have a kind of bizarre event recently. A reading where my audience was two librarians and a teenage girl (those are the people I'd expect) and then a younger boy and two older men. Like the boy was probably in 6th or 7th grade which is too young for my book and one of the older men was probably in his 70s or 80s. He asked me to define punk rock. He also asked why my hair didn't match my shoes (my bangs and converse sneakers are both pink, but different shades). I still had fun though. I had to choose a new section to read at the last minute because of the age of the boy, but both of the older men bought the book. I don't think the one who asked me about punk rock will read it, but I think the other might! On the other hand, this Sunday I am reading a major rock club in Chicago with Irvine Welsh, the legendary author of Trainspotting. It's going to be a much different audience and *gulp* way bigger... It takes all kinds. That is the fun of it!

What has been the best experience on your journey to becoming an author so far?

Oh there are so many! I've meet some amazing authors. I've done some great events. I've gotten to talk to musicians I admire. Working with MTV Books has been totally amazing. But probably the best thing of all is hearing from and especially meeting people who enjoyed the book. Especially meeting teen girls who remind me of me at that age. I am so happy that my book provided them with an outlet because I know how much I needed that.

"Women Who Rock Wednesday" is a brilliant idea! Why did you decide to honor women of the arts in your blog?

 

Well, I started by featuring 5 women who rocked during the week that IWBYJR came out. It seemed right since IWBYJR was a tribute to the women who rocked my world in many ways. And then I realized that there were so many more women that I wanted to feature and that unfortunately in many artistic fields (music certainly comes to mind), women still aren't given as much attention as men. I wanted to do something about that, so I decided to start featuring women that rock my world. I'm trying to mix it up and feature all kinds of artists and people at different places in their careers. This month I already interviewed a young fashion designer and I will be interviewing a pretty well-established author and a band that I think is going to be the next big thing. At least they deserve to be. Since I understood what feminism was, I've been trying to empower women, so this is just another part of that. And Wednesdays definitely get more hits on my blog than any other day so I'm glad people are enjoying it!

Who is your favorite rockstar?

My all-time favorite rock star is Kurt Cobain. It sounds cheesy but Nirvana truly changed my life. I admire Kurt as a musician and a human being. He used the fame he had to get the word out about causes that meant a lot to him and about bands that deserved attention. He was very supportive of women and I quoted him at the beginning of IWBYJR about women being the future of rock n roll. I wish he'd stuck around, the world needs him.

My favorite living rock star is Courtney Love. I know she's controversial, but she's total rock 'n' roll, baby and her lyrics, particularly on her first two albums, I wish I could write the novel equivalent to that. She's so honest and raw.

Finally, do you have any upcoming projects? Can you tell us a little about them?

Yep, my second book, BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, is due out from MTV Books in Summer 2009. Probably in July. It's about a teenage girl who has always felt like a misfit in her suburban town. She finally finds her place among the other punks, skaters, freaks, and geeks that hang out in a park at the center of town, but her life and the lives of her friends are pretty troubled and things start to spiral out of control. It's basically a classic coming of age story. And since I'm pretty terrible at these summary things, you can just read the first chapter on my website at http://www.%20stephaniekuehnert.com/backstage.html

Thanks for dropping by, Stephanie!

Visit her website:
http://www.stephaniekuehnert.com/

~Angel

Review: Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

[Info:]

{Title} Ballads of Suburbia
{By} Stephanie Kuehnert
{Publisher} MTV Books
{Release Date} July 21st, 2009
{Pages} 368

[Description:]


Kara hasn't been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park....
Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.

[Angel's Thoughts:]

I fell in love with I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone the first time I read it, placing Stephanie Kuehnert on my list of favorite writers ever. Her right to remain on this list was confirmed with her second novel, Ballads of Suburbia.

I've gotta say, I really think I might love Ballads of Suburbia a little more than I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, mainly because I could really closely relate to Kara, the main character, probably more than any character I've ever read before. She feels real, and that's something I adore about Kuehnert's writing. Both of her books feel like they could be real, either like you're reading a memoir, or you're remembering your past or listening to a friend's story. There were definitely several parts that felt like pieces of my past. I had a few dreams that I was Kara while I was reading it. This book is that powerful. Not to mention, you laugh, cry, and actually get a little depressed once you finish reading it, because you really don't want it to end. Ballads is one of the few books to actually make me cry, and I think it's because of how similar I felt to the main character.

Ballads is right up there with my top favorite books of all time. I've said it a few times, and I'm more than willing to say it again -- Stephanie Kuehnert deserves to be a New York Times Bestseller. She's a talented writer with amazing books, and one of the authors I'll always be looking forward to new work from.

So, head out to your local bookstore or get on Amazon RIGHT NOW and purchase this book. I promise -- you will NOT regret it.



~Angel

{Alesha's Thoughts:}

I will admit that I have never read a book that dives as far into the alternative teenage lifestyle as Stephanie Kuehnert does in Ballads of Suburbia. This is an amazing book that pulls at your heartstrings and leaves you wondering whatever happens to the characters after the book ends. I fell in love with every couple, every single character, every mistake and more. I loved reading and realizing that there are people who experience these things in every day life. It explores topics such as self-harming, substance abuse and recreational drugs. This book is raw and is very straight to the point. It sucks you in and makes you feel as if you are walking right beside every character and living the book. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone!

~Alesha

Sound like something you'd like to read? Click any of the links below!
Amazon
Ballads of Suburbia
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Review: I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert

[Description:]

Punk rock is in Emily Black’s blood. Her mother, Louisa, hit the road to follow the incendiary music scene when Emily was four months old and never came back. Now Emily’s all grown up with a punk band of her own, determined to find the tune that will bring her mother home. Because if Louisa really is following the music, shouldn’t it lead her right back to Emily?

[Info:]

{Title} I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

{By} Stephanie Kuehnert

{Publisher} MTV Books

{Release Date} July 8, 2008

{Pages} 352

[Angel's Thoughts:]

 

~To be fair, I both read this excellent book and wrote this review back in 2009 – but it’s one I still believe in and adore, hence the repost of my review. Enjoy! ~

Now this, my dear readers, is the book I’m always pleased to find when I buy new books. Stephanie Kuehnert has a gift when it comes to writing. Especially writing books that feel unbelievably real. In her debut novel, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, Stephanie introduces us to Emily Black, a girl born to rock. You journey through her life, the formation of her band — She Laughs — and her desire to find her mother again, and understand just why she left in the first place.

When I started reading I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, I was working the 9 to 5 life as a volunteer in a medical clinic. I would take books in to read on my break. Needless to say, I hid out whenever I could once I began reading, and somehow managed to read every page in one day. There were times in which I completely forgot I was reading fiction because it felt so absolutely real and raw. There were times that I felt like I knew exactly what the characters felt, and times where I felt like I was being shown a life unlike my own. All the while, I still couldn’t get a grasp on the fact I was reading a fictional story about a fictional girl, though I’m sure her story is likely to be lived out somewhere.

If I could, I’d kick Twilight off the “Bestseller” list and place I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE where it should be — on the Bestseller list. This is a book for the young, and the old. For the reader, and for the one that is searching for something that really speaks out to them about the chaos in their life.

So, if you haven’t read I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, do so. Stephanie Kuehnert does not disappoint. Look forward to my review of her second novel, BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, soon to come!

~Angel

Sound like something you'd like to read? Click any of the links below!
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
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