Anna Jarzab: An Interview

Anna Jarzab is the author of ALL UNQUIET THINGS. You can view my review of AUT HERE.

Anna Jarzab's Website.

Please welcome the fabulous Anna Jarzab in this interview brought to you only by Yay! Reads.


Hi Anna, welcome to Yay! Reads. If you could go back to a specific time period, which one would it be and why?

Hm, that's a good question. I'm sort of literal, so I have a hard time putting aside the fact that in other time periods there wasn't as good of sanitation and transportation and communication, but I suppose I could like Regency England? I think the clothes would be flattering, or at the very least everybody would look pregnant so it wouldn't just be me. :) But, you know, this is what I love about literature--I can read Jane Austen and live in Regency England for a while, but I still have indoor plumbing and, like, the Internet and stuff. And my marriage wouldn't be arranged.

That's the great thing about books! You can travel anywhere without actually leaving your home comforts.

Can you describe your writing in one sentence?
Haha: Means well, tries hard, sometimes succeeds.

If you weren't an author and could have any other job in the world, which would it be?

A tour guide. Seriously, I've been giving this a lot of thought, and the thing I love most in the world is telling stories. For a while after college I wanted to work for Contiki as a tour manager, something I might still try to do someday, and I'm KICKING myself for not working at The Winchester Mystery House during the summer while I was in college--it was right down the street! I went on a lot of tours as a kid, because my parents believe in education and travel and education while traveling and they used to drag us to every old house turned museum and national park in the lower 48, and I always looked up to the guides. Imagine KNOWING SO MUCH STUFF ABOUT ONE THING!

I know!

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Try not to get discouraged. This sounds simple, but it's so hard, especially when you're a young writer and your creative writing classes are full of young writers and all they want to do is one-up each other and put each other down. It's exhausting. Figure out who is a smart reader with intelligent, helpful things to say about your writing and then ONLY LISTEN TO THOSE PEOPLE. Forget the haters.

That is great advice and, being a young writer, so true!

If someone were to make a movie of ALL UNQUIET THINGS, who would play the main characters?

Gosh, that's hard. I always liked Amanda Seyfried for Audrey and Leighton Meester or Amber Tamblyn for Carly, although really all those actresses are too old, and Kyle Gallner for Neily, although maybe he's played too many creepy characters to go back and play someone more wholesome? I don't know. Casting is hard. I don't know how people do it for a living.

I love your choices, especially Amanda Seyfried, I'm such a huge fan!

Can you tell us a bit about your next book?

Not too much, since it's not finished yet, but it's about a teenage boy who disappears and his friends who go searching for him.

More mystery, I can't wait!

Finally, what's the weirdest fan letter or comment you've received about ALL UNQUIET THINGS?

I once got an email from a twelve-year-old girl who told me all the things she thought were wrong with AUT, justifying her criticism by saying that her sister writes novels and so she feels qualified to give advice. I wrote back and politely said that while I appreciate the advice, nothing can be changed since the book has already been printed. But I thought it was odd. I was a reader and writer as a kid and I never would've written an author to tell them all the things I thought were wrong with their book! But maybe I was just lazy...

Thank you Anna, for being with us today. AUT was an amazing book and we appreciate you for stopping by.