Author Interview & Giveaway: Stephanie Kate Strohm

We are excited to welcome debut author, Stephanie Kate Strohm, to the nest today. Stephanie's novel, Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, hits the shelves on May 8th. Giveaway details can be found at the end of this post. The Giveaway is open to US & CA residents. 

You can check out my review of the book here.

You can also check out the Book BFF post featuring Libby Kelting here.

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Why did you decide to write YA? 

Stephanie: Honestly, I know I’m 25, but I still feel like it’s the age group I identify with the most. I’ve spent most of my summers working at camps, and you will always find me sitting with the 13 year old girls, braiding lanyards, discussing which counselors are the cutest, and planning what outfits we’d wear if we could go to prom. I’ve met so many funny, smart, creative teens, and I wanted to write something for them. 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: From one history nerd to another - what's your favorite era and why? 

Stephanie: The Wild West - American frontier towns in the late 19th century. Maybe I read Annie Oakley: Young Markswoman or watched Calamity Jane too many times as a kid, but I have always wanted to belt out “Belly Up to the Bar, Boys!” with a feather in my hair before leaping onto a galloping pony and hitting a bottle off a fence with my six-shooter. Of course I am aware that this is a largely mythological version of the American West, but that’s another thing that really interests me – the extent to which Americans have idealized the West, and the contrast between 50s Technicolor Westerns and the gritty realities of life on the frontier.  

Andrea @ Reading Lark: I LOVE Libby. Was she inspired by a real person? 

Stephanie: Well…I actually happen to be a blonde, history-loving, pie-baking Jane Austen fan with way too many shoes. A couple weeks ago I was explaining the plot of Pilgrims to a group of 4th graders, and one of the girls raised her hand and said, “that girl sounds a lot like you.” So…busted. Libby and I share a lot of similar interests, but we’re different on a more fundamental level. The character who speaks my real inner monologue is Dev. 

 Andrea @ Reading Lark: Do you have any celebrity look-a-likes for Libby, Garrett, and Cam? 

Stephanie: Zac Efron has always been my Cam, maybe Aimee Teegarden or Arielle Kebbel for Libby, and Garrett…Garrett is the hardest! None of the current nerd-chic actors are right – he’s certainly not a Michael Cera. So do you just stick a pair of glasses on Penn Badgely and see what happens? Maybe Shia LaBeouf? Although if Garrett really existed he would murder me for suggesting an actor from the movie that introduced aliens to the Indiana Jones universe. 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: If Libby could meet any three figures from history - who would she choose? 

Stephanie: Abigail Adams, Jane Austen, and Amelia Earhart 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: I am so excited about your next book. Can you share a little bit about it? 

Stephanie:  Absolutely! Confederates Don’t Wear Couture follows Libby and her BFF Dev down to Alabama where they spend the summer at a series of Civil War Reenactments. Bring on the hoopskirts, hardtack, and handsome boys in uniform! 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What has been the best part so far about being a debut author? 

Stephanie:  What’s excited me the most is the response people have had to the historical elements of Pilgrims. I don’t really know that many other history nerds in my daily life, and getting to know that SO many history nerds exist out there has been so much fun! 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What kind of research did you do for Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink? 

Stephanie: The bulk of my research came from living it a couple years ago – I interned at a living history museum one summer, just like Libby, which is where I learned the finer points of open hearth cooking, and the barest minimum about maritime history (ask me about scrimshaw!). And I definitely owe a great big thank you to the Colonial Williamsburg website for their info on colonial fashion. 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: Are you inspired by music? If so, do you have a playlist or some songs to share? 

Stephanie: I make playlists for everything I write! While writing Pilgrims I listened to a lot of sea shanties, the Decemberists, and Kelly Clarkson. If I picked the top five I listened to the most…. “I Do Not Hook Up” – Kelly Clarkson “Peach, Plum, Pear” – Joanna Newsom “Cape Cod Girls” – the Bounding Main recording “Overboard” – Ingrid Michaelson “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” – The Decemberists (mostly I just listened to Picaresque and Hazards of Love over and over) 

Andrea @ Reading Lark: What's your favorite bird? 

Stephanie: Believe it or not, my mom signed me up for Bird of Prey camp as a kid. I am way too familiar with many birds of prey, and I always liked the owls the best – particularly Pygmy Owls, and even better, baby Pygmy Owls! The tinier the owl the better!

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