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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Interview With Kirstin Cronn-Mills

                                       Interview With Kirstin Cronn-Mills

picture of Kirstin Cronn-Mills
Image result for Beautiful Music for ugly children       Author of (Beautiful Music for ugly children)

A Little About Kirstin: 

According to geographers, the American West begins at the 100th longitudinal meridian. Thanks to the fact that this meridian is the main street of her hometown in Nebraska, Kirstin Cronn-Mills grew up six blocks east of the West. According to her mother, she learned to read when she was three–and she hasn’t stopped since.
Kirstin is a self-proclaimed word nerd. Her grandmother and her father passed on their love of language to her, and that love became a love affair when she started writing poems in sixth grade. She still writes poems, but now she focuses on young adult novels.
In 1992 Kirstin moved from Nebraska to southern Minnesota, where she lives now. She writes a lot, reads as much as she can, teaches at a two-year college (she won the Minnesota State College Student Association 2009 Instructor of the Year award), and goofs around with her son, Shae, and her husband, Dan. Her first young adult novel, The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind (Flux, 2009), was a 2010 finalist for the Minnesota Book Award for Young People’s Literature.  Her second novel, Beautiful Music For Ugly Children (Flux/Llewellyn, 2012), won ALA’s Stonewall Award in 2014 as well as an IPPY silver medal for Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Trans Fiction.  BMUC was also placed on ALA’s 2013 Rainbow List (as a Top Ten Pick) as well as their 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults list.
She has also published nonfiction books for middle and high school libraries: Collapse! The Science of Structural Engineering Failures (Compass Point Books, 2009) and Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices (Twenty-First Century Books/Lerner, 2014).

A Little About (Beautiful Music For Ugly Children):

Gabe Williams is a guy with big summer plans.  He’s got a job as a radio DJ, following in the footsteps of his mentor, and he wants to move far away after graduation.  He’s also hoping his best friend Paige will fall in love with him—she’s smart, she’s hot, and she tolerates his music habit.  He couldn’t ask for more. His only problem?   The rest of the world has known him as Elizabeth for the last eighteen years.
BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN is the story of how Gabe learns to be a guy so he can leave Elizabeth behind.  Some good things happen in the course of his summer—Gabe graduates, gets asked out, and gets loved by the fans of his show.  But he also gets outed and threatened, and he must defend himself against violence that’s rooted in fear.  In essence, Gabe’s journey to find himself is the same one we all take.  His is just electrified, amplified, and broadcast into the night.

Kirstin's Website: http://kirstincronn-mills.com/

                                                  The Interview

1.) Where did you find the name Gabe? And how did you know it would fit the character?

KCM-This will sound very strange, but I was visited once by the Archangel Gabriel (through a channeler friend of mine).  That experience was very holy and precious to me, and I wanted to remember it by using Gabriel as a character name.  The Archangel Gabriel is also a messenger, and I wanted my Gabe to be a messenger of sorts--helping people see a trans* person in new ways, maybe.  Plus, it's a cool name! Fun fact: nobody ever notices the connection between Gabe's name and his birth name, which is Elizabeth--Gabriel was the angel who appeared to Elizabeth (in the Bible) to tell her she was having a baby in her old age (that baby was John the Baptist).  Gabe's parents are Mary and Joseph, too.  Fun with Bible names. : )

2.) What was the discion for writing about such a topic, and how did you think people would take it?

KCM-I wrote BEAUTIFUL MUSIC because I wanted to write about a guy who hid behind his radio show, and that guy wasn't originally transgender.  But I was planning a diversity literature class for the college where I teach, and I ran across some first-person stories from transgender men.  My story and those stories collided, and boom, Gabe was a trans man.  I had a feeling some folks would reject the story (it was definitely rejected, by an agent and some editors), but finally it found a wonderful home with Flux.  I had a feeling teenagers wouldn't reject him, and so far they haven't.  Amazingly, the book hasn't been banned anywhere (or even challenged!), so I feel lucky about that.  When it shared the Stonewall Award from the American Library Association in 2014, it was a great feeling, because I felt like Gabe was accepted by a very important community: librarians!  Usually the reception to the book is positive, and I'm grateful for that.  Not always!  But usually. And I always appreciate learning from the folks who have criticisms of the book.  I grow from that, as a person and as a writer (provided it's honest, and not mean-spirited).

3.)What is something you hope readers learn from Gabe?

KMC-I wrote the book because I wanted to find out what Gabe's story was, but also to grow allies for folks who are trans*.  I worked for a long, long time to get Gabe's character into the realm of possibility (and did a lot of research and listening to folks who are trans*), but I always knew how to write John:  he was the ultimate ally for Gabe, never ever giving up on him and defending him at every turn.  I wish every trans* person could have a person like John in their life--it might cut down on suicides, and it might help trans* folks feel less despair. : (  I hope readers learn that individuals who are transgender are just like all the rest of us--their gender identity is only one part of them, and we can celebrate our differences while appreciating our common human-ness.  I do my utmost to support trans* people in real life, and be their ally in whatever way they'd like me to be (or if they want me *not* to be their ally, I respect that, too), so after readers have finished BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, I hope they'll join me in that work.


4.) Who are some of your favorite musical artist?

KCM-Oh gosh--I have too many to name!  And they're all from different parts of the musical spectrum.  At this very moment, I'm listening to my Phil Collins Pandora channel (don't judge!  It's how I get back into teenager mind).  I just saw Stevie Wonder in concert in March, and was supposed to see Lyle Lovett in October, but didn't get to go.  A relatively recent song I like is the Chemical Brothers' "Go," with Nicki Minaj.  My son just turned me on to Chris Webby. I still love the songs "Happy" and "Get Lucky" (and I *really* disliked "Blurred Lines"), even though I'm not a huge Pharrell fan. I'm pretty open when it comes to music.  I have a lot of "comfort music," too--the Beatles top that list, as does Steely Dan, plus basic 70s radio music.

5.) How do you define yourself?

KCM-Hmm.  I guess I define myself by my roles and identities--I love being a mom more than anything else in my life.  My teenage son would probably hate for me to say that, but it's true.  It's an honor and a privilege to be his mom.  But I'm also a teacher, a writer, a sister, a friend, a spouse, a dog owner, a music geek, a non-neurotypical person, a reader, a traveler, a life enjoyer, a cisgender person, and generally a straight person. I encompass many different definitions--this list is just scratching the surface!

6.) What message do you want to leave your readers?

KCM-First, I want to say thanks for reading.  I'm always honored beyond belief when someone chooses to read my book, given how many choices there are out there (so many!).  Second, I want them to know I love hearing from readers, and I welcome their comments (positive or negative) about the book.

I want to take the time to thank Kirstin for doing this review. I know you were super busy, but still took your time to answer my questions. Thank you for being such a wonderful author, and writing to inspire people to see others in the world as people. Writing is a big job and you do it well! Also, thank you to one of my great friends for introducing me to (Beautiful Music for Ugly Children). It was a blast reading!
To but (Beautiful Music for Ugly Children) see these sites: 
Thanks again Kirstin!
Looking At Lit,
Austin Caine-Cook

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