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Author Amy Wallen talks...
Topics: Amy Wallen, Noveltown, Belardes, Bakotopia, Bakersfield, Author, Moonpies and Moviestars
Posted by thenovelist Mon Apr 23, 2007 14:02:49 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments I first met Amy Wallen online. Oh wait, that's the only place I've met her, other than reading her book, Moonpies and Moviestars. You know, reading any book is like stepping right into the skull of a writer. In this case, one obviously from the South, and one who has hit the streets of Hollywood with a notepad and eye for detail.

Let's face it, if you're in Bakersfield and you're a fan of the Paperback Writer blog, then you might know someone very much like, oh, let's say, a Texan, or an Oklahoman. And, you might have observed them having a starstruck opinion of Hollywood--a mere 100 miles south of Bakersfield. You know those people. They tend to have never even been to Hollywood. C'mon admit it. And yes, there are many exceptions to this rule.

For those of you who don't know. Hollywood is south of the agricultural and oilfield landscape of Bakersfield, an area once filled to the brim with Joads-like immigrants of the Dust Bowl. Bakersfield has since grown a teeny bit more metropolitan, though I have to say, raised monster trucks are still a daily sighting in the land of Buck Owens.

Why am I bringing all this up?

Because if you're familiar with the South and with Hollywood, then you are more apt to get the comic humor and real-life dialogue from Moonpies and Moviestars. You'll just get it. Wallen's story in turn will appear less the stereotype and more, "Hey, those characters are people from my family." Or, "Those characters I swear live right up the street from me." Or maybe even, "That is me."

It's not a long stretch from the good old Okie mentality that still permeates Bakersfield. The South has forever swathed its paintbrush onto Central Valley California culture. You can't escape it. You just live with it. Or you are it.

Amy Wallen's road-trip story is pure comedy, pure fun and a psychological Winnebago voyage through characters as strange as any dysfunctionally functional Southern nuclear family.

I'm not lying.

With that said, here's a fun Noveltown interview with Amy Wallen:

Interview:

Noveltown: Ms. Wallen, you have quite the tale you have spun. It’s kind of Southern, it’s sort of Hollywood. It’s a tour de force mystery comedy literary hijinks of what happens to a runaway. Yes, did I say funny? Funny seems to be lost in many people’s vocabularies these days. Yes, a funny book that hides serious issues regarding runaway children. Now, if you’d be so bold, please, allow the real Amy Wallen to comment regarding the idea of serious issues hidden in the comedy of your novel.

Amy: I love humor to tell serious stuff because it’s a great way to trick the reader into feeling the bad feelings. You get them to laugh hard, and then you drop a real sad doozy and they start to bawl because they didn’t have their guard up. But if you are writing a serious novel, then they are waiting for the doozies and they have steel mail over their hearts. It’s about getting people to be open to their emotions.

Noveltown: Moonpies… and Moviestars… Porkchops… and Applesauce… I’m seeing a connection here. In fact, I’m guessing your subconscious behaviors are rooted in a certain episode of The Brady Bunch, quite possibly indicating a hidden love for the 1971 version of Peter Brady. Now, I’d like to cut through the crap. Do you still madly love Peter Brady, and tell us how you named your novel and the process in doing so.

Amy: I had the hots for his older brother, Greg. But I wanted to be Marsha Brady, so maybe I have some weird incestuous thing going on inside of me. My original title was DEAD ARMADILLOS AND MOONPIES. I loved that title, but I guess the word “dead” sells to a different crowd than the publisher wanted my book to sell to. My agents came up with MOONPIES AND MOVIE STARS and I think it’s pretty damn good (can I say damn here?) with the alliteration and poking fun at a couple of themes running throughout the story.

(Read the full article)
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