In this, the debut month of Sporty Girl Books Blog, the
regular contributors are introducing ourselves by way of some of our favorite
books and authors in the sporty book world. Maria Padian is the author of three
young adult books: BRETT MCCARTHY: WORK IN PROGRESS, JERSEY TOMATOES ARE THE
BEST, and the recently released OUT OF NOWHERE.
Shop Indie Bookstores
I’m so lucky that Maria lives in my Maine town. We first met
on the fields of the local college. We were not playing any sports but walking
out dogs. Lucy is my yellow lab and Frisbee is Maria’s Australian Shepherd. For
the interview, we met at the Little Dog Café and discussed all things kidlit
and sports. Grab a cup of something warm and join us!
Soccer plays a role
in Brett McCarthy… and Out of Nowhere. Tennis and ballet are in Jersey Tomatoes
Are the Best. Are those sports in your background? What sports are you involved
in now?
I’ve played soccer, softball, basketball.
I ski, hike.
Bike.
But the sport I’ve played
most consistently, and which I love, is tennis. I started in third grade and
play competitively to this day, on a USTA women’s team.
It’s great to still have sports in my
life.
Another sport I’ve loved … but
lost … is rowing.
I rowed crew back in
college, first in Oxford (England) where I learned to row British style –
faster hands and a three-part recovery.
I had to relearn when I came back to America, and rowed with a club in
Atlanta, Georgia.
It’s a fantasy of mine
to return to rowing again … you’re inspiring me, Anna!
How do you use sports
as vehicle for character, conflict, and tension in your books.
I don’t usually go about a book thinking that I’m going to
make a character an athlete. It’s more that my characters are naturally
athletes. I’m drawn to young women who are not afraid to be bold, competitive
and aggressive.
In Jersey Tomatoes Are The Best, Henry, a tennis player, is
battling personal demons. She struggles to understand the point of competition,
to question the expectation that she play tennis, and to win on her own terms.
She asks, am I winning the way I want to
win, being the athlete I want to be, and am I becoming the kind of person I
would admire.
Eva is a committed ballerina, and I never saw her as an
athlete but as an artist. Both of them struggle to take ownership of what they
have become passionate about [tennis and ballet]. The struggle is between
expectations and passion. Do you do something because people expect you to even
if you don’t love it? Or, do you do something you love even though you might
not be great at it?
Eva, in Jersey
Tomatoes Are The Best, is dealing with anorexia. Talk to me about healthy
eating and healthy habits for athletes.
You know, I think there is a misunderstanding about eating
disorders. I think about this more as a mental health issue than a fitness
issue. Anorexia is about dealing with stress and anxiety. Some girls rise above
stresses and strains and some succumb to it.
You write the eating
disorder as a male voice named Ed inside Eva’s head. How did you come up with
that?
I went to see a play where the eating disorder was portrayed
as male. The character was smarmy and cruel, dressed in a leather jacket and
dark glasses. He was emotionally
abusive. I tried to write Ed similar to
an abusive boyfriend. Eva is very
vulnerable to those negative voices. I think a lot of it has to do with a
person’s inner compass. What do we choose to believe about ourselves? So much
of sports is about having a mental edge and great athletes are great optimists.
I was playing tennis against someone who was better than I was and going at
each ball with the thought, “Am I going to get it?” Then the person I was
playing with told me to instead think, “When
I get there, where am I going to put it?” That mental shift made a huge
difference in my game.
Now for the lightning
round:
What is your favorite
sport to play?
First tennis, but rowing is a close second.
What is your favorite
sport to watch?
If tennis is on TV, I’m there. I also live with a bunch of
crazy basketball fans so I watch a lot of basketball.
Which athlete would
you most want to meet?
Andre Agassi. His book OPEN came out at the same time as
Jersey Tomatoes Are The Best and I’m really interested in his story.
I know you have a dog
named Frisbee. Is Frisbee a good exercise partner?
Frisbee gets me out of the house on the days that the
weather is so wet or cold that I’d normally stay inside. Once we’ve gone for a
walk, I always feel so virtuous.
You too can be virtuous by signing up for our rafflecopter
give away, which I’ve included in this post. The winner will receive a lovely
collection of books including JERSEY TOMATOES ARE THE BEST signed by the sport
Maria Padian. I also picked up an awesome pair of cycling tire levers (pink) at
the recent women’s ride that I participated in so I’ll throw those in as well.
It is also virtuous to comment below! What do you think: Are
eating disorders more about fitness or mental health? How much of your sport is
about having a mental edge? I’d love to hear from you. Anna
a Rafflecopter giveaway
