This Just In -- The Mobile Blogger Carmen Dives In!
Carmen Talks About the Latest Star Sisterz Book
By Michael G. Ryan
If you haven’t taken the dare and been charmed by the Star Sisterz books, now’s the time! In Carmen Dives In, the second book in the fabulous (and mysterious) series, Carmen Bernstein gets a dare that might help her overcome her fear of diving and bring her closer to her “psycho” stepsister at the same time!
Wizards of the Coast: Okay, Carmen, let's dive right into Carmen Dives In. As readers will discover on the very first page, you keep an online diary, a blog. In fact, around Middletown High, you're well-known as The Mobile Blogger. But it has been a secret for a while exactly who The Mobile Blogger really is. How do you feel about your secret identity being revealed to the world in Carmen Dives In?
Carmen: It's pretty weird to not be truly anonymous anymore. I like to be behind the scenes and let other people be in the spotlight. That's why I blog and write for the Weekly Shark. In fact, I would be more comfortable if I could interview you. Can we switch places?
Wizards: Well, you’re a lot more interesting than I am! For example, even though you love to swim, you had this big fear of diving. What's so scary about diving, exactly? Isn't it just jumping into the water?
Carmen: Are you crazy? What's not scary about diving? I mean, you're going head first. You're upside down. You can't tell how far away the bottom is. It's a total leap of faith. I keep working on my dive, and I'm still a little nervous right before that leap. My swim coach says it's perfectly fine to be nervous if it means I'll think things through and never do anything totally stupid like dive into shallow, murky water and hit a rock.
Wizards: Yeah, that sounds like something to avoid! You also have the writing thing going on. As a star reporter for the Middletown High school paper, the Weekly Shark, you get to do a lot of very cool work. So, can you give me some headlines here? I'll give you some topics, and you give me the newspaper headline that goes with them, okay?
--Your stepbrother Sam
Carmen: Alien Life Spotted in Middletown
--Swimming
Carmen: Strokes of Genius
--Diving!
Carmen: Falling with Style
--Your stepsister Riley
Carmen: The Best Driver at MHS
(And I really hope you use this one because it's raining today and I want Riley to give me a ride home.)
--Cheerleading
Carmen: Go, Me!
--Processed cheese!
Carmen: Good for an Eternity
Wizards: You received a pretty mysterious message on your dad's portable computer just as the school year was about to begin. It also turned out to be pretty important later on. But you thought it was a crazy joke at first. What would you think if you got a dare like that now?
Carmen: I hope I get another challenge. Don't get me wrong -- it would still freak me out. But if I get another one, maybe I can figure out where they come from and do a story for the Weekly Shark. My life got a lot more interesting after that weird Processed Cheese Message. And it gave me plenty to write about. A writer needs good material and a little mystery, you know.
Wizards: I noticed that you worked with a grown-up, Linda Johns, to write Carmen Dives In. What's it like to write with someone else? And is Linda Johns cool?
Carmen: I think collaborating on writing is fun. Working with Linda was totally smooth going, but also kind of weird because she's almost as old as my mom. She's a librarian (so is my mom), and I have a soft spot for librarians. Also, she has great taste in shoes.
Wizards: So, what's the hardest part about having stepbrothers, sisters, and step-parents? And do you have any advice for other kids out there with Steps of their own?
Carmen: It was really hard for me when my dad remarried and suddenly had another family. I felt like I wasn't as important to him, because he was living with Michelle and her kids. I wanted to hate all of them, and sometimes I thought it would be easier if they were super-nasty to me. But the truth is that they're all nice, and I actually like my Steps.
My advice to kids who have Steps is to remember that both of your parents still love you as much as they always have, no matter what. At least that's what my parents say -- and I’m choosing to believe them.
Read more about Carmen in her novel Carmen Dives In.
