At-a-Glance
Latest book: Ghost Medicine
Lives in: Mountains above Los Angeles
Used to be: News copywriter
Favorite restaurant: Casa Gutierrez
Website: www.pathoffallingobjects.com
Andrew Smith is the author of Ghost Medicine, a YALSA 2009 Best Book for Young Adults. In addition to writing, Smith teaches high school Advance Placement classes and coaches rugby. He lives with his family on a small ranch in the mountains of Southern California, where the nearest grocery store is twenty miles away. His 2009 release, in the path of falling objects, is his second novel, with two more titles on the way.
SoCal Book Scene Exclusive (Mini) Interview:
SCBS: What did you do before you “officially” became an author?
AS: I've had dozens of jobs before selling my first novel, including chemical milling (yuck!), writing copy and news for an AM Radio station, writing news for a newspaper, and teaching high school (which I still do... and enjoy very much). Teaching is the perfect "day job" for a YA author because it gives me endless opportunities to stay in touch with kids, and get to know what kinds of things are important to them.
SCBS: How do you spend your weekends?
AS: I spend weekends around my house, mostly. I love where I live. It's very rural, so we raise horses and chickens; we have lots of fruit trees, we have a lake for kayaking or fishing, and my wife and I love to run and ride mountain bikes on the trails around our home. It's pretty much a writer's paradise here.
SCBS: What’s your favorite restaurant in Southern California?
AS: My favorite restaurant in SoCal is a place called Casa Gutierrez in Leona Valley, a beutiful little spot known for the cherries they grow. The restaurant is just kind of a hangout for us... we know just about everyone we see in there from the customers to the staff, so it's a very comfortable not-stuck-up environment. And the food is terrific.
Available at your favorite local Southern California independent bookstore:
