Author Spotlight: 'Audrey, Wait' by Robin Benway

Audrey Wait is the very sad story of a difficult break-up. NOT! It's more like a super-fun, fast ride into instant celebrity. The main character doesn't act, dance, or even sing though. She's just your average music-loving teenager. What happens to Audrey's life as a result of a song written about her by her ex-boyfriend and our fame-obsessed culture — it's a unique and cute story. Thank God Audrey has a great head on her shoulders and makes it through relatively unscathed, but not before saying her piece.

Ypulse Readers, Ever had a song written about you by an ex? Probably not, but be one of the first three commenters to tell us a unique break-up story and you'll receive a free copy of Audrey, Wait.

YPulse Books: What gave you this awesome idea for a story?

Robin Benway: I got the idea thanks to a lot of music and a lot of free time. I had quit my previous job with the intention of writing a book, but I had no idea what I was going to write about. (I wouldn't recommend that as a good plan of action, just FYI.) Anyway, I was listening to music in my apartment one morning and I heard a song that was particularly spiteful towards the lyricist's ex-girlfriend and I thought, "I bet that girl has a completely different opinion about their relationship." All songs are one-sided, after all, and I thought there was a story in the flipside to that song. So I began the book just to find out what would happen.

YPB: Were Evan and/or Audrey modeled after anyone in particular?

RB: I think Audrey is a mosaic of most girls I've known growing up, including myself. One of my friends was really into music in high school, and she turned me on to bands like The Smiths, Velvet Underground, and The Cure, so I've always had a love for that sort of fan. As for Evan, I'm happy to say that I've never met anyone like Evan. I tried to just think of really self-involved things and then applied them to his character. I don't think Evan's a bad person, but he's probably a better musician than he is a boyfriend.

YPB: The story itself doesn't spend a lot of time on the break-up or even Evan, it's more about the song and its impact. Why did you do that?

RB: I wrote "Audrey" from the perspective that her fame and the song's popularity were already super-huge, so in that little fictional "Audrey" world, everyone already knew about the break-up and about Evan. Also, I wanted this story to be purely Audrey's since this was her chance to tell her side of things. While the break-up and Evan were huge influences in her life, what came after them was definitely more of a rollercoaster ride and hadn't been addressed yet.

YPB: What are your personal feelings about fame and celebrity? Did you ever consider allowing Audrey to be in the reality show offered to her?

RB: I think my personal feelings about fame and celebrity are pretty even-keeled. I would never want that level of fame that Audrey and real-life celebrities experiences because I love my privacy, but I do think the wheels have come off a bit, in terms of how much attention is paid to celebrities' lives. There's a "build them up, knock them down" style to celebrity reporting that I loathe because of how brutal it is. I used to read gossip websites a lot more than I do now because the user comments and reporting style were just depressing. Part of that definitely influenced how "Audrey" was written, like when she reads nasty comments about herself on online message boards. I just don't like to see people get ripped apart just so others can feel better about themselves. I'm a big fan of the Golden Rule.

As far as Audrey accepting the reality show, I never thought she would do something like that, even though I considered it. The funny thing about writing "Audrey" was that I never knew what was going to happen! I was as curious as anyone else to see if she would do it, but it turned out that she had different ideas.

YPB: I really wanted Audrey to really unleash on Evan when he finally contacted her? Why was she so easy on him?

RB: Excellent, excellent question. I think that because "Audrey" is written entirely from her perspective, you really only get glimpses of what Evan's going through, but the fact is that both of these teenagers have been launched into an entirely different world. Evan wrote a song about his ex-girlfriend, and just like Audrey, it never occurred to him what fame would really be like. I think he had ideas of being a rock star because he saw it on TV, but to be an overnight rock star is probably akin to being shot out of a cannon. When I wrote that scene between them, I too was surprised that Audrey didn't have more anger towards Evan, but I think she recognizes something in Evan and identifies with it, that feeling of "Oh, life isn't happening like I thought it would." Also, out of everyone in Audrey's world, Evan is the only person who can understand what it's like to be famous, and I think there's a shared empathy between them.

YPB: Did you ever consider getting Evan and Audrey back together again?

RB: After one of my friends read the first chapter, she sent me a note that said, "You HAVE to get them back together!" and I was thinking about it, but then I started to write the character of James. The more I wrote about this skinny red-haired boy, the more I liked him and I realized that he was someone special. He had substance and was a good counterpoint for Audrey and I didn't want to chuck him for Evan.

YPB: What are you working for the future?

RB: I'm always afraid to answer this question because I'm afraid I'll jinx whatever I'm working on! For now, I'll just say that I'm staring a new book about some people who do some things and have some fun times. As soon as I write the first chapter, I'll feel comfortable saying more, I promise! :)

One Simple Question: "As an artist, what inspires and motivates you most in your role as a writer for Young Adults?"

Wow. I think I get inspired by all sorts of artistic things, from books to photography to the melody of a certain song. Sometimes I'll read a passage from a book and it's like I'm charged with adrenaline, or I'll see a picture and its colors make me want to write something down as sort of a verbal counterpoint to the image. Music is a constant influence in the same way: I'll hear a song and something will well up inside me and that provides the inspiration to create something. I think that's what I like so much about being part of a creative, artistic field. There's just so many ways to be inspired.

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