Jill Smokler |
Q: How did you first come up with the "Scary
Mommy" concept?
A: Scary Mommy began innocently as a mommy blog -- a modern-day baby book -- for me to keep track of my days with the kids and share little
stories and pictures with friends and family. During the time I was thinking of
starting a blog, my son had taken to calling everything "scary,"
thanks to some Disney movie that haunted him. The moment he called me Scary
Mommy, I knew I had a blog name, registered the domain and the rest is history.
Q: In Motherhood Comes Naturally (and other vicious lies), you write, "Scary Mommy has always been about lifting the veil on motherhood and helping women find comfort--and humor--in other mothers' experiences." How important do you think it is for mothers to find that common experience, and do you think fathers could benefit from reading your books too?
Q: Your books are really funny--is it hard sometimes to keep your sense of humor when you're having an especially annoying day?
A: Of course! But the blog and the book also help me
maintain a sense of humor about things I might not otherwise find all that
funny. If I didn't have a platform to share, say the time my four-year-old
decorated his two-year-old brother's face in a red Sharpie, it would have been
nothing but frustrating. Having an audience who laughs along with me is hugely
helpful in seeing the humor in the mundane, or even disastrous.
Q: Are your kids (ages 9, 7, and 5) curious about all your Scary Mommy projects?
A: My daughter, the oldest, has become very interested in
all things Scary Mommy over the last year or so. Most of her friends' parents
have the book and it's become contraband among the curious third-grade crowd.
I'm always fully conscious that the kids will one day read my words, but at the
young ages they are, I do my best to shield them from the site and books. I
think my deep love for them is apparent in everything I do, but I'm writing for
people who appreciate sarcasm and brutal honesty, which young kids can't
possibly comprehend. But I hope, one day, they turn to the books when they are
parents themselves. Little would make me happier.
Q: Are you working on another book?
A: Not at the moment. Right now, I'm not sure what else I
have to say -- I hear the teen years are quite interesting, though, and they're
right around the corner. So, we'll see.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Jill Smokler will be participating in the Bethesda Literary Festival April 19-21, 2013. For a full schedule of events, please click here.
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