Alas, the series is finished at three books. But I do have another middle-grade book out called The Great Hibernation, and another coming soon called The Girl from Earth’s End!
I’m doing NaNoWriMo and heard that you have a helpful blog post about fast drafting. Where can I find it?
Here! (And best of luck to you!)
I’d like to write and publish children’s books, too. Do you have any advice for me?
Indeed I do! You can find it here.
What was your inspiration for writing The Girl from Earth’s End?
Ah, the idea for the book of my heart came from reading a travel guide, becoming a parent, watching my own parent grow ill, and quitting writing (well, for a few weeks). I wrote all about it here, in the book’s deal announcement.
What was your inspiration for writing Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy?
When I was backpacking around the world in 2010, I’d often find myself in one season or weather pattern, cross a border (like a mountain range), then find myself in an entirely different season or weather pattern—even though it was still the same time of year. I also experienced the intensities of desert dryness and… Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy?”>Read more »
What was your inspiration for writing The Great Hibernation?
This one came from a trip to Iceland—and a dream. (I have a theory that every novelist gets one good story idea from a dream.) You can read more about all of that here.
What was your inspiration for writing the All Four Stars series?
In short, my day job. I was working as a magazine editor in New York, and had lots of freelance writers write articles for me. But I would never meet them in person, and most of the time never even spoke to them on the phone. We would only communicate by e-mail. So it struck… Read more »
You’ve visited a lot of countries. Which one is your favorite?
I love to travel, and as you can probably tell, I draw so much inspiration for my writing from it! My husband and I backpacked through 74 countries for our (two-year) honeymoon, and I’ve been to around 20 more beyond that. Picking one favorite is pretty much impossible. But if I had to choose a… Read more »
Are any of your characters based on you or based on real people?
I would say that every main character I write (and often the supporting ones, too!) have a bit of me and my life experience in them. In my novels, I tend to write protagonists with strong passions—like Henna’s for gardening in The Girl from Earth’s End, and Gladys’s for food in the All Four Stars… Read more »
Have you always wanted to be an author?
I did always want to be an author, but I’ve had other jobs along the way, such as magazine editor and writing teacher.