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Why did you decide to become a writer? I have always wanted to be a writer. I remember my grandma used to read to me from books like A Duck for Keeps and A Pony for the Winter by Helen Kay, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace. I remember snuggling up to her and saying "When I grow up, I want to write books that are as good as these!" Where
do you live? I
live in Coralville, Iowa. I grew up
in southern Minnesota. I have lived
in Bemidji, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Rochester, Minnesota; Cedar
Rapids, Iowa and now in Coralville. Do
you have any brothers or sisters? I have a brother named David.
But he didn’t come along until I was almost 9 years old.
Both my parents were only children, so I don’t have any aunts, uncles
or cousins. Do
you have any kids? I
have two boys – Ben and Andy. Do
you have any pets? I have a black cocker spaniel dog named Molly and a cat named Ashley. What
would you do if you weren't a writer? When I was in college, I thought I wanted to be a
child psychologist. I also thought
about going to medical school, going to law school and/or becoming a midwife.
I’m interested in a lot of different things, which is why being a
writer suits me so well. Being a
writer gives me an opportunity to explore all kinds of things. Why
do you write? When
I was a kid, I used to write to entertain myself. I wrote stories about large families because I really wanted
a large family. Today I write to
make sense of the world, to explore new ideas, to connect with other
people...lots of reasons! I can’t
imagine not writing. Why
do you write for kids? I always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until I was in college
that I thought about writing for kids. The
main characters in my stories were always a year or two older than I was, so my
stories sort of grew along with me. But
when I was in college, I had trouble coming up with story ideas.
In fact, I was late turning in my first assignment for my creative
writing class because I couldn’t think of a story.
Then one of my classmates read her story to the class.
It was a story for children. It
had never even occurred to me to write a story for children.
That was a major revelation – I could write for children!
I went right back to my dorm room, sat down, and wrote a story.
Just like that. I suddenly
had all kinds of ideas for stories. I
still do. I have more story ideas
than I will ever be able to write. I
do write for adults sometimes, but I prefer writing fiction for children.
I think Madeleine L’Engle says it best: “If
I have something that is too difficult for adults to swallow, then I will write
it in a book for children.” What
do you like to do when you’re not writing? I
like to read, play board games with my kids, write letters (I have 30 penpals
around the world), play Scrabble, play the piano, ride my bike, watch movies and
go for long walks. Are
you rich?
No. Very few writers are rich.
Most writers write because they love it or because they can’t not
write. Very few do it to get rich. |
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